[prasad14]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

Rayare, When are you leaving ?

Will update road conditions on Monday, 9th Dec.

I'd be leaving on the 25th and would be eagerly awaiting your inputs.

Prasad

[fast_elegance]

Had been to Mangalore and back last weekend i.e. Nov 30 - Dec 1st in my Ritz. Took the Charmadi route. There are a lot of pot-holed spots in this stretch i.e. after Belur till end of Ghat section.

If you are on schedule then this route is not advisable. High chances of getting stuck behind a vehicle as the roads are narrow. Even if you manage to overtake, they will tail-gate you and irritate you to the point where you are really pushed to go faster on the pot holed sections.

However, if you can manage to stay calm and have a relaxed drive Charmadi is still a good option to reach Mangalore.

[roamingrao]

Drove to Mangalore earlier this evening. 8th Mile, Tumkur road 1.30pm, Mangalore 7.30pm with a 30 min break at Maithri, Sakleshpur.

As always, patch work has commenced in Shiradi ghats in the first week of December. Could take a month, if not less, to complete the entire stretch.

Driving from Bangalore, could see minor work being carried out near Maranahalli ( just before the descent ). Later on, down the ghats, an Earth moving equipment was seen scrapping the craters near Chowdeshwari temple ( DK border gate ). Aspalting and leveller machines were still near Gundya. All the rough turns from Gundya to BC road are patched.

The Rs. 5 toll for the Panemangaluru bridge is stopped. Instead, the till now defunct toll on the four lane road from BC road to Mangalore has suddenly woken up and charged Rs. 20 for a one way trip. Local cars ( KA 19 and 21 ) are exempt. Is KA 20 exempt here ?

The toll is situated just after BC road town ( towards Mangalore ) at Bramharakutlu / Thumbe. Despite four laning, the 20 km stretch remains as dangerous as ever !!

[guyfrmblr]

Drove to Mangalore yesterday through Mysore. Left Bangalore at 5 AM and reached Sullia at 11:30 AM with 1 hour break at Dasprakash Paradise, Mysore. The Mysore road was surprisingly empty last morning. But I was fed up with the speed breakers all the way from Bangalore to Shuntikoppa. Took a right at Goonadka to reach Sullia. Started from Sullia at 4 PM and reached Mangalore at 5:45 PM.

The road work has been started near Sampaje. All the potholes, bridges and pending road work between Jalsoor and Mani has been completed and its a breeze to drive here now. The potholes between Mani and B.C. Road too have been filled up.

Drove back from Mangalore this noon through Charmadi. Good news! The Chikmagalur section of the ghat is being tarred. The work is completed from DK - Chikmagalur border upto the temple near the beginning of the ghat section near Kottigehara. So the entire ghat is pothole free now . I hope they will repair the road between Kottigehara and Mudigere handpost.

Left Bejai, Mangalore at 3 PM and reached Bannerghatta road, Bangalore at 10:30 PM with 15 minutes break at Coffee house near Mudigere handpost and 45 minutes break at Mayura.

[addyhemmige]

Originally Posted by roamingrao

The Rs. 5 toll for the Panemangaluru bridge is stopped. Instead, the till now defunct toll on the four lane road from BC road to Mangalore has suddenly woken up and charged Rs. 20 for a one way trip. Local cars ( KA 19 and 21 ) are exempt. Is KA 20 exempt here ?

The toll is situated just after BC road town ( towards Mangalore ) at Bramharakutlu / Thumbe. Despite four laning, the 20 km stretch remains as dangerous as ever !!

I do not understand this. How can they make any money by exempting KA 19 and 21 registered vehicles? They are local registrations no doubt, but the majority of the vehicles that pass through this toll would be KA 19 and 21. Exempting them would definitely mean a loss of toll revenue.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I do not understand this. How can they make any money by exempting KA 19 and 21 registered vehicles? They are local registrations no doubt, but the majority of the vehicles that pass through this toll would be KA 19 and 21. Exempting them would definitely mean a loss of toll revenue.

Well this seems to be the case with MH12 (and I suppose MH14) vehicles being exempted paying 75 INR toll at Khedshivpur toll booth soon after Pune towards Bangalore.

Same is the case (though not toll) with Belgaum and Sirsi Registered vehicles whenever they enter GOA where they are exempted from paying 250 INR towards "entry" fees.

I guess all those toll booths very close to the towns/cities having a lot of local traffic movement face the ire of Public and eventually these exemptions come into effect.

[Kiyon]

CHARMADI ROAD UPDATE :

Travelled from Bangalore to Ujire on 6th December. Took 5.5 hrs ( 6 : 30 AM - 12:00PM) including breakfast stop at Swathi (near Yediyur)

Bangalore to Belur roads are in excellent condition
Belur to Mudigere patched up average roads
Mudigere to kottigehara cross potholed roads for about 10 kms
Kottigehara till Charmadi ghat (till near temple) occasional potholes near the turns.
Charmadi ghat newly laid roads till Ujire is in very good condition (Repair work was in progress)

Untill Shiradi work is complete would advise to take these roads via charmadi if travelling to Mangalore.

Traveled back on the same route 7th afternoon and took 6 hrs ( 4 PM - 10 PM ) with dinner break.

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by addyhemmige

I do not understand this. How can they make any money by exempting KA 19 and 21 registered vehicles? They are local registrations no doubt, but the majority of the vehicles that pass through this toll would be KA 19 and 21. Exempting them would definitely mean a loss of toll revenue.

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I guess all those toll booths very close to the towns/cities having a lot of local traffic movement face the ire of Public and eventually these exemptions come into effect.

As paragsachania rightly says, its only due to fear of public ire.


What can NHAI do if this is the state of affairs :

http://www.indiantollways.com/category/toll-plaza/

[roamingrao]

Originally Posted by prasad14

I'm visiting Pajaka (near Udupi), would be taking Charmadi.
1. Which is the best route from Ujire? Is it Ujire-Belthangadi-BajagoLi-Karkala-Udupi or via Moodabidri?
2. I notice in Google Map that to reach Pajaka, I need not go to Udupi and can take a left after a place called Moodabellu (post Karkala). Is this a decent road?
3. On the way back I want to visit Katil. How is the road Pajaka-BelMan-Katil-Moodabidri?

Originally Posted by prasad14

I'd be leaving on the 25th and would be eagerly awaiting your inputs.Prasad

Prasad,

I had been to Pajaka yesterday and based on my drive and some inputs from localites, I would suggest the following circuit for you to drive to Pajaka and Kateel.

Bangalore - Charmadi - Belthangadi - Guruvayanakere - Naravi - rough roads for 5km - Bajagoli - Karkala byepass - ask for Sri Venugopala Krishna temple - turn left towards Palli - Yedmer - Moodubelle - Pajaka. Good / newly tarred roads throughout

From Pajaka to Kateel :

Pajaka - Moodubelle - Yedmer - turn right on Manchakal road ( a km before Yedmer ) - Adapadi - Manchakal masidi - turn left towards Shirva - pass Shirva - turn right at sooda cross - Forest area - Belmann - Turn right towards Padubidre - road construction in progress - pass Belmann church - turn left after church - Mundkur - Kinnigoli - rough road for 6 km - Kateel.

From Kateel, I would suggest you drive down to Mangalore byepass - BC road - Bantwal - Belthangadi - Charmadi. Obviously, a longer route to avoid the tedious / winding roads on the Moodabidre - Venoor - Guruvayanakere stretch.

Hope this helps.

[vinjosep]

Hello All,

We are planning for a trip from Bangalore to Nileshwaram/ Kanhangad (tentative destination) on a Etioa Liva. Would it be advisable to go via Mangalore? Any advise on the travel time and the road conditions would be helpful.

Any other alternatives?

Thank you in advance.

[Samurai]

Yesterday I traveled on Shiradi ghat en-route to Bangalore.

The roads are so dug up, I have to say it reminds me of the mine truck days. Yes, it is that bad now. I usually don't slow down much for potholes, but this time I had to pause and wonder at certain stretches.

Some repair work was happening just before the Gundya checkpost. On the ghats, a JCB was digging the tar out of the roads. This could mean they will be laying new tarmac and not just manage with the usual patch work. In fact, the usual patchwork won't cut it. Hopefully we will see brand new road in couple months.

[KALSANKRPAI]

I need some clarification. How is the road condition between Mysore and Madikeri, and from Madikeri to Mani via Puttur. I am planning to visit Udupi next week your information will be of immense help to me.Since the Shiradi ghat section is totally bad I have decided to take the Madikeri,Sullia,Puttur route in my Hyundai i10 in fact this is the first time I will be travelling through this route.

[fusionbang]

Originally Posted by KALSANKRPAI

I need some clarification. How is the road condition between Mysore and Madikeri, and from Madikeri to Mani via Puttur. I am planning to visit Udupi next week your information will be of immense help to me.Since the Shiradi ghat section is totally bad I have decided to take the Madikeri,Sullia,Puttur route in my Hyundai i10 in fact this is the first time I will be travelling through this route.

Hi KALSANKRPAI,

We took the route from Mangalore via Mani-Puttur-Sullia-Madikeri-Mysore-Bangalore couple of weeks back, the stretch between Bangalore - Madikeri- Sampaje is beautiful and no hassles driving till there..There are 2 spots where there is a land slide and the lane is made into single lane temporarily between Madikeri and Sampaje.

After Sampaje till Sullia, the stretch is very bad and you need to maneuver almost in 2nd and 3rd gear throughout the stretch and also the roads are being repaired. Being an i10, be careful as it is difficult to find a road for 10-15 kms.

After Sullia the roads are in good condition, and there are few stretches where roads are being repaired with couple of kms being off-road. Probably most of it should be completed by now(atleast 80%). After that no need to worry about bad roads and it will be a easy enjoyable ride.

Hope this helps!! Happy motoring and drive safe:-)

[guyfrmblr]

Originally Posted by KALSANKRPAI

I need some clarification. How is the road condition between Mysore and Madikeri, and from Madikeri to Mani via Puttur. I am planning to visit Udupi next week your information will be of immense help to me.Since the Shiradi ghat section is totally bad I have decided to take the Madikeri,Sullia,Puttur route in my Hyundai i10 in fact this is the first time I will be travelling through this route.

I suggest you to take a diversion at a place called Goonadka to avoid the dreaded Sampaje - Sullia - Jalsoor stretch. Goonadka is around 3-4 km from Sampaje. There is a small board here which indicates you to take a right turn to Kukke Subramanya. Take a right there and drive until it joins the Kukke Subramanya - Sullia road at a place called Guttigaru. First few km of this stretch is bad but is manageable. Then travel towards Sullia until you find a Y fork at a place called Sonangeri. Take a right at this fork which joins Jalsoor. Guttigaru - Sonangeri - Jalsoor is in excellent condition. Jalsoor - Puttur is good with few small bad stretches. Puttur - Mani - Mangalore is in very good condition.

You may be confused with the above route by now. Make a note of the following route in a paper and you can ask the locals for the direction if you miss anything. The route should be Sampaje - Kallugundi - Goonadka - Markanja - Guttigaru - Doddathota - Sonangeri - Jalsoor.

[slicvic]

^^ that would increase the 30 km drive to 75 kms. I just did a Madikeri - Mangalore drive on Sunday. The bad stretch from Sampaje to Jalsoor took around 75 mins, the car (Punto) didn't bottom out anywhere. If you go slow the road can be managed. Don't think the extra 40 Kms is worth the trouble.