[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by GurulovesFord

But, my question is, I got toll ticket for EC and first I was not sure how I got connected to Magadi Road. I was panicking and checked Maps twice If I have given the correct destination. I got relieved only after seeing Hebbal in the signboard.

Highly unlikely you could get a toll ticket for Ecity and end up at Magadi road exit because, while coming from Mysore, the entrance towards Magadi road and Ecity side are on two different sides. as in the picture below and obviously, the toll operator would not issue a ticket to Ecity when he knows the entrance leads to Magadi/Tumkur road.



The only possibility is you went upto NICE office/ cloverleaf exchange in the direction of Ecity and then google maps for some reason redirected you to the opposite direction at the cloverleaf exchange and you ended up going back to the side you came from.

[GurulovesFord]

Originally Posted by sandsun7

Highly unlikely you could get a toll ticket for Ecity and end up at Magadi road exit because, while coming from Mysore,
=====
opposite direction at the cloverleaf exchange and you ended up going back to the side you came from.

I will go through my dash cam recordings and try to find the route which I have taken. Hope I will get some clarity. Thank you so much

[Altisguy]

This post is to let other fellow travellers know of the issues they might face. I did a drive from Hyderabad to Coimbatore on the Dussera weekend. We were double vaccinated and carried all certificates along with E-Pass which was not checked at a single point right from Hyderabad upto Coimbatore (925kms). After spending the weekend at Coimbatore, we headed out to Ooty on a Monday and had a nice comfy drive. I will cut to the return journey where on the return we thought we would take the Masinagudi route which is more picturesque and shorter. The route was absolutely scenic and had a lot of hairpin bends. Having driven extensively in Himachal and Uttarakhand where I grew up, it was a sort of nostalgia and I was thoroughly and cautiously enjoying the drive. There are a total of 34 hairpin bends approximately and I had crossed 15 of them when I was stopped by a police/forest official who told us only TN registered vehicles were allowed on that road. We tried to request, reason with him but he was very rude and disrespectful and kept yelling at us to go back and on TN registered vehicles. Having driven in much more treacherous terrains it beats me to understand how the road was any less dangerous for someone just because they had a TN registration plate. I saw some KA and KL registered cars come along from the opposite direction and I pointed that to the official who only became more curt and disrespectful. We finally did a U turn and started back to take the Mudumalai road which was lesser picturesque and a longer one. As soon as we crossed Mudumalai and entered Bandipur, we were stopped by another official in khaki. There was no way you would find out whether he was a forest of a police official. He asked us for an RT PCR. We explained to him that we had two vaccinations and also an pass. We also told that nothing was chickened earlier on the onward journey from TS-AP-KN-TN. He would not listen and told us to go back 20 kms and get an RT PCR test done get a report and come back. No amount of request and telling him that we had a senior citizen in the car helped our cause. By this time we realised all he wanted was money and was not bothered about anything else. I would expect the authorities to use checking for Covid documentation in the prevention of the spread of the pandemic rather than some nefarious elements trying to capitalise the situation and harass travellers. After having spent a great week in Coimbatore and Ooty, the attitude of the staff left a bad taste.

This post is more to caution and enlighten other travellers who might be keen on taking the Masinagudi route or might think they have enough if they have a vaccination certificate and e pass. Things might not work out the way you would expect them to even if you did everything that was law abiding.

[Kosfactor]

@Altisguy

Ooty / Nilgiris registered vehicles or those with a Nilgiris pass sticker from the police station or Aadhar card with address in Nilgiris - these are the vehicles that are allowed to go down the Sigur Ghat. All other vehicles are supposed to take Gudalur route - a sign board is kept as well at that junction.

About the COVID screening - Depends on who is at the border and which direction you are traveling , you will be asked for Vaccination certificate, EPass, RT PCR (kids especially) and your vehicle will be checked for all kinds of things from plastic to liquor at Kakkanallah checkpost. Kerala vehicles enter through Kakkanallah to Karnataka and therefore you can expect all kinds of checking there.

This Ghat road is one of the steepest you will ever encounter, you cannot be found for days if your brakes overheat and you fall off the road.

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by Altisguy

This post is more to caution and enlighten other travellers who might be keen on taking the Masinagudi route or might think they have enough if they have a vaccination certificate and e pass. Things might not work out the way you would expect them to even if you did everything that was law abiding.

You can take the Masinagudi route to go up the hill, but coming down has been restricted for as far as I can remember. You probably have the experience to handle it, but a lot of people misjudge the downhill drive and accidents are a regular feature. Also since it is a narrow road, chances of head on collision are higher- again because not everyone has the ghat road driving discipline.

The harassment at the borders especially in the Bandipur,Mudumalai Kerala TN Karnataka checkposts is unfortunately becoming very common now. Hearing multiple reports of bribery and different interpretations of rules. Karnataka has an RTPCR mandate for people coming from Kerala and the Mudumalai Bandipur route is a standard entry for people coming from Kerala also. Ideally in your case, since you were coming from Ooty, it would not have been needed. But the authorities don't bother to try to validate where you are coming from.

[ravib]

@Rajeevraj said it correctly. Non Nilgirils vehicles are not allowed to climb down. Vehicles are allowed only to climb up

FYI for those heading to Ooty. If you are planning for current 5 day till 17th Nov, drop your plans as Nilgiris collector asked not to travel to Nilgiris due to heavy rains and roads are damaged/land slides.

-Ravi

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

You can take the Masinagudi route to go up the hill, but coming down has been restricted for as far as I can remember. You probably have the experience to handle it, but a lot of people misjudge the downhill drive and accidents are a regular feature.

100% agree, I was quite regular on Masinagudi route untill 4 years back, but now I prefer Gudlur road, though sometime I do take Masinagudi route while going to ooty. Most of the outsider don't understand the slope and how to control the vehicle, they seriously lack hill driving discipline, like to give way to uphill traffic, understand the turning radius required for longer vehicles (example SWB state buses, etc.,. No wonder police has put the restriction, which has certainly avoided so many accidents and one should understand the same.

[createrkid]

What's the status with the e-pass and rt pcr requirements? Will travel from Bangalore next week via bandipur-gudulur route.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by createrkid

What's the status with the e-pass and rt pcr requirements? Will travel from Bangalore next week via bandipur-gudulur route.

I have the same question. No clear answer elsewhere so far and we are travelling there from Bangalore on Friday. Any idea?

[hydtraveller]

To enter the Nilgiris you need an E Pass which is auto generated and if you are entering from Bandipur side the T.N checkpost is Kakkanallah. Either a Negative RT-PCR or Double Vaccination certificate would do. They are quite strict at this check post. Your car will be checked for Liquor and Plastic too. I entered from Kotigiri side last week and was not stopped for any checks at all.

[createrkid]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

I have the same question. No clear answer elsewhere so far and we are travelling there from Bangalore on Friday. Any idea?

I'm sitting in ooty as I type this. Entered through the kakkanallah checkpost in bandipur and had my e-pass and final vaccination certificates ready but to my surprise, none were asked. My car was only searched for illegal items and plastic. Was a very smooth affair overall.

[Hayek]

Any updates from recent travellers on the RT PCR requirements here? Presume only those who are not double vaccinated (viz kids) need it. Is there any complication in obtaining the e-pass? How quickly is it issued after you fill the form?

One more question - will be starting early morning on Christmas Day for Coonoor from Bangalore. Google shows the Mandya Mysore Masinagudi route. Is that the best option? Have never used Masinagudi / on my last trip in 2004, went through Gudalur.

[sandsun7]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Google shows the Mandya Mysore Masinagudi route. Is that the best option? Have never used Masinagudi / on my last trip in 2004, went through Gudalur.

For going uphill to Ooty, the Masinagudi route is the shortest and most preferred. However, only Nilgiri registered vehicles are allowed downhill from Ooty to Masinagudi. The ghat road between Masinagudi and Thalaikunda(Sigur/Kalhatty ghat) is very steep with 36 hairpain bends.
For Bangalore-Mysore, you have 2 options-
1. Via Maddur- Mandya which is shorter, but is 'Work in progress' so expect lot of deviations.
2. Via Nelamangala - Bellur cross- Nagamangala- Pandavapura- Srirangapatna which is longer but with beautiful roads all the way.

[CosmicWizard]

Originally Posted by Hayek

Any updates from recent travellers on the RT PCR requirements here? Presume only those who are not double vaccinated (viz kids) need it. Is there any complication in obtaining the e-pass? How quickly is it issued after you fill the form?

One more question - will be starting early morning on Christmas Day for Coonoor from Bangalore. Google shows the Mandya Mysore Masinagudi route. Is that the best option? Have never used Masinagudi / on my last trip in 2004, went through Gudalur.

We went to Ooty from Bangalore end of Nov and there was no RT-PCR requirement for the fully vaccinated. In fact, there was nobody at the checkpoint to even look at the e-pass but that you can get for free instantly after online registration so might as well keep it.

Take the belur-cross to nagamangala route, old mysore road is under construction and a pain to drive. If you are leaving early then Dhruvathare on the way is a popular pitstop for breakfast. You can do a loop by going up via the Masinagudi route (its full of steep hairpin bends and lot of fun to drive) and come back via Gudalur.

[nfsfreak]

Hello Friends -

Planning a trip to Masinagudi from Bangalore on Monday morning (27th Dec 2021). I stay close to Sarjapur and planning to start by around 6-7 AM.

G-Map suggests a route via Anekal, Kanakapura, Malavalli which completely bypasses Mandya option.
https://goo.gl/maps/ZFGrFpQeqfzbWreA7

Any latest updates/suggestions on this stretch?

If this is the best route - any decent options around Kanakapura/Malavalli for breakfast or better to start after breakfast from Bangalore?