[Krishnan V G]

We drove from Hyderabad to Gurgaon in mid October this year through Nirmal - Adilabad- Hinghangat - Nagpur- Seoni - Narsinghpur - Sagar - Lalitpur - Jhansi - Gwalior - Agra - Delhi - Gurgaon. The Jhansi to Gwalior section is terrible, and took us about five hours to cross this section. We were also carrying bicycles on the cycle carrier attached to our car. Surprisingly for us the Hyderabad to Nagpur section, and then to Sagar via Seoni route was a breeze but Jhansi to Gwalior was terrible. We avoided the Nagpur Chindwara Narsinghpur Sagar route as inside Nagpur lots of construction work is going on everywhere. Of the several opinions and routes mentioned above, the central india route is the best, and very scenic too.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by Krishnan V G

The Jhansi to Gwalior section is terrible, and took us about five hours to cross this section.

Surprisingly for us the Hyderabad to Nagpur section, and then to Sagar via Seoni route was a breeze but Jhansi to Gwalior was terrible.

Is not a surprise at all and one of the most important reasons to take the Central India route - Its Breeze with its own negatives like the Jhansi - Gwalior section that is still undergoing expansion work.

We avoided the Nagpur Chindwara Narsinghpur Sagar route as inside Nagpur lots of construction work is going on everywhere.

And can be avoided going forward because the Nagpur - Mansar - Lakhnadon - Narsingpur is fully done now. This also makes one take the Nagpur Ring road and straightaway head towards Mansar without crossing the city. Plus, barring 30 kms inside Pench Reserve area, its all dual carriageway too.

[cool_dube]

Gents,

Can Bangalore-Chandigarh be driven down in 3 days? If so, what would be recommended night-halts? Nagpur and Agra?

As for the route, I take it that the best bet would be to stick to NH44, which is excellent barring the Jhansi-Gwalior section. Right?

Thanks in advance...

[arun_josie]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Gents,

Can Bangalore-Chandigarh be driven down in 3 days? If so, what would be recommended night-halts? Nagpur and Agra?
Thanks in advance...

Yes, this is the best option, halting at Nagpur and Agra. At Nagpur, stay closer to the outer ring road so that you can easily bypass the city.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Can Bangalore-Chandigarh be driven down in 3 days? If so, what would be recommended night-halts? Nagpur and Agra?

Arun has already responded and the answer is still a Yes! But for D2, you could push beyond Delhi and halt North somewhere on GT Road. This is something I would prefer so next day, I can start from a location where I don't have to fight traffic to get onto the highway.

Regarding the places to Halt, Nagpur is ideal as it falls midway between Delhi and Bangalore and has lots of options. However, going from my recent experience, if you can really manage a super early morning start (say 0300/0330), you can actually drive beyond Nagpur and halt at Seoni which has got decent choices now to stay (we did) the best part is that its less than 5 minutes away from the Central corridor.

Do know that the standard route now due to road conditions getting really better should be Nagpur - Seoni - Lakhnadon - Narsingpur. This one will helt you bypass Nagpur completely from a distance and will also have shorter stretch of single carriageway to cover (30 Kms) against the Chindwara option.

As for the route, I take it that the best bet would be to stick to NH44, which is excellent barring the Jhansi-Gwalior section. Right?

This holds good even today. So if your mind is prepared that you need to manage this 130 kms of epic work in progress stretch with rest of the roads in really good shape, your journey is half done without any surprises .

[droolingvoyager]

Hello Folks,

I am going to drive from Bangalore to Delhi in a week. Since I am hearing Jhansi to Gwalior is pathetic, I was wondering if we can somehow take a diversion towards the 6 lane Agra - Unnao Highway. Here is a google map link - https://goo.gl/maps/AvHG5xpST5aFiEfr6

Its BLR->HYD->NGP->Jhansi->Unnao->Agra->Delhi.

I am looking for easier driving in the shortest possible time, without much fatigue.

[Sunil2307]

Its going to be very hot in some stretches particularly in North and Central India. Fatigue will set in for sure. Keep yourself hydrated, and take enough breaks. It will be good for you and for the car. Next week could be election time in few of the states/ constituencies you plan to pass through. So take into account delays due to checking and rallies.

[rauldsouza]

I last drove Delhi - Bangalore 2 years back and the Hinganghat section was bad.

Based on what i read above, the stretch has improved. Could someone pls confirm its paved and 4 lane now and can be driven during night.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sunil2307

Its going to be very hot in some stretches particularly in North and Central India. Fatigue will set in for sure

Could not agree more! Given that road conditions are good most of the way, consider some night/early morning driving, if you can - much less tiring.

Originally Posted by droolingvoyager

Since I am hearing Jhansi to Gwalior is pathetic, I was wondering if we can somehow take a diversion towards the 6 lane Agra - Unnao Highway

This is an extra distance of 300+ kms! Not sure if it is worth it, although I am not sure how bad is the JHS-GWL stretch.

Originally Posted by rauldsouza

Could someone pls confirm its paved and 4 lane now and can be driven during night.

From what I hear, road conditions have improved a lot over the last 2 years but not sure if night driving is such a good idea, given that this stretch is quite desolate and roadside facilities are almost non-existent.

[Aashish_390]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Gents,

Can Bangalore-Chandigarh be driven down in 3 days? If so, what would be recommended night-halts? Nagpur and Agra?

As for the route, I take it that the best bet would be to stick to NH44, which is excellent barring the Jhansi-Gwalior section. Right?

Thanks in advance...

I have done Bangalore - Delhi in 2 days many times, and it is very much possible. However, I was on a motorbike always. I always prefer to halt in Nagpur in between and keep 1000 Kms per day.

Nagpur to Delhi can get a little tiring due to 60-70 kms of bumpy stretch between Gwalior and Jhansi. Although it is manageable. To avoid that I reckon, first halt in Nagpur and then Agra would be just perfect and wouldn't stress the driver out (as mentioned by you). Also, worst case if you cannot make it to Agra on the second day just halt anywhere and continue for Chandigarh on the third day from where you halt on the 2nd day as the roads will be well laid on that route so you can cover good distances. Hope it's not a race so don't be too particular about destination, enjoy your drive.

Originally Posted by rauldsouza

I last drove Delhi - Bangalore 2 years back and the Hinganghat section was bad.

Based on what i read above, the stretch has improved. Could someone pls confirm its paved and 4 lane now and can be driven during night.

Yes, its only 8-10 kms of bad roads which I encountered in January 2019 which is easily manageable. Regarding driving in the night, if you are with family I would suggest be careful of the timings you are crossing that stretch. Since those 10kms will have diversions and you will have to manage the oncoming high beams of trucks since traffic will be on one side along with any potential safety issues on that stretch.

[droolingvoyager]

Originally Posted by Sunil2307

Its going to be very hot in some stretches particularly in North and Central India.

Thanks, I completely did not think about the heat, and on second thought driving between 11 PM to 11AM, would be better, and hence keeping to golden quadrilateral would make sense?

Next week could be election time in few of the states/ constituencies you plan to pass through. So take into account delays due to checking and rallies.

Thanks again on this suggestion, and I will be carrying a lot of luggage, hence makes sense to take the more generic route ie NH 48. Again now I am willing to rest in the day and drive in the night. I have a problem beyond 4 to 6 AM where sleep starts kicking in, but I am planning to stop by some petrol pump and have a power nap and keep driving till 11 AM morning. Any other advices on places/hotels I can stay on route would be super helpful. I am planning to do as such -

• Day 1. Bangalore to Pune - 838 Kms should be doable in 13-14 hrs

• Day 2. Pune to Udaipur - 889 Kms shows 16-17 Hrs (not sure doable)

• Day 3. Udaipur to Delhi - 658 Kms Shows 11-12 hrs

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by droolingvoyager

hence keeping to golden quadrilateral would make sense?

Do not expect anything better in terms of soaring temperatures even if you took the western India route because the Mumbai Ahmedabad Jaipur sections will still be equally hot.

The biggest advantage of taking the western India route is the availability of more options to break your journey - for Food, Fuel or even for the day!! There are plenty of restaurants and hotels that you can bank upon in this sector.

Most of my trips to Gujarat have happened in the month of May and I find this region equally hot like any other locations in central India.

Coming to driving via Central India (Hyderabad - Nagpur), co-incidentally I had driven beyond Nagpur (Gondia) last year with my family in the fag end of April. The only time we realised it was super hot was when we got out for lunch and settled under the asbestos sheets of a Dhaba (you don't have much choices to break between Hyderabad and Nagpur). It was easily above 40 Degrees and each one of us were sweating badly.

Between the 2, timing wise, you may end up spending half a day more driving via Western India but if you are with family and need to break often or make unplanned stops, the good thing about this section is that the next big town is not far away and you will get options to stop. On the contrary, Central India route will require you to plan your breaks and stick to that.

If you want roads that are super empty, where you can stretch your legs for most of the sections, the Central India route is the one to opt for. Barring Jhansi Gwalior and very small sections around Hinghanghat (Nizambad - Nagpur), you will mostly be gliding all throughout without much traffic to think about. The route via Western India witnesses heavy freight and private traffic.

Day 1. Bangalore to Pune - 838 Kms should be doable in 13-14 hrs

If you are regular around this section, My advise is to push till Thane and settle for the night closer to NH8 that leads to Ahmedabad. This will save you time the next day as you would have managed to cross the 2 big cities of Pune and Mumbai anyway. Of course, to be able to do this, you really will have to start from Bangalore at least by 0400 which I read is not a suitable time for you?

Day 2. Pune to Udaipur - 889 Kms shows 16-17 Hrs (not sure doable)

Very much doable with all your breaks. Pune Ahmedabad usually takes anywhere between 11-13 Hours. Udaipur is another 4 hours from here. If you want to skip Ahmedabad, you may consider forking out after Vadodara towards Halol - Modasa - Samalaji - Udaipur. This will help you save time in crossing Ahmedabad as well as managing the sections around Himmatnagar.

If you still want to do via Ahmedabad, you may consider Himmatnagar Samalaji option. As an alternate you can also do this via Mehsana Palanpur Abu Road but it will be little longer but less stressful compared to the Himmatnagar section due to better roads and considerably lesser traffic.

Also, please refer to this post where I have in detail provided the pros and cons between various routes to reach Delhi from Bangalore.

For options to stop by for Food and Fuel between Bangalore - Mumbai - LINK

For Cafe Coffee Day outlets along Bangalore and Pune - LINK

For Reliance fuel station outlets along Bangalore - Mumbai - LINK

For options to break for Food/Fuel along Mumbai - Ahmedabad - LINK

[rauldsouza]

Any recommendations where i can savor traditional Hyderabad lunch on Outer ring road. Will be driving from Bangalore to Nagpur.

[JoseVijay]

Originally Posted by rauldsouza

Any recommendations where i can savor traditional Hyderabad lunch on Outer ring road. Will be driving from Bangalore to Nagpur.

You will not find any outlets/shops/restaurants around Outer Ring Road. You will have to enter the city for lunch.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

So if your mind is prepared that you need to manage this 130 kms of epic work in progress stretch with rest of the roads in really good shape, your journey is half done without any surprises .

I was checking alternatives to the JHS-GWL stretch and one option that comes to mind is going via Shivpuri (get off NH44 at Jhansi, drive to Shivpuri and rejoin NH44 at Gwalior). It is an extra 100 km. Worth it?