Current Road Conditions in Karnataka

Hi,

I was on a trip to Kerala over the weekend. I went to Coorg and then planned to enter Kerala(Wayanad) from there. There were several border roads leading to Kerala and all of then were in a very very bad condition on the KArnataka side. As soon as you enter kerala, the roads are excellant.

One observation I had is that the roads are good till the last village in the karnataka side. But from the last village, the roads till the border become even difficult enough to drive. These are the three roads which I encountered in the trip:

1. Virajpet - Irritti: The stretch of 17kms on the karnataka side is so that that no vehicle travels on it any more. Not even the hordcore truckers or the roadways can maneuver thsi road. Beacuse of the 17 kms of bad stretch, people have to take a detour of 100 kms to reach KAnnur in Kerala. This road has not been repaired since alst 6 years.

2. Kutta - Tholpetty: In this stretch 2km road is on karnataka side. The road is so bad that the strecthc of 2 kms took 15 minutes to cover.

3. There is another road near katrikullam which leads to Mysore. Mysore is just 90 kms from there. The road again was so bad that the people in the check post in karnataka asked me not to take the road. One of them said "If you want to take thsi road, then first arrange for a tow vehicle".

I am not sure if this only true with the KArnatka - Kerala border or the other stated also.

-JP

1. Virajpet - Irritti: The stretch of 17kms on the karnataka side is so that that no vehicle travels on it any more. Not even the hordcore truckers or the roadways can maneuver thsi road. Beacuse of the 17 kms of bad stretch, people have to take a detour of 100 kms to reach KAnnur in Kerala. This road has not been repaired since alst 6 years.

Yes . But Still Trucks [ Milk Vans and Cattle Trucks] and KSRTC Buses Venture out boldly in this road

2. Kutta - Tholpetty: In this stretch 2km road is on karnataka side. The road is so bad that the strecthc of 2 kms took 15 iminutes to cover.

Previously the road is Worst from Gonikoppal to Tholpetty and now Yes, this 2 kms road stretch is like this for past 2 Years !

3. There is another road near katrikullam which leads to Mysore. Mysore is just 90 kms from there. The road again was so bad that the people in the check post in karnataka asked me not to take the road. One of them said "If you want to take thsi road, then first arrange for a tow vehicle".

You asked atleast the checkpost people BUT I took my family in My santro and ventured out in this road and as I came from Mysore-HD Kote Way , I thought it's just a De-tour road But all the 25 kms+ roads are in same condition and Here too KSRTC buses Venture out boldly to Mananthavadi !.. For this road there is a compelling reason of not being re-laid as this road is on the "Elephant-Path" of Nagarahole NP and You could see the photos Below hich I clicked in this road itself and you could see the road condition and the lone Elephant on this road itself !..
And 2 months back , Government of Karnataka decided NOT TO allow Any vehicles to take this road between 18:00 Hrs to 06:00 Hrs [This Horrible Stretch is between Bavali to Karapura] to Facilitate Wildlife Movement ... No immediate chances of repairing this road and it's like this for Quite some time it seems [atleast 6 + years] and might be logical too !

And the other border road conditions in south karnataka as follows :-

1. From Bhagamandala to Kannur , in the Karnataka end, road is Very very poor until KA border

2. From Mysore to Mettur [ Tamilnadu], Road is Pathetic from Kollegala to MM Hills and just after MM Hills, road is good until Mettur ad beyond

3. From Mysore to bannari [ Tamilnadu] , Road is pathetic from Chamaraja Nagara to Dimbham [From Here Tamilnadu Border Starts]

4. There is one another Dream route from Mysore to Bhavani [Tamilnadu] which is My dream and I am yet to explore and there is one "Tamilnadu Government bus" which passes through Mysore- Kollegala-Ramapura-Gargekundi-Bargur-Anthiyur-Bhavani to reach Erode and this passes through one of the Most forested and unexplored area and Believe it or not this bus itself will look a Metal Scrap only and the sound it makes is Terrific !!!!!! ..Some how I wanted to talk to the driver of this bus for sometime to know about his experiences BUT twice I tried in Mysore Sub-urb bus stand and both times, it's just 2 minutes stop and immediately the bus started back to Erode..
I am planning to make out this bus trip and share the experiences and photos with IMers

5. It's not like only border roads but even Kollegala-Kanakapura-Bangalore [NH 209] is poor from Malavalli ! and the same NH 209 is Extraordinary from Dimbam [Tamilndau Border] until Dindugal where it merges with NH 7 !

6. The Tourist Stretch of Mysore-Somanathpura-Shivasamudra waterfalls is in Terrible Shape for past several years and people unnecessariy have to Travel via Malavalli to reach shivasamudra ... I once tried in my Santro on this Mysore-Somanathpura-Shivsamudra [pathetic and short cut] and it's fun as I drove around 20 kms in 1st Or second gear only [From Bannur to Shivasamudra via Somanathputa] and No bus , no Vehicles enroute [From Somanathpura to Shivanasamudra] and It's My santro and Cycles and Villagers all through and it was interesting

7. Mysore to Talakkadu [Unique place where several temples are under sand] , Road is Poor from Mysore to T.Narasaipura followed by Mud road to Talakkadu [Around 15 kms this stretch]

8. Road is poor between HoleNarsipura to Sharavanabelagole [Yet another tourist spot]

9. Road is just average between Halebeedu to Belur

10.Even 1 1/2 year back, Road is pathetic between hunsur to Madikeri [Not even Motorable in some stretches] But now it's all through good / Excellent with minor bad patches in the Ghat road [ Suntikoppa to Madikeri]

May be selective roads are poor and out of this, many of the roads fall in the border with Neighbouring states ..

Cheers
Velu

Request to Mods :- If you feel ok, Could you rename this thread title as "Condition of Approach roads to Kerala / Tamilnadu from Karnataka" ..

This is great to know, as we are planning to travel to Kannur from Madikeri. Does the state of these roads mean it will be necessary to go right back to Mysore, or it there a direct route over the hills to Kannur?

Kannur to Madikeri is not an issue Suiko. Shortest and Most scenic would be Kannur-Bhagamandala-Madikeri with few kms over the border [Kerala-Karnataka Border in poor state]. When you hire cab for this circuit , Check with the cab driver on this to know the latest condition of this stretch but 80% of overall distance is in good condition.

And you did any changes to your original plan as I am not able to understand why from bangalore you go to Mysore followed by Kannur and then backtracking to Madikeri again. If you could tell your latest itenary ,I could share the related information.

Velu

Thanks, Velu.

No, sorry, the itinerary is Bangalore-Mysore (visit Srvanabelgola, Srirangapatnam and either Somnathpur or Belur/Halebid from Mysore) - Madikeri (trekking around Kakkabe) - Kannur.

So we want to travel from Madikeri (or somewhere nearby) to Kannur, and to do this by bus (cab will be too expensive, I think).

Perfect Suiko.

For your plan , no need to go to Madikeri at all.

From Mysore, get Kannur Bound bus [Kerala-SRTC & Karnataka-SRTC] and get down at Virajpet .From here you could get a Jeep Or Private bus to Kakkabe. Just for your info, Madikeri is around 80 kms from Virajpet [Eventhough both are in Coorg district].
This stretch Mysore- Virajpet is Nice road [In Bus] and highly scenic also [Once you enter Coorg District - Read Anehoukur and fyi, Possibility of Elephant / Deer sighting is more in this stretch Anehoukur-Gonikoppal as Anehoukur is just the boundary of Nagarahole NP and this road passes just parallel to Nagarahole NP].

Once you are done with your Kakkabe part, get back again to Virajpet and very well you could board kannur bound bus from here. Only thing is Road is pathetic to the core for around 20 kms + in Karnataka- Kerala border and in a bus you won't feel much on the road condition.

Hope this helps & in case you want to visit Specifically Madikeri , Please post so that I could include the Public transport option !

Velu

That's good - I hadn't thought of that! I don't think there is much specific reason to visit Madikeri, is there, so this could be a good option. Maybe not so easy to visit Kushalnagar/Bylekuppe for a day this way though? I think my gf would like to do this (tho only if it's possible to make a day viist without permit, of course).

Which areas of Coorg do you like best? We hope to do some walking somewhere, and I thought Kakkabe might be a good base.

Other option [May not be a Equivalent one thou ] might be ....
May be Bhagamandala-Talacauveri Stretch is too good for Scenic beauty with Nice climate too. [ It's 8 kms walk in Thar Road itself. Anyways very very less traffic will be there occassionally one or 2 Private buses and ofcourse few Tourist Cabs ] and once you reach Talacauvery, you could climb up the Steep 200 steps + to View Magnificient Brahmagiri Mountain ranges ..

I have provided the photos of this place over here [ Last 6 photos] -->

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ry-mysore.html

Anyways , your plan looks good only and you will like it for sure.

If your GF wants to visit Bylekuppe , From virajpet Or Kakkabe get a bus to Madikeri and from madikeri , get another bus [Kushal Nagara or Mysore / Bangalore bound buses] and get down at a place called "Koppa" from where you could get an auto to the Golden temple / Tibetan settlements... You could hire a Cab too from Kakkabe to this place which might be more comfortable.

Velu

Thanks - great pictures too!

Hi any body can tell the present road conditions

I did the Virajpet-Kerala road a couple of months ago. Road v bad for about 20 downhill kilometres as far as Kerala border. Serviced by occasional beat-up buses and lots of jeeps (more expensive).

@Shafi,

Which circuit you want to know the latest condition ?.

@Suiko,

So you did Virajpet - Kannur ?. That's anybody's nightmare!...

Cheers
Velu

Hi Mr.Velu
Tnx fr ur rply...
Could u please let me know the present conditions of following roads
Mananthawadi-Baira kuppa/kabani/Bavali-Mysore (Manathawadi mysore direct- Exact route i dont know)
Mananthawadi-tholpetty-kutta-nagarhole-HD Kote/Hunsur-Mysore

Any idea of KSRTC bus timings from kutta to mysore either through Hunsur or HD kote?
Which is the best time (in a day) for travelling through the national park, for better chance of seeing wild animals ...
regads shafi

The Talakkad, SomanathPur Roads mentioned here are still as worse and have become more horrible now I had been there just last week.

Unless you have a Scorpio, etc, pls dont venture to Talakkad/Somnathpur.

dear pmvelu,
Quote: 4. There is one another Dream route from Mysore to Bhavani [Tamilnadu] which is My dream and I am yet to explore and there is one "Tamilnadu Government bus" which passes through Mysore- Kollegala-Ramapura-Gargekundi-Bargur-Anthiyur-Bhavani to reach Erode and this passes through one of the Most forested and unexplored area and Believe it or not this bus itself will look a Metal Scrap only and the sound it makes is Terrific !!!!!! ..Some how I wanted to talk to the driver of this bus for sometime to know about his experiences BUT twice I tried in Mysore Sub-urb bus stand and both times, it's just 2 minutes stop and immediately the bus started back to Erode..
I am planning to make out this bus trip and share the experiences and photos with IMers

I want to travel part of above route ie, kollegal- hannur- ramapura- Gargekundi- bargur- Anthiyur- bhavani and further to Nammakal & trichy. Did you ever travelled in the above route?
If so please post ur experiences & suggestions on this route.
Thanks in advance.