[procrj]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

What do you guys suggest ? Any other alternatives ?

With a 5 am start from Whitefield, you can expect to reach Yeshwanthpur Taj junction by about 5.45-6.00 am. Post which you will have only 1 toll before the Nelamangala left turn. IMO, you would be better of taking usual route if you are thinking about optimising time. If you want to explore, then Magadi - Gudemaranahalli - Kunigal would be good.

Also do note that Hassan - Sakleshpur is not great, hence you might want to take Belur - Mudigere route for peace of mind

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by procrj

With a 5 am start from Whitefield,

Right sir! 5 AM start is me being optimistic with 3 cars and 2 bikes in the group! But Yes, leaving early is absolutely critical and then there is no need for all this circus.

Originally Posted by procrj

Also do note that Hassan - Sakleshpur is not great, hence you might want to take Belur - Mudigere route for peace of mind

Thank you !

Had few more queries. Thought I will post it in the appropriate thread. Just taking the liberty to ask here -
- How far is the deviation to Yagachi dam on this route ?
- If I look at the map, there are so many things to do around Mudigere! like Devaramane, Ethina Bhuja trek, drive around Charmadi etc But we have just 2 nights there. What are the must do things in and around Mudigere at this time ?
- Being a fan of Tejaswi, I was curious to see the surroundings around his house that he so nicely describes in his books. Is there a memorial/museum about him just like Kuppalli ?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

We are heading to Mudigere on this Good Friday weekend. Our plan is to start by 5-5.30.

I still think taking the Outer Ring road all the way via Hebbal to Goreguntepalya makes sense. The alternative route might not be a time saver at this time of the day to be honest. So please stick to the regular city route.

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

- How far is the deviation to Yagachi dam on this route ?

Your destination is Mudigere. You have 2 choices from Hassan:

• Hassan - Hagare - Belur - Cheeknahalli - Jannapura - Mudigere
• Hassan - Ballupet - Sakleshpur - Anemahal - Hanbal - Jannapura - Mudigere

Between the 2, given the current state of Hassan-Sakleshpur roads and the traffic on extended weekend, you consider taking the first option via Belur to Mudigere. Roads are good end to end.

Regarding your query on Yagachi Dam, remember that if your destination is Mudigere, you will have to cross Belur from one end to another fully to be on Mudigere Road. But Yagachi Dam is on Chikmagalur road. The Location to the dam is less than 2 minutes detour from the entry point to Belur (Nehru Nagar Circle). So it is not a long or time consuming detour anyway even if you want to come back.

But if you also want to visit the Yagachi River Sports, this will be around 8-10 minutes away from Nehru Nagar Circle.

- If I look at the map, there are so many things to do around Mudigere! like Devaramane, Ethina Bhuja trek, drive around Charmadi etc But we have just 2 nights there. What are the must do things in and around Mudigere at this time ?

Devaramane is a must. Another interesting POI between Belur and Mudigere is Adi Subhramanya Temple at Agrahara on the bank of River Hemavathi.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

.

A DVG fan?

Devaramane, Ethina Bhuja trek, drive around Charmadi etc But we have just 2 nights there. What are the must do things in and around Mudigere at this time?

Its summer sir; the Sun God isn't showing any mercy. If you plan on summitting Ettina Bhuja, better have an early start. That said, there were talks of occasional Elephant movement in the area, so better enquire and then embark.

Devaramane can done easily by car. It is a rewarding experience to stand on top and just keep looking around.

Another place of interest is Ballalarayana Durga.

Being a fan of Tejaswi, I was curious to see the surroundings around his house that he so nicely describes in his books. Is there a memorial/museum about him just like Kuppalli ?

I was scrolling through Jugari Cross just before reading your query here .

There are actually two places:

First is his own house and estate - Niruttara (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vbMPFtZ6kWHheHQF9). You can go there, walk around, see his collection of books and photographs. His wife is generally happy to receive true connoisseurs of Tejaswi's life and works.

The second, a more recent addition is a memorial built a kilometre after Kottigehara - towards Charmadi. It is not much, but you can find books written by and on him being offered for sale at a discount. On weekend evenings, interesting interactions on a pre - selected book can also be witnessed (available live on Facebook too).

Goes by the name Tejaswi Pratishtana and is located immediately after this eatery.

https://maps.app.goo.gl/8a5zcp7wMnBw4bhM7

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

A DVG fan?

Yes! Yes!!

Originally Posted by dailydriver

I was scrolling through Jugari Cross just before reading your query here .

Wow! what a coincidence! Nice to meet another Tejaswi fan here. His books are always refreshing to read, isnt it ??

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Its summer sir; the Sun God isn't showing any mercy.

Ettina Bhuja... occasional Elephant movement..

Devaramane can done easily by car.

Another place of interest is Ballalarayana Durga.

Thank you so much for these pointers !!

Originally Posted by dailydriver

First is his own house and estate - Niruttara (https://maps.app.goo.gl/vbMPFtZ6kWHheHQF9).

Ah yes! Niruttara!! what a beautiful name !!

Originally Posted by dailydriver

Goes by the name Tejaswi Pratishtana and is located immediately after this eatery.

Exactly the info that I was looking for ! Thanks again for providing these details.
The choice of Mudigere was partly due to avoid Chikmagalur crowds, but also my innate desire to see the Mudigere that I had vividly imagined reading Tejaswi's novels!

Request to Moderators : Sorry for going OT on this thread. But lots of useful info on Mudigere here. Please merge last few posts to the Chikmagalur route query thread where it will be more beneficial for future travellers.

[dailydriver]

Originally Posted by mankuthimma

The choice of Mudigere was partly due to avoid Chikmagalur crowds, but also my innate desire to see the Mudigere that I had vividly imagined reading Tejaswi's novels

A visit to Tejaswi Pratishtana tomorrow evening will allow you to enjoy this:

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by dailydriver

A visit to Tejaswi Pratishtana tomorrow evening will allow you to enjoy this:

It would have been nice to watch this play! but we came back last evening itself. And also, I couldnt do any of the Tejaswi related things that I wanted. With a large group, group dynamics took preference than individual passion. But, there is always a next time!

Here is a brief update of our trip:
We started at 5.30 am on Friday from Whitefield. Had to do a pickup in Indiranagar on the way. So drove through the city instead of the ring road. Managed to cross Lanco Devihalli Toll plaza on Mangalore Highway by 7 AM, our meeting point for all the groups. We had packed breakfast from home, so could avoid the crazy crowds at popular eateries on the way. Had breakfast break by the roadside near Bellur cross and later a brief stopover at Yagachi Dam. Reached Mudigere by 12 noon.



The best roads to enjoy driving were the winding roads between Belur - Mudigere , Mudigere - Devaramane and Mudigere - Sakleshpur routes.



Devaramane was the best part of the trip and the views were simply breathtaking! What a location!!



Since the groups preference was to get into the water, we did a short ride to Magajahalli Falls on the Sakleshpur route to play in the gentle flowing river downstream.



Sad to see the amount of junk even in these places. If only the crowd can discard the waste in sensible manner and keep the environment clean.

Rest of the time was spent soaking up the environment in the plantation around the homestay.



We took the same route for the return journey. Yesterday, started at 11 AM from Mudigere and reached Whitefield by 4.30 PM. We couldnt pack lunch, took a chance to stop for an early lunch at Anagha Grand in the opposite direction. This helped to beat 100s of cars parked at various other restaurants on the way.

Traffic was heavy as expected all along the highway. Fastag did reduce the wait time at Toll plazas, with just 4-5 vehicles infront of us most of the time. But it was not seamless as most of the them were manually operated, esp the one at Shantigrama Toll Plaza was the slowest both onward and return journey.

Overall, we had a pleasant and refreshing stay at Mudigere, albeit a short one. It is a charming little town without the hustle-bustle of Chikamagalur or Coorg. Definitely, we would like to come back post monsoon sometime to see the beauty in all its glory!

[Kosfactor]

Mudigere is indeed beautiful, I wasn't aware of Devaramane, thanks will try next time. I passed through the Charmadi view point yesterday on the way back from Mangalore. I had come to that place several years ago while staying in Chikmagaluru. It was so cold and raining, this time it was the exact opposite.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

I wasn't aware of Devaramane, thanks will try next time.

It has 2 entry/exit points. One can really reach here from Hanbal -Jannapura side via Gutthi or can enter via Banakal. At Banakal, there is also a signage for Devaramane now. Earlier, this route was not the most popular to reach Devaramane.

This one is right atop Devaramane when we were there for a Monsoon Drive in 2016:



And then, I drove here again with another friend and found it extremely enthralling to drive under super heavy fog conditions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5bc3WcoquU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPhWGikexAY

[mankuthimma]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

or can enter via Banakal..

We wanted to return via the Banakal route. But I think the google maps didn't show the correct route. It was still showing the route via Guthi and join the highway somewhere between Banakal and Mudigere. Something like this:
https://goo.gl/maps/QVimcB836T7ki6Qn8

As it was getting darker, didnt want to try out some new route in the hills. So chose to come back via the same route. This route had fresh tarmac in many sections, but there were few rough patches in between. Overall, a good route from Mudigere.

By any chance, do you have the correct Banakal route map?

[arindambasu13]

Wanted to get a quick update on the route to Chikmaglur from Bangalore. Planning to visit this weekend and wanted to know if the road conditions are still as good as before? Will be taking NH 75 after exiting NICE Road at Tumkur gate and then taking the left deviation to get onto NH 75.

Also, what is the best place to have breakfast on the onward journey? Clean place with good parking and good food being the requirements. I understand Swathi Delicacy is a good choice?

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Wanted to get a quick update on the route to Chikmaglur from Bangalore. Planning to visit this weekend and wanted to know if the road conditions are still as good as before? Will be taking NH 75 after exiting NICE Road at Tumkur gate and then taking the left deviation to get onto NH 75.

Roads remain good as before. No red or amber flags there.

Also, what is the best place to have breakfast on the onward journey? Clean place with good parking and good food being the requirements. I understand Swathi Delicacy is a good choice?

Swathi Delicacy remains the best pick. However, Dhruvataare is also another option, hardly 10 minutes away from Swati.

Both have good parking place, with Dhruvataare having better managed parking to Swati due to the vast area in front of the restaurant itself.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Wanted to get a quick update on the route to Chikmaglur from Bangalore. Planning to visit this weekend and wanted to know if the road conditions are still as good as before? Will be taking NH 75 after exiting NICE Road at Tumkur gate and then taking the left deviation to get onto NH 75.

Also, what is the best place to have breakfast on the onward journey? Clean place with good parking and good food being the requirements. I understand Swathi Delicacy is a good choice?

I just did a quick drive to CR Patna and some locations around this weekend. All good. No issues. Lovely roads, great weather, and no stoppages. You will enjoy the drive.

Dhruvthare is my preferred breakfast place, but it is often very crowded in the morning. I stopped there on Saturday morning and it was extremely crowded. So please be prepared for long wait if you go there.

Another option that is good is Paakshaala. Here is the location: https://goo.gl/maps/tBdEgDALTdzVisK19

This is a brand new place. Clean place with lot of parking. However, this is on the opposite side while going in the Hassan direction. And therefore, it is less crowded in the morning too. Luckily, there is a big divider in the front of it, and it quite easy to access this place even when you are driving to Hassan.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Another option that is good is Paakshaala. Here is the location: https://goo.gl/maps/tBdEgDALTdzVisK19

How did you like this place?

This is one location which started with a typical hotel for regular KSRTC buses, with shops outside and later evolved after demolishing everything around and Adigas started. I liked visiting here few times for the South Indian meals then.

Over the last few months, I would see the large signage that Paakashaala was coming up and was wondering if they were the same group as the one at Malleshwaram near 18th cross.

But if you are driving to Hassan, I find this intersection quite dangerous due to the fact that the cut in the median is also an intersection and it is at a slop where vehicles, especially driven towards Bangalore are quite fast. Even when we are driving back to Bangalore, we need to be extremely careful while crossing this place.

Hence, call me paranoid, I will always prefer to stop by at places on the left hand side of the highway than cut across traffic at cut in the medians located at very unscientific and potentially dangerous spots like this one.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

How did you like this place?

This place is quite good and I like it. I do not know about their history or their connection with other places. But I know that this is newly opened place. They have spacious and well marked parking, clean restrooms, clean interiors, and good food. I like this place.

But if you are driving to Hassan, I find this intersection quite dangerous due to the fact that the cut in the median is also an intersection and it is at a slop where vehicles, especially driven towards Bangalore are quite fast. Even when we are driving back to Bangalore, we need to be extremely careful while crossing this place.

OK I see. Thank you for pointing this out and making us aware. To be honest, I have never crossed the median/divider myself. I have always stopped at this place only while returning from Hassan side to Bangalore. And while going towards Hassan, I always stop at Dhruvathare. Thus, I never had to cross the median. However, just mentioned that there is a break in the divider should one want to cross.

Hence, call me paranoid, I will always prefer to stop by at places on the left hand side of the highway than cut across traffic at cut in the medians located at very unscientific and potentially dangerous spots like this one.

I completely agree with you. I also prefer the places on my left hand side. I appreciate your concern for safety and share the same views.

However, there are a couple of safe and well-marked U-turns too, on this highway. Therefore, it is possible to drive ahead till the next safe U-turn and come back. I have done that a couple of times on NH75, and I found that to be quite safe.