Bangalore To Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole: Route, Road Conditions, Lodging & Boarding


Thread Starter #1
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
388
Likes
313
Location
Bengaluru
Bitten by the history bug in the 1st May long weekend. Planned for Badami, Pattadhakkal & Aihole.

Onward journey (9 hrs). Drive time of Route taken was Bangalore - Tumkur - Sira - Hiriyur - Chitradurga - Kudligi - Hospet - Bewoor - Yelaburga - Sudi - Cholachagudda - Badami.
410am - Shankarpuram, Bangalore
730am - Chitradurga + Breakfast stop (1 hr)
1130am - Hospet
2pm - Badami

Road conditions
Bangalore - Chitradurga: 4/6 lane highways. Excellent condition. Since I started very early, didn't encounter much traffic.
Chitradurga - Hospet: 2 lane carriageway. The entire stretch is worked upon to make it 4L. And as usual, a lorry marathon on both sides. Overtaking is painful. And this section slows you down considerably. Existing roads are uneven, small potholes, patched half-heartedly.
Hospet - Bewoor - Yelaburga - Sudi - Cholachagudda - Badami: single/dual lane carriageway. In some parts, uneven sections are there. But mostly good & resurfaced recently.

Default option (extended highway drive is to go via Hubli - Navalgund - Rona - Cholachagudda - Badami). I didn't want to go via this road as this is not as engaging the other routes.

Return journey (8+ hrs). Route taken was another unconventional route. Very promising one too. Badami - Cholachagudda - Sudi - Yelaburga - Bewoor - Hospet - Toraganallu - Ubbalagandi - Rampura - Challakere - Hiriyur - Sira - Tumpur - Bangalore.

10am: Badami
1230pm: TB Dam (45min) / Lunch @ Hospet (2 hrs)
430pm: Rampura (via Toraganallu, Ubbalagandi, Rajapura)
6pm: Hiriyur
715pm: Tumkur
9pm: Shankarpura, Bangalore

Badami - Hospet: We have already described it.
Hospet - Toraganallu: 2 lane carriageway, excellent condition, lots of lorry traffic.
Toraganallu - Ubbalagandi - Rajapura - Rampura: 1 lane carriageway. Half of the distance is concrete surface, remaining is good roads. Red sand shoulder to be used when larger vehicles crossing you. Winding roads & moves through lots of hills. Excellent to drive on, beautiful scenery. Especially just before Ubbalagandi, there is a beautiful natural structure you should cherish. Villages are narrow & littered with speedbreakers. The section between Rajapura - Rampura is a reserved forest, rarely you will see traffic, desolate, not to be taken in the night.
Rampura - Challakere - Hiriyur: Wide 2-lane carriageway. Excellent condition. 100+ easily possible through out. Decent amount of traffic too. Since the roads are wide, some maniac drivers will ask you to move to shoulder when they are overtaking from the opposite direction. Excellent view of the setting sun.
Hiriyur - Sira - Tumkur - Bangalore: Discussed already.

Stay options in Badami

Clarks Inn(https://goo.gl/maps/fVjpvzHE6y32): Looks decent. Right in the middle of the junction. Very close to places-of-interest. In-house restaurant serves veg & non-veg foods. The menu spread is good. We tried chicked, fish, biriyani. All found to be of good quality. A bit spicy too. We didn't stay there, so comment in detail about the experience. But saw the rooms, good/comfortable for a family of 3-4. Dinner will cost you between 1200-1500 for a family of 2+2.

Heritage Resort (https://goo.gl/maps/hsQLofzQj6x): Decent place. A bit away from the town (0.5kms). Very close to HP Bunk (found to be decent quality Diesel too). No in-house restaurant. Alcohol & non-veg not served in the restaurant. You can bring them from outside & have it in the room. Stayed for 2 nights in the cottage. Large enough space. The breakfast doesn't have spread at all (including in price). But the thali (only option) for lunch is good. No snack options in the evening (excepting Alu Tikki, French Fries - standard ones brought & fried and served). Dinner is quite good as well, although limited options. Food is inexpensive here (bills usually between 300-500 for 2+2 family).

Both options are recommended for such a small town. Do not expect even 3-star treatment. The towns are pretty small & unsophisticated.

Local route/road conditions
Badami - Pattadakkal: 2 lane carriageway, wide, excellent road condition. Go towards Station Road & further down there is a right-turn for Pattakkal. Do not go through Banashankari temple. 15-20min journey.

Pattadakkal - Aihole: 1 lane carriageway, pretty narrow in most places, roads are being converted to 2-lane wide carriageway. Lots of work happening. Budget 35-45min for this.

En-route options for break
Have breakfast / lunch @ Badami itself & start. Until Hospet, there is nothing much in terms of break / food options. Just stock some fruits & nature's call in the nature.

Chitradurga: Didn't find any decent option. Hence went to this Yatri Nivas (https://goo.gl/maps/J1GR57rAaJM2). The breakfast wasn't ready when we went @ 730am. They took 15min to get it ready. Food was decent quality, though the spread was limited.

Hospet: Saw many options there. But what trip is a good trip without some fine dining experience. Had lunch @ Royal Orchid (https://goo.gl/maps/q1vKS3aP7Jy). Good spread. Good quality. Price betwen 2300-2700 for a family of 2+2. Buffet only in weekends.

Some useful tips
1. Badami requires half-a-day (without the museum). The road to museum (closes at 6pm) is pretty narrow. Brace yourself.
2. Aihole requires half-a-day. Do not miss the aerial view from the hill-top temple / watch tower. There is no direct path, park on the side of the road & ask the villagers. Once you are on top, you will notice the many sites of Aihole. Beautiful views.
3. Pattadakkal is actually Pattadhakallu. Easily one of the most beautiful places to see around. Try the Buti Oota that the women will bring. Try the Jowar Rotti. Their red chutney is a spice bomb. Be careful. I tried. Simple, but good homely food.
4. The HP (https://goo.gl/maps/8uMnsiw7Zck) just outside Badami (towards Station Road) is decent. Filled up diesel Full tank here & didn't cause any issues.
5. Visit the Banashankari temple, if you have time.
6. In the route mentioned in the return journey, after Hospet there is no decent break/food options till Hiriyur. So plan accordingly.
7. Speedbreakers come in bunch of 3-5 between Rampura - Challakere - Hiriyur. Most can be passed at high speeds, as the lorry traffic has suppressed its effect. Some give nasty surprises.
8. The heat in this region are just HOT not sultry. You may not sweat immediately, but you are evaporating a lot of water. Drink fluids a lot.
9. An umbrella (in summer only) will help a lot, specially for ladies, senior citizens & kids.
10. I didn't get Vodafone 3G. If you opt for 2G/3G/4G in your phones (with Vodafone connection), it won't work. Change the preference to 2G only. It will start working (albeit slowly). I did get Airtel 3G.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
1,032
Likes
1,289
Location
Pune
Re: Bangalore to Badami, Pattadhakkal, Aihole: Route, road conditions, lodging & boar

Good update CasualSurfer!!

I have this trip in my mind from long time. A little bit confused whether to take,
1) Pune - Solapur - Bijapur - Badami route (less Kms and more time - can cover Bijapur as well) Or,
2) Pune - NH48 - Badami - Hospete - Hampi (more Kms less time)
If taking 2nd option then where is it ideal to exit NH48? Belgaum / Dharwad / Hubli / Ranebennur ?

Anyways, your post will definitely help me in planning itinerary and stay / food option. [thumbsup]
 
Thread Starter #3
Joined
Jul 16, 2015
Messages
388
Likes
313
Location
Bengaluru
Re: Bangalore to Badami, Pattadhakkal, Aihole: Route, road conditions, lodging & boar

Good update CasualSurfer!!
1) Pune - Solapur - Bijapur - Badami route (less Kms and more time - can cover Bijapur as well) Or,
2) Pune - NH48 - Badami - Hospete - Hampi (more Kms less time)
If taking 2nd option then where is it ideal to exit NH48? Belgaum / Dharwad / Hubli / Ranebennur ?
1) In Route 1, the section between Solapur & Bijapur will be similar to Chitradurga & Hospet.
2) Ideal will be Sankeshwar. But I don't know the route / road conditions from here. From Hubli/Dharwad, you can take Navalgund - Rona - Cholchagudda - Badami. Good roads all the way. Low GC cars will be tested only between Pattadakkal - Aihole.

Hampi is 15+ kms from Hospet. You can take the route I had mentioned, no worries till Hospet/Hampi. Hampi sight-seeing itself is a 1.5-2 day affair if you have to do justice to the place. That's why I have kept it for a separate visit.

Heritage Resort costed me (room rent + breakfast + extra bed) for 2 night/3 days Rs 8944 (2 adults, 1 kid above 11 yrs, 1 kid). A cot (just bed was included in the cost) was another Rs 600 per night!! A bit on the expensive side, but peace of mind. Clarks Inn & one more (Badami Court or similar one) was in the same range.

One another important tip, forgot to update earlier. For those with small kids, the hotels do provide some of the breakfast packed as lunch (if you ask for it) without fuss.
 
Joined
Mar 19, 2014
Messages
1,032
Likes
1,289
Location
Pune
Re: Bangalore To Badami, Pattadakal, Aihole: Route, Road Conditions, Lodging & Boardi

Will definitely refer this tread while planning the itinerary. I also have 9 years kid so need to plan accordingly [:)].
Don't know whether he will enjoy these historical temples or not.
 
Last edited:

Top Bottom