[bharat4ever]

Originally Posted by narayans80

A question on Yana, how far is the trek from the road to the rocks. I took the road that said Yana 15 km which is like 15 km from Kumta on Kumta-Sirsi road. We had to give up after a 10 min trek. It was raining cats and dogs and there wasn't a soul at the check post or the 15 km stretch from the main road.

The trek is hardly 1 km. When i went too it was pouring, but i decided to go see the rocks anyway.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by bharat4ever

The trek is hardly 1 km. When i went too it was pouring, but i decided to go see the rocks anyway.

You went the same route ? 'cos I've seen 2 other turnoffs to Yana on the way to Sirsi. Anyways we forgot to take the umbrella and our daughter wasn't feeling well and what looked like a fallen electric wire didn't help the cause either :(

[bharat4ever]

I'll tell you how i went. Started from Sirsi, and went on the Kumta road. We decided to first go to Unchalli falls. So avoided that diversion where it says "Yana 38 km to the right". Went straight to a village called Aminhalli on the Kumta road itself, and took a left turn into Unchalli. (20 km odd from that diversion.)

Wasted time there, seriously, the whole falls was covered by fog. Couldn't see the falls or the mountain in front of us. Recorded the sound of the falls and then came back.

Came back to the same diversion, and asked for directions to Yana. We were asked to go straight towards Kumta road, and then take a right turn after 2 km. Then a 8 km tar road, awesome deserted road curves and green grass! best road on the trip. You complete this 8 km stretch and rejoin that Yana road at Devinahalli which diverted (Yana 38 km road). on This road again you take a diversion to Yana on the right, and then travel 11 or 12 km before you reach a dead end. From here, walk a km to reach the rocks. Roads are bad in this stretch. An SUV would've enjoyed it.

[naveenroy]

I'd posted this question in a different post but thought this post will be more appropriate.

Planning a ride to Shimoga this Friday. Plan is as follows:

1. Fri - Bangalore to Shimoga. Stay at Jewel Rock. Looked at this option since all reviews say its a decent, cheap place to stay. No couples involved so no great cleanliness required.
2. Sat - ride to Jog Falls or any other nearby places and back to Shimoga for the night. Is Jog falls a good idea? Will there be a good flow of water at this time?
3. Sun - back to Bangalore

Is the best route Bangalore - Tumkur - Gubbi - Tiptur - Arsikere - Badravathi - Shimoga? How are the roads?

Or should I chuck the idea of Jog falls and do Agumbe - as Fauji suggested in the other post?

[hondadude]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Is the best route Bangalore - Tumkur - Gubbi - Tiptur - Arsikere - Badravathi - Shimoga? How are the roads?

Bangalore-chitradurga-Shimoga is the fastest way to reach Shimoga. Road is great all the way.

Jog is unlikely to have good flow this time of the year especially considering that Karnataka did not have a great monsoon this year.

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by hondadude

Bangalore-chitradurga-Shimoga is the fastest way to reach Shimoga. Road is great all the way.

Jog is unlikely to have good flow this time of the year especially considering that Karnataka did not have a great monsoon this year.

Thanks, did that route only. Good roads all the way and it has been 2 rides of "show-some-love-to-the-state-highways". Lovely state roads from Chitradurga to Shimoga and Shimoga to Agumbe.

The roads were spectacular from Shimoga to Thirthahalli. Wonderful sweeping curves

But from Thirthahalli to Agumbe, the last stretch was exceptionally pathetic. Reached Agumbe and did some roaming about and back to Shimoga on same day.

Rode back to Bangalore yesterday. All in all, a good ride and I've now completed 10000 kms on my 13-month old CBR.

[Marcus Brutus]

I intend making a round trip in February by road, the details are as follows.

I start my journey from north Goa and intend to travel on the first day to Shimoga to visit the Jog Falls and have a 2 night halt in Shimoga. From there I intend to travel to Mangalore and spend two nights there as well. From Mangalore the next stop is Mysore, where I will spend two nights before continuing on to Ooty, this being our final destination.

The journey back was to be from Ooty to Udipi/Malpe where I intend to spend a night before travelling back to north Goa. Can anybody who is familiar with the area and the route I have mentioned, help me with suggestions of the best roads to take and hotel accommodation en route, particularly in Mangalore, Mysore and Udipi/Malpe. Also I have a wish to eat the best Mangalorian fish curry and if anybody could suggest a very authentic restaurant I would much appreciate it.

Also I intend to purchase a sat. nav. (GPRS) before my travels. I personally feel that Garmin is the way to go. Can anybody throw some light on the best machine available in the market, any suggestions are welcome. Can anybody who has used one, give me some feedback as to how reliable they are and also the information they give us in Indian conditions i.e. hotels to stay, restaurants to eat at and petrol pumps. I have used sat. navs in Europe extensively and know how very accurate they are, but have absolutely no experience of one in India and would be very grateful for some advice in the matter, as they are expensive machines and I would not like to waste my money.

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by Marcus Brutus

I intend making a round trip in February by road, the details are as follows.

February is usually the start of Indian Summer and the coastal stretch is usually hot (around 38 degree C) and humid. Not sure about the hotel budget your looking at.

North Goa to Shimoga
Panaji -33kms- Margao -74kms- Karwar -70kms- Kumta -18kms- Honnavar (take left onto NH206 towards Shimoga) -55kms- Jog Falls -30kms- Sagara -75kms- Shimoga
Road conditions should be usually good during February. Currently bad patches around Kumta and stretch between Honnavar and Jog falls.
IMHO in February, water will be just a trickle at Jog Falls. But plenty of places around Shimoga to visit.
Hotel Jewel Rock and Royal Orchid are the good hotels for stay and food at Shimoga.

Shimoga to Mangalore
Shimoga -60kms- Tirthahalli -35kms- Agumbe -20kms- Hebri -25kms- Manipal -7kms- Udupi -60kms- Mangalore
The other direct route to Mangalore from Shimoga via Kudremukh is usually bad. But please check on this thread for further updates (http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ore-udupi.html)
Lots of hotels in Mangalore to suit every budget. Few I can think of now is Hotel Moti Mahal, Goldfinch and Summer Sands Beach Resort.
Loved the fish curry meals and fish fry at Hotel Narayana at Bunder near Mangalore Port when I last visited a year back. Very authentic Fish Curry. Very basic budget restaurant. But the food is yummy. Go early for lunch to avoid the local crowd.

Mangalore to Mysore
Mangalore -95kms- Gundya -40kms- Sakleshpur -42kms- Hassan -120kms- Mysore (Best option. but bad patches around Sakleshpur)
Mangalore -69kms- Ujire -55kms- Mudigere -30kms- Belur -29kms- Hassan -120kms- Mysore (Slightly longer route but more scenic)
Not sure about road conditions. Should be good around February. Please check on the above given link for road conditions.
Again lots of hotels at Mysore to suit every budget. Few I can think of now is Royal Orchid, Moti Mahal Palace Hotel, Regaalis and Ginger Hotels.

Mysore to Ooty
Mysore -60kms- Gundlupet -60kms- Ooty (Road condition is good)

Ooty to Udupi
Ooty -50kms- Gudalur -53kms- Nilambur -69kms- Calicut -95kms- Kannur -120kms- Mangalore -60kms- Udupi (A drive through Kerala but NH17 is narrow and more traffic)
Ooty - Mysore - Hassan - Mangalore - Udupi (Return on the same route I mentioned above to reach Mysore and Ooty)
Paradise Isle Beach Resort bang opposite to Malpe Beach and Hotel Kediyoor are few good hotels at Udupi.

I have been using Garmin GPS for a couple of years now. I alternate between MapMyIndia and Satnav for maps. MMI is fairly good. Pretty accurate directions to nearest Petrol Pumps and hotels. Not much information about restaurants at smaller towns. Do not blindly trust the GPS for directions. Most highways in Karnataka are marked well with directions to important places. Also it helps to ask around as well when in doubt.

[Marcus Brutus]

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

February is usually the start of Indian Summer and the coastal stretch is usually hot (around 38 degree C) and humid. Not sure about the hotel budget your looking at.

:


I appreciate your detailed feedback. You are right; I should have mentioned my budget for accommodation. I feel Rs.3000 is a reasonable sum per night per room basis. With this in mind could you recommend some hotels in the places I am to visit. Is the accommodation in Ooty very expensive, any recommendations? Thanks for the curry joint I will definitely visit them. Do they just do lunch or dinner as well. I don’t suppose they have a web site that is asking for too much. Any other advice you can give me which perhaps I have not asked for.

[SAPVEN]

Hi,

Thought this is the right thread to put my poser. Am travelling to Murudeshwar via Shimoga/Jog. I know that the normal route from Jog to Murideshwar would be, via
Honnavar, and the NH69 to Honnavar luks good. HOWEVER, the road down south
from Honnavar to Murudeshwar seems to be horrible , from all reports.

Can I think of Jog-Kargal-Bhatkal-Murudeshwar ? Can some friend here (Addy?)
provide of feedback on this road ?

Thanks, Venu

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

thanks for the replies guys. I'll update this thread on the road conditions of Jog - Bhatkal after getting back from the trip.
one other query - any good suggestions for breakfast restaurants in Sagara? There'll be plenty of them for sure, but which one specifically would you recommend to be worth trying out here? any famous place here which serves the local region's specialities to try out?

OT - @addyhemmige will remember I had planned to take the mangalore route initially to maravanthe, but it has now been changed to include a detour via Jog, just for variety

Hi Karthikk,

Looked around for your travelogue thro Jog, but could not locate it. Was VERY interested in the condition of the JOG-KARGAL-BHATKAL road (SH50). Can you throw some light please ?

Regards,

Venu

[floyd.bell]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Hi Karthikk,

Looked around for your travelogue thro Jog, but could not locate it. Was VERY interested in the condition of the JOG-KARGAL-BHATKAL road (SH50). Can you throw some light please ?

Regards,

Venu

So, did u make your trip to Murdeshwar? Did you take the Kargal route? If yes, can you please update on the road condition.

[SAPVEN]

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

So, did u make your trip to Murdeshwar? Did you take the Kargal route? If yes, can you please update on the road condition.

Floyd,

I did not get an updated feedback from anyone in Team-BHP (probably because nobody had used that road recently). That was a kind of incentive for me, so WE DID IT .

It was an excellent decision, since the road was good(not great, but good), right through till Bhatkal. In between there was a thundershower, which only added to the excitement. However, the road is pitted and stony(no craters or heavy damage), so my Scorpio went through without any problems . Smaller cars may find it slow going.

The journey? Amazing, since we saw a total of 2-3 vehicles in the entire trip (around 80 km) and the topography was a canopy of tall forest trees.

Caution : Resist the temptation to floor the accelerator, since challenges can crop up ( like a broken down culvert -please see pic attached) suddenly around a bend.

I would recommend this road for 1) The scenic beauty 2) Lack of traffic 3) motorable road !

Venu

[floyd.bell]

Originally Posted by SAPVEN

Floyd,


I would recommend this road for 1) The scenic beauty 2) Lack of traffic 3) motorable road !

Venu

Thanks Venu for the update. I'll surely try this stretch the next time I go there. Because right now I am back already from a trip to Bhatkal/Shirali.
While going I went via Blr-Shimoga-Thirthahalli-Agumbe-Halady-Kundapur-Bhatkal. While coming I came via Bhatkal-Honnavar-Bangalore. The stretch from Murdeshwar to Honnavar is unbelievably pathetic.
If the Kargal road is actually good as you suggested, it will save a lot of time than going all the way via Honnavar.

I have one more query regarding this route. Where exactly on NH206 do you turn left after Sagar to get on to this Kargal road?

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by floyd.bell

I have one more query regarding this route. Where exactly on NH206 do you turn left after Sagar to get on to this Kargal road?

Look for directions towards Linganamakki Dam (Project Area). From Sagar, on the way to Jog, you will find a road turning left towards Kargal. This road is just a couple of kms after Talaguppa (towards Jog). Even if you miss this, you can go all the way to Jog falls and come back to Kargal through that route. But it is longer by around 5-6 kms.