[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by VindyWheels

Just wanted to confirm the route. While going how is Sakleshpur-Nelyadi-Bantwal-Mulki-Udupi?

I have responded to your PM with details.

[haripg]

Hi Cool Dude,

Can you send me the info for this route as well, planning a BLR-Kollur trip.

Is this better than the Shimoga route?

[vignesh.cv]

Bumping this thread - planning to travel to Kollur over the weekend with family.

The plan is to leave Bangalore early, reach Kollur and stay overnight.
Visit the temple on Sunday morning, have breakfast nearby and return back to Bangalore.

I went through the various threads and thinking of picking one of the two:

Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Ananthapur - Hosanagara - Hosangadi - Siddapur - Kollur

Bangalore - Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Hassan - Belur - Chikmagalur - Agumbe - Halady - Kollur

What would be your recommendation considering
- Road conditions
- A decent place to stop for breakfast & lunch (planning to start from Bangalore by 4:30AM)

[kala]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

Bumping this thread - planning to travel to Kollur over the weekend with family.

The plan is to leave Bangalore early, reach Kollur and stay overnight.
Visit the temple on Sunday morning, have breakfast nearby and return back to Bangalore.

I went through the various threads and thinking of picking one of the two:

Bangalore - Tumkur - Shimoga - Ananthapur - Hosanagara - Hosangadi - Siddapur - Kollur

Bangalore - Kunigal - Channarayapatna - Hassan - Belur - Chikmagalur - Agumbe - Halady - Kollur

What would be your recommendation considering
- Road conditions
- A decent place to stop for breakfast & lunch (planning to start from Bangalore by 4:30AM)

I'm also travelling to Kollur tomorrow morning and have a similar plan except that I'll be returning slightly later since I need to meet someone in Manipal next morning before starting back.

The route I'm taking while going is a mix of the two you outlined : Bangalore-Tumkur-Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Halady-Kollur. Haven't decided which way I'll return. May decide to come back via Karkala / Charmady ghats since Hiriadka-Hebri road is reported to be in bad condition.

Check this thread (starting from the message that I've linked to) for a discussion on possible breakfast places.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post3269152

[kala]

Got back from the Kollur trip last night. Road conditions / Status :

Onward trip : Banashankari-ORR-NH4-Tumkur-Tiptur-Shimoga-Tirthahalli-Agumbe-Someshwara-Halady-Kollur

Did not take the NICE road since I started early in the morning (5AM). Excellent roads upto Shimoga with the exception of one bad stretch of about 1 km just before reaching Tarekere which has huge potholes. Took only 4 hrs 20 minutes to reach Shimoga (289 kms) inclusive of approx 30 minutes of breaks (breakfast at Pai hotel in Tiptur plus 2 stoppages at the two level crossings just after Birur).

NH13 from Shimoga to Agumber via Tirthahalli is also quite decent except for a lot of speed breakers on the way (not the gigantic high mounds, but not too high rumble strips that are about 4-5 meters each wide - uncomfortable nevertheless). The Agumbe ghats have broken roads in the top half of the hairpins section, the second half is quite OK. Shimoga to Someshwara took slightly under 2 hours for 102 kms.

Roads on the Someshwara-Kollur via Halady were rather mixed. Some portions were excellent while some other sections were broken - but nothing too bad if you drive carefully. Could complete the 75 kms stretch in about 1.5 hours. So a total of 466 kms took 7 hours 44 minutes inclusive of breaks of 28 minutes.

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

Return trip : Kollur-Udupi-Manipal-Karkala-Belthangady-Ujjire-Charmady ghats-Mudigere-Belur-Hassan-Bangalore

Kollur-Hemmady was quite decent with a few bad stretches here and there. But NH17 from there on till Kundapur was horrendous - especially the last 2 kms starting from the bridge till you reach Kundapur. Huge craters right across the roads that are near impossible to avoid. (Those 2 kms must have taken at least 10-15 minutes to cross).

Kundapur-Udupi road surface is quite decent but lot of diversions since 4 laning work is going on in the entire stretch.

Took around 1.5 hours to cover the 74 kms from Kollur to Udupi. Spent some time in Udupi / Manipal visiting the Udupi temple and some relatives in Manipal and started only around noon from Manipal.

Since there are multiple options to get from Manipal to Ujjire, wasn't sure which one to take. Ended up choosing the Hiriadka-Karkala-Bajegoli-Guruvayenkere-Belthangadi-Ujjire route. Wasn't too happy with the road surface since it was good roads interspersed with potholed sections, so it was difficult to drive faster than 60-70 kms even on the good roads because one wasn't sure when the next bad section was going to come up (and it invariably did come up as soon as your speed reached close to 70 :( ). The 88 kms from Manipal to Ujjire took 2 hours.

NH234 from Ujjire till midway up the Charmadi ghats is in excellent shape, but the upper half of the ghats, and the section from Kottigehara to Mudigere is just about average (or slightly below average). 51 kms from Ujjire to Mudigere took about 2 hours inclusive of a 25 minute break for lunch in between.

Mudigere to Belur is quite decent and so is the Belur-Hassan road. Had seen reports about roads being very bad inside Belur and Hassan towns, but they weren't really as bad as I expected. The 70 kms from Mudigere to Hassan took about 70 minutes.

NH48 from Hassan to Nelamangala was far worse than what I had anticipated. Yes, you can manage decent speeds, but the traffic was extremely heavy and the driving style seen there reminded me of the mayhem on SH17 on Sunday evenings. Two toll booths before Belur cross were operating in Trial mode (No toll collection, but gates close and open for reach vehicle, so it does slow you down), but the ones after Belur cross and near Nelamangala where they were collecting toll were absolutely packed - same was the case with the Nelamangala toll booth on NH4, so had to spend a total of about 25 minutes in total waiting to pay toll. Traffic on NICE road was relatively light, and there wasn't too much of wait at the toll plaza either. 188 kms from Hassan to NICE road exit on Kanakapura road took only about 3 hours inclusive of the 25 minutes of holdups at toll booths, but the drive was extremely strenuous due to the heavy traffic.

Overall timings : 466 kms done in 11 hours 20 minutes with breaks of approximatekly 2.5 hours. I think returning via Agumbe / Shimoga might have saved at least half an hour if not more.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kala

NH48 from Hassan to Nelamangala was far worse than what I had anticipated. Yes, you can manage decent speeds, but the traffic was extremely heavy and the driving style seen there reminded me of the mayhem on SH17 on Sunday evenings. Two toll booths before Belur cross were operating in Trial mode (No toll collection, but gates close and open for reach vehicle, so it does slow you down), but the ones after Belur cross and near Nelamangala where they were collecting toll were absolutely packed - same was the case with the Nelamangala toll booth on NH4, so had to spend a total of about 25 minutes in total waiting to pay toll.

Wow! Cant believe this part. Queue for tolls on the NH48! It has already come to this ? (Or I am getting to know this much later ? )

[pariwar]

I am planning to do the Bangalore - Kollur - Dharmasthala - Kukke - Bangalore route in the next couple of days. Needed some route advise.

1. Bangalore to Kollur = Bangalore - Shimoga - Agumbe - Halady - Kollur. That's the easy part. Any other better roads?
2. Kollur to Dharmasthala
   1. Google says follow the Agumbe Road (SH27) but it takes a turn to the right before Agumbe to connect with SH65 at Hebri. Any idea how good this road is? The alternate is to go to Someshwara and turn of to SH65/SH1
   2. Once again Google suggests to take a left turn at Kaduhole on to a road called MN New Road going on the periphery of Kudremukh National Park, instead of following SH and then on to Kervashe Road till it reaches SH13 and Bajegoli. Any idea how this road is? What is the best motorable road as an alternative?
   3. After Bajegoli, I have to follow SH37 till Guruvayankere. Once again how is this road?
   4. From then on it is Mangalore - Belthangady Highway upto Ujire, which has been described by some of the previous posts.
   5. At Ujire, I branch off to SH37 which is the Dharmasthala Road. How is that road?
   6. From Dharmasthala, I once again continue on SH37 till Kukke.
   7. What is the best mode of return to Bangalore from there.
3. I am planning to reach Kollur, early evening have darshan and sleep over at Kollur (any decent hotels in the 2k range?). Next day catch a jeep to Kodachadri and on return go to Dharmasthala to reach late evening. Leave Dharamsthala and reach Kukke for an overnight halt. Once again any suggestions on hotels?
4. Next day do Kukke Darshan and leave for Bangalore.

I will be driving a Manza Quadrajet with three passengers.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pariwar

I am planning to do the Bangalore - Kollur - Dharmasthala - Kukke - Bangalore route in the next couple of days. Needed some route advise.

Kollur-Kukke :

Kollur-Halady-Someshwar - Karkala-Bajagoli-Belhthangady-Ujire-Dharmasthala


Dharmasthala-Kukke : Only option via Nelyadi.

Kukke-Bangalore : I dont know how is Kukke-Gundya road You may have to come back to Nelyadi.

[kala]

Can attempt to answer some of the queries.

Originally Posted by pariwar

[*]Bangalore to Kollur = Bangalore - Shimoga - Agumbe - Halady - Kollur. That's the easy part. Any other better roads?

That road is mostly ok till Agumbe except for a stretch of 1 to 2 kms just before Tarikere which has huge craters, and the somewhat flaky Tumkur bypass. Also there are some stretches on the Shimoga - Tirthahally route that is rough and uncomfortable to drive due to speed breaker strips.

Agumbe ghat section has broken roads on the top half, but good from then on. Someshwara-Halady-Kollur is mixed. Lot of rough roads interspersed with good stretches, but doable without issues as long as you aren't driving too fast.

Heard from a friend that the Ayanur-Ripponpet-Hosanagara-Nittur-Kollur route is also OK (It seems the ghat section has been concreted recently and is in good shape). But since he isn't someone who drives regularly (He went with a driver even for that trip), I'm not sure how accurate his definition of "good roads" is. But that route is shorter by about 40-50 kms, so may be a possible alternate option.

[*]Kollur to Dharmasthala
[*]Google says follow the Agumbe Road (SH27) but it takes a turn to the right before Agumbe to connect with SH65 at Hebri. Any idea how good this road is? The alternate is to go to Someshwara and turn of to SH65/SH1
[*]Once again Google suggests to take a left turn at Kaduhole on to a road called MN New Road going on the periphery of Kudremukh National Park, instead of following SH and then on to Kervashe Road till it reaches SH13 and Bajegoli. Any idea how this road is? What is the best motorable road as an alternative?
[*]After Bajegoli, I have to follow SH37 till Guruvayankere. Once again how is this road?
[*]From then on it is Mangalore - Belthangady Highway upto Ujire, which has been described by some of the previous posts.

I travelled from Manipal to Charmadi through some of the above roads. (From Bajegoli till Ujjire). My general impression was that most the state highways in that part of Karnataka are very similar in nature to the Someshwara-Kollur route I described above - partly broken, and partly good. So I suspect you'll find even those other sections (Halady-Hebri-Bajegoli) to be somewhat similar, and you may not find alternates to be too much better either. So I'd go with the shortest option if I were you (Assuming you don't get a specific positive / negative feedback from someone who actually travelled on those routes recently)

But make sure you don't venture going via Kundapura even by mistake. The stretch between Hemmadi and Kundapura is fit for only bulldozers !

[*]At Ujire, I branch off to SH37 which is the Dharmasthala Road. How is that road?
[*]From Dharmasthala, I once again continue on SH37 till Kukke.
[*]What is the best mode of return to Bangalore from there.

No comments here since I haven't driven this stretch lately.

[*]I am planning to reach Kollur, early evening have darshan and sleep over at Kollur (any decent hotels in the 2k range?). Next day catch a jeep to Kodachadri and on return go to Dharmasthala to reach late evening. Leave Dharamsthala and reach Kukke for an overnight halt. Once again any suggestions on hotels?

I stayed in a place called Mookambika Palace. The hotel itself was pretty neat, and A/c double rooms start from 1500+taxes (Comes to about 1750 or so incl. taxes) and are quite spacious. They have a Vasudeva Adigas restaurant downstairs which was also quite neat.

The only downside is that the parking they provide is in an open plot (actually a property where some construction is going on) about 50 feet away from the hotel. So if you're someone who worries about safety too much, you need to take that into account. I've seen good reviews about another hotel named Abimon Residency also, again in the 2K range. I think it's on the other side of the river - but couldn't check it out during my last trip.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by kala

But make sure you don't venture going via Kundapura even by mistake. The stretch between Hemmadi and Kundapura is fit for only bulldozers !

This is the only sad part. How do you drive from Udupi to Kollur in such a case?

[kala]

Originally Posted by ampere

This is the only sad part. How do you drive from Udupi to Kollur in such a case?

Google Maps shows another road from Kundapur - SH52 that leads to the Hulikal ghats (Curiously the road name as per GM is Kundapur-Agumbe highway, but it doesn't seem to go to Agumbe !). One could connect to SH27 from somewhere on this road and get to Kollur on that SH. Have no idea how the roads are, but can't be worse than NH17 for sure !!

[pariwar]

Completed the following circuit in the last three days (1,2,3 Nov). Thank you Ampere & Kala for your route suggestions & recommendations. A small route report follows.
Day 1 -
Segment 1 - Bangalore - Kalasa (Kalaseshwara Temple - Lord Shiva) Bangalore - Nelamangala - Hassan - right after Sakleshpur - Nidagodu - Mudigere - Kotigehara - Kalasa [about 5 kms of the Sakleshpur Nidagodu road is cratered and very poor, rest is fine] A small temple, quick darshan and onwards to the main destination.
Segment 2 - Kalasa - Horanadu (Sri Annapoorneshwari Temple) A straight drive with some pothole patches here and there - [Easy drive] Simple temple food first, seated on the ground and then the darshan. Not too much of a crowd
Segment 3 - Horanadu - Kukke Subramanya Temple Returned to Sakleshpur by the same route (cab drivers suggested we go the Dharmasthala - Ujire, whereas we felt adventurous) and then - Shiradi - Gundya - Kukke. The Gundya - Kukke segment which is in pristine condition, felt like heaven compared to the hell that is Shiradi. Reached fairly late and stayed over in Mahamaya Residency which is an excellent property - Rs. 1500 for a deluxe a/c room. Car washed by one of the hotel attendants for Rs. 100. We did the darshan next morning.
Day 2
Segment 1 - Kukke - Dharmasthala - Kukke - Gundya - SH37 - Dharmasthala. A fairly well done circuit and hence good roads all through other than Shiradi tail end. I see on Google Maps today that there is another route from Kukke to Dharmasthala which is completely SH37, wonder why MMI did not show that! Our first visit and we entered the queue which gives "serpentine" a very clear and definite meaning. Wasted a lot of unavailable time going back and forth in the cage to realize that Special Darshan for a fee was available. Tch! Tch! Lunch near the temple and off we go.
Segment 2 - Dharmasthala - Kateel Sri Durga Parameshwari Temple
Dharmasthala - Ujire - Belthangady - Guruvayankere - Moodabidri - turn to Kateel before Mulki [excellent roads interspersed with some trafficky sections in towns like Ujire, Belthangady etc., could attain consistent speeds of 80 kmph] Excellent temple
Segment 3 - Kateel - Kollur I am a bit hazy on this route because we just asked around and then headed here. Do think that we passed Karkala and then on to Hebri from where we cut across to Halady and on to Kolur. The roads were once again pristine condition and we made excellent headway as far as time is concerned. Stayed at Mookambika Palace - Rs. 3000 for a 3 Bed A/C room - and a sudden downpour put paid to plans of a late evening darshan.
Day 3
Segment 1 - Kollur - Kodachadri - Kollur. After a morning darshan with a huge line (did not learn from previous experience and somewhere in between realized the availability of special darshan and opted for it) and breakfast we caught the Mahindra to Kodachadri and back. Crazy journey but awesome top of the mountain views. Returned to have a quick lunch before
Segment 2 - Kollur - Sringeri. Kollur - Halady - Agumbe - Sringeri Quick drive into Sringeri. Agumbe is documented, Agumbe - Sringeri once again pristine. Quick Darshan at this amazing temple site.
Segment 3 - Sringeri - Shimoga - Bangalore. Drove through an amazing & pristine road to Shimoga (now see that I could have gone to Bhadravathi to catch NH206 instead and saved some time) Road condition from Shimoga is very good and had a pleasant and uneventful drive back home.

[pariwar]

Originally Posted by ampere

This is the only sad part. How do you drive from Udupi to Kollur in such a case?

Checked on this: Udupi - Hiriadka - Hebri - cut across to SH27 here - Halady - Kollur. All turns and crossings have sufficient signage to not get lost. This is an excellent road, reasonably newly laid and the consistent speeds of 70-80 can be done on this sparse traffic route. If you love to drive single carriageway state highways with enough twisties, this will transport you straight to paradise.

[ampere]

Very good updates. Thanks for sharing.

Originally Posted by pariwar

- Ujire, whereas we felt adventurous) and then - Shiradi - Gundya - Kukke. The Gundya - Kukke segment which is in pristine condition, felt like heaven compared to the hell that is Shiradi.

This is good news that Gundya-Kukke is good road.

Segment 1 - Kukke - Dharmasthala[/b] - Kukke - Gundya - SH37 - Dharmasthala. A fairly well done circuit and hence good roads all through other than Shiradi tail end. I see on Google Maps today that there is another route from Kukke to Dharmasthala which is completely SH37, wonder why MMI did not show that!

Actually most take this road only. Surprised that this did not show up. Its the same road which leads you via the Subramanya road railway station.

Originally Posted by pariwar

Checked on this: Udupi - Hiriadka - Hebri - cut across to SH27 here - Halady - Kollur. All turns and crossings have sufficient signage to not get lost. This is an excellent road, reasonably newly laid and the consistent speeds of 70-80 can be done on this sparse traffic route. If you love to drive single carriageway state highways with enough twisties, this will transport you straight to paradise.

Thanks again for this. Will check this out. However won't this be a big detour ? May be one can try to drive till Kundapur and then take the Agumbe road. That would cut SH27 some where.
That would help the bad stretch around Hemmadi. I think thats what @kala would was referring to.

[pariwar]

Originally Posted by ampere

Thanks for sharing.

My pleasure!

Originally Posted by ampere

Thanks again for this. Will check this out. However won't this be a big detour ? May be one can try to drive till Kundapur and then take the Agumbe road. That would cut SH27 some where.
That would help the bad stretch around Hemmadi. I think thats what @kala would was referring to.

I am not so familiar with this route. However, yours was the last comment I saw before embarking on this segment and hence asked a local cab driver on avoiding bad segments around Kundapura and this was his suggestion.