[kala]

Originally Posted by msdivy

2 weeks back I had to take Bangalore-Mysore road via Kanakapura/Malavalli. This road is good 90% of the distance. Hardly any traffic. I recommend this road for peace of mind. For most part, this a 4 lane road without any divider. Biggest drawback is the metro construction work on Kanakapura road. For folks going towards BTM, they can take NICE road from Kanakapura road to Bannerghatta road.

For the past 6 or 7 months or so my regular return route from Wayanad has been Bathery-Gundlupet-Chamarajnagar-Kollegal-Malavalli-Kanakapura-Bangalore. It takes exactly 3 hours for me to get from Gundlupet to my place near Metro on Kanakapura Road. The roads are pretty good most of the way and the best part of it is the tension-free driving because of sparse traffic.

Since there were some reports that the Nanjangud-Mysore stretch has been repaired I just wanted to check out the conventional Gundlupet-Nanjangud-Mysore-Bangalore route last time, that's why I ventured to take this route (and moreover I had started early from Wayanad and so was passing SH-17 in the afternoon). But based on this last experience, this route is going to be a big no-no for me as long as NH-209 remains in good shape.

[download2live]

I have stopped considering this stretch as a highway itself. Its more like any regular road. Too much traffic on it.

If you want a highway experience then go for a Bangalore-Hyderabad trip.

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by gopikb

By the way, what is the difference in distance between the two routes to Mysore and how long doe it take for you to drive one way? For regular travelers every weekend do you recommend taking the Kanakapura road?

Distance is same, around 145Km. Takes between 2.5hr to 3hr. You can't do speeds that can be done on SH17. There isn't any good eating joint in the stretch, unlike SH-17, which has plenty. So you need to plan. Drive is picturesque & less stressful.

Originally Posted by kala

Since there were some reports that the Nanjangud-Mysore stretch has been repaired I just wanted to check out the conventional Gundlupet-Nanjangud-Mysore-Bangalore route last time, that's why I ventured to take this route (and moreover I had started early from Wayanad and so was passing SH-17 in the afternoon). But based on this last experience, this route is going to be a big no-no for me as long as NH-209 remains in good shape.

Nanjangud-Mysore is repaired, but in patches. This road is crowded. Over taking is difficult, since there is no break in on-coming traffic.

[Jeep]

Did Blr-Mys-Blr (Sat morning plus Sun Evening) on the 13th Feb weekend. Since I knew of the Sunday evening rush from Mys, started early from Mysore (at around 3 pm or so) and yes the traffic was bad. Was scared since I was travelling with a toddler who refuses to use the child seat.

Not just about the traffic, just check how crowded Vrindavan garden is on Sundays. Also, I believe they overcharged as well by giving the parking/entry fee for Sumo/Qualis of Rs 30 for an Esteem. Was in no mood to argue or to look at the board (they said 'everything is the same' when I questioned it).

Mysore town still maintains its charm and it is no wonder why it draws people from Blr

[kala]

Originally Posted by msdivy

Distance is same, around 145Km. Takes between 2.5hr to 3hr. You can't do speeds that can be done on SH17. There isn't any good eating joint in the stretch, unlike SH-17, which has plenty. So you need to plan. Drive is picturesque & less stressful.

How's the Malavalli - Bannur - Mysore section of the road ? I travelled that way about a year ago and there were long patches of rough road then, so it used to be not too comfortable a drive. Has it all been done up now ?

Originally Posted by msdivy

Nanjangud-Mysore is repaired, but in patches. This road is crowded. Over taking is difficult, since there is no break in on-coming traffic.

Yes that's true, it is still a pain to drive that stretch, and as you get to near Mysore, there's that Police checkpost there where you invariably find a long queue of vehicles waiting to pass, and crossing it takes 5 minutes+ at times!

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by download2live

I have stopped considering this stretch as a highway itself. Its more like any regular road. Too much traffic on it.
If you want a highway experience then go for a Bangalore-Hyderabad trip.

I agree with your sentiment here. This situation is replicated in Pune with the western by pass. When it was built, there were no houses around and it was truly a by pass. Now it is more crowded and rowdier than some of the city streets. The worst part though is that people have created breaks in the dividers and there are no indicators that there is someone crossing the road. I am sure this is not the case only in this city but also applies elsewhere. Due to this the overall traffic speed declines and this results in more vehicles being on the so called highway for a longer time = more traffic pile ups

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

There was a political rally in Mysore yesterday by Congress right? Could that have been the reason in addition to weekend traffic?

No. It was not the reason. I could easily make out that they were all either day trippers or some one like me who would have gone for some engagement in Mysore.

Originally Posted by Rajesh K R

By the way, what vehicle were you driving? Did you happen to see my Black Wagon-R with LCLC pasted on the rear bumper ?

Rajesh, i was driving Black Scorpio with "Live to drive" and "I Drive safe" stickers. I am not sure whether i noticed your car.

[kala]

Originally Posted by msdivy

2 weeks back I had to take Bangalore-Mysore road via Kanakapura/Malavalli. This road is good 90% of the distance. Hardly any traffic. I recommend this road for peace of mind. For most part, this a 4 lane road without any divider. Biggest drawback is the metro construction work on Kanakapura road. For folks going towards BTM, they can take NICE road from Kanakapura road to Bannerghatta road.

Update on NH209. Road work in progress for about 5 kms midway between Malavalli and Kanakapura (includes the stretch which had quite a few potholes a little bit before Halaguru village). One side of the road is totally dug-up in a few places and so traffic can move only in one direction at a time.

Traffic seems to have gone up somewhat the last 2 times I travelled recently this way, and it's mostly cabs. Looks like Mysore-Bangalore traffic since Malavalli-Kollegal-Chamarajanagar traffic is still sparse (I use that route for Gundlupet - Bangalore). Maybe a lot of cabbies have "discovered" this alternate route ?

[MCR]

Drove on SH17 yesterday evening. Started from Mysore at 9.15PM and reached Bangalore at 11.30PM. The drive was good and tension free. However the traffic was not very sparse, but the driving by almost all the cars was sedate and everybody followed the traffic rules.

[nowwhat?]

Originally Posted by Fauji

It took me three hours to reach the Bannerghatta Road point on NICE road. In between we had a break for 20 Mins. Thus an extra 40 mins on the way back due to traffic!!

Moral of the story - Avoid leaving Mysore for Bangalore after 5 PM and plan to leave around 3 PM so that the traffic is less and you can have a comfortable ride.

Any other suggestions?

Fauji, you read my mind (as well as that of a lot of others too)!

I too have been perplexed how a day trip from Bangalore to Mysore on a Sunday turns out to be such a nightmare.

When I go in the morning, the highway is virtually empty and it is a leisurely ride. The only thing you have to watch out for are the occasional bullock carts, tractors and speeding moped drivers.

On return, the same highway is choc-a-bloc with yellow-board cabs, bikes, SUVs, cars, trucks, etc making me hang on to dear life and hope that I am able to reach Bangalore in one piece. Somehow the evening time also induces a certain amount of madness with all sorts of vehicles overtaking each other from the left and right while simultaneously honking continually at everyone to get out of their way.

I guess the general consensus is to start on the return trip after 8 pm. I will try that next time.

[Sunrise]

Planning a trip with family on a weekday, is the situation as bad on a weekday? We will surely start as late as 9PM cause seeing Brindavan gardens will take up to 8:30, is night drive safe or any stretch of road to watch out for?
Have done some trips a while back on this road and rarely at night though

[KarthikK]

Originally Posted by Sunrise

Planning a trip with family on a weekday, is the situation as bad on a weekday? We will surely start as late as 9PM cause seeing Brindavan gardens will take up to 8:30

are you sure you want to start by 9 pm?
The traffic will not be as dense on a weekday as it would on weekends. If you are doing night driving, I wouldn't really expect much traffic apart from trucks and buses.

Originally Posted by Sunrise

is night drive safe or any stretch of road to watch out for?
Have done some trips a while back on this road and rarely at night though

roads seem to be smooth throughout. I don't remember any particular bad stretch. Some stretches are badly lit though with no street lamps whatsoever.

[shishir_bn]

@Sunrise, On a weekday until you reach Kengeri it will be full of traffic. After that point it eases out. But night drive has its own advantages and disadvantages. It depends on you.

[CBlazer]

I've done BLR-MYS road trips many times. If you are the sensitive, cautious kind you'll hate this road on Sunday evenings. We did a trip to Srirangapatana yesterday. The traffic in the day time (around 10 AM) was okay (got heavier near Mandya). We started back around 4.15 in the evening. Somewhere again near Mandya the traffic grew heavy and got worse as we progressed.

Forget 100 kmph, I was scared to maintain speeds of even 60. You'll find vehicles (from two-wheelers to cars to Innovas) tail-gating you no matter what speed you are doing and how heavy the traffic is.

Just as you feel you've left the traffic behind you'll find slow moving vehicles again. To make things worse this road does not have large enough shoulders on either side to allow two-wheelers who want to give way. The number of speed breakers too seem to have increased. Reminds me of the pre-divided BLR-MYS road days.

Near Bidadi it was almost bumper to bumper. We found a white Santro labelled "Raghu" zig-zagging at around 50-60. He almost hit our car trying to change lanes. When we peeked in, we realized the occupants were on a high smoking away something. The driver seemed drunk and was barely able to keep his (red) eyes open.

The previous instance I did this stretch was 6 months ago again on a Sunday. But we left Mysore really late in the night and were able reach Bangalore in 2 hours with completely sane driving.

[Sunrise]

Originally Posted by shishir_bn

@Sunrise, On a weekday until you reach Kengeri it will be full of traffic. After that point it eases out. But night drive has its own advantages and disadvantages. It depends on you.

Sorry if i wrote it wrong- i meant start BACK to Bangalore by 9 PM