[Drivethru]

Drove through Anantapur - hubli - belgaum route recently. Roads from bellary to hubli are average and had too may speed breakers of various sizes mainly till hospet. This route is NH63 but some parts of the road are actually quite bad and slow down the pace significantly.

[Musaafir]

Just returned from a trip to Hampi. Here is an update.

We left Pune on 23rd December 2014 around 5.30 AM and reached Gokak falls around 11.00 AM via Sankeshwar. Roads in Gokak town are horrible. We left Gokak around 11.45 AM and reached Badami Caves at 2.30 PM. The route was via Yaragatti and Nargund. Roads here were average to bad, with numerous speed breakers of all sizes. In the last 20 KMs from Kulgeri/Khanapur to Badami, the road is in a very very poor condition.

Badami caves to Vidya Nagar (Toranagallu) via Hospet is about 170 KMs and took us more than 3 hrs. We drove thru Gajendragad, Kushtagi, Hospet. Roads between Badami and Kushagi are narrow, and again full of speed breakers, mostly unmarked. NH-13 from Kushtagi to Hospet is great. It does have a couple of speed breakers (!) and they are quite dangerous as vehicles tend to approach them at high speeds. Roads thru Hospet town to Toranagallu are average.

On the way back, we took NH-63 to Hubali. It is in a reasonably good condition, with occasional speed breakers. Some parts in towns like Gadag are under construction and therefore bad. You can drive at a good speed on this road provided you are following a local taxi which knows the bad patches and speed breakers. Hubli to Pune is NH-4 and its a smooth ride. We did this complete drive in 10.5 hrs. with a couple of stops for food.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Musaafir

Just returned from a trip to Hampi. Here is an update.

We left Pune on 23rd December 2014 around 5.30 AM and reached Gokak falls around 11.00 AM via Sankeshwar. Roads in Gokak town are horrible. We left Gokak around 11.45 AM and reached Badami Caves at 2.30 PM. The route was via Yaragatti and Nargund. Roads here were average to bad, with numerous speed breakers of all sizes. In the last 20 KMs from Kulgeri/Khanapur to Badami, the road is in a very very poor condition.

Badami caves to Vidya Nagar (Toranagallu) via Hospet is about 170 KMs and took us more than 3 hrs. We drove thru Gajendragad, Kushtagi, Hospet. Roads between Badami and Kushagi are narrow, and again full of speed breakers, mostly unmarked. NH-13 from Kushtagi to Hospet is great. It does have a couple of speed breakers (!) and they are quite dangerous as vehicles tend to approach them at high speeds. Roads thru Hospet town to Toranagallu are average.

On the way back, we took NH-63 to Hubali. It is in a reasonably good condition, with occasional speed breakers. Some parts in towns like Gadag are under construction and therefore bad. You can drive at a good speed on this road provided you are following a local taxi which knows the bad patches and speed breakers. Hubli to Pune is NH-4 and its a smooth ride. We did this complete drive in 10.5 hrs. with a couple of stops for food.

How much time did it take for you to complete the Hospet-Hubli(NH4) stretch via the NH63.Thanks in advance.

[Musaafir]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

How much time did it take for you to complete the Hospet-Hubli(NH4) stretch via the NH63.Thanks in advance.

ranjitp1 -- we started from a hotel in JSW plant in Toranagallu around 7.30 AM and reached near Hubali Railway station in about 3 hrs. Distance was 190 kms. Traffic was not much except for some parts where we came across lots of mining trucks.

You may need additional 10-15 mins to reach the start of Hubali bypass. Google maps actually shows another road via Bommapur to reach the by-pass and it looks shorter. I don't know the road conditions though.

[@Chaand]

Guys,

Planning a Mumbai Hampi Mumbai trip.
Planning to follow GMAPS recommended route all through out. Link Here

Mumbai to Hubli its going to be NH4, and then follow NH63 all the way till Munirabad after which its SH49 till Hampi.

Pls point out in case better options are available. Also hope that road conditions are good. Thanks in advance!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by @Chaand

Mumbai to Hubli its going to be NH4, and then follow NH63 all the way till Munirabad after which its SH49 till Hampi.
..
Pls point out in case better options are available. Also hope that road conditions are good. Thanks in advance!

Yes that is the best option as of today. As regards to how to be on NH63, drive all the way through NH4 bypass for Hubli/Dharwad and then come back into city.

[NPV]

Cabinet Committee on Econmic Affairs has approved 4-laning of NH 63 between Hubli and Hospet.

Source:Centre OKs 4-laning of NH-63 section

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved four-laning of the Hubballi-Hosapete section of National Highway-63, at an estimated cost of Rs.2,272.20 crore. This includes land acquisition, re-settlement, rehabilitation and other pre-construction activities. The total length of the road to be developed is approximately 144Km.

What is interesting about this is that the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure had already approved this in 2012 (but note that estimated cost was much lesser then).
Source:Four Laning of Hubli-Hospet Section of NH-63 in Karnataka

[@Chaand]

The last time I traveled on it, this was pretty desolate. Specially the Gadag Hospet stretch. Hardly any traffic. But the road was pretty decent.
Now with 4 laning coming up will this become a toll road?

[NPV]

Originally Posted by @Chaand

Now with 4 laning coming up will this become a toll road?

From the link I shared in my previous post, the widening work is expected to take 30 months and the toll collection will be for a period of 27 years

[shajoshi]

Traveled from Pune to Hampi via NH4 - Pune-Hubli and then SH67 Gadag-Koppal-Hospet-Hampi. The NH4 stretch is full of potholes and diversions from Pune to Satara slowing you down. Then the concrete road till Hubli is very good. The SH67 is decent, very less traffic and reasonably good road surface, you have to watch for speedbreakers. Took 6.5 hours till Hubli and 3.5 hours on SH67 total 10 hours.

Google maps advised us to take the Solapur route on the way back, so we did that. The NH50 from Hospet to Vijayapur (Bijapur) is an excellent 4 laned toll highway. But you have to watch for villagers crossing on bikes at every intersection, and most of them have ghastly speedbreakers that slow you down.

The NH52 stretch between Bijapur and Solapur is still a 2 lane highway, and was full of potholes and slow moving trucks - taking 2 hours for 100 km. You have to cross Solapur city and then join the excellent NH65 from Solapur to Pune. Again keep watching for speedbreakers and crazy bike drivers crossing the highway. The last 40 km near Pune city has a lot of city traffic and you have to time it right to make through in good time. Overall we reached Pune in 10 hours of driving time for 567 km. I believe in driving safe over fast, so others could probably do it faster.

On both the routes there are decent eating places, especially around Kolhapur, Belgaum on NH4 and near Solapur on the NH52 and NH65. If the Bijapur - Solapur section is 4-laned it will definitely be a preferred route and also cut time.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by shajoshi

Traveled from Pune to Hampi via NH4 - Pune-Hubli and then SH67 Gadag-Koppal-Hospet-Hampi. The NH4 stretch is full of potholes and diversions from Pune to Satara slowing you down. Then the concrete road till Hubli is very good. The SH67 is decent, very less traffic and reasonably good road surface, you have to watch for speedbreakers. Took 6.5 hours till Hubli and 3.5 hours on SH67 total 10 hours.

Google maps advised us to take the Solapur route on the way back, so we did that. The NH50 from Hospet to Vijayapur (Bijapur) is an excellent 4 laned toll highway. But you have to watch for villagers crossing on bikes at every intersection, and most of them have ghastly speedbreakers that slow you down.

The NH52 stretch between Bijapur and Solapur is still a 2 lane highway, and was full of potholes and slow moving trucks - taking 2 hours for 100 km. You have to cross Solapur city and then join the excellent NH65 from Solapur to Pune. Again keep watching for speedbreakers and crazy bike drivers crossing the highway. The last 40 km near Pune city has a lot of city traffic and you have to time it right to make through in good time. Overall we reached Pune in 10 hours of driving time for 567 km. I believe in driving safe over fast, so others could probably do it faster.

On both the routes there are decent eating places, especially around Kolhapur, Belgaum on NH4 and near Solapur on the NH52 and NH65. If the Bijapur - Solapur section is 4-laned it will definitely be a preferred route and also cut time.

What do you suggest in present conditions? Via Hubli or via Solapur?

[shajoshi]

Depending on where you start or land in Pune make your choice. Both routes take the same time, so the time spent in navigating Pune traffic may be the decider

[bhargavd]

Originally Posted by hyd_traveller

What do you suggest in present conditions? Via Hubli or via Solapur?

I am travelling from Pune to Hampi for the Aug 15 weekend with 2 cars . After multiple discussions, plan to use the NH4 both ways. The stretch from Hampi to Solapur is not the most drive-friendly with hardly any stops/food malls as per my knowledge.

Also after driving on NH4 so many times I am more comfortable, as I know most places for breaks/tank ups etc. Road conditions post Hubli after the rain showers are suspect and I have no intel on them right now.

[shajoshi]

The SH67 from Hubli to Hospet is in good surface condition, you will have no problems. Just been there a week ago. There is no food/fuel outlets worth any notice in that stretch as well.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by bhargavd

I am travelling from Pune to Hampi for the Aug 15 weekend with 2 cars . After multiple discussions, plan to use the NH4 both ways. The stretch from Hampi to Solapur is not the most drive-friendly with hardly any stops/food malls as per my knowledge.

Also after driving on NH4 so many times I am more comfortable, as I know most places for breaks/tank ups etc. Road conditions post Hubli after the rain showers are suspect and I have no intel on them right now.

Hi there, any feedback on the route you finally took and the road conditions on it?

Thanks