Malnad Road Trip: Bengaluru - Thirthahalli - Jog Falls - Goa - Kolhapur - Pune. Part 1.

Part - 1: Bengaluru to Thirthahalli.

DAY 1: September 3, 2018: Monday. Bangalore - Devangi (Thirthahalli).

We wanted to start from home in Sahakarnagar by 6 am, but the best we could manage was 6.45. Geeta packed some chutney sandwiches and a thermos full of tea to have on the way in our WagonR.

We encountered much less traffic by departing early. We took the route from Yeshwantpur and Tumkur to reach Dobaspet, 20 km from Tumkur, where we stopped to refuel.

There is a good HP COCO pump and a Kamat Upachar at Dobaspet. First we filled the tank of our WagonR to the brim (23 litres @ ₹81.96) and went to Kamat Upachar to refuel ourselves. I had idli sambar and Geeta had wada sambar with a cup of coffee. We stopped for 35 minutes at Dobaspet.

At Hiriyur 164 km from Bangalore we took a left turn off NH48 on to SH24 and drove on a two lane state highway to Hosadurga, Ajjampur, then SH65 to Tarikere where we were stuck in a traffic jam for well over 15 minutes.

Around noon time we stopped under the shade of a huge banyan tree and had our packed chutney sandwiches and thermos tea, which was still hot.

We then took a left turn to Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary, Bhadra Dam and via Lakkavalli to Muttinakoppa after which we had to cross the Tunga River by the narrow Muduve Bridge to emerge on NH169 to Thirthahalli. 

Bhadra Dam

Muduve Setu across the Tunga River before Tirthahalli

We had to cross the River Tunga again at the Tirthahalli Bridge to get to Devangi. We reached Thirthahalli at 2.40 pm, from where we took a left turn on to Koppa Road (NH169).

We reached Bananki Homestay, 8.5 km away from Thirthahalli, at 3 pm. We had done a total of 360 km from Sahakarnagar to Bananki Homestay at Devangi.

For more about Bananki Homestay read my review on TripAdvisor.
Experience The Malnad Way Of Life.

Bananki Homestay

We had our lunch at 3.15 pm in the separate dining hall which had 3 embedded stools to one round table (very unique). We had dosas, ragi rotis, bamboo vegetable, chilly pakoda, dal, rice, chutney and curds. After finishing lunch at 4 pm we rested and slept for a while. Both of us were tired. We got up at 5.30 pm and were treated to banana chips and coffee.

View from the Dining Hall at Bananki

Forest Cottages at Bananki Homestay

 We stayed put at the homestay for the next two days, exploring the beautiful forested Malnad countryside, and enjoying the local cuisine at Bananki.

Some data from my Trip Log

• 6.45 am....Start from Sahakarnagar, Bengaluru.............0 km
• 7.50 am.....Dobaspet (NH48) Refuel at HP pump.........47 km
• 9.55 am.....Hiriyur (NH48). Left turn to SH24..............164 km
• 10.55 am...Hosadurga Right turn...................................209 km
• 11.45 am...Ajjampur.......................................................242 km
• 12.45 pm...Tarikere (stuck in a jam for 15 min).............265 km
• 1.00 pm.....Left turn to Bhadra Dam & Tiger sanctuary.268 km
• 1.05 pm.....Lakavalli........................................................285 km
• 1.05 pm.....Bhadra Wild Life Sanctuary..........................286 km
• 1.10 pm......Bhadra Dam..................................................287 km
• 1.30 pm.....Hunsakatte. Left turn to SH65.......................296 km
• 1.55 pm ....Muttinakoppa.................................................316 km
• 2.00 pm....Right turn to Muduve Setu, cross Tunga........319 km
• 2.40 pm.....Thirthahalli....................................................351 km
• 3.00 pm.....Devangi. Bananki Homestay.........................360 km

The above route may not be the best route to Thirthahalli as the road from Tarikere to Muttinakoppa was not in very good shape. Our host at Bananki told us that us that they generally advise coming via Bhadravati and Shimoga. However we got to see the Bhadra Wildlife Sanctuary and Bhadra Dam on this route, and quite enjoyed the forest scenery.