[Samurai]

Originally Posted by locusjag

We used to ride our motorcycles from Manipal to Agumbe; just at the foothills of Agumbe before the ghat roads start, we'd take a right to Kudlu Theertha.

That means you must have passed in front of my office in Parkala every time.

Originally Posted by locusjag

Sigh! I envy all the people who get to live near Udupi or Mangalore. Hell, it's only 8 hours from Bangalore!

I work 50kms from there. Yet, I have never visited Kudlu Theertha. Meanwhile I have visited Niagara falls lots of time.

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by Samurai

That means you must have passed in front of my office in Parkala every time.

I work 50kms from there. Yet, I have never visited Kudlu Theertha. Meanwhile I have visited Niagara falls lots of time.

I have been wondering if you work in Robosoft. That's the only tech company I know in that area. But Robosoft's on the road to Mumbai (and Murdeshwar). I'll find out

[Samurai]

RoboSoft is the largest tech company in Udupi district. But there are boat load of tiny tech companies dotting the towns and villages. Mine is one of them, on the Manipal-Karkala road.

[ThilakNex]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Unmindful of the other discussion thread going on here - those who plan to visit Agumbe must try visiting Kudlu Theertha also (aka 'Sita falls').

Absolutely. Kudlu falls is a must visit beautiful small waterfalls at the foothills of Agumbe. Its best visited during the month of July or August.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Both are preferred but given the present case that Sakaleshpur Hassan will have lesser traffic owing to closure of Shiradi, please take Charmadi Kottigehara Mudigere Jannapura Hanbal Anemahal Sakleshpur Hassan Bangalore.

Was about go ahead right now, but then just thnking if I can explore, Mangalore, Padubidri, Karkala, Hanuman Gundi falls, Kudremukh, Kalasa, Belur route to Bangalore.
Any quick comments. I see some related posts on that recently.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by balenoed_

Was about go ahead right now, but then just thnking if I can explore, Mangalore, Padubidri, Karkala, Hanuman Gundi falls, Kudremukh, Kalasa, Belur route to Bangalore.
Any quick comments. I see some related posts on that recently.

The Kuduremukha route is my standard one to reach Karkala as I frequent that place. And as always I end up taking Charmadi on return.

The route is fantastic, no second thoughts : Scenic and winding all the way from Bajagoli after Karkala to Mudigere passing through some amazing landscapes and now ghost town of Kuduremukha.

But traffic after Kalasa will get thicker because of tourist crowd returning back to Bangalore after temple runs. Further after Kottigehara too, traffic will increase because you will then see traffic originating from Mangalore and Dharmasthala returning to Bangalore.

However, this would still be the case even when you may have taken Charmadi to return anyway. So go ahead and explore the Kuduremukha route If that is the intent. Plan your stops well as not much on this route too. Bajagoli where you fork out towards Kuduremukha has OKish hotels where you can stop after which Kalasa is the next option.

Road conditions wise - It's been definitely good till now.

So you will do Padubidre Belman Karkala Bajagoli Kuduremukha Samse Kalasa Balur Kottigehara Mudigere (Handpost) Jannapura Hanbal Anemahal Sakaleshpur Hassan Bangalore.

[rahulb22]

Shiradi ghat to open by mid June as per the news report below:

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsD...?newsID=510215

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by rahulb22

Shiradi ghat to open by mid June as per the news report below:

http://www.daijiworld.com/news/newsD...?newsID=510215

This one from today's Edition of Deccan Herald too tells the same:

Sakleshpur (Hassan district): The Shiradi Ghat on Bengaluru-Mangaluru national highway is expected to open for vehicular movement on June 15. The concrete-laying work on this stretch is in the final stage.

Movement of vehicles was banned on Shiradi Ghat from January 20 for laying of concrete road. This has affected the road connectivity between Benagaluru and coastal districts. The work was hastened in view of the gravity of the problem. The project has been entrusted to Ocean Construction Company.

In the second phase, it had been proposed to lay concrete road for 12.38 km (between 250.62 KM and 263 KM). The deadline for completing this work is August 1.

Director of Ocean Constructin, Sharfuddin, told DH that they plan to complete the work before the deadline. He said that concrete road had been laid for 12 KM and now the construction of parapet and four bridges was in progress. "It has been raining in the ghat, which is affecting the work," he added.

Shiradi Ghat receives rain for around six months in a year and hence a special technology has been adopted for laying road in the ghat. Cross filter drainage is being constructed for every 25 metres to prevent seepage of water into the road. Superintending Engineer of National Highways, Raghavan, said that the road was being developed in a scientific manner with focus on quality

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The Kuduremukha route is my standard one to reach Karkala as I frequent that place.

The route is fantastic, no second thoughts : Scenic and winding all the way from Bajagoli after Karkala to Mudigere passing through some amazing landscapes and now ghost town of Kuduremukha.

Sir, I used to ride my motorcycle with friends through the excellent Kudremukh ghat roads way back between 2009-11 virtually every other month. We would use our allowed 2 hours well and chill on the tall grass by the Tungabhadra tributary source which is just off the road near the ghost town....but I digress.

My localite friend used to say that the excellent ghat roads were laid by the Border Roads Organization (BRO). Is that true? I hope the roads are still in the smooth condition that I remember them in.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by locusjag

My localite friend used to say that the excellent ghat roads were laid by the Border Roads Organization (BRO). Is that true?

I am really not sure about this. Also wondering why would BRO build a road here when they are synonymous to roads in the Himalayas and North East?

I hope the roads are still in the smooth condition that I remember them in.

The roads remain absolutely fantastic. Since I have an association with Karkala, I keep visiting here at least once during monsoon and then the usual ad-hoc drives.

The only difference from then and now is that you will regularly spot tourist vehicles on a weekend, parked badly and taking selfies. Still, the traffic here is always lesser as many heading to Udupi prefer the Shiradi option and many heading to Sringeri will do so via Chikmagalur directly. So the only traffic here is mostly limited to those doing Sringeri - Kalasa or the opposite. Also, traffic builds up after merging with the NH before SK Border till Bajagoli where most tourists deviate towards Naravi for Dharmasthala.

[Thilak29]

Originally Posted by rahulb22

Shiradi ghat to open by mid-June

Do we know if Hassan to Sakaleshpur widening work is completed?

Also, I believe four laning work between Gundya - BC road has also just picked some pace, so seems to be a while before we can zoom between BLR- IXE.

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

The Kuduremukha route is my standard one to reach Karkala as I frequent that place. And as always I end up taking Charmadi on return.

The route is fantastic, no second thoughts : Scenic and winding all the way from Bajagoli after Karkala to Mudigere passing through some amazing landscapes and now ghost town of Kuduremukha.

As soon as I saw "fantastic" in your post, started my car and headed north towards Padubidri without a second thought. And my co-passenger read out loud your rest of the post.

It was absolutely fantastic and I am happy that I went ahead with that route and got to know about this route. It was an absolute pleasure to drive through the ghats with having the views of the mountains by your side.

Padubidri to Karkala is butter smooth, but umpteen rumble strips. We visited Gomatheswar enroute. Hanuman Gundi waterfalls is closed and parking was not allowed on the road, so we had to proceed. Lunch was at Kalasa (Hotel Bharani - Veg/NVeg). It is located on your right as soon as you enter Kalasa town and decent food. Traffic started building up from Kottigehara from where the Charmadi traffic joins. We took the Sakleshpur route from Mudigere. No traffic at all on that stretch while I felt then the Belur stretch must be taking all the traffic.

A stretch in Kudremukha National park

[perty]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Do we know if Hassan to Sakaleshpur widening work is completed?

I drove to Sakleshpura about a month ago and the widening work was far from complete. Work was still happening in small stretches.


In fact in some places the road has been levelled by dumping mud and widened but not asphalted and small plants have started reclaiming the space, giving you an idea of how long this has been left neglected.


My conservative estimate would be another 12 months for this to be fully done.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Do we know if Hassan to Sakaleshpur widening work is completed?

Also, I believe four laning work between Gundya - BC road has also just picked some pace, so seems to be a while before we can zoom between BLR- IXE.

I just checked with BHPian prasanna_indaje who had taken this 10 days back and said work is still in progress between Hassan and Sakaleshpur.

Now that balenoed_ also had taken it, he would concur with this status too!

[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by Thilak29

Do we know if Hassan to Sakaleshpur widening work is completed?

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Now that balenoed_ also had taken it, he would concur with this status too!

Yes, I drove through last Sunday.
The widening is completed at most of the stretch if I remember, but the widened part is not asphalted. And it did not look like any work is going on. I did not see any men or machinery at work. It was a deserted drive from Sakleshpur to Hassan. No traffic but cattle's grazing around.