I wanted to drive down to Mangalore just after the rainy reason for a very long time to experience the scenic of Charmadi Ghat. After 2 unsuccessful attempts in August and September due to some unavoidable reasons, it was fruitful during this year's Dassera holiday's. Continuous 5 days of holiday encouraged me to take my Ritz in the scenic route of Charmadi. In fact it was the first visit of my Ritz to native place.
Day 1 :
I started from the office at 4-15 pm on Tuesday evening, fully loaded with junkies to dump back things at my home. It was the first solo long drive i did since i engaged with my Ritz. It took full 1 hour to reach Nelamangala due to traffic congestion near Yeshwantpur railway station. Drive became smooth once i hit the fly over on tumkur road. In no time i reached Nelamangala junction where in i have to take deviation to Mangalore high way (NH 48).
The road was superb with two lane per side. Last time when i drove in this road, the work had not finished causing a lot of uneasiness to the vehicle due to dangerous pot holes and pits. Now they have completed the work and toll collection is about to start in a month or two. Initially i was driving at 100 kmph as i had decided not to over speed. After 30 km of neatly maintained road invited for a thrilling drive. I started accelerating more and in a few seconds i reached 150 kmph, and slowly in a minute i reached 160 kmph. Wow, it was the first time i drove at such a speed with my Ritz. I broke my earlier record of 120 kmph in Omni car last year. Amazing feeling to drive at that speed. Even the scenic on both sides were awesome as last rays of Sun had illuminated the lush green fields. After driving at this speed for about 20 km i reduced the speed as there were many villages through which the road passes with out any barricades. At a constant speed of 100-120 kmh, i reached Sakaleshpur at 8-15 pm taking 3 hours to reach Sakaleshpur from Nelamangala junction.
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| Road to enlightenment |
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| View beside Ritz |
Since i wanted to enjoy the dawn over the Ghat section, i decided to stay here. Stayed at Hotel Ashrita, pretty descent hotel for that area who charge 450 INR for a room per day if you are single. Even the employees are friendly and humble. I enquired about the route i had seen in google map which connects Sakaleshpur with Kottigehara directly, but these people were unaware of that route. He suggested a route which deviates from Hanbal & reaches back the Mudigere road via Devaragunda. It passes mainly through coffee estates. Had dinner at the nearby Surabhi restaurant, South Indian meal was not very good but i hear ed Dosa's are good here.
Day 2:
I woke up early in the morning and got ready by 6-15 am. Checked out of the hotel and in another 10 minutes i hit the fog covered misty roads of Sakaleshpur. There is a deviation to the right on the NH48 which connects to Mudigere via Hanbal at distance of around 4 km from Sakaleshpur. From here on, it is single road, the luxury of sticking to the tar when another vehicle in the other direction is gone. Slowly i moved on with my fog lights ON, enjoying the amazing scenic on both the side of the road. Reached Hanbal, where in i found the deviation which the hotel guy told me to take. I continued in the direct route to Mudigere, afraid of the bad road condition, but this road too was very bad. It took around 2.5 hours to reach Kottigehara, small town just before the start of descend of Charmadi ghat. Ghat road was amazing with view of the prominent peaks of that area like Jenukallu, Ettina Bhuja, Deepadakallu etc. Stopped several times to capture the forests in my camera. Slowly, descended the ghat unveiling the dangerous famous hair pin curves of the ghat. At 9-30 am, i was in Ujire searching for a descent restaurant to have my breakfast.
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| View on the way |
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| Lonely tree |
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| Dawn at Mudigere range |
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| View from Charmadi |
Route :
Bangalore --NH4--> Nelamangala --NH48--> Kunigal -> Channarayapatna -> Hassan -> Sakaleshpur -> Hanbal -> Mudigere --NH206--> Banakal -> Kottigehara -> Ujire -> BC Road -> Sajipa -> Mudipu
Information :
- Stay at Sakaleshpur can be done at Hotel Ashrita and you can have food at Surabhi restaurant which is attached to it
- They charge 450 INR for single person and 750 for two people. Its the same double bed room they provide for single person also
- Start very early as in 5-45 am from Sakaleshpur. I was late by 30 mins
- Road till Hanbal is manageable but after, is very bad
- There are many descent restaurants at Ujire for the breakfast
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