It has been a little over a month since my BattleCat, the Mahindra XUV5OO, came home. My ownership thread can be viewed
here.
The itch to take the beast on to the highway for a long drive, and use that as an excuse to take the family on a vacation, has been on for a while. We had made plans to go on this trip during the Dusshera holidays but a sudden business travel had forced me to postpone the journey. And so, the three days before Diwali was chosen - November 7th, 8th and 9th.
The family had wanted to visit the temples at Dharmasthala and Udupi as it had been a few years since the last time we were there. Kukke and Moogambika (Kollur) were the other two temples that we had considered but decided to drop them as I felt we couldn't accommodate them in the schedule - I wanted us to head on to Murudeshwar to visit the temple there and spend some time at the beach. Gokarna, being close to Murudeshwar, was a no-brainer and was decided to be the starting point of our journey back home. I wanted us to do the return leg through a different route and so chose to drive to the Jog falls and visit the wildlife sanctuary at Shimoga before heading back to Bangalore.
And thus, the itinerary was finalized.
Day 1: Start by 5am. Drive down to Dharmasthala and then head to Udupi. Spend the night at Udupi.
Day 2: Drive to Murudeshwar and spend the entire day there.
Day 3: Start early for Gokarna. Head next to Jog. Try and reach Shimoga early in the afternoon to visit the sanctuary. Leave for Bangalore by 5.30pm. We decided to cut short the wildlife sanctuary visit in case we ran out of time.
There was something in it for everyone - beautiful temples for the elders, awesome beaches and water sports for the youngsters, breathtaking views for everyone and, for me, a scenic drive on open roads, through the ghats and along the seaside. Bookings were made and bags were packed.
Route taken:
Day 1:Bangalore-Nelamangala-Hassan-Sakleshpur-Dharmasthala-Ujire-Belthangady-Guruvayanakere-Naravi-Nitte-Belman-Udupi Day 2: Udupi-via the Edapally-Pavavel Highway-Murudeshwar Day 3: Murudeshwar-via Edapally-Panavel Highway-Gokarna-Honnavar-Jog-Sagar-Shimoga-Kadur-Arsikere-Tumkur-Bangalore
A big shout out to friend and fellow BHPian, Parag Sachania, for helping me decide the best route to Udupi.
There were six adults and one child on-board. I was the only driver and kept it sedate between 70 and 110 kmpl for most parts, never crossing 3000 rpm. We covered 1130 kms over the three days and reached home last night at 12.30 AM. The roads, all through the journey, ranged from decent to pretty awesome.
Day 1: Dharmasthala and Udupi
The Cheetah had its tummy filled up (full tank at the Shell outlet near home) the previous night. The plan was to start at 5AM. But then, getting everyone ready early in the morning and leaving on time was never really going to happen. We left at 6AM!
In a way, the late start proved to be good as we reached Hotel Adyar Ananda Bhavan, Udayapura, at 8.15AM - perfectly in time for breakfast. There are two other options next door - Aadyas and Kamat. We chose A2B because the family has always been a fan! On a drive to Chennai or Kerala, see an A2B on the way - hey lets stop for some coffee and may be some masala dosa and vada. Bored of cooking at home - hey lets buy the mini meals from A2B, don't forget some kara bath!
This one is a relatively new outlet and the staff were seen taking special care of each customer entering the restaurant. Food was good, typical A2B.
We left A2B at 9.15AM. The roads to Udayapura are awesome (NH 48) and the ones beyond Udayapura are as beautiful if not more.
The roads, as you reach Dharmasthala from Gundiya and as you leave Dharmasthala for Ujire, had some bad patches but nothing to get worried about.
Reached the Dharmasthala temple at 12.30PM
.
![A mesmerizing drive from Bangalore to Murudeshwara & Jog Falls-img_2403.jpg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/travelogues/1437684d1690138918t-mesmerizing-drive-bangalore-murudeshwara-jog-falls-img_2403.jpg)
Not too many people there, probably because Diwali is around the corner. Had lovely Darshan, finished lunch and left for Udupi at 2.15PM.
The roads after Ujire were quite scenic and we continued soaking them all in as we drove along.
We reached Udupi at 4.30PM and checked into Hotel Kediyoor. This hotel is recommended by fellow BHPians, has free parking and our stay there was comfortable. Here is the
link to their website.
We spent the next hour or so stretching our legs, relaxing and freshening up. At 6PM, we headed to the Sri Krishna temple.
The darshan at the Krishna temple was very good. Next, we dined at Hotel Woodlands which is just a five minute walk from the temple. They serve good food and this was the second time that we have eaten there. After dinner, we decided to call it a day and headed back to the hotel for some well earned sleep.