[ramzsys]

A report of my Bangalore-Mysore-Bangalore trip taken this weekend:

Started at 6 AM; so instead of taking NICE road to Kanakapura road, i proceeded via ORR; it was a cakewalk and NH209 was so pristine till Malavalli.

From here, it is a sort of 1.5 lane road with potholes and sudden speed breakers. Road widening is happening, so be prepared to shell the loose stones on your car chassis if it is anything above crawling speeds at those places. I love the car(fiesta classic) more than the trip, so slowed down a lot.

Last 10 km before Mysore was good, though. Reached Mysore zoo by 9:15 AM.

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Started by about 4 PM from the Mysore palace; it was raining all the way. Stopped at Kadambam hotel(before Channapatna, on the opposite lane) by 5:30 PM and spent about 45 minutes there.

From Ramanagara onwards, it was the usual 'sunday-evening-misery' kinda traffic. The constant 4-brake-2-accelerate-3-4-brake is taxing both the engine and the driver. Took the NICE road, even that had a bit of high traffic. Reached home by 7:30 PM.

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My choice would be the NH209, irrespective of the last 40 km of broken road -because i become paranoid when i see vehicles all over the front, sides and in the ORVM like in the SH17.

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No photos, as i was driving and the wife is not team-bhp friendly.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

My choice would be the NH209, irrespective of the last 40 km of broken road -because i become paranoid when i see vehicles all over the front, sides and in the ORVM like in the SH17.

Return; irrespective of the route is a problem. Whether Mysore road or 209. Three and half hours is still better to back back home.

[tharian]

Had to do a Mysore trip on Sat last to visit a friendly garage there. Was on my Enfield and left home at 730am at Frazer town area and reached Mysore by 10am .

It was a nice ride since it had drizzled here and there and the air was cool by which I could keep a good speed on my bike . Traffic was not all that bad , but it remains that there is no spot between the whole stretch that remains free .

There was a rasta-roko by some farmers just before Mandya and as a result there was a half a km long jam on the side towards Mysore and vehicles started moving on the opposite lane thinking it is an accident and ended up being stopped there as well. It was a blessing I was on the bike and I ended up on the opposite side as well and crossed the block and had a free run until Mysore. The good thing about the jam was Mandya town was free.

The return trip was one long ride. Left Mysore at 130p and reached home by 6pm. Rain all the way which stopped after Madur only to be drenched again in Bangalore. By the time I reached University , the heavy rains were done and flash floods had begun.
Luckily, traffic was low, probably because of the long weekend and heavy rains. Further up a jam began building up and after riding in between vehicles and the at the edge ended up at the infamous intersection which sees so many flyovers crisscrossing that it reminded me of some sci-fi movie. The gridlock here was epic. I could make it out from were I was that vehicles from all the roads and converged at one point and blocked each other off that no one could move. Perfect recipe of a jam.
No cops and rains , I knew it was not going to clear for a long while and hit the road that goes to Kanteerva Studio and further to Tumkur road. There were floods all over and at some points it was like I was in some rapids and could feel my bike being pushed to a side by the water.
Glad I could make it home in one piece with no issues to my bike either.

[sswaroop]

Planning to visit Gopalaswamy betta and Shivansamudra tomorrow. Planning to take Kanakpura - Malavalli - Kollegal - Chamarajnagar - Gundlupet route. Hopefully the route will be okay. I will update when I'm back.

[sswaroop]

Originally Posted by sswaroop

Planning to visit Gopalaswamy betta and Shivansamudra tomorrow. Planning to take Kanakpura - Malavalli - Kollegal - Chamarajnagar - Gundlupet route.

Here's my update on the travel to Gopalaswamy Betta and back on Saturday.

Had decided to take the Left pretty late from home around 8.45 am. Took the NICE road from near PESIT to Kanakpura Rd, and continued on. Reached Malavalli by about 1030 or so. The road is excellent but for normal wear and tear here and there. Then towards Kollegal passing by Shivanasamudra on the left. We though we'll visit while coming back, but ran out of time.

From Kollegal we went towards Chamrajnagar and then towards Gundlupet. The roads till Chamrajnagar through Kollegal are again excellent. As soon as we crossed Chamrajnagar though, the road is bad with some potholes at frequent intervals and as we got closer to Gundlupet, more hopeless the state of the road. It is still asphalted, but there are far more potholes. Stopped on the way for some light refreshments and reached Gundlupet at 1.15pm. Overall the journey was excellent. Removing the breaks that we took, I think the travel time was about 3 hrs and 45 mins for about 210 kms.

Had lunch at Gundlupet and moved towards Gopalaswamy Betta. Paid the forest department ticket, and started the hill. My god, that road to the top is BAD! It was in so much a better shape when we visited some 7-8 years ago and I don't think it's ever been asphalted since. There are huge craters on either side of the road to the top which is only 4 kms in length. There is only space for 1 car to move at once and we've to manage vehicle crossings in such a way that no vehicle enters the 1 foot ditches. If the vehicles get stuck here, then I don't know when help will arrive!

Started back after an hour at the top of the betta, and abandoned plans of taking the same route back home and instead visited Nanjangud temple. That Gundlupet - Nanjangud road has been the same ever since I can remember my first trip there some 16-17 years ago. Single lane and with lots of traffic. More of the same from Nanjangud to Mysore as well.

After visiting temple at Nanjangud and some snacks, started driving back with a hope to see the lights at Mysore Palace. Came back and parked and took a couple of photos of the entrance and boom, the lights were switched off because it was 7.45 pm

Started back from there, reached Columbia Asia Hospital on outer ring road at 8.10 pm. From there till NICE road turn off, reached in 2 hrs and exactly at 10.10 pm. There was a bunch of traffic when starting from Mysore, but overtook a bunch of slow moving cars and a couple of trucks and had a relatively free highway. As someone else has posted above, counted the speedbumps and found about 68 of them in about 120 kms! And this is counting the ones in groups of 3-4-5(not rumblers) as 1 speedbump. 450 kms done for the day and the Fiesta seemed to give a pretty decent mileage of 15 kmpl given that I hardly went past 100 kmph(Apart from NICE road)

All in all, I would take the Kanakpura - Malavalli - Mysore route anyday from here on to reach Mysore. The road is good and I have a feeling that with an early morning start I will encounter even lesser traffic. I don't remember a single speedbump all the way and the feel of the road is like the SH17 of yore (before the 4 lane conversion).

While coming back though, I didn't take this route since I prefer not having high beam headlights being blasted into my eyes every second of the way. Just a personal preference might have to try it one of these days to see how much traffic is there actually on this route.

[mdkFri13]

Quick update on the road condition on the Mysore-Kanakapura-Bangalore route.
I left Mysore at 4:00PM today (Sunday evening)
Mysore - Bannur - Malavalli - mostly potholed stretches and single lane traffic keeping average speed below 40 kmph. Non-potholed stretches are roads under construction/widening (lots of gravel and mud). I guess the repair works will take at least another 6 months.
Malavalli - Kanakapura - NICE Road junction - NH209 - bumper to bumper traffic throughout with little chance of overtaking keeping average speed below 60 kmph. Reached NICE Road junction at 8:00 PM

My advice would be to stick to SH17 for now.

-Deepak
Ford Figo 2014 1.4 Diesel

[ramzsys]

Originally Posted by mdkFri13

Malavalli - Kanakapura - NICE Road junction - NH209 - bumper to bumper traffic throughout with little chance of overtaking keeping average speed below 60 kmph.

So the weekend traffic has started to spill over to NH209?

Amp !?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

So the weekend traffic has started to spill over to NH209?Amp !?

Typically around Kanakpura, anyway the traffic is high. I dont think its related to Mysore road traffic. I have seen heavy traffic evenings around Kanakpura all the way back to Bangalore.

I think the only solution here is time your drive such that you dont get caught and stick to Mysore road itself. Example: For a long weekend return: Make sure you are at NICE before 5. Else you know the consequences!

[vsathyap]

Originally Posted by sswaroop

Here's my update on the travel to Gopalaswamy Betta and back on Saturday.
My god, that road to the top is BAD! It was in so much a better shape when we visited some 7-8 years ago and I don't think it's ever been asphalted since. There are huge craters on either side of the road to the top which is only 4 kms in length. There is only space for 1 car to move at once and we've to manage vehicle crossings in such a way that no vehicle enters the 1 foot ditches. If the vehicles get stuck here, then I don't know when help will arrive!

I had been to the temple this weekend and BOY that road is in shambles. I was pretty upset that they charge us 50Rs for traveling up that path they call a road. I cant believe even KSRTC buses go up that road. I can only pity the poor guy who sees a KSRTS bus thorugh his windshield as there is no chance the vehicles can pass by without damage to the smaller vehicle. TT drivers are no exception - they drive as though they have lost their brakes; no respect for uphill traffic or smaller vehicles like bikes. At one point, the road was so bad that I saw a couple on a Pulsar take a bad fall when their bike went over loose rocks and the guy couldnt balance his bike! Most avoidable road if you ask me!

[mpksuhas]

Read in another forum that NH 209 bridge over Kaveri which was closed for heavy vehicles is completely closed.

If that is the case, with no new bridge anywhere in sight it is going to be a pain for couple of years.

As per the post it was closed only in last few days, any one has updated information?

[adi_gt]

I had the "displeasure" of taking the famous SH17 to visit Mysore Zoo on 29th November. I was driving my friends new alto 800 and with two set of families (mine and his). It came to a point that whenever a speed breaker used to come, I was forced to switch off the AC and create some kind of momentum in low gears. Started at 6am from Ramamurthy Nagar and with one hour break reached the zoo at around 11.30am. In the bygone years, I have done this stretch within 2.30 hours on bike and this visit felt like eternity. The only immediate solution for this speed breaker menace is to "TOLL" the road. I am (and I believe all T-BHPians are) more than happy to pay a reasonable amount to use this butter smooth road without speed breakers. I have never sat in a Toyota Fortuner but am wondering if this SUV used by all kind of ministers/VVIP's is currently flying over the speed breakers without causing any discomfort to the esteemed passengers inside it. That could be the only reason which I can foresee is preventing these privileged one's from solving this menace created by speed breaker mafia on SH17.

[mpksuhas]

Took SH 17 on way back from Calicut yesterday. Since it is holiday season was anticipating traffic and had started early from Calicut. Reached Mysore around 3.30 PM from Gundulpet/ Nanjagaud side.
Crossed the city and reached Columbia Asia junction around 04.00 PM. Was stuck at Mandya, Channapatana, Ramnagar and near Kengeri. Took NICE road and reached Silkboard junction at 09:00 PM.

That is around 04.30 hours for Mysore - Bangalore factoring half hour break.

Had taken SH 17 since NH 209 bridge is closed, will try experimenting with the detour via T Narispura as mentioned in other threads to bye-pass the closed bridge next time.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

Took SH 17 on way back from Calicut yesterday. Since it is holiday season was anticipating traffic and had started early from Calicut. Reached Mysore around 3.30 PM from Gundulpet/ Nanjagaud side.
Crossed the city and reached Columbia Asia junction around 04.00 PM. Was stuck at Mandya, Channapatana, Ramnagar and near Kengeri. Took NICE road and reached Silkboard junction at 09:00 PM.

That is around 04.30 hours for Mysore - Bangalore factoring half hour break.

Had taken SH 17 since NH 209 bridge is closed, will try experimenting with the detour via T Narispura as mentioned in other threads to bye-pass the closed bridge next time.

Incidentally, just a day before (Saturday), I made a quick dash to the Mysore Zoo with my family and returned back peacefully.

The only reason for this peaceful drive was option for Nelligere (NH48) - Nagamangala - Pandavapura - Srirangapattana- SH17 option for my onward and return journey.

In both directions, including a lunch and a dinner break for onward and return, I took 4 hours.

Glad that this option is such a time saver for those staying in North Bangalore areas.

I too got stuck heavily at the ORR Signal (Colombia Asia) when entering and exiting the city. Not to forget the fact that all roads inside the city too witnessed heavy traffic.

[mpksuhas]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The only reason for this peaceful drive was option for Nelligere (NH48) - Nagamangala - Pandavapura - Srirangapattana- SH17 option for my onward and return journey.

I had seen your pics of Mysore trip in FB, was wondering what made you take the Mysore road on a long weekend. Now I know

The issue with Nelligere route for those like me from South / West side of Bangalore is that it adds up around 50KM's to the trip, also on long weekends you have to deal with toll booths on NH 48 and NH 4. However I plan to take this route sometime soon just to experiment a new route.

The best route for me I guess (inspite of bad road updates in Bannur) is to take the Bannur - Mallavalli - NH 209 option. It is easier to deal with potholes than moronic suicidal drivers.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mpksuhas

I had seen your pics of Mysore trip in FB, was wondering what made you take the Mysore road on a long weekend. Now I know

The issue with Nelligere route for those like me from South / West side of Bangalore is that it adds up around 50KM's to the trip, also on long weekends you have to deal with toll booths on NH 48 and NH 4. However I plan to take this route sometime soon just to experiment a new route.

The best route for me I guess (inspite of bad road updates in Bannur) is to take the Bannur - Mallavalli - NH 209 option. It is easier to deal with potholes than moronic suicidal drivers.

I don't recall taking SH17 for Mysore in recent past. Almost 10 days of holidays for my daughter meant we take her somewhere.

Belur was a weekend before that and hence Mysore Zoo made sense.

I am the last person to head out during peak holiday season.

Toll booth on NH4 towards Hassan are never a problem. Its only the NTBL booth after alighting NICE which sees super long queues.

NH48 as a road overall too remains peaceful with thick traffic. Yes, distance wise I think it did add up 23 kms one way for me as well but still worth it as time taken is same and fatique levels are way less.

You can try Magadi Town - Kunigal next time to hit NH48 and you save at least 2 NH tolls (NTBL and Nelamangala)and half of NICE .