[revvytorques]

Route

Did Coorg-Bangalore yesterday via this route - Madikeri-Somwarpet-Shanivarsante-Arkalgud-Holenarasipur-Channarayapatna-Kunigal-Nelmangala-Bangalore.

Madikeri to Shanivarasanthe has really nice twisty/winding roads, would definitely bring a smile to your face

Overall road quality was good, CR-Patna to Kunigal NH75 has a few diversions but good turf quality even on the service road.

Pitstops

Refuelled at Nayara Energy just before the SH8 turning | https://goo.gl/maps/n2HPXd4GKqyt6X7D7

Halted for light refreshments & coffee at Nandagokula Veg,CR Patna - neat restaurant with good north indian/south indian/chinese options. | https://g.page/nandagokula-pure-veg?share

Lunch at Paakshala @ Yediyur | https://goo.gl/maps/mMuruyjfz8ioggHJ8

Do hydrate yourself with fresh tender coconut water/cucumber/watermelons etc. there are many road-side vendors on Holenarasipur road.

Time Taken

Started at 10 am and reached East Bangalore by 5 pm including 1.5 hour break for food/refuelling/bio-breaks.

[DigitalDragon]

Originally Posted by revvytorques

Route

Did Coorg-Bangalore yesterday via this route - Madikeri-Somwarpet-Shanivarsante-Arkalgud-Holenarasipur-Channarayapatna-Kunigal-Nelmangala-Bangalore.

Madikeri to Shanivarasanthe has really nice twisty/winding roads, would definitely bring a smile to your face

Overall road quality was good, CR-Patna to Kunigal NH75 has a few diversions but good turf quality even on the service road.

How is the road condition between Shanivarasanthe to Arakalgud -Holenarsipra - Channaranyapatna ? I read there are lot of humps in this route in some other forums...as you just did this route, would look forward to hear from you on the same. Will certainly help, we are planning next week actually.

[revvytorques]

Originally Posted by DigitalDragon

How is the road condition between Shanivarasanthe to Arakalgud -Holenarsipra - Channaranyapatna ? I read there are lot of humps in this route in some other forums...as you just did this route, would look forward to hear from you on the same. Will certainly help, we are planning next week actually.

The route does have speedbreakers as the road goes through small towns. However, the turf quality remains good. We did this stretch in 2 hatchbacks and faced no issues.

[showboat]

I am travelling to Kushalnagar tomorrow morning from East Bangalore.

GMaps is recommending Bangalore - CR Patna - Arakalagud - Kushalangar route.

It is not actually taking me to Arakalagud which is what I thought the ideal route was. Instead its showing a route from Holenarasipur to Ramanathpura via interior roads.

Does anyone have any experience with this? Is it recomemended over going through Arakalagud (which if i add as a destination on the way makes the trip 10 min faster).

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by showboat

GMaps is recommending Bangalore - CR Patna - Arakalagud - Kushalangar route.

It is not actually taking me to Arakalagud which is what I thought the ideal route was. Instead its showing a route from Holenarasipur to Ramanathpura via interior roads.

The interior roads from Holenarasipur to Ramanathpura is great except for the work in progress stretch of around 2 km (SH-85) between Basavapatna & Ramanathapura. I'm not sure about the stretch between Ramanathapura to Kushalnagar. I had taken the Ramanathapura - Piriyapatna - Kushalnagar which is a toll road.

Edit: Just observed from your map that the interior road between Holenarasipur - Ramanathapura is slightly different than the one which I had taken last month. I see that it doesn't join SH-85 at Basavapatna but instead joins SH-21. This is the route which I had taken - https://goo.gl/maps/b7ahdsxbsUK7zKLy7

[showboat]

Originally Posted by guyfrmblr

The interior roads from Holenarasipur to Ramanathpura is great except for the work in progress stretch of around 2 km (SH-85) between Basavapatna & Ramanathapura. I'm not sure about the stretch between Ramanathapura to Kushalnagar. I had taken the Ramanathapura - Piriyapatna - Kushalnagar which is a toll road.

Edit: Just observed from your map that the interior road between Holenarasipur - Ramanathapura is slightly different than the one which I had taken last month. I see that it doesn't join SH-85 at Basavapatna but instead joins SH-21. This is the route which I had taken - https://goo.gl/maps/b7ahdsxbsUK7zKLy7

Thanks for the quick reply.

Maybe GM has recommended this route to avoid the Sh-85 road work

Does taking the toll road save time? Or just a better road?
GM shows about 30 min difference. The direct route being faster.

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by showboat

Does taking the toll road save time? Or just a better road?
GM shows about 30 min difference. The direct route being faster.

I haven’t driven on the direct route between Ramanathapura - Kushalnagar anytime, so not sure about that route. Toll toad is good all the way but if the direct route has good tarmac, it makes sense to take it rather than the toll road.

[showboat]

Originally Posted by showboat

Thanks for the quick reply.

Maybe GM has recommended this route to avoid the Sh-85 road work

Does taking the toll road save time? Or just a better road?
GM shows about 30 min difference. The direct route being faster.

I took the road that connects to SH-85. It was a nice single lane road. There was about a 2-3km stretch after getting on SH-85 towards Ramnathapura that was under construction and bumpy.

From Ramnathapura took SH-91 straight to Kushalnagar and it was a good tarmac road. Definitely worth taking over going to Priyapatna. Saves about 25 min.

Total drive time from East Bangalore was 4hr 15min. Started at 6.15AM. Reached at 11.30 with a 1hr stop at Druvathare.

[vsathyap]

Travelled to Coorg last week and had the opportunity to take both routes and see which one was better.

We took the Kanakpura Road-(NICE Road)-Nelamangala-Channarayapatna-Holenarispura-Arakalgudu-Kushalnagar-Madikeri Route while going. As it was a Sunday with lots of functions, we hit heavy traffic right from Nelamangala. It took us a whole 2 hours to reach our breakfast pitstop - Swathi Delicacy. Breakfast and nature breaks took away 45+ minutes due to the mad crowds at the restaurant. After that, it was smooth sailing once we got off the main highway at Channarayapatna. Note that there are multiple deviations on this BLR-Hassan highway as construction is going on and at some places, entire highway turns into a non-divided single carriageway for a few km.

The roads from CR-Patna to Holenarsipura and Arakalgudu are pretty good and one can easily cruise at 60kmph. At some places, you will see broken tarmac, sudden potholes, etc which makes driving at anything above 65kmph a little risky. Add to this, there are multiple villages dotting the entire stretch and non marked speed breakers add to the surprise element.

Roads around Ramanathapura are pretty bad and the surface isnt that great till one touches the Kushalnagara junction. After that, its butter smooth tarmac all the way to Madikeri. Definitely the better route to take if you are planning a trip soon.

Onward Stats

• Total Distance: 276km (as per Gmaps)
• Total Time : 5h 57m
• Total Driving Time: 5h 07min

On the way back, opted for the usual Peryiyapatna-Hunsur-Mysore-Blr route. We chose this as we needed a good reliable lunch stop with clean restrooms and didnt want to settle for any random roadside eatery. This meant we had to get into Mysore city. This stretch is pretty good surface wise, but comes with a LOT of random indisciplined traffic. Driving between Madikeri and Mysore is stressful due to random bikers, 3 wheelers, luggage autos, etc driving very slowly, or suddenly joining the highway.

After a (very) leisurely lunch, got back on the infamous Blr-Mys highway and after a frustrating 4 hour drive, including a 15 min caffeine recharge at Shivalli, reached home after driving through some mad traffic post Bidadi. The sudden heavy rains made matters worse as we approached Kengeri/NICE exit. Mysore highway is no way ready to be inaugurated by Oct '22. It is more probable that the date will be Oct '23 (and I hope I am wrong!)

Return Stats :

• Total Distance: 252km (as per Gmaps)
• Total Time : 8h 05m
• Time spent for Lunch at Mysore/Coffee at Shivalli: 75+15 = 90min
• Total Driving Time: 6h 35min (2.5 hours from Coorg to Mysore and ~4h from Mysore to Blr)

[tc_rides]

Need to go to Virajpet tomorrow. Planning to take

Tin Factory - Neelamangala - Kunigal - Yadiyur - Nagamangala - Hunsur - Virajpet.

Or should I take Yadiyur - Channarayatna - Arakalagud - Piriyapatna - Virajpet?

Pls suggest route based on the road conditions post the rains.

Thanks

[tc_rides]

Took the following route from BLR - Virajpet

A) BLR - Neelamangala - Kunigal - Belur Cross - Nagamangala - Pandavpura - Hunsur - Gonikopa - Virajpet.

Took the following on return

B) Virajpet - Gonikopa - Periyapatna - Arkalagud - CRPatna - Belur Cross - Kunigal - Neelamangala - BLR

Route A is very scenic but it's not toll and doesn't have a great tarmac. Pandavpura stretch is poor for 5 kms. Left BLR at 6.30 AM and reached Virajpet by 1 PM. Hard breakfast at Paakshala, Solur and a tender coconut break at Gonikopa.

Route B has a good tarmac and has an excellent SH21 (toll road) between Periyapatna to Arkalagud. 2kms at Ramanathpura is not great. Arkalagud to Holenarasipur is also a SH and not well maintained. Leaving aside this stretch, the entire route has an excellent tarmac. Bear in mind, this route will take you additional 25-30 mins. No frill lunch option at CR Patna is at Nanda Gokula, pure veg. You will have more option at Yadiyur.

Coorg just poured just that enough amount of rain to make the driving experience pure joy.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by tc_rides

Route B has a good tarmac and has an excellent SH21 (toll road) between Periyapatna to Arkalagud. 2kms at Ramanathpura is not great. Arkalagud to Holenarasipur is also a SH and not well maintained. Leaving aside this stretch, the entire route has an excellent tarmac. Bear in mind, this route will take you additional 25-30 mins. No frill lunch option at CR Patna is at Nanda Gokula, pure veg. You will have more option at Yadiyur.

Sorry did see your earlier query. Another option is: Kunigal-CR Patna-Holenarasipur-KR Nagar-Hunsur-Virajpet.

Route Link

Good roads all the way. You dont need to touch Mysore Road. Holenarasipur-KR Nagar is a part of Mysore-Hassan highway and is a belter (a WIDE 2-lane)

[PaceTraveller]

Considering a trip to Coorg in first/second week of August. The trip will be during weekdays (hence hoping for less than usual traffic).

Aiming to start early morning (around 5/5:30 am) from Bellandur (Outer Ring Road) area and this is the route planning to take (based on responses in this thread from others experiences - Thanks fellow travellers

Bellandur - Nelamangala Toll - Channarayapattana - Holenarasipur - K R Nagar - Hunsur - Piriyapatna - Siddapura, Coorg, Karnataka

Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/FJAgjBTAgP3wJWyo9

I was previously considering the Holenarasipur - Arakalaguda - Ramanathapura - Kushalnagar - Siddapura, Coorg, Karnataka (Google Maps: https://goo.gl/maps/uEd8QKN42m6TSS1s7), but after reading recent experiences of @tc_rides (Thanks for sharing) , I am thinking of skipping the Holenarasipur - Arakalaguda route.

Our aim is peaceful scenic drive (not in a super hurry - aiming to reach by 12:30/1 pm - around lunch time)

Please let us know feedback/thoughts. Also, is it ok to expect clean vegetarian meal options and clean washrooms on this route? Thank you

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by PaceTraveller

Please let us know feedback/thoughts. Also, is it ok to expect clean vegetarian meal options and clean washrooms on this route? Thank you

Absolutely no good restaurants once after you exit the highway (at Channarayapattana) and until you touch the Mysore - Madikeri road (which is Hunsur or Kushal Nagar). So be prepared for that.

A practice that I follow when you have a confusion is, and when you are not in a hurry and ready to explore is, take one route onwards and take the other route for return. Even taking the usual Mysore road is not a bad idea considering the fast paced developments that is happening there.

[f9_abs]

I am planning for a weekend family trip to Coorg in August. I want to go via Nagarhole national park as I recall from my last trip (in 2010) that it was a great experience to drive from middle of the forest and get a glimpse of wildlife which my kid would definitely enjoy. These are the complete trip routes suggested by GMaps:
Option 1: https://goo.gl/maps/8faBamAwr3rJfE9f6
Option 2: https://goo.gl/maps/hmpjHJqNYok7PUKz5

• Which of the two options is better for going via Nagarhole?
• Does anyone know what time entrance to Nagarhole opens?
• Is early morning the best time to pass through Nagarhole? If yes, does it make better sense to drive to Mysore the previous evening and continue to Nagarhole early next morning?
• What are the recommended "must see" places in Coorg? I am thinking of covering Iruppu falls, Tala Kaveri, Bhramagiri hills viewpoint, Abbey Falls and Tibetian Monastery / Golden Temple.
• For return route shown by GMaps, does anyone have recent experience on road conditions and facilities available (e.g. restrooms, restaurants, petrol pumps)? Any better route which you would suggest?

TIA