[procrj]

Originally Posted by gautamal

Hubli-Yellapur-Karwar

How is Yellapur - Karwar stretch. Any idea if Bankapur - Yellapur is good? Gmaps shows a block over bedti river bridge and says will be closed till mar 2020.

[MandarMax]

Originally Posted by pankaj.jain

Any updates on the Anmod ghat route? I heard it was opened unofficially 3-4 days back.
I plan to take that when I leave from Goa on Friday, 1st Nov.
Only other viable option for me is the Chorla ghat, but I would prefer to avoid that unless Anmod is still closed or worse than Chorla.

Yes, it is unofficially open now. I traveled via Anmod ghat from Belgaum to South Goa yesterday. For more information please refer to my post on this thread

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4684674 (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries)

[pankaj.jain]

Originally Posted by pankaj.jain

Any updates on the Anmod ghat route? I heard it was opened unofficially 3-4 days back.

I took the Anmod ghat today. Started at 6.30 am in the morning from Ponda, Goa. The Anmod ghat was quite good, much better than Chorla. Reached home (~Kadugodi) by around 6 pm (with around 2 hours of break)
The suggested route would be Molem - Anmod - Khanapur - Bidi - Kittur - and then connect to the AH 47. I made the mistake of trying out the Khanapur - M K Hubli road, and this section was the worst in the entire journey. Far too many deep potholes, completely filled with water, and narrow roads.
The locals were not recommending the Ramnagara stretch after Anmod as that has a few bad stretches, and the rains have made it all worse.

[gautamal]

Originally Posted by procrj

How is Yellapur - Karwar stretch. Any idea if Bankapur - Yellapur is good? Gmaps shows a block over bedti river bridge and says will be closed till mar 2020.

I drove from Hubli to Yellapur, so no idea about Bankapur -mundagod-Yellapur road. In fact I used this route just once and not comfortable with it due to other reasons (very narrow,deserted etc).
Yellapur to Ankola is good, although there are the usual potholes near Arbail ghat,which are to be expected I guess.

[rohittk]

Took the Anmod ghat route enroute to Candolim. Anmod ghat route is now open and it is a brand new road down to Goa. Barring one big crater, It was actually a breeze descending down.

[procrj]

Drove down to Palolem yesterday via Shimoga - Jog - Honnavar - Karwar. Roads are beautiful all the way to Honnavar but after that, the drive to Karwar in the dark was a very painful experience Unmarked deviations, uneven roads make it a very bad experience post sunset.

[vivek95]

I have updated the latest condition of Chorla ghat--Belgaum road, here in the Mumbai--Pune--Goa thread :- https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route...ml#post4685840 (Mumbai - Pune - Kolhapur - Goa : Route Queries)

[Ertigiat]

Originally Posted by rohittk

Took the Anmod ghat route enroute to Candolim. Anmod ghat route is now open and it is a brand new road down to Goa. Barring one big crater, It was actually a breeze descending down.

Absolutely fantastic news for someone like me who travels often to Belgaum. Thank you for sharing this information.

What was your exact route? Did you travel via Ramnagar? If yes, What is the status of road between Ramnagar and Anmod?

[rajivtelang]

I visited Dharwad over weekend and found that the number of diversions between Chitradurga and Hubli are no less than 26. As per google the distance is 200+ KM so on average you will have one diversion every 7.6KM.
This was a major contributor in travel time so please add another couple of hours in travel time while planning a trip on this route. Each diversion length varies between 300 meters to 3KM depending on how many flyovers are actually covered in that stretch. Buses, slow moving huge trucks and impatient drivers from Bangalore (I keep on watching the registration number when any impatience is shown by a driver, 99% they were Bangalore registered vehicles) will make unnecessary chaos in the diversions adding further delay to cross it. Returning journey was troublesome as usual near Tumkur where a huge inbound traffic will go out of control, just trying to pass the toll booths in hurry and adding more and more delays. It took around 9 hours to reach home. Usually a cool drive takes 7.5 hours for same distance.

[rohittk]

Finished my wonderful Goa vacation and got back to Bangalore at 11:30PM yesterday (Sun, Nov 3). Left my hotel in Candolim at 10AM on Sunday, Nov 3rd. Route taken Candolim -> Bicholim -> Chorla Ghat -> Khanapur -> Kittur -> Dharwad/Hubli bypass -> Devangere -> Chitradurga -> Bangalore.

Chorla Ghat -> Nothing scary but the deteriorated road condition makes you put that much more effort with a lot of gear changes, braking, etc. etc. There was a pretty massive accident on the ghat section between an Honda City and I20. Good that no passenger got majorly hurt/injured. Wasted 30 mins there to get the traffic cleared.

Hubli to Chitradurga -> Again there were a number of diversions between Hubli and Devanagere which made the journey a bit unpleasant especially as i did that stretch post sunset.

Entering Bangalore -> Lot of traffic at the Tumkur Toll and the elevated expressway. I guess a number of Bangaloreans were returning from the their vacations.

I should probably have taken the Anmod ghat section considering it was opened a few days back but I just wanted to explore the Chorla ghat sections as I had taken the newly opened Anmod route while getting into Goa.

Overall, the roads are manageable and adventurous. Keep your eyes on the road, do not over load your vehicle, get it checked before your trip, do not drink and drive and sleep well the night before the trip and you will be just fine :-) I hope the above helps.

[rajivtelang]

Originally Posted by rohittk

Took the Anmod ghat route enroute to Candolim. Anmod ghat route is now open and it is a brand new road down to Goa. Barring one big crater, It was actually a breeze descending down.

How bad is that? Is it on Goa side or Karnataka? Anmod ghat was always having one or two craters historically and one needs to go around it.
I will be traveling in December and this is indeed a fantastic news.

[rohittk]

Originally Posted by rajivtelang

How bad is that? Is it on Goa side or Karnataka? Anmod ghat was always having one or two craters historically and one needs to go around it.
I will be traveling in December and this is indeed a fantastic news.

MODs: Please combine this post with my previous one if possible.

It is big but manageable. I could not spot a car stuck in it :-) It is after you cross the karnataka border.

[diogo]

Originally Posted by rohittk

Took the Anmod ghat route enroute to Candolim. Anmod ghat route is now open and it is a brand new road down to Goa. Barring one big crater, It was actually a breeze descending down.

How did you reach to Anmod considering the Ramnagar to Anmod is still WIP? Did you take Khanapur or the Tadas - Kalaghatgi route?

[procrj]

Drove down to Palolem 1st Nov weekend - updates below

Onward: BLR - Hiriyur - Ajjampura - Tarikere - Shimoga - Honnavara - Karwar - Palolem
Total distance: ~570 kms
Drive time: ~9 hours 25 min

BLR - Hiriyur - Ajjampura - Tarikere - Shimoga: Probably is the best route to Shimoga with beautiful roads. Could easily get to Shimoga in less than 4 hours with a 4.30 am start. Small stretch of road near hosadurga is bad but doable in any vehicle.

Shimoga - Sagara - Talguppa: Very good roads. Drive time ~1 hour

Talguppa - Gerasappa - Honnavara: Overall the road is in great shape as we were able to drive comfortably even in the dark. Well-marked roads with reflectors and road signs. One section of the ghat around Uppooni is bad with potholes and loose gravel, which needs to be driven with care. Drive time ~1 hour 45 min

Honnavara - Karwar - Goa Border: Was a nightmare in the night with a lot of unmarked deviations, sudden deviations/bad section and single side traffic in multiple sections of the road. Would not recommend this section of the road post sunset. Drive time ~2 hours

Goa Border - Palolem: NH66 is good and was a breeze at night without a lot of traffic. Drive time ~40 min

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Return: Palolem - Karwar - Yellapura - Kalaghatgi - Tadas - Shiggaon - Davangere - BLR
Total distance: ~570 kms
Drive time: ~9 hours 20 min

Palolem - Karwar: Good roads till the border. Post that need to negotiate the WIP sections. Drive Time ~1 hour

Karwar - Baleguli - Idgundi - Yellapur: Average to good roads especially after the turnoff at Baleguli. Need to watch out for sections of the roads that have been stripped off by heavy traffic. Artibail ghat section is in bad shape and low GC cars will struggle as there are deep deep ruts along the curves and center of the road is just lumps of tar. Needs care and patience while crossing this section. Drive Time ~1 hour 20 min

Yellapura - Kalaghatgi: Very good roads till you hit Kalaghatgi town. Drive time ~30 min

Kalaghatgi - Tadas: 1.5Lane road with some bad sections while passing through villages. Most of the road is good and very much drivable. Drive time ~30 min

Tadas - Shiggaon: SH1 after Tadas is a beautiful 2L road and before Dhundsi, Gmaps will show a small road as deviation to join the main Hubli - BLR highway. This road is very much drivable and leads through some beautiful fields to the NH. Drive time ~20 min

Shiggaon - DVG - BLR: Known evils of road expansion all the way till Chitradurga ensure that your avg speed is around 60 kmph. Haveri - Chitradurga took about 2 hrs 20 min and was no fun. Thankfully Chitradurga to JAS toll is still good and we were easily able to do the same in little less than 2 hours.

[nareshtrao]

Folks,

Planning a trip to Goa - Cansaulim - ITC Hotel in the last week of Dec. Appreciate advice from those who know this part of Goa on best route to take from Bangalore.

Another question. Is the road motorable by a low slung car? Also please advice on eating joints as travelling with two very young kids and wife.