[tsk1979]

If you want to go via this highway, a good option will be to branch of to NH15 in Gujrat, and head through Rajasthan on NH15 all the way to Punjab.
NH15 has low traffic, and excellent surface. You can easily average a good 80-100kmph on this highway.

[deky]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Its the roundabout where you take left in the Map - verka milk plant is mentioned in map

In that case you will have to ask for Jandiala at Tarantarn ,

But if you don't visit Golden Temple irrespective of the time you reach , your journey will be uncompleted .. in case you want to go to Golden Temple -- continue straight to Amritsar from Tarantaran

Taran Taran, Punjab, India to Verka Milk Plant - Google Maps

In case you are not going to wagha nor golden temple than probably change route to

Bhatinda - KotKapura - Moga - Jallandhar - Jammu

Kotkapura - Moga is so called expressway ,, a tolled 2 lane way & Jallandhar - Pathankot is definitely better than Amritsar - Pathankot

Are you coming to my home - i too live in Palam vihar , Gurgaon - and thanks to my job Drive at least once in week to Chandigarh..

Unknown road to Major Sushil Aima Marg - Google Maps

1. If i spend the night in Amritsar I will definitely visit both the places, or else due to the time restraint I will have to give them both a miss. Will do it again with my wife as she also wants to do both the Wagah and the Golden temple

2. Since I am driving alone while going I have more or less decided to reach Pathankot via Amritsar. It will be a test of a route for the travellers on Tbhp to come. But Thanks anyways, your inputs have been invaluable

3. I get the amritsar bypass now, thanks for the detailed map.

4. Also thanks for the map showing how to enter Delhi and subsequently reaching Palam Vihar. In fact I will be staying very close to Coulumbia asia hospital so your directions are spot on

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I did a Gurgaon-Jaipur-Gurgaon trip today. The roads are in a bad shape due to expressway work, the traffic especially the heavy trucks is very annoying, especially the Jams at Behror and Kotputli. There are diversions every few kms further slowing down the traffic. Really tired after driving 10+hours today.

Exactly why I wanna give Delhi a miss while going to Jammu. Anshuman, your 10+ hrs timmings are for Gurgaon - Delhi and back to Gurgaon or just one way?

Imagine till 3 years back Gurgaon to Jaipur used to take nothing more than 3.5 hrs

Originally Posted by wanderhermit

This year while going from from Chd to Camp Dhordo in Gujrat, we took this route. we took around 36 hours to reach Dhordo which just included, Bio-breaks and few offroading breaks. And it was fun. Up North from Faridkot to Amritsar was done this winters. It included some bird watching at Harike wetlands. You will pass thru it.
Plus I do keep doing other roads I mentioned on regular basis.

Also note, that these roads are not entirely two laned. Only some patches.

This is great news, if the mega highway is mostly 4 lanned then it will be less stressfull

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Hi Guys,
Very useful thread...my plan is to break journey at Sikar for the night from Mumbai (around 1200kms) during my drive to Leh in August. I am given to understand that this could be the best route to get to Amritsar where I want to spend a couple of days before moving to Srinagar. My queries are as below

1) After branching off NH8 at Kishangarh, which is the best route to Sikar?

2) As per Deky, Sikar - fatehpur - Ratangarh (take a right) - Sardarsheher- Hardesar - Rawatsar - Abohar - Muktsar- Faridkot - Taran Taran- Amritsar is completely 4-laned and a fast run to Amritsar is possible. Could anyone pls confirm this as I got a bit confused with the all the replies and alternate routes suggested later?

3) Is it advisable to break journey at any other place than Sikar to continue my run to Amritsar the next day?

Regards,

1. Mumbai to Surat will be the toughest part. Then onwards it will be more or less pretty smooth till Kishangarh.

2. Just make sure you take NH76 after Udaipur and NH79 after Chittorgarh till Kishangarh. (not the NH8)

3. Now if you want to take the route that I am suggesting (mega highway), then from Kishangarh itself you can take the route via Makrana - Sujangarh to ratangarh. You dont have to go to Jaipur and then to Sikar for this.

4. After ratangarh you know the route.

5. Now, very important here is that whatever knowledge I have gathered about ratangarh - hanumangarh - Abohar- Amritsar route is from other people. I myself have not travelled on it.

I dont know when you travelling, but if its after the 28th May, I will be able to update this thread with my first hand experience on this route

Regards

[nix1976in]

Hey Deky,
Thanks for the quick response, will definately await your trip/ road report after 28th May. Pls create a "HVK type log" to help us all. Have a safe drive.

Regards,
Nikhil.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by deky

Exactly why I wanna give Delhi a miss while going to Jammu. Anshuman, your 10+ hrs timmings are for Gurgaon - Delhi and back to Gurgaon or just one way?

Imagine till 3 years back Gurgaon to Jaipur used to take nothing more than 3.5 hrs

The time is for both sides.

5. Now, very important here is that whatever knowledge I have gathered about ratangarh - hanumangarh - Abohar- Amritsar route is from other people. I myself have not travelled on it.

I used the Hanumangarh-Abohar road some months ago, it's not a NH kind of road but it's good as there is not much traffic.

[Turbanator]

Sikar - fatehpur - Ratangarh (take a right) - Sardarsheher- Hardesar - Rawatsar - Abohar - Muktsar- Faridkot - Taran Taran- Amritsar is completely 4-laned and a fast run to Amritsar is possible

.

Sorry but no chances of having this as 4 lane - it should be a good 2 Lane Highway only - just zoom on google earth and I recollect my discussions near Kishangar around 3 months back while i was coming from Kandla and had planned to go directly to Ludhiana instead of Gurgaon - I was told that Road is very good but this is not 4 Laned , nevertheless can be an option to bypass NH mess in particular when someone is going to Amritsar or Pathankot , so lets wait for actual log

[wanderhermit]

Yes, it is not a double carriage way. No divider in middle. But a wide road. And Less traffic. Coming from Kandla, I would advise Balaotra- Philodi New toll road. Its fabulous.

And you can maintain some awesome speeds. The fortuner as touching above 180 km/hr. You can maintain 160 consistently. We touched 160 in Gypsy too.

[deky]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Hey Deky,
Thanks for the quick response, will definately await your trip/ road report after 28th May. Pls create a "HVK type log" to help us all. Have a safe drive.

Regards,
Nikhil.

Will update this thread when I am back. But definitely can not do an "HVK" since he is one of his kind on this forum. But yeah will pack in as much details as I can

Originally Posted by .anshuman

I used the Hanumangarh-Abohar road some months ago, it's not a NH kind of road but it's good as there is not much traffic.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

.

Sorry but no chances of having this as 4 lane - it should be a good 2 Lane Highway only - just zoom on google earth and I recollect my discussions near Kishangar around 3 months back while i was coming from Kandla and had planned to go directly to Ludhiana instead of Gurgaon - I was told that Road is very good but this is not 4 Laned , nevertheless can be an option to bypass NH mess in particular when someone is going to Amritsar or Pathankot , so lets wait for actual log

Originally Posted by wanderhermit

Yes, it is not a double carriage way. No divider in middle. But a wide road. And Less traffic. Coming from Kandla, I would advise Balaotra- Philodi New toll road. Its fabulous.

And you can maintain some awesome speeds. The fortuner as touching above 180 km/hr. You can maintain 160 consistently. We touched 160 in Gypsy too.

Thanks for the heads up you guys. Till the road is good and maintiaing a good average speed is possible I think it will be anyways a better option than going through Delhi and then Ambala, Ludhiana and Jalandhar, it can be nerve racking.

Even if my car is capable of achieving 160, I am not that capable. I will be happy achieving speeds of 120 kmph and hopefully an average of 75-80kmph over a distance of 900 kmph. If i can maintain that average till the end I can cover the distance from Jaipur to jammu in driving time of 11.5hrs- 12 hrs

[nix1976in]

Hi Deky,
Could you pls map this route (mega-highway) on google maps, am unable to pinpoint the turnoff's. My plan is to use this route to reach Amritsar, any help would be welcome.

Regards,

[deky]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Hi Deky,
Could you pls map this route (mega-highway) on google maps, am unable to pinpoint the turnoff's. My plan is to use this route to reach Amritsar, any help would be welcome.

Regards,

Listen I have marked the route from Jaipur to Amritsar here

But I think since you will be coming from Kishangarh, you dont have to travel via Jaipur. The mega highway I believe starts from Kishangarh itself which will join directly at Ratangarh.

I am not very sure of the route from Kishangarh to ratangarh, but it will definitely save you time. So kindly enquire around when you reach Kishangarh.

Also what date and time are you planning to reach Kishangarh? We can possible team up if our date and times clash.

Lemme know

[nix1976in]

Originally Posted by deky

Listen I have marked the route from Jaipur to Amritsar here

But I think since you will be coming from Kishangarh, you dont have to travel via Jaipur. The mega highway I believe starts from Kishangarh itself which will join directly at Ratangarh.

I am not very sure of the route from Kishangarh to ratangarh, but it will definitely save you time. So kindly enquire around when you reach Kishangarh.

Also what date and time are you planning to reach Kishangarh? We can possible team up if our date and times clash.

Lemme know

Hey Deky,
Have you driven through on the mega highway? How was the road condition and the general feel? Let us know.

Regards,

[deky]

Originally Posted by nix1976in

Hey Deky,
Have you driven through on the mega highway? How was the road condition and the general feel? Let us know.

Regards,

Just came back from the journey and tried the Mega highway while going to Jammu and tried the Hoshiarpur route while coming back from Jammu. The route both ways was excellent most of the time.

Here is a small trip report for both the sides with time taken with respect to distances. Please note I am a pretty sedate driver and believe in stops for say 30mnts or so after every 200 kms or so hence the time taken may be a bit on the higher side

Also I would like to thank all those who gave their inputs in helping me plan my journey. A special thanks for Turbanator and tsk1979 here as their inputs have been to the point and advises were 100% correct.

TRIP REPORT

Onward Journey: Jaipur - Jammu

Route Taken : Jaipur - Ratangarh - Hanumangarh - Abohar - Fazilka - Ferozpur - Taran Taran - (Amritsar Bypass) - Pathankot - Jammu

Total Distance:- 909 kms

Total Time Taken (including stops) :- 15 hrs 40 mnts

Total Driving Time:- 13 hrs 30 mnts

Total Toll :- Rs. 266/-

Sector wise report: Note the distances and time were noted at the point I stopped for breaks hence are not the actual distance between 2 cities. The time taken are driving time and do not include breaks

(A) Jaipur - Sikar - Ratangarh - 210 kms - 3 hrs

- Started at 2210 hrs crossed Ratangarh at 0110 hrs and took a break
- Jaipur till Ringas there is 4 laning going on so lot of work going on
- After Ringas the traffic reduces anyways
- Missed Sikar bypass but since it was night had no issuses through the town
- For Sikar bypass take the left road as you approach town
- Ratangarh crossing is well marked and took left for the mega highway

(B) Ratangarh - SardarShahar - Hanumangarh - 200kms - 2hrs10 mnts

- Started Ratangarh at 0130 hrs and reached Hanumangarh at 0340 hrs
- Mega highway is NOT 4 lanned but 2 laned and very wide roads
- The road tarmac is excellent and the roads/directions are well marked
- Just after ratangarh there are lots of road curves around hills so be very cautious while driving.
- Also at night many wild foxes cross the road. Doing 200 kms I must have seen atleast 20 of them
- At night there was no traffic at all, one truck/bus after every 5 kms or so
- Was indeed the best stretch of the whole journey
- At Ratangarh toll tell them you need to go till Hanumangarh so they will give you one ticket valid on all tolls till Hanumangarh

Hanumangarh - Abohar - 71kms - 1 hr 15 mnts

- The mega highway goes to Bhatinda hence the road to Abohar was not very good. It was tolerable and 2-laned.

Abohar - Fazilka - Ferozpur - Zira - Taran Taran - Amritsar bypass - 239kms - 3 hrs 15mnts

- Abohar to TaranTaran is a great stretch. Smooth and almost arrow straight roads.
- For Bypassing Amritsar at TaranTaran you will have to take a right to Jandiala Guru - Then left towards NH1 - On NH1 follow signs towards Wagah border - and then take a right on NH15. This is well marked on Google maps by Turbanator in post#25.

Amritsar bypass- Gurdaspur - Pathankot - Jammu - 189kms - 3hrs 50mnts

- Amritsar to pathankot the road is a mess with lots of traffic
- Got caught by the famous Punjab Cops for nothing at Gurdaspur and ended up paying 40Rs after telling them some stories. Actually they demanded Rs100/- but was fun bargaining
- After that got lost in Gurdaspur and wasted 15 mnts to get back on the correct road
- Pathankot to Jammu its mostly 4 lanned with some exceptions
- Once you arrive closer to Jammu the traffic builds up

Summary
- For those going to Jammu/Srinagar/Leh this is definitely a better option to avoid NH8/ Delhi and then NH1 rush.
- But IMO its better to Take Hanumangarh - Bhatinda - Moga - Jalandher - Pathankot route instead of the route I took. Also mentioned by Turbanator in post#25
- Roads though are 2 lanned but are very nice and less traffic


Return Journey report tomorrow

Rgerads

[hvkumar]

Great update!
How do you rate night facilities - 24 hour petrol pumps, etc?
What was the new excuse for the PB cops to charge you - no stickers on headlights?
Would it have been better to go via Bhatinda to Taran Taran instead of via Abohar?

[Turbanator]

via Bhatinda to Taran Taran instead of via Abohar?

Hello HVK Sir, I hope you must have reached back home without any problems .

Yes - he could have gone from Hanumangarh to Bhatinda and then to Kotkapura but I still feel it would have been better via Sirsa - Bhatinda .

For all guys coming from Mumbai side for Jammu / Srinagar/ Leh - they can travel straight from Kishangarh instead taking right for Jaipur -

Kishangarh - Ratangarh - Hanumangarh - Mandi Dabwali - Bhatinda - Kotkapura - Moga - Jallandhar - Pathankot or in case one wants to avoid Bhatinda during day time then

Kishangarh - Ratangarh - Hanumangarh - Mandi Dabwali- Malout - Muktsar - Kotkapura- Moga ...

[deky]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Great update!
How do you rate night facilities - 24 hour petrol pumps, etc?
What was the new excuse for the PB cops to charge you - no stickers on headlights?
Would it have been better to go via Bhatinda to Taran Taran instead of via Abohar?

1. Facilities till Punjab are minimal. Petrol pumps are few and far. And till Abohar most of them (well I tried 2) did not have petrol. Finally got a tank full done after Abohar.

2. I think as Turbanator suggested best route would have been Hanumangarh - Bahtinda - Moga - Jallendher. No need to go to Amritsar as Amritsar - pathankot route is really bad.

But if someone has to go to Amritsar then I think the route I took is good as Fazilka - Ferozpur - Zira - Taran taran route is amazingly good.

[Turbanator]

Fazilka - Ferozpur - Zira

Did you went to Fazilka - Ferozpur ? any reasons - i think this route was longer by about 20 Kms - did some locals advised you for this

Abhohar - Malout - Muktsar is pretty straight and very fast -