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-   -   Bangalore to Chikmagalur - Best Route & Road Status? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/62597-bangalore-chikmagalur-best-route-road-status-14.html)

Hello Folks,

Planning to drive down to Chikmagalur over a weekend. Rough Itinerary is to visit shettihalli church, Halebidu, Belur enroute. I want to know which destination should I choose to visit while going to the city.

Also would appreciate if anyone confirmed the current road conditions till Chikmagalur.

Thanks
Adhiraj

You can make Chikmaglur as base.

On day 1, you do Bangalore Hassan Shettihalli.

Then you drive to Halebidu via Hagare on Belur Road followed by Belur and the settle down at Chikmagalur.

Is this possible In a day? Definitely yes with normal pace and 5am start and ample time to spend at all 3 locations.

Once in Chikmagalur, you can visit rest of the POIs around here : Mullayanagiri, Hirekolale, Bababudangiri etc.

Route conditions: Overall roads are excellent till destination(Chikmagalur). However, Hassan Arakalgud road work in is progress and hence expect bad roads and deviations here to reach Shettihalli. We drove 2 weeks before and roads were bad. Hence, take Hassan Bypass - Huluvagilu option to reach here instead of Arkalgud road


Bangalore Hassan :Excellent 4 lane with good 2 Lane CR Patna bypass.

Hassan Hagare Belur : Good 2 lane roads

Halebidu Belur : Ready and done up now. 16 kms of new roads

Belur Chikmagalur : Good now and they have even widened the narrow section between Bennur Gadi to Magadi Handpost

Chikmagalur Kaimara Mullayanagiri Bababudangiri: Good Roads

Caution : From a friend I heard about bad roads to Kemmannugundi from BB Giri. So avoid this and knock Kemmannugundi off your list in case you are planning.

Also, it's been raining heavily that side. So be prepared for sudden change in road conditions, especially in the hills beyond Chikmagalur.

Where to stay? In Chikmagalur town that has plenty of good to very good hotels now - Grand Krishna, Lotus Botique Hotel, Aadrika etc.

If you want to make it even better, you can opt to choose at any of the homestays too. However, it'd it is a wet climate, you can't relish the nature much from here.

Thanks a lot paragsachania for such a detailed info :thumbs up

My answers in bold below:

You can make Chikmaglur as base.
Plan to Stay over the weekend there

On day 1, you do Bangalore Hassan Shettihalli.
Can we do shettihalli halebidu and then directly go to chikmagalur?

Then you drive to Halebidu via Hagare on Belur Road followed by Belur and the settle down at Chikmagalur.

Wanted to do Belur on return route as evening will be less hot to walk inside the temple compound. Is this a good choice?

Bangalore Hassan :Excellent 4 lane with good 2 Lane CR Patna bypass.
Any good eateries with restrooms?

Where to stay? In Chikmagalur town that has plenty of good to very good hotels now - Grand Krishna, Lotus Botique Hotel, Aadrika etc.

Planning to go and stay in hotel and not homestay for the same reason you mentioned,thanks for the heads up.

Route conditions: Overall roads are excellent till destination(Chikmagalur). However, Hassan Arakalgud road work in is progress and hence expect bad roads and deviations here to reach Shettihalli. We drove 2 weeks before and roads were bad. Hence, take Hassan Bypass - Huluvagilu option to reach here instead of Arkalgud road

Not sure where the hassan bypass exactly is, however Gmap is showing this route which has hAluvagilu as the road. Is this the one you are talking about?

Also for scenic drive, I remember you had pointed out these routes:

1. Mudigere road and Road leading to Mulayanagiri

2.Towards Mudigere after Tholalu/ Towards Arehalli/ Towards Gendehalli

Are there any more scenic route through coffee plantations closer to Chikmagalur town?

Thanks

I am also planning to travel chikmagalur this weekend(28th - 30th July). Initially had plans for Halebidu, Belur en-route. Shettihalli church seems to be a nice place to be added to the itinerary.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shettihalli_Rosary_Church

As per wikipedia, during monsoons, it is partially submerged in water.

Yes, you can do Shettihalli - Hagare (Belur Road)- Halebidu - Belavadi - Kalasapura - Magadi Hand Post - Chikkamagaluru if you want to do Belur on return.

However, doing Halebidu - Belur to reach Chikmagalur will actually take same or little lesser time.

Via Belavadi option, you can as well visit the less famous Veernarayana Temple there.

Yes, this is possible. But the climate is very much bearable for a barefoot walk inside the temple even with no regular rains. I was there last Sunday and we walked all around at 3PM too. So if the "Heat" is the concern, you may want to evaluate your itinerary again.

Shark Food Court
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Cafe Coffee Day - 1
Cafe Coffee Day - 2
Mayura
Upsouth
A2B

Yes. This is the route.

Did I? I do not recollect how I would have related Mudigere road with Mullayanagiri. I am sure I would have said Mudigere Road and road leading to Mullayanagiri.

You head towards Mudigere or Mullayanagiri or Mallandur from Chikmagalur town and within 6-10 kms you will start seeing coffee plantations around the road.

Folks,

Do any of you know whether we can pay the toll charges electronically on the Bangalore Hassan route? Which app or pay portal can be used?

Thanks!

I don't think so. Barring NICE, you will encounter 5 Toll Plazas enroute and none of them as I know (today) have the option to electronically accept payments via Card or PayTM. They did this during the immediate days post demonitization but as of now they must have completely done away with it.

However, all the toll booths are FASTag enabled where your toll charges will be deducted from the FASTag account.

Hi all, I am planning a family trip to Chikmaglur during the Diwali holidays. I know it will be a very crowded time but cant help it.

My broad plan is as below:

Day 1 - Bglor-Nelamangala-Kunigal-Cpatana-Hassan-Halebeedu-Belavadi (Veernarayana temple)-Kalasapura- Magadi-Chikmaglur. Siteseeing stops at Halebidu and Belavdi.
Questions: If we start by 5 am, can we reach Chikmangalur by 4 pm? Hows the road condition on the Hassan-Halebeedu-Belavadi-Kalasapura- Magadi-Chikmglur stretch?

Day 2-3: Around Chikamangalur (Hirekole lake, Mulyangiri, Ayyankere).
Questions: What are the other locations we can do? Is Baba Budangiri doable considering the rainy season?

Day 4: Chikmglur-Belur-Hassan-Cpatana-Nelamangala-Blor. Sightseeing stop at Belur.
Questions? How is the Chikmaglur-Belur road condition? Any other place of interest on the way?

Additional Questions :

Any suggestions and inputs on the above itinerary? Any places that I have missed or I can include to make the trip interesting? How is the rains in this region?

Bangalore - Chikmagalur is at max a 6 hour drive even with a 30 min stop. If its a long weekend, then I would factor in more time which will be lost at toll booths. Roads are all good but do watchout for a few unmarked speed-breakers and sudden appearance of road dividers on the 2L road between Hassan - Chikmagalur.

Why not Belur?
Not sure about this stretch

Here is how you could change your route and include some additional hoysala temples: Hassan - Doddagaddavali - Hagare - Halebedu - Belavadi - Halebedu - Belur - Chikmagalur
https://goo.gl/maps/HKhALPJ48ZC2

More details here

expect heavy traffic at all of these spots that you are thinking of visiting. I have seen long traffic Jams starting right at the check post leading to the Budangiri road and hence I wouldnt recommend it unless you plan to be there very early - 7am ish.

Instead I would suggest that you just put your feet up and enjoy the rain for 1 day and then drive to Sringeri if your family is the religious type or just drive to Deveramane via Mudigere on the 3rd Day.

Rains have been on and off. Did rain quiet heavily in some parts of the hills last week. If you are staying near the town, then rains should not bother you but if you are staying in a remote homestay, then do talk to the hosts and check road conditions.

Please don't!

The entire route from Chikkamagaluru to Bababudangiri / Mullayanagiri / Kemmanagundi will be choc-a-bloc with vehicles on 17th, 18th and most likely on 20th of October too. This is because the whole of Chikkamagaluru and bits of Bengaluru (I am exaggerating a bit) will be descending on the Deviramma betta and temple for the Deepavali pooja. Unless you want to feel nostalgic about Bengaluru traffic, it would be wise not to venture towards these areas as a tourist during this period. The dasara weekend saw cars queueing for up to 3kms before the forest checkpost in Kaimara. The authorities were seen sending back many people in order to facilitate easy movement.

Passing through Hassan will also be a nightmare because of Hasanamba darshan, an annual ritual.

The Hassan-Halebeedu-Belavadi-Kalasapura-Magadi stretch was butter smooth when I drove through parts of it two months ago. Despite the recent rains, it would still be good; or at least not bad.

Hirekolale and Aiyyanakere (about 30km apart) are easily doable. They are a treat to the eyes these days.

Do carry umbrellas, water proof jackets and footwear.

He is planning to cover that on the return leg.

Spot on.

Spoken like a seasoned traveller (which you are!).

Can bypass most of Hassan by using this route

If you havent already blocked accommodation, I would suggest you look for off beat home stays near mudigere or even aldur/balehonnur. This way you wont be dealing with a lot of tourist traffic but still get to go away and enjoy the hills.

I had stayed at Prakruti Homestay near Jayapura a few years back and it was beautiful. Just put you feet up, have good food and enjoy the weather. Added bonus is a trip to the only tea plantation in that area. A few pics just to get you thinking :D

As confirmed by dailydriver, you can take Belavadi - Kalasapura - CKM. Hence I would suggest you stick to Hassan - Doddagaddavali - Halebeedu - Belavadi - CKM. Hagare - Halebeedu was normal 2L with speedbrakers & a few patchy sections. Not sure about current conditions as its rained quiet a bit. Would suggest you stick to normal route to Halebeedu if you are driving a low GC car. Use the route that I shared to bypass Hassan as much as possible.

This one right before the railway tracks exiting from bypass is in horrendous shape. Forget low GC cars, the road here is non existent and if there is a heavy vehicle approaching ahead of you, it can rest on your car due to its shaky movements.

Better to avoid this, and simply take the Mysore road exit, reach Police Station junction and then get out of the city.

Not worth at all!!

(Referring back to status that was 2 weeks before)

Note to Self: Read the question carefully before attempting an answer :).

@paragbhai and procrj, since Sandy28 plans to go to Halebidu directly from Hassan, he needn't take the bypass at all. He can either enter the city via the Dairy circle or Mysore road, reach the Police Station junction and then drive on through Salagame road to reach Halebidu. Alternatively, from the Dairy circle, he can also take the Ring road and join the Salagame road.

That way, the Hasanamba temple rush would be in a different part of the city and hence is unlikely to affect him much.

@Sandy28, the Hassan route is good and fast. No need to consider the Tumkur option at least for this trip.