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There is one toll soon after you exit NH4 for Alnavar and the last number I remember from September was 55 INR.

The stoppage at Railway Crossings won't be too long. Till date, with a 5AM start from Bangalore, I have taken the Anmod route at least thrice every year since 2013 and have never stopped at the crossing waiting for a train to pass. Not even when I drove once through the night.

The Railway crossing(s) should really not be your worry at all. Even if a train passes, you only lose 15 minute at "max".

I took this route last year feb and the stretch till Goa border was broken and rough. Read somewhere that the road has been relaid. Any update ? I will be driving to Ponda next week

Just wondering if it is anywhere close to the Goa roads once i cross the border.

Its 100% clean now including the bad patch. Relaid and marked completely!

Go ahead and take this road and you wont have anything to complain.

This includes the 30 kms patchy section between Ramnagar - Anmod - Goa Border.

As mentioned by Parag Sir, the road is completely re-laid between Ramanagar & Goa border. The road between Hubli & Ramanagar is super smooth (barring flyover work before Alnavar & few speed breakers). A word of caution regarding trucks which carry wooden chips between Dandeli & Goa. Since the road has been re-laid few errant truck drivers try being Nico Rosberg while returning to Goa after delivery :mad:.

Happy Journey & keep driving.

I hope you wanted to say, the 30 kms of patchy section is all re-laid now :)
Not a deal breaker, but patchy road was not very comfortable for me. (Was distracted by the Harley groups that kept me busy due to Bikers week)

The patchy was only 30 kms. Its all done and clean.
Well, it was worse when I drove in September 2015.

This should make you happy?


More here.

VERY VERY HAPPY :thumbs up

Hi All,

I am planning to drive down to Goa from Bangalore next week with my family (wife, child and 2 retired parents). I would need to pass through Belgaum on the way to Goa to attend a friends wedding. I need some help from my fellow BHPians who use this route regularly with a few questions,

1. How is the condition of the Belgaum - Jamboti - Chorla - Sanquelim - Margao road? Would this be the preferred route to Margao?

2. I would be staying in Colva so what is the best route from Sanquelim to Colva so I can avoid the mining trucks if any (I plan to reach around 2:00 pm)?

3. On the return I am planning to use the route Colva - Margao - Sanquelim - Chorla - Jamboti - Khanapur - M K Hubli and the the NH4 all the way to Bangalore, Is this the best option safety, drive and break options wise?

4. I have traveled a few times on these roads but many many years back, are there anything I should keep in mind like Rosberg Truckers and Frenzy Bikers?

5. How long should I estimate the ride to be for each sector [Bangalore - Belgaum - Goa - Bangalore], I am not an aggressive driver usually average 65 - 70 kmph on good roads [reference : Bangalore - Vellore takes me 4 hours approx]

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Kind regards,
Andy

The road conditions remain good to very good. So have no apprehensions there.

Since you want to reach Madgaon from Belgaum, you can safely assume this as the preferred route although you have Khanapur - Anmod - Mollem - Ponda - Madgaon option as well.

Belgaum - Sanquelim - Ponda - Margaon is the route you can stick to although I am not sure on how the Sanquelim to Ponda route conditions are but knowing that roads inside Goa are never bad, this is a better bet.

Take the Sanquelim - Ponda - Colva route. Regarding mining trucks, well its passe'. They don't trouble you much today as mining hasn't really been on brisk of its business since almost 6+ years now. Don't worry much about these trucks.

Not at all! The best one (today) is Colva - Ponda - Mollem - Anmod - Ramnagar - Alnavar - Hubli Bypass - NH4 - Bangalore.

Overall, nothing to worry about. While driving through Chorla, ensure to honk frequently to make your presence felt along curves as roads are clean but narrow. They have installed speedbreakers at many locations to slow the Rossis and Hamiltons now but make sure you stick to the left always.

Bangalore - Belgaum will be 6.5- 7 hours affair with all your breaks and average style of driving (cruising at 100-110 KMPH)

Belgaum crossing would take at least 45 minutes and Colva would be around 2.5 - 3 hours after this. Hence, Budget at 9.5-11 hours at max for this entire driving/riding.

You can refer to this post for break-points till Belgaum.

Between Belgaum and Sanquelim, there is Wildernest Resort at Chorla. They serve buffet, call them up and confirm if you want to take a break here. Else you always have Sankam and Ramdev inside Belgaum city anyway.

When you head back to Bangalore from Colva, there is Dudhsagar Spa Resort soon after you take the Goa Exit Toll on the right hand side. A good option to break here as there won't be any good options from here till you reach NH4 with the first one being Kamat after Hubli which is around 140 kms and an easy 2.5 hours from this resort.

Dudhsagar Spa Resort to Kamat.

For SOS, you can rely on fuel stations between these 2 points.

Hope this helps.

Since you are travelling from Belgaum towards south Goa (Margao) I would recommend you to avoid this route. I am frequent traveler on Belgaum - Margao route & I would recommend you to take Belgaum - Khanapur - Anmod - Mollem - Ponda - Margao - Colva route. Reason would be wider roads and lesser time required to reach your destination.

Again there are 2 options to reach Anmod from Khanapur.

Option 1 - Khanapur - Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary - Anmod. Narrow but fairly good roads. Distance is reduced by at least 20 kms in case you take this route. You can not do aggressive driving on this route.

Option 2 - Khanapur - Ramanagar - Anmod. It is THE NH4-A. Recently relaid road. You can easily maintain 80-90 Kmph through out journey.

Trust Parag sir has put all your remaining queries to rest. :)

My 2 cent update with respect to my visit to Ponda and back. I started from my place Yeshwanthpur at 9.15 AM on Saturday and reached 4.45 PM (yes its 4.45 PM under 8 hours :) ) to Ponda with one stop for Lunch @Kamat Ranebennur.
The entire stretch of NH 4 and NH 4-A was a bliss to drive and especially the new laid tarmac on NH 4-A with twisty and winding roads.The Ghat section was beautiful but got really annoying after sometime as heavy vehicles where holding lot of traffic

Note:- One can easily maintain 80Kmph on NH4-A but beware of oncoming traffic at corners and also speed breakers at many villages.

We started back from Ponda @2.30 PM on a Monday and returned home by 10.30 PM with one break at same place as above.

Following are the updated toll charges one side on the way you would encounter if you take NH4 and NH4-A to Goa

• Elevated Tumkur Road 20/-
• Nelamangala 34/-
• Tumkur 0/-
• Karjeevanahally 75/-
• Guilalu 60/-
• Hebbalu 75/-
• Chalageri 100/-
• Bankapur 70/-
• Hubli Bypass 55/-
• Dharwad-Ramnagar 55/-
• Mollem Goa Entry 250/-

Atleast petrolheads can recover the cost of Goa entry fee by tanking up in Goa. There are many on the way to Ponda from Mollem

Hi all,

Many thanks to paragsachania you are the man. Very clear and helpful answers. Really appreciate it.

Ertigiat and vin_b thanks for your additions as well, all useful information.

I will try an post some pics and more info on the road conditions once I am back from my trip.

One last question, on the route to Goa from Belgaum and return from Goa to Bangalore does one usually spot any wildlife?

Kind regards,
Andy

If you are lucky, well yes.

There have been cases where travelers have spotted wildlife on Chorla as well as Anmod (NH4A) Ghats but don't compare this to the wildlife spotting to down south in the Mudumalai/Bandipur Range.

The frequency of spotting on the route you will take will be almost negligible.

Question to Parag and other route experts here

Planning to start from ponda around 9am to Bangalore. What can be the food breaks?

I will start After breakfast so lunch around 12-12:30 will do

Kamat at ranibennur might be a stretch. So any thing before that with clean toilets ?

There is a Kamat right after Hubli bypass. And that is on your side while you drive towards Bangalore. (About 15km after the bypass).