Through the Ghats in rain...amazing weekend drive

ayaskanti · 3rd September 2007, 18:37

Hi,

Thank you all for your inputs - it was really helpful.
It was one of the most awesome weekend trip taken by us. Would love to share it with all. Before we go in detail, few quick updates - 1. They have re-done the Sulya-Kukke section of the road - its still narrow but smooth, 2. Starting from about 20 km before Kusalnagar to Madikeri to few Km before Sulya the road is full of potholes. SUVs can average more than 40kmph - anything smaller would be slower.

We started late - at 8:00 am on Saturday from Indiranagar, reached Mysore bypass around 11:30 with a breakfast break in between. The road started becoming bad as we neared Kushalnagar and it started to rain. Thats when the speed came down and the scenery became better.

There was a road block as some tree fell down and they were clearing the road in the forest near Medicary. With some delay we reached Sulya around 3:30pm and turned right for Kukke. As expected the road was bad but then - surprise - they have re-done the road and after long time - we were driving smoothly without bumps. Reached Subrahmania around 5:15pm and checked into a hotel and visited temples.

Next morning after breakfast in Neo Mysore Cafe started towards Bisily Ghat around 9:00am. It was raining non-stop from morning and as expected the road was bad, very bad. There were king sized potholes every few feet strategically located so that you can not miss many. I love my car and did not have the heart to do more than 20kmph.
The scenary on both sides were breathtaking and we took many a break just to get out, feel the rain and look around.

We stopped at many falls which were on the side of the road and some actually flows through the road. The clouds were on the road and it kept raining steadily.

After reaching the top of the ghat - about 40 km from Subrahmania, the road became better and rain also subsided. Rest of the road was very good and journey uneventful. Reached Sakleshpur around 1:00, Hassan at 2:15 and back home at 6:30 with one hour through evening traffic in Bangalore.

We drove slowly, did not follow the plan, stopped at numerous places to enjoy the beauty of the ghats, got drenched and loved every minute of the tour.

chandan · 3rd September 2007, 20:19

Good short report there.I did the Puttur-Subrahmanya route about a week ago.It was a disaster.I continued to Sakleshpura thro Bisle....the same route you did & it was too good an experience.The bad roads made sure nobody ventured on it.I did'nt come across a single soul for over 1.5 hrs

skandyhere · 3rd September 2007, 20:39

lovely pics man! nice to know you had a wonderful time. driving along the ghats with a steady breeze pushing the drizzle.... pure bliss!!!

how was the sakleshpur-hassan road, by the way???

ayaskanti · 3rd September 2007, 22:30

hi sandy

glad you liked the pics

sakleshpur-hassan route was pretty smooth. You can easily do 80

kpzen · 3rd September 2007, 23:41

Nice short write up..!!
Pics are too tempting to make a short trip down south.

akroy · 4th September 2007, 08:19

Nice update Ayaskanti, Can you give a clear update of the stretches coz this is the stretch where people ask for updates more frequently?

I mean Madikeri - Sulya, Sulya - Kukke, Kukke - Sakleshpur?
Nice pics though !

Abhi

akroy · 4th September 2007, 08:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by skandyhere

how was the sakleshpur-hassan road, by the way???

This road is the same for years, your speedo will hover between 80-120kmph in this stretch...

Abhi

rjstyles69 · 4th September 2007, 08:24

Oooh !! Too tempting I must say. Nothing to beat the beauty of the Western Ghats. Nice pics there ayaskanti .

speedmiester · 4th September 2007, 08:39

Bisle Ghat is one of the best places to trek. We were there last weekend for a trek, it rained all day , but it was awesome. The lack of good roads is compensated by some breathtaking natural beauty.

ayaskanti · 4th September 2007, 10:24

Thanks Akroy, The road condition are as follows:
Mysore-Hunsur - good
Hunsur - Piriyapatna - OK with some potholes
Priyapatna - Kushalnagar-Medikeri- many small potholes can not speed, I did between 40-60kmph
Medikeri-Sulya - potholed except for last few kms
Sulya - Kukke - good exept for the starting 1 km and one stretch of 1-2km in between
Kukke- top of the bisle ghat - BAD - can not do more than 20-30 - narrow road on ghat through jungle with big potholes, thanks there was not much traffic as everyone avoids this stretch - some places two cars can not pass side by side - you need to back up - but the most scenic stretch and I would love to go back again during rains...
Top of ghat - Sakleshpur - much better - one can do 50-60
Sakleshpur - Hassan - very good - one can do 80+ as you said
Hope this would help.
Cheers,
Ayas

1100D · 6th September 2007, 21:03

Simply awesome. Mountain roads and rain (Thats my recipe for a perfect drive with the wiper going wish wash). The greenery turns into completely something else. From your pictures I can almost smell the moist atmosphere. Lovely.

DHABHAR.BEHRAM · 7th September 2007, 10:01

Fantastic driving down these country roads in Karnataka. You must have thoroughly enjoyed.

I had done this stretch when we went for the Great Escape which was held in Madikeri sometime back. I remember taking a flight from Mumbai to Mangalore, heading on the Bangalore highway, taking a right turn to Puttur, Sulya and then climbing all the way to Madikeri (leech country - we went seriously offroad (only 4WD, and had to remove many leeches from our legs). I did it in an M&M 4WD CL340 (the little red car with a black soft top and a chunky roll over bar. Believe you me, that thing goes anywhere.

lohithrao · 7th September 2007, 12:34

Nice Nice... even i did bisle, 2 weeks back. apart from raod everything was good

Can find the pictures here "lohith.fotopic.net"

-GT- · 8th September 2007, 10:14

Aayaskanti:

The pics are great; should have been an awesome experience.

ayaskanti · 13th September 2007, 14:14

Hi Dhabhar/ lohitrao/ -GT-

Thanks.

3rd September 2007, 18:37	#1
ayaskanti Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 18 Thanked: 0 Times	Through the Ghats in rain...amazing weekend drive Hi, Thank you all for your inputs - it was really helpful. It was one of the most awesome weekend trip taken by us. Would love to share it with all. Before we go in detail, few quick updates - 1. They have re-done the Sulya-Kukke section of the road - its still narrow but smooth, 2. Starting from about 20 km before Kusalnagar to Madikeri to few Km before Sulya the road is full of potholes. SUVs can average more than 40kmph - anything smaller would be slower. We started late - at 8:00 am on Saturday from Indiranagar, reached Mysore bypass around 11:30 with a breakfast break in between. The road started becoming bad as we neared Kushalnagar and it started to rain. Thats when the speed came down and the scenery became better. There was a road block as some tree fell down and they were clearing the road in the forest near Medicary. With some delay we reached Sulya around 3:30pm and turned right for Kukke. As expected the road was bad but then - surprise - they have re-done the road and after long time - we were driving smoothly without bumps. Reached Subrahmania around 5:15pm and checked into a hotel and visited temples. Next morning after breakfast in Neo Mysore Cafe started towards Bisily Ghat around 9:00am. It was raining non-stop from morning and as expected the road was bad, very bad. There were king sized potholes every few feet strategically located so that you can not miss many. I love my car and did not have the heart to do more than 20kmph. The scenary on both sides were breathtaking and we took many a break just to get out, feel the rain and look around. We stopped at many falls which were on the side of the road and some actually flows through the road. The clouds were on the road and it kept raining steadily. After reaching the top of the ghat - about 40 km from Subrahmania, the road became better and rain also subsided. Rest of the road was very good and journey uneventful. Reached Sakleshpur around 1:00, Hassan at 2:15 and back home at 6:30 with one hour through evening traffic in Bangalore. We drove slowly, did not follow the plan, stopped at numerous places to enjoy the beauty of the ghats, got drenched and loved every minute of the tour. Last edited by Samurai : 3rd September 2007 at 19:15. Reason: fixing image links
	() Thanks

3rd September 2007, 20:19	#2
chandan BHPian Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: sakleshpur Posts: 251 Thanked: 47 Times View My Garage	Good short report there.I did the Puttur-Subrahmanya route about a week ago.It was a disaster.I continued to Sakleshpura thro Bisle....the same route you did & it was too good an experience.The bad roads made sure nobody ventured on it.I did'nt come across a single soul for over 1.5 hrs
	() Thanks

3rd September 2007, 20:39	#3
skandyhere BHPian Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Charlotte/Blore Posts: 347 Thanked: 92 Times	lovely pics man! nice to know you had a wonderful time. driving along the ghats with a steady breeze pushing the drizzle.... pure bliss!!! how was the sakleshpur-hassan road, by the way???
	() Thanks

3rd September 2007, 22:30	#4
ayaskanti Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 18 Thanked: 0 Times	hi sandy glad you liked the pics sakleshpur-hassan route was pretty smooth. You can easily do 80
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3rd September 2007, 23:41	#5
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	Nice short write up..!! Pics are too tempting to make a short trip down south.
	() Thanks

4th September 2007, 08:19	#6
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	Nice update Ayaskanti, Can you give a clear update of the stretches coz this is the stretch where people ask for updates more frequently? I mean Madikeri - Sulya, Sulya - Kukke, Kukke - Sakleshpur? Nice pics though ! Abhi
	() Thanks

4th September 2007, 08:24	#8
rjstyles69 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bengalooru.. Posts: 4,343 Thanked: 842 Times View My Garage	Oooh !! Too tempting I must say. Nothing to beat the beauty of the Western Ghats. Nice pics there ayaskanti .
	() Thanks

4th September 2007, 08:39	#9
speedmiester Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: bangalore Posts: 2,387 Thanked: 6,630 Times	Bisle Ghat is one of the best places to trek. We were there last weekend for a trek, it rained all day , but it was awesome. The lack of good roads is compensated by some breathtaking natural beauty.
	() Thanks

4th September 2007, 10:24	#10
ayaskanti Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 18 Thanked: 0 Times	Thanks Akroy, The road condition are as follows: Mysore-Hunsur - good Hunsur - Piriyapatna - OK with some potholes Priyapatna - Kushalnagar-Medikeri- many small potholes can not speed, I did between 40-60kmph Medikeri-Sulya - potholed except for last few kms Sulya - Kukke - good exept for the starting 1 km and one stretch of 1-2km in between Kukke- top of the bisle ghat - BAD - can not do more than 20-30 - narrow road on ghat through jungle with big potholes, thanks there was not much traffic as everyone avoids this stretch - some places two cars can not pass side by side - you need to back up - but the most scenic stretch and I would love to go back again during rains... Top of ghat - Sakleshpur - much better - one can do 50-60 Sakleshpur - Hassan - very good - one can do 80+ as you said Hope this would help. Cheers, Ayas
	() Thanks

6th September 2007, 21:03	#11
1100D Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Calcutta Posts: 4,390 Thanked: 4,079 Times View My Garage	Simply awesome. Mountain roads and rain (Thats my recipe for a perfect drive with the wiper going wish wash). The greenery turns into completely something else. From your pictures I can almost smell the moist atmosphere. Lovely.
	() Thanks

7th September 2007, 10:01	#12
DHABHAR.BEHRAM Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: MUMBAI Posts: 3,060 Thanked: 5,353 Times	Fantastic driving down these country roads in Karnataka. You must have thoroughly enjoyed. I had done this stretch when we went for the Great Escape which was held in Madikeri sometime back. I remember taking a flight from Mumbai to Mangalore, heading on the Bangalore highway, taking a right turn to Puttur, Sulya and then climbing all the way to Madikeri (leech country - we went seriously offroad (only 4WD, and had to remove many leeches from our legs). I did it in an M&M 4WD CL340 (the little red car with a black soft top and a chunky roll over bar. Believe you me, that thing goes anywhere.
	() Thanks

7th September 2007, 12:34	#13
lohithrao Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kudla/Mangaluru Posts: 3,204 Thanked: 225 Times View My Garage	Nice Nice... even i did bisle, 2 weeks back. apart from raod everything was good Can find the pictures here "lohith.fotopic.net"
	() Thanks

8th September 2007, 10:14	#14
-GT- BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Chennai / Dubai Posts: 171 Thanked: 3 Times	Aayaskanti: The pics are great; should have been an awesome experience.
	() Thanks

13th September 2007, 14:14	#15
ayaskanti Newbie Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 18 Thanked: 0 Times	Hi Dhabhar/ lohitrao/ -GT- Thanks.
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