[iamnarayang]

Dear Friends,

I will be driving to Udupi from Bangalore in the 3rd week of October. Though the Sakaleshpura, Gundya, Belthangady could be a prefered route for many; i feel that the truck / long gas tanker traffic on that route is very annoying. Slows you down a lot. Last I drove to Mangalore was in December 2019. Is Charmady route a better route than this route? Or is the Chitradurga, Shimoga, Agumbe route better than the other two? kindly advise.

Thanks in advance,
Regards, Narayan.

[karthikkv]

Originally Posted by karthikkv

Hi guys,

Needed some advice on the best scenic route from Bangalore to Kundapura. We are 3 adults in a hatchback. Would leave Bangalore around 7-7:30 AM on a Saturday (5th Oct). The usual route we take is Blr > CR Patna > Arasikere > Bhadra dam > Tirthahalli > Agumbe > Kundapura. I have also taken the Hassan > Belur > Balehonnur > Agumbe > Kundapura. I want to explore some other scenic route/detours from usual routes with some stops along the way. Would like to reach Kundapura before 7 PM with detours/stops. Any help is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I found a scenic and a different route I'd like to explore this time through the hulikal Ghat with some detour. Can anyone who has travelled recently provide some inputs on the road conditions.

Route: Blr > CR Patna > Arasikere > Bhadra dam > Tirthahalli > Hulikal ghat (For viewpoints and hulikal falls) > Hosangadi (For thombattu falls) > Kundapura (Near Bidkalkatte)

I've never been to hulikal Ghat and Hosangadi, any updates on the kind of roads to expect or any other points we can visit.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by karthikkv

Route: Blr > CR Patna > Arasikere > Bhadra dam > Tirthahalli > Hulikal ghat (For viewpoints and hulikal falls) > Hosangadi (For thombattu falls) > Kundapura (Near Bidkalkatte)

I've never been to hulikal Ghat and Hosangadi, any updates on the kind of roads to expect or any other points we can visit.

CR Patna-Arsikere has usually been good. But dont know about the current status.

For Hulikal You can do: Shimoga-Ayanur-Ripponpet-Hosnagara-Nagara-Hulikal-Ampar-Kundapura. or

Your can also try Thirthahalli-Nagara. Both are decent roads. But mostly you wont find cell service. Hence you need to make sure you have offline maps.

[heysac]

Any feedback on speed cameras on the way?

Originally Posted by Sanbhat1611

The Hassan->Sakleshpur->Gundya route is better for people with motion sickness. The roads are wider and less steep compared to the narrower and steeper Charmadi (Hassan -> Belur -> Mudigere).

You can also explore the via Mysore-Madikeri-Puttur route, but I haven't driven through this route. So cannot share personal experience here.

Thanks. Any feedback on Gundya -> Ujire -> Udupi vs Gundya -> Mangalore -> Udupi. I went to Mangalore in 2022 but there was a lot of construction on the way. However, the route might have wider roads. Google shows almost similar time frame for both routes which I guess would also depend on traffic hours for Mangalore route.

[Meph1st0]

I traveled following the route - Bangalore --> Sakleshpura --> Shiradi --> Ujire --> Bajagoly --> Hiriyadka --> Brahmavara

• Bangalore to Sakleshpura is a breeze to drive.The four lane work is almost done.
• Road condition from Sakleshpura to Shiradi is pathetic.
• Shiradi ghat is in good shape.
• The roads after the ghats all the way till Ujire is in decent shape. There are diversions due to road widening on NH75 but is well marked.
• Ujire to Guruvayankere always has bad traffic, now the roads are also in horrible condition.
• Rest of the route is in good shape except some bad stretches around Hiriyadka.

[Sanbhat1611]

Originally Posted by heysac

Any feedback on speed cameras on the way?



Thanks. Any feedback on Gundya -> Ujire -> Udupi vs Gundya -> Mangalore -> Udupi. I went to Mangalore in 2022 but there was a lot of construction on the way. However, the route might have wider roads. Google shows almost similar time frame for both routes which I guess would also depend on traffic hours for Mangalore route.

Gundya -> Ujire -> Udupi --- SH road with lot of twists

Gundya -> Mangalore -> Udupi --- Faster/Straight Six Lane quality NH with Toll (apprx Rs 80)

Distance is almost same via both routes (apprx 144 kms)

Conclusion: "Gundya -> Mangalore -> Udupi" is the Clear Winner.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by Sanbhat1611

Conclusion: "Gundya -> Mangalore -> Udupi" is the Clear Winner.

Wow, is the Nelyadi-BCRoad section is finally fixed? No more moon craters?

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Wow, is the Nelyadi-BCRoad section is finally fixed? No more moon craters?

I will be driving from Bangalore to Mangalore this coming Friday, 04th October through this road and will share the road conditions thereafter.

[Sanbhat1611]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Wow, is the Nelyadi-BCRoad section is finally fixed? No more moon craters?

Let me confess, my response was based on an earlier drive to Kundapura via Gundya-->B.C.Road-->Mangalore--Toll-NH-->Udupi--Toll-NH-->Kundapura. The road was good then. Lets wait for other members recent drive experience on this road.

My last drive was in Sep'24 BLR thru Gundya-->Ujjire-->Belthandy-->Venur-->Moodabidri

[livyodream]

Been a long time since i took kollur - chitragurga-blr. Any feedback on current road/ghat condition?
Will be taking this route next week.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

I will be driving from Bangalore to Mangalore this coming Friday, 04th October through this road and will share the road conditions thereafter.

Guys, yesterday I drove from Banaswadi, Bangalore to Mangalore via Hassan - Sakleshpur - Shiradi ghat - Uppinangadi - BC Road - Mangalore. Started at around 1.45 PM and reached Bejai, Mangalore at 9 PM with one bio break of 10 minutes near C R Patna.

Bangalore to Hassan was a breeze. It started to rain extremely heavily between Kunigal & C R Patna and the rain / drizzle remained intermittent through out the journey upto BC Road.

A stretch of 15 Kms or so after Sakleshpur is extremely bad condition and not recommended for low GC cars. Shiradi ghat was Ok. Traffic both ways was heavy and there were a couple of instances where a truck had toppled / upcoming (from Mangalore side) fully loaded tanker unable to pull and stuck in the middle of the road. It seems the bad road conditions are making movement for these tankers very difficult. Then there was continuous drizzle too.

After Gundya the roads were bad / under construction with diversions / no line marking on the roads and need extreme alertness and focus while driving.

Would I recommend this route to anyone? An absolute and resounding NO. Perhaps driving in day time and dry weather could be a different experience. I was driving in the night with rain and slushy broken road with lines of trucks and cars in both direction. Overtaking is difficult as traffic is heavy. Broken down trucks appear to be a regular feature here.

Exploring Mysore - Madikeri route may be a better option..We didn't take the Mysore route as that means we have to go all the way from Gorguntepalya to Mysore road and that would be another tedious drive.

For people from Jayanagar/ JP Nagar / Nice road users, it's better to take the Mysore - Madikeri route to Mangalore. Infact if time & additional distance is not a factor, perhaps the Mysore - Madikeri route is a much peaceful way to reach Mangalore.

I was under the belief that two wheelers might find Shiradi ghat ridable. I was wrong. The Shiradi ghat is not in a good and safe ridable condition for two wheelers. It's a very dangerous and risky proposition.

Shiradi ghat road is under repair / construction since over 3 decades now.. Let's see how many more years the Govt takes to make it a safe and motorable road.

[heysac]

Originally Posted by ashkamath

Guys, yesterday I drove from Banaswadi, Bangalore to Mangalore via Hassan - Sakleshpur - Shiradi ghat - Uppinangadi - BC Road - Mangalore. Started at around 1.45 PM and reached Bejai, Mangalore at 9 PM with one bio break of 10 minutes near C R Patna.

Did you encounter any speed cameras (fixed or mobile) on the way to Mangalore given all the renewed focus? I am primarily interested in the Bangalore-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Mangalore-Udupi route (given that wife gets motion sickness on steep and winding roads) and am planning to start early in the morning tomorrow.

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by heysac

Did you encounter any speed cameras (fixed or mobile) on the way to Mangalore given all the renewed focus? I am primarily interested in the Bangalore-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Mangalore-Udupi route (given that wife gets motion sickness on steep and winding roads) and am planning to start early in the morning tomorrow.

Nope. I don't remember encountering any speed cameras on the way. Neither fixed nor mobile.

Given that your wife gets motion sickness on steep & winding roads, I advise you take it easy & real slow after Sakleshpur. The road is pretty bad and it's raining too. It's all slush and washed away road at many sections. The truckers/ tankers are having it real bad as they struggle on these roads.

Weekend traffic also adds to the congestion. However as you plan to start early in the morning, you will complete the journey in day time while I did the ghat section around sunset and after.

[abhi_krao]

I did Bangalore-Udupi via shirady-Dharmastala-Gkere. The stretch near yettinahole is very bad and also the Gundya to Gkere stretch is very rough with lots of loose patches.
I will go back next week and planning via Charmadi-sakleshpur. Wanted to know how is Ujire- Charmadi stretch and Jannapura-Sakleshpur stretch.

[DetectiveMiles]

Took Shiradi Ghat while coming from Bengaluru to Puttur yesterday.
The "Bad Stretch" in Shiradi Ghat is causing lot of issues to long and heavey trucks, multiple breakdowns are leading to long pile up of traffic. Faced some delay (~45 mins) yesterday due to 4 truck breakdowns (after Donigal) almost one behind another in the turns. A bus conductor mentioned delays are becoming more frequent these days. There was at least 3 km long truck traffic in direction Sakaleshapura.