[manjunath_c]

Hi All,

I am planning to travel to Dharmastala,Kukke,Horanadu and Sringeri this weekend. I am a little confused about the order in which i need to go for best route plan.

As of 2 months back the road from DSL to Kukke was closed due to heavy rains, dont know its status now.

So to Kukke from DSL will hav to go via Puttur.

My queries are:
1) Wat will be the best route, and which place should i be first visiting leaving BLR ? the plan is to start on sat morning and comeback by sun night.
2) If the regular route from Dharmastala to Kukke is still closed then how to go to Kukke via Puttur. Is it feasible to go to Kukke from BLR via Madikeri, if so wat is the best route ?
3) should i finish Sringeri/Horanadu b4 going to Kukke/DSL or the other way round.

Pls request to help me out if anyone has travelled to these places from Blr by Car or bike

Thanks in advance
Manjunath
Bangalore

[DRC]

My usual once a year trip!
Kukke>> Dharmastala>> Hornad>> Shringeri>> Bangalore

Or the reverse order

Road to Kukke from Gundya cross was closed, hope it is open now. Else, drive(almost) till the point where you have to turn right to DSL, A little about 1/2 kms before that is a left turn which will take you to Kukke. Please enquire before you take this road. There are chances that this road is flooded some times.

DSL to hornad is a most scenic and challenging drive. DSL .Ujire> Charmadi> Kottigehar> Kalasa> hornad.

Or Ujire, Belthangadi, Kudremukh, Kalasa..

Kalasa > Kudremukh sringeri..

This should help

[manjunath_c]

hi DRC,

one thing not clear, so u suggest to go to first kukke,then to DSl, frm ther to Horanad, then to Sringeri, frm Horanad its via Kottigehara-Mudigere to Sringeri right ?? pls confirm ?

also from DSL to Kukke via Puttur is abt 150km odd i heard, so is it good idea to goto Kukke first or DSL first ? me asking tis bcos, if Gundya road is closed, then to Kukke via Puttur can be thru' Mysore-Madikeri is it ? if so plz confirm !!

pls dont bother that i am asking in detail, and thanks for the response neways.

Manjunath
Ford Ikon 2007

[sushrutha]

Take this route.. You'll enjoy everybit of it. I'm suggesting this route coz it's very scenic and also taking into consideration the Sakleshpur to - Gundya road condition.
BLR - HASSAN - BELUR - GONIBEED- MUDIGERE-KOTTIGEHAR- UJIRE-DHARMASTHALA - GUNDYA -KUKKE SUBRAMANYA.
Back to Dharmasthala- UJIRE - GURUVAYANKERE - BAJAGOLI- KUDREMUKH- HORNADU-BASARIKATTE - JAYPURA- SRINGERI- Back to BLR by SRINGERI-JAYAPURA-BALEHONNUR-ALDUR-CHICKMAGALUR-BELUR-HASSAN-BLR.
You will enjoy to the core in this scenic route.

Next Alternate route would be like this

BLR-HASSAN-SAKLEHPUR(horrible route)-GUNDYA-SUBRMANYA- BACK To GUNDYA -DHARMASTHALA-UJIRE - GURUVAYANKERE - BAJAGOLI- KUDREMUKH- HORNADU-BASARIKATTE - JAYPURA- SRINGERI- Back to BLR by SRINGERI-JAYAPURA-BALEHONNUR-ALDUR-CHICKMAGALUR-BELUR-HASSAN-BLR.

shll give the timing details tomorrow

[DRC]

No Problem Dude,
This is How it works... If Gundya cross is open, take that road.. First Kukke. If not continue driving till Kokkada(place where you take right for DSL) A little before that cross take a left turn and drive abou 37 KMs to Kukke. Means.. 27 (or 37) to left Kukke, 22 to right DSL. This is what I did last time when I drove last time.
Care ful, there is bridge that is likely to flood.. enquire locals before proceeding.
Another Option, Drive past the DSL cross about 2 kms, You will find a nursing home (Ashwini nursing home?), you can take a left turn there also. But this road is really bad. I broke my fuel tank here.

No need to go to Puttur.

However, I heard, Mangalore road by itself is non existant now. So broken and un motorable. If so take madikeri road., There you have to go to Puttur.

[manjunath_c]

Thanks alot for the detailed info guys !!!
have just one last query. one of my friends suggested this route. Now plz let me know if this is feasible keeping ur exp in mind !!! (also the current probable road condition) also that i am plng to come back to blr by sun night, starting sat early morning.

blr-hassan-sakleshpur-Donigal (left near Donigal) towards Kukke...Actually i really havent seen this left in my lifetime once having entered the SHiradi Ghat., so need to explore
Then to Dharmastala frm Kukke via Ujire.
Next DSL-Karkala-Sringeri.
From Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu
Lastly From Horanadu-Kottigehara-Mudigere-Chikmagalur-Belur_hassan_BLR

Plz advice on the above, and thanks neways for all ur views.
bye
Manjunath
Ford Ikon 2007

[manjunath_c]

Hi friends,
i just hav one more query, today one of my friends mentioned that just after entering SHiradi ghat, near a place called DONIGAL, u have to take a left which will take u to Kukke. ?? is this right ? i mean i have not noticed this road ever since i hav been travelling on Shiradi Ghat , plz confirm if anyone has used this route, and also is it open at this point of time, bcos i heard that some bridges have been submerged or under repair (same reason due to which the Gundya road is closed).

If so the plan is Blr-Sakleshpur-Donigal-Kukke-Ujire-DSL-Karkala-Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu-Kottigehara-Mudigere-Chickmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Blr.

Pls also suggest if going by this route would it be sufficient to cover in 2 days i.e from Sat early morning start plng to reach blr by sunday night.

Pls advice.
Thanks neways for all your responses.
Manjunath
Ford Ikon Flair 2007

[chandan]

Originally Posted by manjunath_c

Hi Friends,

i just hav one more query, i heard that just after entering SHiradi ghat, near a place called DONIGAL, where u have to take a left which will take u to Kukke. ?? is this road in motorable condition, i mean not submerged right now ??

if anyone has used this route pls let me knw more abt it

the plan is Blr-Sakleshpur-Donigal-Kukke-Ujire-DSL-Karkala-Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu-Kottigehara-Mudigere-Chickmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Blr.

Thanks
Manjunath
Ford Ikon Flair 2007

Manjunath,
Your last route is ideal, but keep in mind,the road conditions range from bad to very bad on the first leg from SKL to Kukke via Bisle.A distance of 73km will take 2.5-3 hrs.In all you will be doing 290km from BLR-Kukke.Instead,take the BLR-Madikeri-Sulya-Kukke...350 km in all, but faster & roads are much better. From Kukke,the road to Gundiya is still closed.Ask for the road to Ballya & you will enter NH 48 close to the turnoff for DSL.The river at one point overflows onto the road but is driveable as the rains have subsided.
The other part of your route is good except for some bad patches around Sringeri-Horanadu & Mudigere.
Have a good trip & drive safe.

[sushrutha]

Originally Posted by manjunath_c

Hi Friends,

i just hav one more query, i heard that just after entering SHiradi ghat, near a place called DONIGAL, where u have to take a left which will take u to Kukke. ?? is this road in motorable condition, i mean not submerged right now ??

if anyone has used this route pls let me knw more abt it

the plan is Blr-Sakleshpur-Donigal-Kukke-Ujire-DSL-Karkala-Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu-Kottigehara-Mudigere-Chickmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Blr.

Thanks
Manjunath
Ford Ikon Flair 2007

I haven't heard about DONIGAL .. are you referring to BISLE .. Heard that's also a feasible route ... u have to take a deviation after sakleshpur to reach Bisle Ghats .. It stratightly leads to Kukke .


-DSL--Ujire-Karkala-Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu-Kottigehara-Mudigere-Chickmagalur-Belur-Hassan-Blr.

I have some changess for this route
But Don't Enter Karkala.... before Karkala .. there's a place called Bajagoli .. there u take a right turn .. which leads to Kudremukha ...
according to ur route plan .. U have a detour --Sringeri-Kottigehara-Horanadu-Kottigehara---- Extra by 50kms
This's also a detour -Mudigere-Chickmagalur-Belur-
instead u can Mudigere-Belur .. Will avoid 40kms.
I'll give u the proper route.. Please follow the below mentioned route
Route is somewhat like this

DHARMASTHALA - UJIRE-GURUVAYANKERE-BAJAGOLI-KUDREMUKH-KALASA-HORNADU-BASARIKATTE-SRINGERI-JAYAPURA-ALDUR-CHICKMAGALUR-BELUR-HASSAN-BLR

[manjunath_c]

Hi shushrutha, thanks alot buddy for detailed info and corrections.

One last query, can u tell me the exact route from Kukke to Dharmastala (alternate route as the route via Gundya is closed). I am assuming i hav to go via Ujire, but need confirmation on this.
Another BHPian has suggested to ask for Ballya ?? need more info on this pls.

Thanks
Manjunath

[manjunath_c]

Thanks Chandan,

Just one query from Kukke to Dharmastala, as the road via Gundya is closed, plz can u suggest the exact route, is it Ballya or Bellara ? i am not sure. and any idea how much time it would take from Kukke to DSL via this route !!!!!!!


Incase I dont find time to go to Sringeri, chances are that Sringeri plan might be dropped. So pls also suggest the shortes route from Horanadu to BLR.
For now i am assuming that it has to be via Kottigehara-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Blr. Pls let me know if i am right



Thanks
Manjunath

[rajagopal_j]

Dude,

I dont know the exact routes to the places you are asking for.

But

Dont even think of taking Shirdi Ghat. I just got back from Goa --> Mangalore --> Bangalore. Mangalore -> Bangy took shirdi ghat. Trust me there is no road to even comment that its good or bad. Plus its raining most of the day and night hence there are landslides etc happening (there was one exactly at 12:00 PM, funny). So that ghat section is not suggested.

[manjunath_c]

Urgent.!!!

Plz can anyone tell me the alternate route from Kukke to Dharmastala apart from Gundya route as it is closed

Pls confirm if its Kukke-Bellare-Puttur-Uppinangadi-Dharmastala

Pls confirm if this is correct if not plz suggest the route from KUKKE to DSL (not via Gundya)

Since i am starting tmrw morning, pls suggest asap.
Thanks guys
Manjunath

[chandan]

Originally Posted by manjunath_c

Urgent.!!!

Plz can anyone tell me the alternate route from Kukke to Dharmastala apart from Gundya route as it is closed

Pls confirm if its Kukke-Bellare-Puttur-Uppinangadi-Dharmastala

Pls confirm if this is correct if not plz suggest the route from KUKKE to DSL (not via Gundya)

Since i am starting tmrw morning, pls suggest asap.
Thanks guys
Manjunath

Nooo,it's not Bellare,it's Ballya on NH 48.If you do Kukke-Bellare-Puttur,it is going to be a long drive & a horrible one at that as the roads are very bad.So,take the route from Kukke to Gundiya,about 10km after,ask for road to Ballya.This will work to 65 odd km to DSL & you should do it in less than 2 hrs.

[manjunath_c]

Hi GUys, my response is late bcos by the time i got the last reply, i had already left

before i start talking abt my trip, i would like to thank at the outset DRC,Sushrutha & Chandan, Guys thanks for all ur inputs, which in one way or the other helped me out a gr8 deal.

My trip went like this, overall about 850 km or so, started on sat morning around 6am frm blr,heavy raining, towards Kukke via Hassan,Sakleshpur and Left near Donigal (towards Bisle ghat) the road is horrible, from that poing Kukke is about 90km, which took me close to 2.5-3 hrs, and in Ikon too at some places the floor was touching the road, infact lose sand and stones... still the ride was enjoyable for the surrounding, weather, cool misty but luckily no rain. Unbelievable that at around 12.30 in the afternoon there was Fog in bisle ghat and the visibility reduced to few 10's of metres.

Then from Kukke i went to DSL via Kadaba-road which touched the Gundiya checkpost, this was the most horrible strech, no road, full of slush, due to heavy rains overnight, and it was like some trekking route, not for 4-wheelers !!! !still it took about 2 hrs for covering about 60km from Kukke to DSL.

Next i halted in DSL on sat night, nxt day left towards Horanad, after talking to locals (also as suggested by Sushrutha) i took the Karkala-Bajagoli-Kudremukh-Kalasa route to Horanadu, which was about 20km more than the Charmadi-Kottigehara-Kalasa route. but guys, this ws the best part of the trip, esp the road inside the Kudremukh National park, it was awesome, smooth road, inspite of the ghats i could reach 90-100km/hr at most parts of the route.on the way saw a falls,(dont know the name but it was beautiful. a dist of about 120km, i covered in just 1.5 hrs or so.

Lastly from Horanad i left towards bLR via Balehonnur-Chickmagalur-Belur_Hassan.

Finally guys thanks for all ur inputs without wich it would have been a little tough for me to sketch the route map. Hoping that in future too i will get such valuable inputs. Thanks again. Bye till next time.

Manjunath
Ford Ikon 2007