10 Terrific Road Trips Ideas For Bangaloreans For The Upcoming Long Weekend

Gear up for the long weekend ahead with the road trip ideas.

1. Coorg

 “Climate was very good and the road was also fine and we went via Mysore Madikeri road and lot's of greenery was around. There were dhabas and restaurant available for food and road was quite pleasant. It took 5 hours to reach to the destination and it's a nice hill station and was a relaxing trip.”

Route 255 km via Bangalore-Mysore Rd and Mysore-Madikeri Road/SH 88

2. Ooty

 “The road was quite good and not very heavy traffic except for at intermittent town areas en-route. Took a bypass without entering into Mysore city. Mysore to Ooty was quite scenic and the road has quite a few sharp bends which requires good caution. On return trip took the newly constructed expressway which was quite good.”

Route 265 km via Bangalore - Mysore Road

. Chikmagalur

“The experience of travelling by car was really good. The roads were good. There were many places on the way to visit so we did some impromptu breaks in between to visit a few temples and waterfalls. It was really refreshing to see the coffee and tea plantation on the way. It's better not to travel beyond 8 pm. The place in and around Herur are quite isolated. But overall it was a great experience and we enjoyed a lot.”

Route 245 km via Bangalore - Mangalore Highway

4. Wayanad

 “We went to Wayanad by Bangalore- Mysore- Hunsur- Nagarhole- Kutta- Wayanad route. The idea was to beat traffic and have a leisurely drive through the forest. It is recommended to fill fuel at Hunsur or before since once you enter Nagarhole forest for about 50 km and there are no petrol bunks. The roads were in good condition throughout. We could spot deer, jackals and peacock on our way. Entry to the forest road is from 6 am to 6 pm only.”

Route 277 km via Bangalore - Mysore Rd and SH33

5. Bandipur National Park

“It was a much awaited road trip that eventually materialized. We started early in the morning at 6 am from RT Nagar, Bangalore. It was a clear morning and we were excited to take this road trip. We took the Mysore highway and since we started early we were fortunate to avoid the traffic at the Mysore highways junction. The road was smooth and after the first 2 hours of driving, we took a break to have some coffee and breakfast at a local joint on the highway. We reached Mysore at around 11, and took a break for half an hour to take some pictures of the Mysore palace and its surrounding areas.  We started from Mysore at around 11.30 and planned to reach Bandipur at around 2 for lunch. The stretch from Mysore to Bandipur is truly majestic, with dense trees on both sides of the road and a very picturesque countryside. We often took break in between to take pictures, as my colleague was interested to take pictures of cows on the road and the village life. We saw farmlands, forest and dense trees reaching out to the road as if they had a message to convey. Stopping and taking pics in between slowed us down a bit, but it was worth it. We finally reached Bandipur at around 3 pm and had our lunch. This road trip was really special.”

Route 218 km via Bangalore-Mysore Road and Kozhikode-Mysore-Kollegal Highway | NH212

6. Mudumalai

5-6 hours by smooth drive. No traffic chaos. Very cool experience of driving. One can cover near by areas along with Mysore. Driving in Bandipur forest is awesome experience always. You can spot wildlife while you zoom into quiet forest. Reserve forest has got very well maintained roads. No honking please in forest area and you can't stop in between. Altogether, it was a lifetime experience.”

Route 243 km via Bangalore - Mysore Road

7. Hampi

 

 “We planned a trip to Kishkindha Nagari or Hampi by car as we were suggested that it gives you lot of leeway when in Hampi considering that monuments are spread over a vast area of 25 sq km. Half of the journey is on NH-4 which is part of Golden Quadrilateral and goes without saying that the ride is perfect. At Chitradurga, you have to take right on Solapur Road where you tend to slow down due to small road. Once in Hampi, we were able to move around easily and quickly as our big advantage was that we had got a very good driver who knew well about the area. We covered Daroji Bear Sanctuary which is about 20km out of town, Hampi monuments as well as Tungabhadra Dam.”

Route 350 km via Asian Highway 47/National Highway 4 and Solapur-Mangalore Highway/ NH13

8. Shimoga

 

 “The way from Bangalore to Shimoga is very nice. I took a route from Bangalore--Channarayapatna--Arsikere--Shimoga; about 300 km of travel. It was around 5.30 when we stopped for lunch. We took coffee at Coffee Fay near Arsikere and it's an awesome place to hang on for some time break.”

Route 280 km via Bangalore - Mangalore Highway/Mangalore-Bangalore Highway/NH 48 and Bangalore-Honavar Road/NH 206

9. Hogenakkal

 

“You will get three different routes if you try to find the directions from Electronic City to Hogenakkal Waterfalls in Google Maps. Route 1 (107 Kilometers) : Goes through Attibele->Denkanikottai->Anchetty->Billgundala. This is the shortest route. The route is two way and you will be travelling through many villages. You will get around 5 kilometers road which is under repair at the moment out of which 2 kilometers is very bad. You have to be very careful for these 2 kilometers, otherwise your vehicle may get punctured. Road repair work is going on at this moment. It takes around three hours if you go non-stop and your speed ranges from 40-60 kilometer. You can see the Kaveri River flowing close by the road for 6-8 kilometer close to Hogenakkal. You can stop and have a glance to the Kaveri River basin. The route is pleasure to drive. We took this way to reach Hogenakkal. Route 2 (134 Kilometer): Goes through Hosur->Rayakottai->Palacode->Papparapatti->Pennagaram. The road is good. There is no need to go to Route 3 (NH) because this route is in good condition. It will take almost the same amount of time as Route 1. We used this route to return back to Bangalore.Route 3(163 Kilometer): Goes through Hosur->Krishnagiri->Gundalapatti->Pennagaram. I didn't travel this way. But looks like it is NH and road must be good. One must prefer this route if returning late evening from Hogenakkal.”

10. Coonoor

 

“We took the Bangalore-Kanakpura Highway and then travelled via Chamrajnagar to take the Coimbatore-Ooty highway. The roads along the whole stretch were laid and maintained even though it was not a four lane road, the road had very less traffic and the views compensated for the speed dash that the Bangalore-Mysore road offered. We took around five-and-half-hours to reach Kurumba Village Resort, including a break for breakfast and a couple photo breaks."

Route 304 km via NH 209