Back from Goa last evening.
I took the Shimoga route on the way to Goa, because we wanted to visit Jog Falls too. And the Sirsi Haveri route on the way back. And there is no way to decide which one is the better route.
NH 206 from Tumkur to Shimoga has deteriorated since the last time i used it. But still the good part is quite good. NH17 is also not in a good shape. and NH4 between Haveri and Chitradurga robs you of whatever time you gain between Chitradurga and Tumkur.
Anyway, so i started from Bangalore at 4:45 AM and reached Tumkur by 6:15, thanks to trucks on NH4 and the toll booth with the weird toll of 22 rupees, and a coffee break at CCD. From Tumkur, we took NH206.
As we approached Shimoga, the road turned horrible. Yet, the Tumkur - Shimoga distance of 210 odd kms was covered in 3 hours 30 mins. The most time consuming part of the journey was on NH17. Overall, it took us 13 hours to reach our destination, which includes the halt at Jog Falls.
The return journey we made via Sirsi - Haveri - Chitradurga. Although the road was a lot smoother, yet because of the longer distance, it took us same 13 hours. And the return journey had lesser halts as well! The numerous diversions between Haveri and Chitradurga really take away the time one could have gained on the smoother road between Chitradurga and Tumkur.
So, if you want to save time, take the Shimoga route. If you want to surpass your previous top speed, use the Sirsi Haveri route. |