[Judemayne]

Just back from a longish weekend from Mysore-Ooty and back. Outwards to Mysore-followed the Whitefield-Gunjur-Harohalli-Onto Hosur main rd-U turn to NICE road -Kanakpura-Malvalli-Bannur (SH 33)-Mysore-excellent road with a spot of broken surface between Bannur and the Mysore Ring Road-towards Mysore for about 03 kms. Less traffic and surface being done up-smooth ride. 3.15 hrs from Whitefield to Mysore University-steady drive with about 20 minutes stop. (they are re carpeting the road)

Mysore Ooty-via the Ring Road-Nanjangud-Madhumalai-Masinagudi-Ooty-Wellington (DSSC) -again 3 hrs and 30 minutes-steady drive with 20 minutes halt for tea after Masinagudi. The hairpin bends-36 in all-were easily doable when compared to some in J & K as well as Arunachal Pradesh. All in all good drive up & down.

Would recommend the Kanakpura route to all going to Mysore at least to get away from the umpteen speed-breakers.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Mysore Ooty-via the Ring Road-Nanjangud-Madhumalai-Masinagudi-Ooty-Wellington (DSSC) -again 3 hrs and 30 minutes-steady drive with 20 minutes halt for tea after Masinagudi. The hairpin bends-36 in all-were easily doable when compared to some in J & K as well as Arunachal Pradesh. All in all good drive up & down.

Thanks for the update. How was the first few kms from Thepekadu to Masinagudi?

[kala]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

Outwards to Mysore-followed the Whitefield-Gunjur-Harohalli-Onto Hosur main rd-U turn to NICE road -Kanakpura-Malvalli-Bannur (SH 33)-Mysore-excellent road with a spot of broken surface between Bannur and the Mysore Ring Road-towards Mysore for about 03 kms. Less traffic and surface being done up-smooth ride. 3.15 hrs from Whitefield to Mysore University-steady drive with about 20 minutes stop. (they are re carpeting the road)

Nice to hear that the bad stretches which was for around 8-10 kms on either side of Bannur town around a month back is now down to 3 kms. Hopefully they'll finish the work on that stretch also soon so that this becomes a smooth alternative for SH17.

By the way which way did you return from Ooty ? If you don't need to touch Mysore, Gundlupet-Chamarajanagar-Kollegal-Malavalli is far better than Gundlupet-Nanjangud-Mysore-Bannur-Malavalli (and probably at least 10 kms or so shorter as well)

[Judemayne]

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Originally Posted by coolclouds

Thanks for the update. How was the first few kms from Thepekadu to Masinagudi?

Its the same but highly drive able-the edges are sharp but they have laid mud in fits and starts along the road. the best part was that crossed just two vehicles till Masinagudi and about 4-5 from there till Ooty!

Originally Posted by kala

Nice to hear that the bad stretches which was for around 8-10 kms on either side of Bannur town around a month back is now down to 3 kms. Hopefully they'll finish the work on that stretch also soon so that this becomes a smooth alternative for SH17.

By the way which way did you return from Ooty ? If you don't need to touch Mysore, Gundlupet-Chamarajanagar-Kollegal-Malavalli is far better than Gundlupet-Nanjangud-Mysore-Bannur-Malavalli (and probably at least 10 kms or so shorter as well)

Came back via Mysore-followed the Kanakpura route, as had a quick job there and was pretty surprised to see the amount of surfacing they had completed in the 04 day window between Wednesday and Saturday which made the inward drive far easier. Even the 03-04 km stretch after Bannur towards Mysore was not continuous and so was able to do the journey in the hours as stated initially. What surprised me was the NiceToll gate charges for the same distance (Electronic City 1 entrance and Kanakpura Road exit)-paid Rs 30 while going and Rs 53 on the return leg??? any idea why?

[kala]

Originally Posted by Judemayne

What surprised me was the NiceToll gate charges for the same distance (Electronic City 1 entrance and Kanakpura Road exit)-paid Rs 30 while going and Rs 53 on the return leg??? any idea why?

May be they gave you a ticket for Hosur Road to Bannerghata road by mistake during the onward journey and the gate guys at the KP road exit failed to check it there As far I can recall the total toll amount is something around 50 between KP road and EC. So Rs. 53 sounds like the correct amount..

[NPV]

Folks,
Would this be a good option for a Bangalore-Madikeri drive (peaceful early morning drive and avoid Mysore Road) ?

Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Srirangapatna-Yeliwala-Periyapatna-Kushalnagar-Sunticoppa-Madikeri.

How is the Bannur-Srirangapatna Road (SH79 I think) ?

If the Yeliwala road is bad, is it better to go to Mysore and then proceed towards Hunsur Road ? if so what would be the route from where Bannur Road reaches Mysore city ?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by NPV

Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Srirangapatna-Yeliwala-Periyapatna-Kushalnagar-Sunticoppa-Madikeri.

If you see Kala's post, he said the road via Ranganthittu is gone worse. So no point going there. Its better to take ORR in Mysore.

How is the Bannur-Srirangapatna Road (SH79 I think) ?
If the Yeliwala road is bad, is it better to go to Mysore and then proceed towards Hunsur Road ? if so what would be the route from where Bannur Road reaches Mysore city ?

One section is bad. That is Bannr-Mysore. Effectively back to square one.

[kala]

Originally Posted by NPV

Would this be a good option for a Bangalore-Madikeri drive (peaceful early morning drive and avoid Mysore Road) ?

Bangalore-Kanakapura-Malavalli-Bannur-Srirangapatna-Yeliwala-Periyapatna-Kushalnagar-Sunticoppa-Madikeri.

How is the Bannur-Srirangapatna Road (SH79 I think) ?

If the Yeliwala road is bad, is it better to go to Mysore and then proceed towards Hunsur Road ? if so what would be the route from where Bannur Road reaches Mysore city ?

Yes - If the sections around Bannur have been repaired, this is a very good option for Bangalore Madikeri. However, it is longer by about 15 kms, so if you're travelling in the low traffic period of SH17 (typically early mornings), you may not save any time. (You'll save yourself a bit of the speed breaker irritant, but even the Malavalli-Bannur-Mysore stretch isn't speed-breaker-free entirely, almost every village that you pass has speed breakers on either side)

The Yeliwala road via Ranganathitte is quite bad as of now, but even if it improves I think the SH79 route (Bannur to Baburayanakoppal) would be a bit longer than the Bannur-Mysore Ring road route. Nothing wrong with the SH79 road surface though - it's quite decent except in the first 2-3 kms close to Bannur town.

You don't really need to touch Mysore city even when travelling on Bannur road. About 2-3 kms before you reach Mysore, you can take a right rurn at the ORR junction and continue on ORR till you hit Hunsur road. (You'll cross SH17 after about 4-5 kms at the Columbia Asia Hospital junction)

Originally Posted by ampere

One section is bad. That is Bannr-Mysore. Effectively back to square one.

From what Jude Mayne said, the Bannur-Mysore stretch has been almost fully done up now. Even when I travelled that way last month, only about 7-8 kms centred around Bannur town was bad. The road was quite nice from the point where you cross the Cauvery bridge.

[mohan41]

Looking for information about good restaurants to have lunch on the Mysore- Ooty route (excluding Mysore city). I saw mention of one Khushi Resort (near Gundlupet) in one post. Are there any others?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Looking for information about good restaurants to have lunch on the Mysore- Ooty route (excluding Mysore city). I saw mention of one Khushi Resort (near Gundlupet) in one post. Are there any others?

- Coffee Day at Gundlupet
- JLR Pugmarks at Bandipur

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by mohan41

Looking for information about good restaurants to have lunch on the Mysore- Ooty route (excluding Mysore city). I saw mention of one Khushi Resort (near Gundlupet) in one post. Are there any others?

I found pugmarks too pricey for the quality. MC resorts nearby is more reasonable on the prices. Last time they told us that they have only buffet for lunch but once we walked out they called us back and offered to make a la carte from the menu. There seems to be some new places around Masinagudi but I have not tried them


Deepak

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by ampere

-
- JLR Pugmarks at Bandipur

OT question : Does JLR serve lunch to walk-in guests ? I thought that all the JLR kitchens cater only to the guests who are staying at their property?

[ampere]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

OT question : Does JLR serve lunch to walk-in guests ? I thought that all the JLR kitchens cater only to the guests who are staying at their property?

I have had it once or twice. Once I specifically remember coming from Guruvayur along the Nilambur route and had lunch.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

OT question : Does JLR serve lunch to walk-in guests ? I thought that all the JLR kitchens cater only to the guests who are staying at their property?

Yes, we had lunch during our return from Ooty 2 yrs ago.

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

OT question : Does JLR serve lunch to walk-in guests ? I thought that all the JLR kitchens cater only to the guests who are staying at their property?

Pugmarks is a regular restaurant. Guests eat in the dining hall inside the complex. The problem is that lunch is typically only buffet and that is quite pricey particularly when you are in a big group/