[roamingrao]

Faced with the task of accompanying my aged parents ( > 80 ) to a function in Udupi early December 2007, options started running out as the buses take a moon crater route via Charmadi ghats and Mudigere after closure of Shiradi ghats, Volvo buses taking a long 12 hour route via Mysore, and trains not yet started on the newly laid tracks. I was left with the only option of driving down in my Maruti 800.

Friends and relatives suggested routes - Hassan-Belur-Mudigere-Kottigehara-Kalasa-karkala-Udupi and Hassan-Chickmagalur-Sringeri-Agumbe-Hebri-Udupi apart from the usual charmadi ghat route.. The Mudigere - Kottigehara stretch is known to break any car and Agumbe route is longer and steeper. That left the Chickmagalur-Balehonnur-Kalasa route open. We enquired on road condition from Chickmagalur to Kalasa as we knew Kalasa to Udupi was good. We were glad that we took that route as we enjoyed one of our best drives down the ghats.

Having serviced the car, we took a preparatory ride to Mysore and back with wife and kids ( aged 10 and 8 ) for a short sight seeing trip a week before. That helped me a lot - I had the tank filled up full after a few years! , changed to radial tyres and got the suspension serviced again ( 1998, done 22k ). Cruising at 80 - 90km/hr, the car returned with 21 km/lit without any hiccups. I was ready !

Next Sunday, joined by my uncle ( 4 in all ), passed jalahalli circle at 5.00 AM, thru Nelamangala bye pass and turned left onto NH48. Radial tyres had made the drive feel lot smoother as rough patches till Solur ( ~ 50 km ) were made to feel as nothing as compared to a fully inflated normal tyre. Thereon, roads were smooth as silk. Daybreak was at Yediyur ( ~100 km ).

It was surprising not to find any of the buses coming from Mangalore / Udupi side to have passed us - where did they all go ? The only answer probably was - all would have got stuck in the never ending midnight traffic jam in Charmadi ghats !

Passed thru Hassan ( ~185 kms ) at 7.30 am and diverted towards Belur at Thannirbhavi. The Hassan- Belur stretch is something to write about ! 4 lane, cat eyed, proper banking at bends, village boards, well maintained shoulders, smooth road - Kudos to KRDA ! We wished the same road had continued till Chickmagalur ! Belur-Chickmagalur stretch was no way bad but not as good as Hassan-Belur road. One km stretch in Hiremagalur, just before Chickmagalur was pathetic !

Halted at Soundarya Hotel for breakfast ( 8.45 am, ~ 240 km). Having tasted their idly and vada during my previous visit, its truly a place to come back and fill your tummy - good taste, excellent service and comparable to any good eatery in Bangalore. I was though careful - a filled tummy could induce sleep - followed it by extra strong tea !

Took off from Chickmagalur at 9.30 am and hit the road towards Mudigere - the road till Vastare - 8 km from C'lur was BAD ! - oncoming traffic increased, patchy surface and curvy roads dropped the average to 30 km/hr.

It was not to follow - right turn towards Aldur and Balehonnur from Vastare changes all that !
Coffee plantations on either side, winding, smooth and fully shaded roads made driving a pleasure.

Passed Aldur, Bannur, Jennagadde and the last one being Sangameshwarapet ( thru a crowded sunday fair ! ) before the Bhadra river bridge came up before us. A coffee shop just before the bridge was refreshing. We had taken 80 mins to cover the 40 km distance from Vastare to Balehonnur ! - Slow, but enjoyed the greenlands.

Turned left after crossing the bridge ( did not enter balehonnur ) and the road to Magundi from here was narrow, rough for about 7kms and improved thereafter. Promptly turned right towards Kalasa at magundi. The other road from here proceeds towards Kottigehara.

Excellent road took us through Balehole, Kalasa, Samse to Kudremukh Township. Which is the river accompanying us all the way from Magundi to Samse ? A stroll on the old stone bridge accross the river just after Balehole was fascinating !

A forest dept gate on entering Kudremukh National park - we were given a pass ( token ) and instructed not to stop anywhere enroute and pass the gate at the other end within 90 mins. The drive through the National Park is something to be experienced ! We have not seen anything more scenic and green in this part of the state. As such, Kudremukh Township ( after the ban on mining ) was deserted with very few people seen walking and driving. The project town was clean, planned and with most amenities. We were left wondering how the town would have been in its heydays !

Lofty mountains surrounded us as we crossed Lakya dam and Gangamoola exit point and were tempted to stop and stroll down hanumanagundi ( a vantage point overlooking a waterfall ( which one ? ) and surrounding valley ). Not daring to attempt time limit crossing and empty bellies made us continue.

The road turns westwards after being joined by a road from Sringeri ( SH 1 ?) and gently glides down the ghats. It was surprising not to find any major curves or hairpin bends in the ghat section - was it built by BRO for Iron ore lorries from mining area to Mangalore ? Believe me, it just took us 15 mins to go down ! unlike charmadi, shiradi and Agumbe.

In no time, we were in Bajagoli - the other end of National Park ( gate ). Shady roads ended, the typical coastal sun blazed. Took right at a junction before Karkala ( left-mangalore, straight-padubidre ) and took the Karkala byepass. The Kudremukh ranges loomed large and majestic behind us.

Cruised through Hiriyadka, Parkala, up the Manipal hill and down ! - we were in Udupi.

Time : 2.45PM. Distance : 435 km. The Mangalore ( shiradi ) route would have metered 350 + 65 = 415 kms. We felt it was not at all bad to cover 20 km extra with good share of pure oxygen and eye pleasing scenes. The car never even murmered !

Next day ( Monday ), after the function, we drove on NH 17 to Saligrama temples and Malpe beach. The ever busy highway was being patched up near Sasthan - we had to drive a good 5 mts away from the road to avoid huge craters ! - The private buses were unmindful of all around them - as usual.

Tuesday morning saw us pack our bags again as we started back to Bangalore on the same route we had taken on sunday - dared not to attempt any other ! Starting Udupi at 5am, Karkala at 6am, Tea break near Tea estates just before Samse, had a long lunch break at Hassan at 12.30 ( Hotel Ashhok - good stuff ), reached Bangalore at 4pm.

Our gaddi consumed 50 lits for the entire 970 km journey @ 19.4 km/lit. The mileage would have dropped on ghat roads, else it would have been higher.

Distance chart
Bangalore -Nelamangala - NH4 - 29km
Nelamangala - Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Hassan - NH48 - 156 km
Hassan - Belur - Chickmagalur - SH 57 - 55 km
Chickmagalur - Vastare - SH 64 - 8km
Vastare - Aldur - Balehonnur - 40km
Balehonnur - Magundi - 13km
Magundi - Balehole - Kalasa - SH66 - 20km
Kalasa - Samse - Kudremukh - SH66 - 40 km
Kudremukh - Bajagoli - Karkala - NH13 - 50 km
Karkala - Hiriyadka - Parkala - Udupi - SH25A - 25 km

Pardon me for a long log......

Till my next .. happy ridings !

Just heard - Mudigere - Kottigehara stretch is being repaired. If yes, Hasan - Belur - Gonibeedu - Mudigere - Kottigehara - Magundi would be shorter by 15 kms.

Regards,
roamingrao
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[Lukeskywalker]

Very Precise report, thanks for sharing the info on the route. Would it be asking for too much to expect some snaps of the route?
Cheers_Hari.

[snaronikar]

Very neatly written. If you have taken pics, just post them. Also, what was the FE the car returned to you? It is 21 kmpl?

[sushrutha]

WOW Fantastic n precise report.
You have taken one of the very best scenic route of south western ghats.

[Samurai]

Roaming Rao,

That was a very detailed report. Thank you for that, now I have one more route towards Chikmagalur. Looks like you passed by my home in Parkala.

A forest dept gate on entering Kudremukh National park - we were given a pass ( token ) and instructed not to stop anywhere enroute and pass the gate at the other end within 90 mins.

Why is this restriction?

changed to radial tyres and got the suspension serviced again ( 1998, done 22k ).

Initially this part left me confused. In this forum we usually talk about moving from tubetype to tubeless. So you moved from crossply to radial, about time.

[black12rr]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Roaming Rao,

That was a very detailed report. Thank you for that, now I have one more route towards Chikmagalur. Looks like you passed by my home in Parkala.

Why is this restriction?

Initially this part left me confused. In this forum we usually talk about moving from tubetype to tubeless. So you moved from crossply to radial, about time.

Restriction is due to naxal threat and also its a reserved forest range and ppl usually camp or go to trekking there without permission . Once you take the ticket from one check post usually within 2-4 hours you have to be on the other check post and show the ticket .

Did this road few months back and should say it awesome .




@Roa , did you visit the hanuman gudi falls in between these check posts . Its quite good .

[HappyWheels]

Good report Roa.

As mentioned, would love to see some snaps.

Originally Posted by snaronikar

Very neatly written. If you have taken pics, just post them. Also, what was the FE the car returned to you? It is 21 kmpl?

Snaronikar, Roa has given this info:

Originally Posted by roamingrao

...
Our gaddi consumed 50 lits for the entire 970 km journey @ 19.4 km/lit. The mileage would have dropped on ghat roads, else it would have been higher....

Originally Posted by black12rr

Restriction is due to naxal threat and also its a reserved forest range and ppl usually camp or go to trekking there without permission . Once you take the ticket from one check post usually within 2-4 hours you have to be on the other check post and show the ticket ...

What will happen if you do not reach the other end within 4 hrs? I hope they come searching.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

What will happen if you do not reach the other end within 4 hrs? I hope they come searching.

I doubt it. If you exceed 2 hours they will collect fine or bribe. If you don't show up at all, they won't do anything. I doubt they call ahead and inform who is coming, too much to expect from them.

[roamingrao]

A big THANK YOU to all replies.. thats encouraging..

now, I feel like... for not having stopped and taken some snaps.. though i carried one. Prime reason - I could not risk any discomfort / strain to aging backs seated behind me - so rushed thru. Even though they enjoyed every minute of the journey - being seated for 10 hours is slightly harsh. This was also the reason for taking this route - no major bumps - throughout. Snaps, please wait...

I feel - even if / after shiradi opens ( hope so in May.. todays DH newspaper ) I would take this route to venture towards anywhere north of Mangalore or Udupi onwards on NH17...Murdeshwara, Devbagh, or why not, even Goa ? - no or sparse traffic till Udupi, smooth roads and pleasing scenes.

Hi Samurai, - I could again pass your town to reach my village near Kundapura. Earlier used to take Thirthahalli, Hosanagara route. Now, Kalasa ghats is a better option. I've heard of Nethaji Club..

Restrictions issue - Apart from valid reasons mentioned by black12rr, the national park comes under the ' Project tiger ' conservation act and is regarded as a hot spot for bio-deversity conservation by WWF. I guess the restrictions are a part of the measures taken by the dept.

regards,
roamingrao

[Guderian]

Hi Roamingrao,
After so many months of this travelogue, this message may come as a surprise to you...
I had read through this travelogue last year in March (2008), in preparation for a long drive to coastal Karnataka from Mumbai via Banaglore...but ultimately like in the year 2007 I took the NH48-NH17 alternative.
But this year thanks to the advice of friends in Bangalore on the state of the ghats and my own inclination to take a new route...I took the route described by you on 12 March from Bangalore to Udupi...I took a printout of your travelogue as a map and was constantly referring to it.
As I was driving, I was completely relying on the waypoints and directions given here and realised how much it helped, and made the drive an extremely enjoyable one !
Of course the drive was a great one - one of my best, what with all the forest,mountains and streams...and superb roads !
Thanks a lot my friend for having written such an accurate and helpful account !

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Roaming Rao,

Why is this restriction?

Guess lots of animals around, though i dint spot any when i visited. we can see boards telling to watch out for snakes on road. also i dont think post 6pm they wont any traffic.

But this stretch is very scenic esp when heading towards Karkala/Sringeri, the diversion to Sringeri is a very narrow road... at a time a car can go, so one has to be very careful as you cant get out of the road every where.
I took this road very early in the morning and found very few vehicles, esp trucks and matodors..

Early morning is the best time to take this road...

[lohithrao]

Rao a great report...21kmpl WOW!

The route from Hosanagara is also very scenic but the roads are bad esp after H,ngara..

Will never get bored of the Western ghats and beaches, the more you read and see the more you fall in love with it

[roamingrao]

Hi Guderian,

Thank you. It's satisfying to know that the details have helped you in having a good ride. It was as much fun in sharing the details with you than enjoying the trip itself !

Hope you had a good trip !

regards,
Rao

@lohithrao - I share you views.. Western ghats is my idea of paradise !

[deutscheafrikar]

Wow Roamingrao great write up. I am thinking of driving from mumbai - goa - mangalore - Bangalore in May. Maybe I will use your route to Blr since it is so senic.

[Guderian]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

Hi Guderian,

Thank you. It's satisfying to know that the details have helped you in having a good ride. It was as much fun in sharing the details with you than enjoying the trip itself !

Hope you had a good trip !

regards,
Rao

@lohithrao - I share you views.. Western ghats is my idea of paradise !

Hi Rao - The trip/drive was fantastic - one of my best...and an added bonus was a wonderful visit to Belur ChennaKeshava temple where we hoped to spend about 15 minutes and ended up spending more than 1.5 hours !
Hope to write a detailed t'logue with the snaps soon !
Once again - Thanks !