[enragz]

I am planning a week long trip covering the following destinations in the given sequence:

Hyderabad-Kolhapur-Ganpatipulle-Tarkali-Goa

Would appreciate inputs on the following:
1. Route from Hyderabad to Kolhapur? What are the latest road conditions and how long would it take?
2. Any recommendation for places to stay in Kolhapur. Nothing extravagant but neat.
3. Recommendations on sightseeing, shopping and food in Kolhapur. For a one day stay
4. Route from Kolhapur to Ganpatipulle. Road conditions ?
5. Sightseeing. stay and food options in Ganpatipulle and then south along the coast.

thanks in advance.

[Figopian]

Places to stay in Kolhapur - Just go straight near the central bus stand and you should find ample hotels for stay. I would recommend following hotels for stay Pearl, Raison Regency, Vrishali, Panchashil, Tourist, International, Opel, Orient Crown, Vrindavan. All hotels are near from the central bus stand and you can easily find your way to Ganapatipule from here. If you are non-vegeterian, you have too many options to eat. There is one place called Tandoor where you can have good food, else stick to Opel for typical Kolhapuri Matan thali.

Sightseeing - Depndes on how much time you want to stay in Kolhapur. In Kolhapur, you could visit Mahalaxmi temple, Rankala lake, New Palace museum, Old Palace, Chandrakant Mandhare Art gallery, etc. If you have some additional time, you could visit Panhala fort as well. In fact you can detour to Panhala on your way to Ganapatipule. It wont take much time.
For shopping, you need to go into the heart of town and depends what you want to shop. Around the Mahalaxmi temple there are ample options for shopping.

Usually, the road to Amba ghat is in good condition except if it rains heavily the road could get closed. The road should be good till Malakapur, again in ghat the road would be good. I guess the only bad stretch would be the NH17 section and then the road near Ganapatipule, though I dont believe anything will be extremely bad, mostly drivable.

You should go to Ganapatipule via Ratnagiri, the road goes along the coast and is very scenic. Around ganapatipule, you can visit Malgund and then you could visit Ratnagiri. In Ratnagiri there are a few places to visit like Bhagwati bandar, Thiba palace. If interested, you could do Pawas as well.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by enragz

Hyderabad-Kolhapur-Ganpatipulle-Tarkali-Goa

Would appreciate inputs on the following:
1. Route from Hyderabad to Kolhapur? What are the latest road conditions and how long would it take?

Hyd-nh9-solapur-mangalwedha-sangole circle-miraj-kolhapur.Hyd Kolhapur can be done in about 9-10hrs.Roads are very average.NH9 is bad after Zaheerabad.http://goo.gl/maps/FPs7k

The other option is Homnabad-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Athani-Miraj-Kolhapur.Almost same distance.but you can avoid the bad sections on NH9.The only suspect section on this sector is the Athani-Miraj road.http://goo.gl/maps/IgN54

Originally Posted by enragz

2. Any recommendation for places to stay in Kolhapur. Nothing extravagant but neat.

Raysons Regency is good.

Originally Posted by enragz

3. Recommendations on sightseeing, shopping and food in Kolhapur. For a one day stay

Figopian has advised all of the

Originally Posted by enragz

4. Route from Kolhapur to Ganpatipulle. Road conditions ?
5. Sightseeing. stay and food options in Ganpatipulle and then south along the coast.

thanks in advance.

Fern COurtyard,Ganpatipule is the best there.They did have an offer of INR3K for double with breakfast.not sure if its still there.http://fernecotel.wordpress.com/2013...e-is-now-open/

[enragz]

Thank you figopian / Ranjitp1
The information you have provided is really helpful.

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hyd-nh9-solapur-mangalwedha-sangole circle-miraj-kolhapur.Hyd Kolhapur can be done in about 9-10hrs.Roads are very average.NH9 is bad after Zaheerabad.http://goo.gl/maps/FPs7k

The other option is Homnabad-Gulbarga-Bijapur-Athani-Miraj-Kolhapur.Almost same distance.but you can avoid the bad sections on NH9.The only suspect section on this sector is the Athani-Miraj road.http://goo.gl/maps/IgN54
Raysons Regency is good.

Which one would you recommend ?
A while back some bridge was under construction near Gulbarg. Has that been completed. I remember someone telling me that due the incomplete bridge the travel time almost increased by an hour !

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by enragz

Thank you figopian / Ranjitp1
The information you have provided is really helpful.



Which one would you recommend ?
A while back some bridge was under construction near Gulbarg. Has that been completed. I remember someone telling me that due the incomplete bridge the travel time almost increased by an hour !

Both routes are more or less the same in terms of quality.That bridge story is almost a year old.I dont have any info about it either,it must have been completed by now.You can take one route going and the other for coming back.I would prefer travelling less by NH9 because of the condition the road is in at the moment.

[enragz]

So here is a report on the road travel for the trip.

Hyderabad > Kolhapur > Ganpatipule > Tarkarli Beach > Amboli Ghat Waterfall > Goa > Wildernest (Chorla Ghat) > Hyderabad

Hyderabad > Kolhapur
check the chart for the route.
- Road from Icrisat to Zaheerabad is manageable with an occassianal bad stretch
- Road around Humnabad is terrible.
- Driving through Sholapur can be slow, plus you would need to ask for directions.
- The road beyond is narror but in decent condition
- Miraj to Kolhapur is broken with lot of traffic.

Stayed at Raysons Regency. A bit pricy and rooms are below average. Bathroom clean but the room wasnt. Restaurant is good and staff is nice.

Visit: MahaLaxmi temple, chappal lane, the lake

Food: Local cuisine at Raysons Regency
Raja Bhaus Bhel, Phadatare's missal pao

Kolhapur to Ganpatipule
- Lot of two wheeler traffic as you head out of Kolhapur. Thins out eventually
- The roads in the ghats is mostly good, with an occassional bad stretch
- the drive is awesome in the ghats

Stayed at Madchaya Banat: average room, family run, about 3.5 kms from gpule. the beach opposite the resort is quiet and nice. Food is pricy and average
visited Abhishek beach resort for dinner: good food.


Ganpatipule to Tarkali Beach
- you have an option of taking the mumbai goa highway or state highway which runs closer to the coast.
- Gpule to Ratanigiri the road runs next to the coast and is a beautiful drive with awesome views. The road is good, narrow at places with light traffic.
- Ratnagiri to Malwan the road is again good with very little traffic.
- There is a 20-25 km long stretch about 30km from Malwan which was quite bad. I think there might be an optional route which you need to check on.
- Malwan to Tarkarli beach is a narrow road with lots of speed breakers

Stayed at Sea Pearl. No beach in monsoons. the water was upto the rock wall. Good room. Nice staff, average food. Arranged for water sports in the river.

checked out the MTDC - Tarkarli Beach resort. Great location. damp rooms.

Tarkarli Beach to Amboli
- Roads medium to bad till you reach the Goa Highway.
- After that the roads are pretty good till you start climbing the ghats
- In the ghats the road is a bit broken

Amboli to Goa
- Bit broken in the ghats
- Once you hit the highway its awesome
- beware of the maharashtra police check post, which will try to fleece you if you dont have all documents in order.

Stayed at Marquis Beach Resort in Candolim. very good location. Great beach. average food. good rooms.

Goa to Wildernest to Hyderabad
- 50 Kms road from Candolim to Chorla Ghats is narrow and has a good amount of traffic. The roads in the early part of the ghats is badly broken at places.
- Remaining road to Belgaum is very good and wide enough.
- Traffic before you enter Belgaum and through Belgaum.
- Belgaum to Bagalkot the road is wide and good. Speed breakers - but manageable
- Bagalkot to Hungund, the road is good, but speed breakers get worse.
- after Hungund you enter and then exit NH 13
- I took SH 20 to lingsugur as i exited from NH13. This is a narrow road and below average condition, speed breakers!
- There is by pass just before you enter Raichur. It has a signboard with direction to hyderabad. The first half of by pass is awesome, but it is incomplete and the detour is a road which connects to the other end of the raichur city. This detour road is badly broken. I would recommed going through the city instead of taking the by pass. Disclaimer: I have not been through the city, but am guess it would not be as bad!
- road between raichur and mahboobnagar is not good in karnataka bit, but begins to get pretty good as you get deeper into AP.
- the drive through mahboobnagar is slow, all the way to NH 7

[prashkul]

Bumping up this thread...

I'm planning for a 1-day pilgrimage to Kolhapur in early October. I'll be driving with family (wife & parents) from Gulbarga.

1. Is Gulbarga-Bijapur-Athani-Miraj-Kolhapur the best route?
2. How much time should be budgeted for the drive?
3. Stay and food options in Kolhapur? We're strict vegetarians.
4. Anything close-by that can be covered during the trip?

[prashkul]

Originally Posted by prashkul

Bumping up this thread...

I'm planning for a 1-day pilgrimage to Kolhapur in early October. I'll be driving with family (wife & parents) from Gulbarga.

1. Is Gulbarga-Bijapur-Athani-Miraj-Kolhapur the best route?
2. How much time should be budgeted for the drive?
3. Stay and food options in Kolhapur? We're strict vegetarians.
4. Anything close-by that can be covered during the trip?

Can someone please help out?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by prashkul

I'm planning for a 1-day pilgrimage to Kolhapur in early October. I'll be driving with family (wife & parents) from Gulbarga.
1. Is Gulbarga-Bijapur-Athani-Miraj-Kolhapur the best route?

Gulbarga-Bijapur is awesome NH218 as per what I know. Then on to Kolhapur via Athani would be just about OK.

2. How much time should be budgeted for the drive?

I would say budget for 7 hours. Till Bijapur you should be able to cover in 2-3 hours. And then another 200 in 4.

3. Stay and food options in Kolhapur? We're strict vegetarians.
4. Anything close-by that can be covered during the trip?

Opal, Rayson's Regency and Skylark are some good places for stay. Places to see: Gokak near Sankeshwar. Its not that close though.

[prashkul]

Just back from the trip, so here is an update on the Gulbarga-Kolhapur route conditions.

Originally Posted by ampere

Gulbarga-Bijapur is awesome NH218 as per what I know. Then on to Kolhapur via Athani would be just about OK.

Gulbarga to Jewargi remains awesome. Jewargi to Bijapur is a mix of average and excellent. Top surface has deteriorated for almost 50% of the route. There is work in progress from almost mid-way towards Bijapur. I hope the top on the first half will also be re-laid at some point.

Originally Posted by ampere

I would say budget for 7 hours. Till Bijapur you should be able to cover in 2-3 hours. And then another 200 in 4.

I did Gulbarga-Bijapur in about 3 hours with a breakfast break at Jewargi. But there on, it was horrible. I was very disappointed with the roads from Bijapur onwards towards Athani till I entered Maharashtra. I was very excited to drive to MH for the first time. Based on road conditions I encountered in Maharashtra, I'll have to say KA roads are excellent. Right from crossing the KA-MH border, to Miraj, and then onto Jaysinghpur & Kolhapur, the roads are horrible to say the least. Entire Miraj-Kolhapur stretch has been dug up for widening. There is no road/tar, just potholes. Border to Miraj was full of potholes. Hope they do good quality work and it finishes soon. Onward journey was completed in 8 hours. On the return leg, we went to Narsoba-Wadi (also called Narasimhawadi & Narsobachi-Wadi) near Jaysinghpur, so it took longer.

Originally Posted by ampere

Opal, Rayson's Regency and Skylark are some good places for stay. Places to see: Gokak near Sankeshwar. Its not that close though.

I checked out Rayson's Regency and Skylark but both had only the suite available which was out of my budget. We stayed at Hotel Vishnupriya Grand, which is adjacent to Skylark. Paid 1200/- for a 4-bed AC room after discounts. Room was good, bathroom ok. We used auto-rickshaw to go to the temple from hotel - charges 50/-.

OT: My car is in the 7th year and it did two new states this year - KL & MH. So, Yay!!

[vartakavi]

Hi Folks. I am planning to drive from Hyderabad to Kolhapur and back over the coming weekend. I see that there are basically two routes, one via Solapur and one via Gulbarga. I have heard that the condition of NH9 is very bad once we cross over into Maharashtra. Any updates on the condition of these two routes? Which one is better is part of the driving is going to be by night?

[vnabhi]

@vartakavi---for night driving, NH9 is a better and safer option. The road from Zaheerabad to Naldurg is a lot better now, per first hand info I got from someone who drove to Pune recently. But I'm not sure of how the road from Solapur to Kolhapur is.

On the Gulbarga route, we already have feedback above that from Bijapur onwards it is horrible.

[Figopian]

I will be driving from Kolhapur to GanapatiPule this weekend. I know I have 2 options, from Hatkhamba, continue on NH17 till Nivali phata and then turn to GanapatiPule AND continue to Ratnagiri and take the coastal road to Ganapatipule. I heard there is a new connection from NH17 which goes to Arey-Warey. Has anyone taken this route? Any guidance on taking this road?

[lordavenger]

Bumping up an old thread -

I will be taking the following trip across the weekend: Hyderabad - Kolhapur - Daman, as part of a longer drive to Delhi!

Could someone please help me out with route options, stay, interesting places, food (I am a strict non-vegetarian) etc? I have never driven along the west coast before, so this is completely new territory for me.

What I understand, I should take the Gulbarga - Jevargi route. But is NH9 really that bad? Also, would there be a problem if I want to cover the Hyd - Kolhapur stretch at night?

Thanks a lot!

[lordavenger]

Apologies for bumping this up. I really need some advice on the above topic. Have come up with nada in my offline queries. Help? Someone?