Hi People,
This trip was a consequence of having to attend a marriage of a colleague at Hassan on the weekend of 26-27 April. I decided to take 3 colleagues of mine in my car, a Getz 1.1, while the rest came by hired taxi.
We left to Hassan from Bangalore on Friday evening from our office in Palace road at around 6.30 PM. The Peenya traffic took its toll and by the time we reach the Nelmangala cross, it was 8 PM. Stopped by a dhaba there for a quick dinner and were off towards Hassan on NH48 by 8.30 PM. We reached Hassan just before 11 PM, no stops inbetween. Encountered some lorry traffic on the highway but was overall a smooth drive.
Bookings at a hotel there were already done by the groom and all we had to do was check-in and get to bed soon since we had plans of heading to Sakleshpur early next morning.
Got up and ready by 5 AM the next morning and started towards Sakleshpur. There is a bypass road inside Hassan that leads to the Mangalore highway and it was quite good. Once outside Hassan, the road becomes slightly winding and is very beautiful early in the morning.
The mist and the greenery were captivating and I drove sedately pausing for photo opportunities. We touched Sakleshpur at 6.45 AM and had plans of having breakfast there. Unfortunately the hotel opened only at 7 and we had wait a bit. Once it did, had a nice breakfast of the standard idli-sambar and some good coffee.
We asked the directions to Bisle ghat from the localites and also the condition of the road. There was a viewpoint in Bisle ghat that we were keen to see. Learnt that the distance to the view-point was about 50kms and the road was motorable.
Just outside Sakleshpur we spotted a beautiful estate next to the road and decided to have a peep. Just as we entered we met the estate owner on his way out and he graciously gave us permission to look around. So we spent half an hour in that place admiring the vegetation and misty surroundings. Also had a small photo session with the group and we set off towards Bisle at around 8 AM.
About 6kms after that estate we had to take a left at Donigal to get to Bisle. Until that point we were on the Shiradi ghat road and what a road it was! Had heard the horror stories about Shiradi sometime back and also about its restoration but didnt expect such a good road. After the deviation, the road became slightly narrow but still was in good shape.
Wherever there were Y forks there were boards pointing to Subramanya and we didnt lose our way anywhere. We covered 20kms in good time and then the road started to get from bad to worse. What started as a patched up road started becoming potholed, and soon there was no road at all :Frustrati!! Also, at some places the potholes were just covered with jelly stones and it wasnt gentle on the tires. But there was work going on to improve the road and hope it completes before the monsoon wreaks havoc on it again.
The last 15kms to Bisle viewpoint were the most painful I have ever driven and it took close to an hour to cover it. The road is mostly non-existent and the curves have huge craters. I was lucky not to scrape the underbody anywhere.
We finally reached the viewpoint at 10 AM. There is a board and a gate beside the road indicating the place and a few steps to climb. Once at the top the view is breathtaking. 3 huge mountains are visible in their full glory (doddabetta, pushpagiri/kumaraparvatha & pattabetta). The sound of the wind gushing through the valleys and the thickness of the forests enveloping the mountains made up for the grueling drive. We had another photo session there and left the place by 10.30 AM.
The drive back to Hassan felt better since we knew what kind of road to expect and we were in Hassan by 1 PM. Had lunch at our hotel and took rest for about half an hour.
The plan for the evening was to go to Belur-Halebid temples. We started off at 3.30 PM and reached Belur within 40 minutes. We hired a guide to show us around the temple and its fascinating sculptures. The minute details (of ornaments, expressions etc) that have been rendered in stone is amazing to see. Once done, we took off to Halebid that was another half an hour from there. The temple there was quite similar in architecture and details, though there are incomplete pieces since the people who were building it ran out of time when the invaders came to South India. Spent another hour on a guided tour there and came back to Hassan by 7 PM.
From then on, we embarked on the actual purpose of attending the marriage and went to the reception function. The next day, we attended the marriage and came back to Bengalooru by evening.
The car behaved well throughout the trip. The good GC helped in the Bisle ghat roads. Petrol filled was IOC normal petrol and the mileage came to approximately 17 (with occasional AC).
NMA
Nice photographs, nma83. How old is your GETZ 1.1?
