Garden city to Heritage city

Wonder what this is? This is what the signboard reads as you start to head out ot Bangalore city towards Mysore.

Imagine this for a moment. Covering a distance of 120 kms in a little over 3 hrs. sounds interesting? Not quite right? Well.. this is how the Bangalore-Mysore road used to be couple of years back. A plethora of vehicles racing on the narrow 2 way stretch, and ofcourse the road-widening activity, the hold-ups etc. I always used to think twice, thrice before I got myself to drive down that road on weekends.

Then it all happened.

Well, it did not happen in a night, but when it happened, it happened for good. The narrow 2 way stretch gave way to wider, four-lane fast lane. What used to take a painstaking 3-3.5 hrs was considerably reduced. Now, one can cover the distance of 120 kms between the 2 cities in 2 hrs. Hows that ?

As a person who has traveled on this road many many times, I wouldn’t be doing justice If I do not acknowledge the effort.

The transformation is such that I frequently get on to this road, drive around 50 odd kms on a Saturday morning to have breakfast in the neighboring town of Ramanagaram.

So, where does it all begin ??

The Mysore road (the road apparent) starts right from the heart of Bangalore’s city market . You would be better off avoiding the city market during the day time when its bubbling with activity.
Depending on the location of one is coming from , you get on to Mysore road at different points.

When I need to get on to the Mysore road, I take the NICE road, part of which connects Kanakapura road to Mysore Road. This road takes you past all the traffic snarls of the city and puts you close to Kengeri.

For those who are wondering what NICE road is.. NICE is the name of the firm that developed the 4 lane highway that runs perpendicular to Mysore road and it connects Mysore road with Hosur road. Apparently this is the road (NICE) where I touched 180 in my Fiesta).

Once you get on to Mysore road , the going is smooth. The city traffic would be seen till you cross Bidadi. Once past Bidadi, you can begin to enjoy the drive. Since the whole area is a fertile land (this is a Cauvery basin, remember?), greenery all around meets the eye and combined with the mist of the early morning, it’s a real real pleasure to drive with your windows roll down. Of course if you are a person who is focused on “reaching the destination”, don’t bother to roll down your windows.

Driving along this road, the first town that you come across is Ramanagaram, or should I say , Ramgadh of SHOLAY. Yes, the shooting for the film SHOLAY was done here.

A short drive from Ramangaram, is a restaurant called Kamat Lokaruchi. I usually stop here for my meal (breakfast/lunch). Invariably this place is crowded whatever time it may be. It’s a nice place to take a break.

The good part (sometimes a irritating fact) is that there are lot of towns in between Bangalore and Mysore that serve as milestones. Advantage is that one does not feel the distance as there is a town almost every half an hour ?. The irritation factor can be the town traffic/signals that slow down the otherwise smooth drive.

The list of towns that one comes across are Ramanagaram-Chennapatna-Maddur-Mandya-Srirangapatna and finally Mysuru.

Maddur is famous for ‘Maddur vada” and “Maddur Masala Dosa”. Remember to stop at Maddur Tiffany’s to grab a bit of the above 2 dishes.

Srirangapatna houses a bird sanctuary, a temple and Tipu’s resting place.

Most of the one-day-outing spots (picnic spots) and temples are located off this Bangalore-Mysore road. I would be writing about a couple of those places shortly.

In short,

Distance : 120 odd kms
Time takes : 2 – 2.5 hrs
Best Time : Any time is good
Meal Stops : Kamat Lokaruchi (Ramanagaram), Tiffany’s (Maddur), MTR (Maddur)

Happy driving!!!!