touring query approved and title changed.

Welcome to xBhp & pls consider posting an intro about yourself & your rides in the "Who Are You" section.

BLR-Hassan-Belur-Halebidu are simply straight forward routes, no confusions, great road condition, although some NH work is in progress from Kunigal.

It is perfectly possible to do Bangalore-Belur including a site seeing in a single day at reasonable speeds. Accomodations are excellent at Hassan; there could be accomodation at Belur, but I don't remember seeing much options. Belur to Hassan drive is awesome & I bet you guys WILL enjoy it. Two days around Belur & Halebidu is just fine for starts.

I hope you guys know the route to take, BLR-NICE-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Chanrayapatana-Hassan-Belur
If you're from the city, then it will be BLR-Nelamangala-Kunigal-Bellur Cross-Chanrayapatana-Hassan-Belur

Halebidu is bang opposite direction towards Hassan/BLR route. That's about 10 Kms or so & the roads are fine to keep 80-100. But remember, Halebidu has a non live temple. Means, its only a museum, but worth a visit.

What else you want to know?

Hey RjM,
Welcome to xBhp.

The road on this route is simply gr8. I would recommend few things:
- If you go from Bangalore, then go to Nelamangala and then take a left from there, the road is straight and simple but beware of huge speed
breakers and diversions
- leave early morning so that you avoid traffic as there are huge numbers of trucks and buses
- instead of going straight to Hassan, take a detour to Shravanabelagola. The road towards this place is extremely scenic as its a state highway
and the country side is worth cruising. Also here you can see the biggest mahavir statue. the temple is also nice. If you wanna stay there just
look around and you can have a place for as cheap as Rs.100 - 150 per day
- Hassan is just 50kms from Shravanabelagola. Hotels are a plenty, try Suvarna regency. Its on the way to the Belur road itself
- when you go to belur, enjoy the country side and lookout for windmills
- the temples in Halebidu and Belur are worth sitting and relaxing, also photography
- leave early morning on your way back to bangalore as the highway is straight and can get boring after some time
- some 100kms after hassan, you can halt at a Cafe Coffee Day or Kamat's, these restaurants are side by side so take your pick. Remember, after
this eating place its very difficult to find a good eating joint till kunigal or nelamangala

Last but not least enjoy the trip and do not travel in the nights

Welcome to xbhp RjM.
Aayushmaan Bhava.

Aargee's & Sushant's advice pretty much covers most of the info you need. I visited Belur last month with my wife during our south india bike trip. BTW, the roads in Hassan city are terrible, but the 30-40kms stretch from Hassan to Belur is an absolute delight for bikers with very little traffic, BUT just beware there are small irritating road humps when you enter/exit few villages on the route. There is no entry fee at the temple but as soon as you enter the temple complex on the left side there are licensed guides. They will ask Rs. 200, but bargain for 100-150. Its worth it coz they explain a lot of intricate things and will also use the spot lights inside the temple to show you some of the minute things there. 1 hour is sufficient for the temple and the sculpture work is absolutely mesmerizing. Dont forget to carry a camera. We didn't go to Halebid as we were short on time.

In Hassan, we had dinner at a place called Laxmi Sweets & Tiffin which is located in the main market street near the govt guest house. It’s a very small place that’s always full, but they serve mouth watering Aloo Paratha & Methi Roti.

Have a nice trip.

+1; Yeah, I vouch for Suvarna. However we stayed at Kadamba which is located about 100-200 ft from Suvarna towards Belur & a dbl room that costed us Rs 600+tax for a day & the room was awesome for the money we paid.

Welcome to Touring-XBHP

I would recommend Suvarna regency for breakfast and Lunch at Hassan. Its quite VFM considering the cost and quality

I wouldnt recommend Suvarna for the stay if you are looking for BUDGET rooms as its quite costly due to the CAR-crowd. Better look for places at Chennarayapatna. If INR 800 for a nite stay is ok , then guess Suvarna is the place for you

Detour towards Shravanabelagola is worth every km on that route... May be could consider staying there for the night as it seems to be the cheapest of the lot.

Decent places for Lunch is a issue in Hassan and Belur. Other than Suvarna , may be you should consider the place recommended by Haroon for the parathas and rothis

About first time touring, Go through the Touring threads in Xbhp

For a brief info, Put on some right clothing for the winter. Recommended would be a sung fit helmet, Good riding jackets (Protective/Textile/Leather)
, Shoes, jeans and Gloves. These will keep your focus on the road

Speeds should be kept at < 80-100 kmph irrespective what you ride as it would ensure less moments and enjoy the whole experience that much more

Never loose sight of the Rider with you at all times (ahead or behind)

Keep your headlight on at all times (Low beams)

Keep the required amount of fuel (One way/Both ways preferred if u can )

Keep the tire pressure to recommended levels to avoid anykind of drama during the trip

Have fun , ride safe and Click a lot of pics for the log ahead on XBHP which I am sure you will after this trip tomorrow as its one of the best riding routes (Hassan- Belur especially)

I know this comes in late. But thanks a lot for your suggestions. Without them, we would've had a real tough time. I reached B'lore yesterday. Got some good clicks and did some great biking.

Special mention: The Hassan-Belur roads (Awesome ya!)

I will put up the pics and write about the ride soon..

Thanks again!

Hey RjM,
Next time try going to Coorg via Mysore highway, you will love the twists and the ghat roads towards madikere

enjoy,
Sushant

So that was January 2011. Wondering which temple, beach, awesome routes await me next month.

Here's the flickr page:
Shravenabelagola, Hassan, Belur, Haleebidu - a set on Flickr