[WorldTraveler]

I have just returned from a three-week trip to South India.  My itinerary included a journey by car from Hyderabad to Mysore by road via Hampi, Belur/Halebid and Medikeri.  Before I left on the trip, I searched all the fourms I could think of for anybody else who has done a similar trip.  I got only one response from someone who has done a part of this trip in the reverse direction (Belur/Halebid to Hampi).  I am jotting down my experiences here in case anyone else wants to try this out.  We avoided highways where we could.

I used Rough Guide's South India Map(1:1,200,00).  It is a rip-proof, water proof plastic map and held out well.  But be aware that this map cuts off the northern part of Andhra Pradesh (Visakhapatnam and coastal Orissa area).  The map does show distances in kilometers between major towns.  I did find one minor error in the map (in coastal Andhra Pradesh) but it is fairly accurate.

1. Hyderabad to Hampi (Anegundi):  NH7 (Hyderabad to Bangalore) south up o Jadcherla.  There take a right turn (west) towards Mahabubnagar.  This is a minor road but in fairly good condition.  Stay on this until Raichur and then take a right (west) towards Kalma.  But before you get to Kalma take a left (south) towards Manvi (may have to ask locals).  At Manvi, the road splits but stay on the 'bigger' road which takes you all the way to Gangawati.  Our plan was to spend the night at the Anegundi village (across the river from Hampi) and there is a minor road that takes you there direct from Gangawati (you may have to ask the locals for specific directions).  Virupaksha Gadde - a popular place these days - is also on the same side of the river as Anegundi about seven clicks further up.  If your plan is to stay in Kamalapuram or in Hampi itself, you will have to go East at Gangawati towards Kampli and then south.  We left Hyderbad (Ameerpet area) around 9 AM and reached Anegundi in time to climb to the top of the hill there to catch the gorgeous sunset.  We also had a flat tire and stopped a few times on the way.

2. Anegundi to Belur:  The Anegundi stay was quite eventful and I will post details separately but suffice to stay that I do not recommend staying there unless you want to be waken up at 3AM by religious songs blaring out of loud speakers.  We spent the second night at Virupaksha Gadde and from there left around 9AM to Belur.  There is no choice but to make your way through the highway traffic near Hospet but from Hospet we took a side road towards Harihar (which is also on the Highway 4).  Continue on that same minor road towards Shimoga.  There, go East towards Bhadrawati.  After about 20km (remember to take the bypass road at Bhadrawati to avoid the town traffic), go South at Tarikere towards Chikmagalur.  This section is one of the most beautiful parts of the journey (to be outdone only by the segment  near Medikeri).  At Chikmagalur, go left towards Belur.  We did the sightseeing at Halebid temple that afternoon and spent the night at Belur.

I will post the Belur to Medikeri (Medikeri to Mysore is pretty straightforward except that for the first 30km, the road is in pretty bad shape and we took a detour.

[WorldTraveler]

Belur to Medikeri:
The first portion of this segment involved reaching Sakleshpur which is on the Highway 48 (Bangalore to Mangalore).  The  roads around Belur going south (not to Hassan) are not that well-marked.  There are two options according to the map but the locals kept tellng us to take the one towards Belgod.  This portion - Belur to Belgod - was the worst one in terms of road conditions.  I recommend investigating the 'other' minor road going south (towards Arehalli).  Once we reached Rt 48, the road conditions improved and just past Sakleshpur, there is an unmarked split.  If you bear left, you will end up on the road going south towards Medikeri.  You may have to keep checking with the locals to make sure you are on the right road. It will take you past Kodlipet, Sanvarsante and Somvarpet.  The map does show another alternative but this is what was recommended by the locals.  It is a 'ghat road' with a lot of switchbacks and one needs to be very alert.  The scenery is beautiful!  We were held up at Kodlipet by a protest march by the locals demanding action by the Forestry Department to control the wild elephant menace.  They shut down the traffic leaving the town for nearly two hours.  

We actually stayed in a small village called Galibeedu, outside Medikeri.  

The total journey from Hyderabad to Medikeri (Galibeedu) was a little over one thousand kilometers.

[iwanttogoback]

hi worldtraveler

thanks for the reports, it sounds like an amazing experience.

did you drive yourself? and what kind of car did you have?

looking forward to more. do you have photos?

[WorldTraveler]

iwanttogoback, on Jan 13 2008, 07:25 PM, said:

hi worldtraveler

thanks for the reports, it sounds like an amazing experience.

did you drive yourself? and what kind of car did you have?

looking forward to more. do you have photos?

We had a driver.  There is no way I would venture driving in India! We had an SUV - I can't recall the exact model but I know it is not Toyota Qualis (spelling?).  We are still sorting through the pictures.  Will post them soon.

[iwanttogoback]

thanks wt, looking forward to the photos.