[Kartik Kumar]

Originally Posted by 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?

Both URLs seem to be pointing to the same map showing both routes.
The southern route in the map entering through Veeranahosalli gate of Nagarahole and exiting out of Nanchi gate near Kutta is certainly the better route for wildlife, possibilities of spotting wildlife is much more on this route compared to the extreme northern route which is Hunsur to Gonikoppa. But the road is narrow and conditions are likely to be pretty bad (unless done up lately which I doubt). 20 kmph would be best. I have seen gaur, chital, elephants, langurs, peacocks dancing, etc on this route. If you find the roads very bad, you have the option of taking a right turn about midway and exiting out at Karmadu gate then going to Balele and Ponnampet but roads outside the park are also not that good (much better than in the park though) although very pretty surroundings.

Originally Posted by f9_abs

• Does anyone know what time entrance to Nagarhole opens?

6 AM.

Originally Posted by f9_abs

• 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?

Yes early mornings are the best time. If you are amongst the first few vehicles in when the gate opens, chances of spotting wildlife are more. So staying at Mysore and starting early (say 5 PM start) would be a great idea.

[ajishanand]

A recent video of Makutta ghat (Kerala border to Virajpet, Coorg) in timelapse mode. Video starts from Koottupuzha bridge and ends at Perumbadi check post. There are several twists and turns in this section, while the greenery around is scenic and soothing. Driving on this route during the monsoon season is a refreshing experience. The road is in good condition with a few potholes here and there.

https://youtu.be/BCUxHus8UWI

[ajishanand]

A timelapse video of the picturesque road that connects Coorg (Gonikoppal) to Hunsur via Rajiv Gandhi National park.

https://youtu.be/Wlb7ynQ_jHM

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by ajishanand

A timelapse video of the picturesque road that connects Coorg (Gonikoppal) to Hunsur via Rajiv Gandhi National park.

https://Youtu.be/Wlb7ynQ_jHM

Nice one. Is this GoPro hyper lapse at 2x or regular footage edited into 10 mins? Asking as my hyper lapse experiment was too blurry to enjoy the scenery but I did 3x or 5x don’t remember now.

[ajishanand]

Originally Posted by Ragul

Nice one. Is this GoPro hyper lapse at 2x or regular footage edited into 10 mins? Asking as my hyper lapse experiment was too blurry to enjoy the scenery but I did 3x or 5x don’t remember now.

This is a regular footage from iPhone XR mounted on the windshield and edited as timelapse. I tried hyperlapse once but the images were too blurry (see the below video). My dashcam (70mai a500 plus) gives better clarity on high-speeds than the iPhone.

https://youtu.be/SQcJXQYpa2c

[ninjatalli]

Guys,
Any feedback on the monsoon impact in Coorg? We are planning to head towards Brahmagiri / Wayanad side later this weekend. Any feedback on the road conditions to watch out for would be helpful.

[raiuday]

Hello all,

I will be travelling from Hyderabad to Coorg with my family and planning to take a halt at Mysore on Day 1 before we resume for Madikeri on Day 2.

Request your help in planning the best scenic route from Mysore to Madikeri. I have seen route options on Maps but do not want my family to miss a scenic drive and hence requesting your assistance from your experience. It would be lovely if we can get through some wildlife sightings and I can stretch the drive if needed for the same.

Thanks!

PS: Mods, I have added this query to the Bangalore Coorg route queries as I could not find a separate thread for Mysore to Coorg. Request you to move this to a separate thread if you find this post irrelevant here.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by raiuday

Request your help in planning the best scenic route from Mysore to Madikeri.

The standard and straight forward route to Madikeri from Mysore is as marked below in green, via Hunsur - Kushal Nagar. Anything apart from that is a detour which will be longer. And unfortunately there is no wild life spotting that comes close to stretch. The nearest place for a wild life spotting (Just deer's, not tigers and all) is to go into Nagarhole Wild life Sanctuary and upto a place called Kutta (as marked in blue in below map - take a left from Hunsur, the lowest point in the map is Kutta) and head to Madikeri from there through several hilly terrains. This is a proper forest road which closes post 6pm. Do not expect smooth roads, and if the trip is sometime in near future, then the roads will be bad due to rains that is lashing in this area currently.

So, only if you need an adventurous journey with at least another 2 hours of additional travel, then take that detour else stick to standard route. Standard route also is scenic at places and you can also drop by at Dubare Elephant camp near Kushal Nagar.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by raiuday

Hello all,

I will be travelling from Hyderabad to Coorg with my family and planning to take a halt at Mysore on Day 1 before we resume for Madikeri on Day 2.

.

I am sharing a map with 2 routes, it depends on where you have booked your accommodation. Even otherwise, the distance and time is not much of a difference. More scenic is the one a bit longer one ( 132 KM).
These 2 routes show 2 different sides of Coorg. So worth taking these routes one while you go and one while you return.

[DragonHawk]

Originally Posted by raiuday

Hello all,

I will be travelling from Hyderabad to Coorg with my family and planning to take a halt at Mysore on Day 1 before we resume for Madikeri on Day 2.

Request your help in planning the best scenic route from Mysore to Madikeri. I have seen route options on Maps but do not want my family to miss a scenic drive and hence requesting your assistance from your experience. It would be lovely if we can get through some wildlife sightings and I can stretch the drive if needed for the same.

Given how Kodagu is battered with rains and blockades, I would request you get updated with weather conditions before you leave. Having said that, in the current situation, the default route ie Mysore-Hunsur-Kushalnagar-Madikeri is kind of unaffected and can be considered if you want to stick to the default route. If the situation is favorable then you can consider the route mentioned by balenoed_.

[raiuday]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

The standard and straight forward route to Madikeri from Mysore is as marked below in green, via Hunsur - Kushal Nagar. Anything apart from that is a detour which will be longer. And unfortunately there is no wild life spotting that comes close to stretch. Do not expect smooth roads, and if the trip is sometime in near future, then the roads will be bad due to rains that is lashing in this area currently.

I will be traveling around 12th of August and will definitely look into the weather conditions. Thanks @balenoed_

Originally Posted by thirugata

These 2 routes show 2 different sides of Coorg. So worth taking these routes one while you go and one while you return.

Thanks for the suggestion @thirugata. I actually plan on going to Coorg and later travel to Ooty from there and hence won't be heading back to Mysore from Coorg.

Originally Posted by DragonHawk

Given how Kodagu is battered with rains and blockades, I would request you get updated with weather conditions before you leave. Having said that, in the current situation, the default route ie Mysore-Hunsur-Kushalnagar-Madikeri is kind of unaffected and can be considered if you want to stick to the default route.

Thanks @DragonHawk.

From all the inputs, I would stick to the standard route while going from Mysore to Coorg. Once I reach Coorg, will get to know the conditions around the road through Kutta - Wayanad to Ooty and pick the route through Kutta and Gudalur to Ooty as it covers the forests for a long stretch.

Thanks alot everyone again for your suggestions.

[bht]

Travelled to Coorg over the week end, there was no issues with roads what so ever, but its been raining quite heavy and it things change quite fast in hills, so better to check with locals before travelling.

onwards on 6-Aug : Banaglore->Mysore->Hunsur->Nagarhole Forest-> Gonikpppa->Madikeri.

good roads through out with some bad patches here and there, should be able to manage in any sedan too.



Return 7-Aug : took bisle ghat route after checking with local cab drivers at resort.
Madikeri->Sampaje->Elimane road->Kukke Subramanya->Bisle->Shanivarsanthe-> Arkalgud->Channarayapatna->Bangalore. decent roads througout with some rough patches that can be doable in any car.

there was very dense fog and rain after Bisle till Kudraste.

[johnmraj]

Dear Patrons,
Need a few suggestions. I am planning to leave Bangalore on the 12th around 4pm. Google maps suggests two routes to Kushalnagar.
First one is via : Chennarayapatna-> ArakalGud-> Kushalanagar (4.5 hours + tolls)
Second one is Mysore-> Hunsur-> Kushalanagar (5.5 hours no tolls)

Since I am starting around evening, which would be a better option to take ( I might need to stop for dinner enroute).

[sridhar24]

Has anyone travelled very recently on the above 2 routes via Channarayapatna and via mysore? Are the roads good after these heavy rains or have they taken any beating? I would appreciate any updates.

[vandemanw]

Originally Posted by sridhar24

Has anyone travelled very recently on the above 2 routes via Channarayapatna and via mysore? Are the roads good after these heavy rains or have they taken any beating? I would appreciate any updates.

Travelled Bangalore-Madikeri on August 26. Nelamangala-CR Patna is beautiful with sparse traffic. Till holenarsipura 2 lane Tarmac is ok and traffic sparse as well. After that took the route towards Ramanathapura via Arakalgud. Lots of broken patches after holenarsipura, doable though with any car. SH21 from arkalgud to Ramanathpura is one of the best 2 lane tolled highway stretch I’ve seen with traffic on the higher side. 4-5 kms on either side of Ramanathapura is really bad, with no Tarmac at all for certain stretches and rain making it worse. Took 20 minutes to cross town. After ramnathapuram it’s good 2 lane curvy roads again till madikeri. Will enjoy the drive except Ramanathapura and post holenarsipura sections.