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Old 9th September 2011, 10:02   #1
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Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Hello all, here starts my preparation for a maha trip which will start on 18th November, 2011. I plan to do Bangalore - Ajmer - Gugaon - Alahabad - Asansol - Kolkata - Bangalore.

18 Nov -My plan is to start 4 am from Electronic City, and reach Pune by evening.Overnight stay.
19 Nov - Leave early from Pune and reach Ahmedabad by evening.Overnight stay.
20 Nov - Leave Ahmedabad early morning and reach Ajmer by noon/afternoon. Stay, visit Ajmer sharif, night halt.
21 Nov - Leave Ajmer early morning, and reach Gurgaon by noon. stay in NCR till 23 Nov.
24 Nov - Leave NCR early morning, reach Alahabad by evening. Night halt.
25 Nov - Early morning start and reach Asansol by night, reach 2nd home(Sasural).

27 Nov - Early morning start and reach Kolkata by 10am(Home). Staying there till 6th Dec, then again hit the road.

My concerns - how to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur?
Is the Yamuna Expressway ready?
How to bypass Varanasi?

Looking for all your inputs.

Till Delhi I will be the only one in the car. 2 freinds will join from Delhi till Asansol.
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Old 9th September 2011, 10:40   #2
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

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Originally Posted by asdon View Post

Is the Yamuna Expressway ready?
How to bypass Varanasi?

Looking for all your inputs.

Till Delhi I will be the only one in the car. 2 freinds will join from Delhi till Asansol.
Yamuna Expressway is not functional, but if you want to go to Allahabad, why do you want to take that route. I would Highly reccomend taking GT Road from NCR to Allahabad, its 4 lane expressway throughout, lots of good dhabas / motels / midways

There is a bypass in Allahabad as well as Varanasi
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Old 9th September 2011, 11:14   #3
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

You can't bypass Mumbai as such.

What you can do is - go up to Ghodbunder and then connect to NH8. But be sure to be at Ghodbunder before 7.30am, after that traffic becomes crazy.

Your itinerary is similar to mine (Pune - Gurgaon). Check it here : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...gurgaon-2.html
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Old 9th September 2011, 11:24   #4
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Start early from Pune (around 3 am ) so that u reach NH8 by 7 am .
You can drive one the Panvel Sion highway and then take right on the Eastern Express highway to reach Thane via Mulund Check Naka .Keep driving straight till you reach a Y junction at the end of the long flyover .Left goes to Ghodbunder while right is Nasik /Pune.

Unless you start very early from Pune your progress on NH8 will also be slower.Ghodbunder-Ahmedabad should be around 5-6 hours .

If I were you ,I would start most parts of the GQ early in the morning ( 3am) and stop for the day by afternoon .
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Old 9th September 2011, 20:15   #5
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Thanks fro the inputs guys, I was checking another option to reach NH8, that is to go till Dhobighat via NH4/Mumbai-pune expway, then Ghodbandar road and reach NH8, how is the road? And yes most of the time I will be starting arround 3am only.
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Old 11th September 2011, 08:11   #6
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Mumbai can be easily bypassed, please see my route profile below.

HOW TO BYPASS BOMBAY via New Bombay - from South side

Zero point is Kalamboli where the Pune- Bombay expressway ends.

Keep going towards Bombay. You will cross several flyovers through Kharghar and Belapur. Belapur can be identified by the large number of office buildings to the left (including Konkan Bhavan, Park Hotel). After Belapur, the road climbs up a hill and comes down to the other side. The traffic signal at that junction is the Uran Phata. After crossing that signal you will cross Nerul (you will see the light pillars of the DY Patil cricket stadium on your left), and you climb up a flyover after crossing Nerul.

Expressway end-Belapur, 8 kms

Ahead of the Nerul flyover, you will see a complicated flyover coming up (the Turbhe flyover). Over the flyover is Bombay(it curves away to the left). Your road is the road to Thane (marked straight)( keep to the right and avoid going on the flyover). This place is Turbhe. Keep going straight and you will reach a messy junction with a signal and then a flyover curving away to the left. Keep below the flyover to the left (flyover starts to the right) and keep going straight. SET your trip meter here, since from here (Turbhe) exactly 10 kms you have to take a turn.

Belapur-Turbhe Flyover, 7 kms

You are now going on the Thane- Belapur road - goes through industrial area. First you will cross Turbhe Railway Station (RS) on your left. You will see a few flyovers – take only the straight subway type flyovers and avoid the 2 ones which curve to your left. You will see the Reliance Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge City (DAKC) to your right. You will cross the Rabale and Kopar Khairne RS to your left.

10 kms from Turbhe, the road goes down into a subway and in the subway, turn left. This is Airoli, and the subway (after you turn left) goes under the railway line. DONT go straight although that also goes to Thane. The left turn will be marked for MULUND.

Turbhe-Airoli, 10 kms

Keep going on this road ( the Airoli Bridge road) and you will cross the Thane Creek (1 km bridge), at the end of which there is a toll gate (Rs 30). Followed by an octroi gate.

You will hit the Eastern Expressway (EEH) - flyover going from left to right. Left goes to Ghakopar/Bombay, straight to Mulund, and you turn right towards Thane. Down this road after 1 km is a flyover after which is a toll gate (Rs 30). After the toll gate, you will see trucks line up at another octroi gate and a stone tower, indicating that you have left Bombay and entered Thane. The road goes up a slope and when you come down that slope you see a flyover. Go over the flyover. 1 km down the road around a long curve, you will see another flyover - go on it - and this is a 1.5 km elevated road.

After you come down this long flyover, you will see yet another flyover - sign boards saying Ahmedabad, Nasik (on flyover).DO NOT take this flyover - go underneath (left side). The road meets traffic coming from the left, and curves to the left to meet first a small junction, then a small round. Keep going straight - you are now in the Ghodbunder road. You will see the Cinemax multiplex on your left, Ford showroom on your right.

Go on this road 16 kms and you will reach the NH8 junction at Ghodbunder (immediately after a toll gate - Rs 15), which is after you climb up and down a small ghat. Some flyovers under construction on this road.

At the NH8 junction, turn right (left goes to Dahisar/Bombay) and it is all the way.

This whole journey should take you 1-1.15 hours. The only traffic blockage you may face is at Thane near the last flyover on the route.

DON’T take the road from Kalamboli via Taloja, Shilphata, Mumbra and Kalwa to Thane, it is shorter but road condition is not good



Jaipur is a 51-km bypass on NH8 itself. Some sections are being widened, expect traffic jams.

Allahabad bypass on NH2 is 75 kms long, please take care to refuel, etc since there are no facilities in this sector.

Varanasi is bypassed on NH2.

To visit Ajmer, do not take NH8 from Udaipur. Take the GQ route of NH76/79 via Chittorgarh & Bhilwara till Nasirabad, from where you take the 24-km road to Ajmer. For onward journey from Ajmer to Kishnagarh/ Jaipur, NH8 is in very bad condition till you reach the NH79 intersection after Kishangarh.
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Old 17th September 2011, 19:51   #7
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Dates finalized

Thank you so much Kumar sir, the route looks simple enough. Will there be good hotels for 6 to 8 hr stay along Pune Mumbai expressway and in Mumbai? I plan to start from Bangalore 16 Nov night, reach Pune by 10/11 am, take rest for 2/3 hrs, head for Mumbai, reach there by 6pm, halt for the evening till night, start from Mumbai by 2/3am, mandate is to reach Ahmedabad by 11am.
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Old 18th September 2011, 09:04   #8
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Dates finalized

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Originally Posted by asdon View Post
Thank you so much Kumar sir, the route looks simple enough. Will there be good hotels for 6 to 8 hr stay along Pune Mumbai expressway and in Mumbai? I plan to start from Bangalore 16 Nov night, reach Pune by 10/11 am, take rest for 2/3 hrs, head for Mumbai, reach there by 6pm, halt for the evening till night, start from Mumbai by 2/3am, mandate is to reach Ahmedabad by 11am.
There are no hotels on the e-way and most hotels in the Bombay region are ridiculously over-priced. My suggestion would be that you cross Bombay-Thane and stay at Hotel Fountain in Ghodbunder, the beginning on NH8, where you can get a AC room for Rs 1600 (location indicated in the route map above).
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Old 18th September 2011, 11:15   #9
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

The route outlined by Mr. Kumar involves paying toll twice, once at Airoli as you enter the Airoli Mulund bridge, and once at Mulund as you exit the Mulund section towards Thane. However the roads are fairly good and the route is uncomplicated. In essence you have to continue down the Expressway towards Mumbai without taking any of the exits. From the E-way to Turbhe is relatively straightforward, avoid any turning right/left at signals.

From Turbhe, you basically run parellel to the railway line and never cross it to the other side. You will see all the railway stations on your left, Turbhe, Sanpada, Ghansoli, Rabale et al.

After Turbhe, you will have to choose the flyovers carefully. The signs are outright confusing, so don't trust them. In case of a doubt, avoid the flyover. Any detour here, specially in the evenings, could easily cost you half an hour at least.

The flyovers are only till you reach the Dhirubhai Ambani Knowledge city. After that it's a straight road till Airoli. Just after the Rabale railway station on the left, stay in the left lane. Stay close to the railway line and the road will slope downward and turn left from under the railway line to head towards Airoli.

If you miss the Airoli exit and take the flyover, you can make a U-turn and follow the road back. After the U-turn, stick to the rightmost lane and go down instead of continuing straight. You will reach the same road from the opposite side. Take a right to reach Airoli. Follow this plan also in case the straight road to Airoli is blocked by heavy traffic.

If you do travel straight instead of taking the Airoli exit, you will reach the infamous Vitawa bridge at Kalwa where you will have to wait at least 15 minutes in a huge traffic jam. This should be the only traffic jam on this route. Once you clear it drive straight to the traffic circle and take the second left (the first one should anyways be barricaded). This takes you onto the bridge over the Thane creek which joins Thane and Kalwa. From the traffic circle at the other end, continue straight as if in the line of the bridge (no lefts). The road now turns right, take the right. You travel over the Thane RTO office to your left and the Thane Central Jail to your right. After you pass the junction, you come to a traffic signal (the police parade ground to your left and a lake to your right). Take right here and keep driving straight through Castle Mill junction over Navnit Motors and you should be onto Ghodbunder road. Till the road meets the Ghodbunder road, expect light to medium traffic. This has the advantage of avoiding to pay Rs. 60 toll, but the disadvantage of losing at least half an hour of time. I am mentioning this just in case you need it.

You haven't mentioned which car, but the area at Majiwade, where the Ghodbunder road starts, houses many ASCs of major carmakers, Navnit Motors for Maruti, Modi Hyundai for Hyundai and Shreeji Ford for Ford.
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Old 19th September 2011, 09:14   #10
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Thanks @Honeybee, I will try to keep up with the directions posted, I will be travelling in a Punto.
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Old 19th September 2011, 10:16   #11
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

I also suggest you download and use Google Earth, which can show you a close view of the intended route. I believe it's able to read the Google Map files too, so if you map your route in Google Earth, you will be able to actually go through it (as if flying over the route in a plane) and you can see the road features more clearly. This can help you in knowing for e.g. how the flyovers look when you drive into the area, or how a particular road curves. If you are travelling here for the first time, the Google Earth may help you prepare better.
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Old 10th November 2011, 13:22   #12
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Counting times are gearing up for the trip, though the Maha trip has been reduced to half, due to work pressure. So now it will be Bangalore to Ajmer and back, I will be starting tomorrow(Friday midnight) from Bangalore. possible stops while going Pune/Mumbai, Ahmedabad & Surat, Belgaum while comming back. Total 4000kms, in 7 days. Bad news is that my camera is not working, so will depend on Smart phone camera. Will update on the trip by next weekend.

Edit: Mods can you please change the title as "Bangalore to Ajmer through Ahmedabad, Udaipur & Chittorgarh"

Last edited by asdon : 10th November 2011 at 13:27.
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Old 10th November 2011, 14:19   #13
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

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Originally Posted by asdon View Post
So now it will be Bangalore to Ajmer and back
Pushkar mela has started so do keep time allowances for traffic. Hope you have accommodation sorted out.
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Old 21st November 2011, 10:18   #14
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Re: Here comes the Maha trip - Help needed to bypass Mumbai, Jaipur, Agra & Varanasi

Back from the trip, will post updates soon, it was a great journey.
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Old 21st November 2011, 13:17   #15
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8 Days, 7 Cities great memories

I just finished my trip to Ajmer from Bangalore, a 4270km tour in 9 days covering Pune, Mumbai, Surat, Vadodra, Ahmedabad, Udaipur & Chittorgarh. A big thanks to all BHPians who gave their inputs specially on bypassing Mumbai, it was a breez to cross Mumbai while going as I touched Ghorbandar by 6:30am. This is the 1st time I drove on Mumbai Pune expressway and it was some experience to drive on a totally access controlled road.

Starting:-
Started on 12th Nov early at 3:30am and it lookied like I was in Delhi not in Bangalore, yes the fog reminded me of early mornings in Delhi. Took Nice road but speed was 40-50kmph due to poor visibility, it was foggy till Tumkur. I crossed Chitradurga by 7:15am and decided not to take break before Belgaum. Reached Belgaum at 11:40am. Break for lunch and some rest. The NH4 section between Belgaum to Satara was the most scenic of the whole in my view. reached Pune at 5:30pm stayed at a friend's place.
I noticed one thing, from Kolhapur to Pune the road surface was uneven in multiple place and for long streaches, not sure why NHAI is not doing anything on this, though there were no road breaks in the entire journey.

Day 2:-

Started from Pune at 4:30am and the plan was to reach Ahmedabad before 5pm. Took the expressway and after reaching Mumbai, followed each instruction given by you guys and it was no pain to cross Mumbai. just after crossing Ghorbandar took a break for breakfast on the highway. A lot of construction works are on till Gujrat border, mainly in the crossings. Point to notice was - Roads from Bangalore to Pune mostly 4 lane, but from Pune onwards upto Vadodra mostly 6 lane. Entered Gujrat and was hit by heavy traffic in the working hours. Another point - I saw many new Boleros plying with Temp Reg. and serving as suttles in Gujrat and it looked like as a common practice(not to register as long as possible). I was surprised to see Gujrat does not have 0, yes normally registration plates in KA or MH will be like 01/02/03... KA01MXXXX, but in Gujrat it was GJ1CTxxxx/GJ3Kxxxx. Initially I thought may be few individuals are writing like that but later discovered it was same through the state. Any reason why? Took lunch break at Surat. Tasted Gujrati thali from Gujrat, it was good. From Vadodra took NE1, another access controlled expressway(4 lane though), and midway of the expressway I saw a board -"The proposed Vadodra Mumbai expressway starts here", OMG!!! is this possible to build such a long expressway in India?if possible, hats off to the authorities. Reached Ahmedabad at 5pm and horror stories were to start.... will continue in next post.
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