Quote:
Originally Posted by Revy Planning a trip to Kollur Mookambika temple by mid August, I am really confused with the route! |
Revy - I drove on the
Bangalore - Hassan - Chikmagalur - Balehonnur - Sringeri - Agumbe - Vandse circuit in March and here is an extract from my log. I diverted to NH17 at Vandse since I was headed to Kundapura - you can continue straight from Vandse towads Kollur (around 23 kms from there I guess).
Of course road conditions would have changed since then but it should give a fair idea of distances and directions should you take this route. Hope this helps!!
a. Bangalore - Magadi: This road is an absolute delight to drive on starting
from NICE exit/interchange - very well surfaced, nice scenary and low traffic.
After crossing Magadi town, there is a well-marked diversion for Kunigal.
b. Magadi - Kunigal - Hassan: Coming from Magadi, you hit NH-48 some 7 kms
before Kunigal. Four-laning is going on all the way till Belur-cross and the
multiple diversions can be irritating. Thereon, the road is back to 2-lane and
surface is good but for some intermediate rough (but manageable) patches. Hassan
bypass is re-laid and again a delight to drive on.
c. Hassan - Belur - Chikmagalur: Hassan-Belur is good as always but
Belur-Chikmagalur has deteriorated. I did this stretch at night and had to be
careful of sudden potholes and sharp curves withour signages.
d. Chikmagalur - Aldur (17 km) - Balehonnur (28 km): Diversion for Aldur is
well-marked (about 9 kms onward) as you drive down the Mudigere road. Road from
Aldur to Balehonnur is in good condition.
e. Balehonnur - Jayapura (16 km) - Sringeri (21 km) - Agumbe (26 km): After
crossing the Bhadra bridge at Balehonnur, take a right for Jayapura as left will
take you to Mavinagundi/Kalasa/Kudremukh. Road till Jayapura is again well
surfaced with very few rough patches. Take the sharp left (almost 'U') at
Jayapura bus stand for Sringeri unless you want to continue stratight to
Hariharapura/Koppa. This road winds through some pristine countryside to
Sringeri and is fairly well surfaced. At Sringeri, keep going straight once you
hit the NH13 junction (left goes to Karkala and right goes to Koppa). From here
to Agumbe is again a very scenic drive with some rough patches just before you
hit Agumbe village. From here to the ghat section is a good drive. Agumbe ghats
have been repaired recently and are very-well surfaced with most HPBs now
concretized.
f. Agumbe - Someshwara (10 km) - Haladi (28 km) - Vandse (21 km) - NH17 (8 km):
This is one of my favourite drives and I was doing this for the third time now.
Take a right from Someshwara for Haladi (signboard at Someshwara will say
'Kollur') - this road is narrow albeit fairly well surfaced with some rough
patches. Also, road-widening was in progress at a good pace and should have been
done by now. This passes through some nice scenary and 3-4 junctions - keep
following directions for Kollur whenever/if confused. At Vandse, take a left and
you hit NH17 some 8 kms north of Kundapura.
This is a good alternative to the
high-traffic'ed NH17 if you are in a mood for a leisurely drive through some
good countryside.