[lodhra]

Hello friends

I am planning to go south for first time as my travels have been always north of country. I am from Mumbai and an medicinal plant researcher. I am planning to do the following route in my Tata safari with my wife

Mumbai - Gorukana [karnataka/ bandipur] - Ooty - Orange county Kabini - Coorg and back to Mumbai

I am leaving on 11th November and wish to return to mumbai on 20th November

I have bookings in Kabini on 15, 16, 17 and I check out on 18th.

I am planning to leave Mumbai on 11th evening and reach Kolhapur /Begaum by night. Next day on 12th I was thinking of reaching Gokurana /bandipur if not that somewher nearby. On 13th stay at Gokurana 14th go to ooty and stay. 15th reach Kabini. In this stay of 15,16,17 i may visit coorg and come come back. On 18th i would depart from mumbai either by the same way or take the Mangalore highway to Goa and then go back

My queries

1> Your tips on where i should stop for fuellng etc
2>I do not wish to enter bangalore city so is there any bypass to Gokurana
3>Can i reach Mysore from Kolhapur/Belgaum if not Gokurana
4>Places I can refuel
5>Roads or places i must avoid
6>any other safety tips or gear to carry with resect to car etc
7>i am planning to get a GPS which one should i go for. [ i am not well versed with kannada language and i hear that sign boards are written in that]



Awaiting your replies

[mayankjha1806]

1. On Day one you could easily get to Belgaum and stay for night.
2. Belgaum to Bandipur is approximately 620 Kms (Google maps) and could be done in 1 day drive. Also there is no need to pass through Bangalore.
3. Ooty - Orange county Kabini to Bandipur is about 90Kms apart. You could do it in possibly 1-2 Hours

Some suggestions
1. Ooty, Bandipur, have a lot of Fuel pumps on the highway, also while exiting Mysore you could fill up fuel.
2. This area is safe, only one needs to be spot on with timing as the forest roads are supposedly closed after 6pm. So while coming from Belgaon to Bandipur there are chances you wont be allowed in Jungle roads. Check with the place you are planning to stay.
3. Yes you can reach Mysore from Belgaum (and if needed stop there or continue to Bandipur).

[Fauji]

Originally Posted by lodhra

Hello friends

I am planning to go south for first time as my travels have been always north of country. I am from Mumbai and an medicinal plant researcher. I am planning to do the following route in my Tata safari with my wife

Mumbai - Gorukana [karnataka/ bandipur] - Ooty - Orange county Kabini - Coorg and back to Mumbai

I am leaving on 11th November and wish to return to mumbai on 20th November

I have bookings in Kabini on 15, 16, 17 and I check out on 18th.

I am planning to leave Mumbai on 11th evening and reach Kolhapur /Begaum by night. Next day on 12th I was thinking of reaching Gokurana /bandipur if not that somewher nearby. On 13th stay at Gokurana 14th go to ooty and stay. 15th reach Kabini. In this stay of 15,16,17 i may visit coorg and come come back. On 18th i would depart from mumbai either by the same way or take the Mangalore highway to Goa and then go back

My queries

1> Your tips on where i should stop for fuellng etc
2>I do not wish to enter bangalore city so is there any bypass to Gokurana
3>Can i reach Mysore from Kolhapur/Belgaum if not Gokurana
4>Places I can refuel
5>Roads or places i must avoid
6>any other safety tips or gear to carry with resect to car etc
7>i am planning to get a GPS which one should i go for. [ i am not well versed with kannada language and i hear that sign boards are written in that]



Awaiting your replies

1. Suggest reach Gorukana - Gorukana is is BR Hills and not Bandipur - straight from Belgaum. No need to stay anywhere else. Enter NICE road - this is a bye pass road in Bangalore - after Nelamangala toll and exit at Kanakapura road exit and drive straight to Gorukana via Kanakapura and Kollegala.
The problem is the forest gate at BR Hills will close by 6 PM and have to be there before that unless Hotel guys keep the forest team informed if that is possible. Bangalore - Belgaum is 6 hours comfortable drive and from Bangalore Gorukana is three and half hours. Thus it will be around 11 hours drive. Work backwards.

2. If you want to reach Mysore, then take Mysore road exit on NICE road. You dont have to enter Bangalore city at all.

3 . From Gorukana to Ooty is is again four hours drive and you can leave Gorukana after Breakfast and reach Ooty by Lunch.

4. From Ooty, Oranage County Kabini is again four hours drive and can reach the place by lunch if you have early breakfast.

5. Same with Kabini to Coorg. Two and half hours driving time.

6. There are many places for refuelling on NH4 and on Bangalore - Mysore road. Dont have to worry.

7. No need for any GPS. A good map of Karnataka will do.

8. Go through the nice thread of "A guide for long drives" in "Route and Travel queries section" and you will get all answers for preparing for long drive.

9. All boards are written in English and Kannada. So dont have to worry.

Dont hesitate to ask if you need any more information.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by lodhra

I am planning to leave Mumbai on 11th evening and reach Kolhapur /Begaum by night. Next day on 12th I was thinking of reaching Gokurana /bandipur if not that somewher nearby. On 13th stay at Gokurana 14th go to ooty and stay. 15th reach Kabini. In this stay of 15,16,17 i may visit coorg and come come back. On 18th i would depart from mumbai either by the same way or take the Mangalore highway to Goa and then go back

My queries

1> Your tips on where i should stop for fuellng etc
2>I do not wish to enter bangalore city so is there any bypass to Gokurana
3>Can i reach Mysore from Kolhapur/Belgaum if not Gokurana
4>Places I can refuel
5>Roads or places i must avoid
6>any other safety tips or gear to carry with resect to car etc
7>i am planning to get a GPS which one should i go for. [ i am not well versed with kannada language and i hear that sign boards are written in that]



Awaiting your replies

You can easily push to Bangalore on Day1.Roads are excellent and in a Safari the fatigue would be very less as well.

Day 2,you could do Bangalore-Bandipur in approx 5hours time at your slowest bet.

Well if its just for signboards,then you dont need a GPS.Roads are well marked in english and kannada.Plus the roads are pretty straight forward.

AFAIK,gorukana falls on the route via Sathymangalam to coimbatore.For this,you divert from Mysore onto T.Narsipur and further onto Gorukana.There are multiple ways to reach the place.Would be a good idea to check with the resort people what is the preferred route at this time of the season especially post monsoons.

[ukderebail]

Please check out the route map wherein it is clearly mentioned that the forest check post will be closed between 6 pm to 6 am. i suggest you take a call to halt at Tumkur ( will be avoiding bangalore ), Ramanagaram or Maddur depending on the timing of your arrival. Next day early morning you can drive to Gorukana.

ACK : Map courtsey Gorukana org

[Fauji]

For more on Gorukana - a nice place - you can look at my TL below

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...lady-luck.html

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by lodhra

I am planning to leave Mumbai on 11th evening and reach Kolhapur /Begaum by night.

Leaving Bombay in the evening after 5 pm means that you stand very poor chances of reaching Belgaum till after midnight, considering the heavy traffic leaving Bombay and also from Pune. I think you should either leave Bombay early morning at 3 am or so for a quick drive - and you can easily reach Bangalore in not more than 15 hours - or else stop over at Satara so taht you get a good night's sleep at least.

On 18th i would depart from mumbai either by the same way or take the Mangalore highway to Goa and then go back

NH17 from Mangalore towards Goa is not in good condition now.

1> Your tips on where i should stop for fuellng etc

Diesel is more expensive in KA than MH, hence top up at Konduskar's pump after crossing Kolhapur city before entering KA. I guess with the Safari's FE and tank capacity, that should reach you near Bangalore.

Lots of fuel pumps en route, but ideally choose to refuel where there are facilities like Upachar Kamar or BPCL Ghar attached - such as the ones after Hubli, Ranebennur, Sira, etc. Ideally, if you top up at Konduskar's, you can stop at fuel pumps on the Tumkur-Bangalore route - the IOC with Upachar Kamat - since NICE Road to bypass Bnagalore does not have any fuel pumps.

3>Can i reach Mysore from Kolhapur/Belgaum if not Gokurana

Easily

6>any other safety tips or gear to carry with resect to car etc

NO human safety issues. However, you will be going on wild life zones with elephant and bison crossings in some places.

7>i am planning to get a GPS which one should i go for. [ i am not well versed with kannada language and i hear that sign boards are written in that]

Not required, signages are excellent, but do your research and get your route plan in place before you depart from Bombay

[lodhra]

Thank you so much friends, From what I decipher from your inputs I have made following conclusions, would like your comments please

1>Since my wife cannot take a off I can leave mumbai by 2-3 pm and try and reach Kolhapur by night [my uncle stays there] on 11th

2>Since from Kolhapur as you have said i can reach Mysore in a day I would try and reach Mysore on 12th or somewhere on outskirts and stay there as even if I reach Gorukana by 5 it would be a waste of booking day with a ultimatum to reach. So I would try and reach Mysore or some other place on the way and leave for Gorukana next day
3>On 13th would reach and stay at Gorukana
4>On 14th leave for ooty and stay at ooty
5>on 15th leave from ooty to Kabini
6>15,16,17 Kabini [bookings done]
7>18th back journey starts same way

Any tips on what I should carry for Safari maintainence , planning to invest in a foot hydraulic jack.
Any specific place i must6 visit enroute

Any tips or something I might be missing

Regardss