[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by longford

two cents. If I were to do this, I would stick to what HVKumar has suggested.
Pune-Bombay-Surat-Baroda-Ahmedabad-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-KOta-Jhansi-Kanpur-Lucknow-Ayodhya-Gorakhpur-Kushalnagar-Muzaffarpur

This route albeit longer but will ensure you great roads and will give you more speed and can make all the difference between 1 halt and 2 halts. Would also second HVK's suggestion on the Ayodhya-Gorakhpur mode as it runs via the EW corridor and looks completed.

Also, ref to the NHAI update on the GQ and NS and EW corridors at this link

I cannot comment about the route till Kanpur but I'll not go by the update provided by NHAI.I traveled on the Ayodhya-Gorakhpur-Muzaffarpur stretch in August 10 and my uncle traveled in November end.There was no change in the status of road in those 4 months so i dont think anything better right now.As it is the work is going slow due to severe winter.Other reasons i'll avoid this route is-very isolated stretches at few locations wherein you just cant get any help.The traffic is also sparse due to the bad road condition.The roads are not at all,and i repeat,not all carrying markings for diversion and status of road.His Vento might suffer due to bad roads and with no service centers enroute,i'll not risk it.NH2 and NH30 will have heavy traffic but atleast it'll have motorable roads.

Originally Posted by nikesh

Thank you very much Kumar sir and bonecollector for the valuable inputs.

So, the route is final now -
Pune/Indore - 617
Indore/Jhansi - 475
Jhansi/Patna - 771
Patna/Muzaffarpur - 70

Total Distance to be travelled - 1933 kms

I will make an attempt to do first night halt at Jhansi considering that I leave 4 AM from Pune. Next day can stretch from Jhansi To Patna for next night halt and then to Muzaffarpur the third day morning.

By your experience -
1) Do you see any more changes I should do to the above plan?
2) Also please suggest average speed I should maintain on below stretches?
Indore/Jhansi?
Jhansi/Patna?

Thank you once again !!!!

I'll have just one suggestion,when on the road,dont exaggerate and overspeed to meet your time limits.Better to stick to the status of road and your own ability.Remember,you'll driving in unknown areas so don't make a time based routine that leads you to overspeed.What i've experienced is that the laws of Physics dont hold good when you are on the road.I've done the 70 kms stretch of Muzaffarpur-Patna in 8and half hours also.So,stick to safe limits,buckle-up,drive safe and have a safe trip. Will be happy to help if you require any more inputs.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by nikesh

So, the route is final now -
Pune/Indore - 617
Indore/Jhansi - 475
Jhansi/Patna - 771
Patna/Muzaffarpur - 70

Total Distance to be travelled - 1933 kms

I will make an attempt to do first night halt at Jhansi considering that I leave 4 AM from Pune. Next day can stretch from Jhansi To Patna for next night halt and then to Muzaffarpur the third day morning.

By your experience -
1) Do you see any more changes I should do to the above plan?
2) Also please suggest average speed I should maintain on below stretches?
Indore/Jhansi?
Jhansi/Patna?

Thank you once again !!!!

I think it is going to be very very tough to do Pune-Jhansi in 1 day, since the route is not fast. At best, you can target Guna which is also going to be very demanding. In Guna, you can stay in Hotel Varun.

You will encounter heavy truck traffic from Dhule onwards. Roads are mostly 2-laned except for Nashik-Dhule and MP border-Dewas sector.

The recent updates on the Ayodhya-Gorakhpur road are that it is excellent, and even after that roads are mostly good.

[nikesh]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I think it is going to be very very tough to do Pune-Jhansi in 1 day, since the route is not fast. At best, you can target Guna which is also going to be very demanding. In Guna, you can stay in Hotel Varun.

You will encounter heavy truck traffic from Dhule onwards. Roads are mostly 2-laned except for Nashik-Dhule and MP border-Dewas sector.

The recent updates on the Ayodhya-Gorakhpur road are that it is excellent, and even after that roads are mostly good.

Thank you friends.

Should I not take aurangabad route to Dhule as it will be faster as compared to going via nashik? I have travelled to sangammer/shirdi couple of times and done the reverse through aurangabad road back to pune as well. Aurangabad road always seemed to be faster and cleaner than nashik.

1) Pune-Aurangabad - 236 , Aurangabad-Dhule - 149
Total Distance between Pune/Dhule via aurangabad - 385
2) Pune-Nashik - 211 , Nashik - Dhule - 156
Total Distance between Pune/Dhule via nashik - 367

Kindly suggest if there is any bypass that I should take on this route like Indore?
Jhansi?
Kanpur?
Luckhnow?
Ayodhya?
Gorakhpur?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by nikesh

Should I not take aurangabad route to Dhule as it will be faster as compared to going via nashik? I have travelled to sangammer/shirdi couple of times and done the reverse through aurangabad road back to pune as well. Aurangabad road always seemed to be faster and cleaner than nashik.

Yes, that is a faster route. Road is good all the way till Dhule.

Kindly suggest if there is any bypass that I should take on this route like Indore?
Jhansi?
Kanpur?
Luckhnow?
Ayodhya?
Gorakhpur?

Indore has an excellent bypass on NH3 which takes you to Dewas.

Jhansi has no bypass, but NH76 is quite a smooth drive through the town.

For Kanpur, take NH2 bypass - a lovely 25-km long elevated road - and exit the bypass to get to Ramadevi Chowk and NH25 towards Lucknow.

Lucknow has a Ring Road. Look out for the road signs for Barabanki after the Nawabganj toll gate.

Faizabad & Ayodhya is beautifully bypassed.

Gorakhpur is the bad one - no bypass, it can be bad navigating through the city. You can have to go towards the Airport & Kushalnagar road.

[nikesh]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Yes, that is a faster route. Road is good all the way till Dhule.



Indore has an excellent bypass on NH3 which takes you to Dewas.

Jhansi has no bypass, but NH76 is quite a smooth drive through the town.

For Kanpur, take NH2 bypass - a lovely 25-km long elevated road - and exit the bypass to get to Ramadevi Chowk and NH25 towards Lucknow.

Lucknow has a Ring Road. Look out for the road signs for Barabanki after the Nawabganj toll gate.

Faizabad & Ayodhya is beautifully bypassed.

Gorakhpur is the bad one - no bypass, it can be bad navigating through the city. You can have to go towards the Airport & Kushalnagar road.

Thank you very much Kumar Sir

Just got an update from someone who had travelled from Lucknow to Muzaffarpur yesterday and they confirmed that roads are A1 and no hurdles expected unless traffic jam due to unexpected accident or, any election campaign. They took roughly 8 hours for this stretch.

Not sure how much time it will take from Shivpuri/Jhansi to Lucknow. But not worried at all on this point as one of you had advised no to apply law of physics on these roads. Depending upon the stress level can decide the next night halt. In case I can reach from Shivpuri/Jhansi to Lucknow in 4 hours then can try the extended stretch next day.

Will start collecting some hotel information so that depending upon the time and traffic can decide at runtime. I spoke to the Volkswagen(B.U.Bhandari) today for a mini checkup for the car along with wheel allignment. The current reading is 22000 and last allignment/balancing was done at 20k but still think should get the engine/oil checkup, underbody and shockers check up along with wheel allignment done. Please suggest if I should get any other checks done

[nikesh]

Originally Posted by nikesh

Thank you very much Kumar Sir

Just got an update from someone who had travelled from Lucknow to Muzaffarpur yesterday and they confirmed that roads are A1 and no hurdles expected unless traffic jam due to unexpected accident or, any election campaign.
=========
The current reading is 22000 and last allignment/balancing was done at 20k but still think should get the engine/oil checkup, underbody and shockers check up along with wheel allignment done. Please suggest if I should get any other checks done

Thank you all for your valuable inputs on the route and the preparation I need to do. All set for the travel on the coming weekend. Will post detailed experience on return. Will also try capture photos of atleast any bad patches that I encounter on route.

[nikesh]

Hi Friends,

Finally the trip has been completed successfully and had a great driving experience across five states

I will post al travel details along with kms, time taken, specific route advices and some DOs/DONTs as per my latest experience. Just wanted to post a summary for now till I create the final consolidated draft.

Pune to Muzaffarpur details -
Pune - Aurangabad - Ahmednagar - Dhule - Indore - Guna - Shivpuri - Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow - Ayaodhya - Gorakhpur - Goplaganj - Pipra Kothi - Muzaffarpur

Total Distance - 1930 kms
Total Driving Time - 34 hours approx inclusing all midway halts
Night Halts - 2 (Guna and Gorakhpur)

Muzaffarpur to Pune details -
Muzaffarpur - Patna - Ara - Mohania - Allahabad - Rewa - Bandhavgarh - Umaria - Jabalpur - Nagpur - Wardha - Phulgaon - Karnja - Jalna - Aurangabad - Ahmednagar - Pune

Total Distance - 1900 kms
Total Driving Time - 34 hours approx inclusing all midway halts
Night Halts - 2 (Allahabad and Nagpur)

What was amazing was that the route distance was almost the same on both sides and time taken also was approx the same. Although return trip had much better roads and driving pleasure throughout.

Fuel average - 19 kmpl
Best driving roads - Maharashtra
Worst Driving roads - MP and Chattisgarh

More in next post

[Trojan]

Hi Friends,

This is my first post to this forum, though I can very proudly say that I have been following for over 2 years now and I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience which you all have very generously shared.

Well the above was slightly off-topic to this post, I would be travelling Pune-Kanpur on Monday 8-May-2012 in my i10 and I needed your valuable suggestions along this route.
I have read multiple posts and threads on this especially by Mr.HVK who definitely has tremendous information on the said route, taking all suggestions so far I have prepared my itinerary, I would be travelling with a friend and we would be taking turns driving so as to not stretch beyond our limits.
Itin as below:
Leg 1 : Pune to Jalna - 297.8KMs SH27, SH60, NH211
Leg 2 : Jalna-Karanja-Pulgaon-Wardha - 330KMs
Leg 3 : Wardha-Nagpur-Chhindwara - 204.4KMs
Leg 4 : Chhindwara-Seoni Chhapwara-Jabalpur - 196KMs
Leg 5 : Jabalpur-Kundam-Tala-Rewa (through Beohari)- 324.4KMs
Leg 6 : Rewa-Allahabad-Kanpur - 330KMs

We would leave around 7pm from Pune and plan to reach Nagpur by 6-7am on Tuesday and try to reach Allahabad by Tuesday late evening, take a halt there and resume our journey on Wednesday morning towards Kanpur.

Question to the expert and regular travellers -
-does this sound feasible
-Little skeptical about the Jabalpur-Kundam-Tala-Rewa part, since this would go through Bandhavgarh NP, how safe is it and do we need to seek prior permission in order to take this route
-Are there auto LPG pumps available on this route, since mine also is LPG compatible, it would be a sure money saver.

I have selected the longer of the available routes basis the feedback which I read on the Indore-Jhansi-Kanpur route, which was around 250KMs shorter than the above, any tips would be very helpful.

I also read and took some notes from Technocrats thread on long drives, a thourough and must have list, very helpful.

Sincere thanks to HVK and Technocrat for the routes and the tips provided.

I would really appreciate your inputs.

Regards,
Trojan

[nikesh]

Originally Posted by Trojan

Hi Friends,

This is my first post to this forum, though I can very proudly say that I have been following for over 2 years now and I have gained a lot of knowledge and experience which you all have very generously shared.

Well the above was slightly off-topic to this post, I would be travelling Pune-Kanpur on Monday 8-May-2012 in my i10 and I needed your valuable suggestions along this route.
I have read multiple posts and threads on this especially by Mr.HVK who definitely has tremendous information on the said route, taking all suggestions so far I have prepared my itinerary, I would be travelling with a friend and we would be taking turns driving so as to not stretch beyond our limits.
Itin as below:
Leg 1 : Pune to Jalna - 297.8KMs SH27, SH60, NH211
Leg 2 : Jalna-Karanja-Pulgaon-Wardha - 330KMs
Leg 3 : Wardha-Nagpur-Chhindwara - 204.4KMs
Leg 4 : Chhindwara-Seoni Chhapwara-Jabalpur - 196KMs
Leg 5 : Jabalpur-Kundam-Tala-Rewa (through Beohari)- 324.4KMs
Leg 6 : Rewa-Allahabad-Kanpur - 330KMs

We would leave around 7pm from Pune and plan to reach Nagpur by 6-7am on Tuesday and try to reach Allahabad by Tuesday late evening, take a halt there and resume our journey on Wednesday morning towards Kanpur.

Question to the expert and regular travellers -
-does this sound feasible
-Little skeptical about the Jabalpur-Kundam-Tala-Rewa part, since this would go through Bandhavgarh NP, how safe is it and do we need to seek prior permission in order to take this route
-Are there auto LPG pumps available on this route, since mine also is LPG compatible, it would be a sure money saver.

I have selected the longer of the available routes basis the feedback which I read on the Indore-Jhansi-Kanpur route, which was around 250KMs shorter than the above, any tips would be very helpful.

I also read and took some notes from Technocrats thread on long drives, a thourough and must have list, very helpful.

Sincere thanks to HVK and Technocrat for the routes and the tips provided.

I would really appreciate your inputs.

Regards,
Trojan

Hi Trojan,

I will not recommend raking Nagpur/Jabalpur route for Pune to Kanpur but instead take one of the below options based on your comfort level and driving convenience. These options were also given to me by HVK sir but I wanted to try out the challenging route so went ahead with trying the Indore route one-way and taking Allahabad/Jabalpur/Nagpur in return. Final decision is with you!

Option 1 :
Pune-New Bombay/Thane-Vapi-Surat-Ankleshwar/Bharuch-Baroda-Ahmedabad-Himmatnagar-Udaipur-Chittorgarh-Kota-Shivpuri-Jhansi-Orai-Bhognipur-Pukharayan CRossing-Kanpur

This option will have 4-laned roads all the way with expected traffic congestions at Thane, Ankleshwar/Bharuch and Orai city(bypass is in bad shape).

Estimated time of travel(with limited short breaks and quick bites) :
Pune - Baroda : 9 hours (average speed 110/120 kmph)
Baroda - Udaipur : 3.5 hours (average speed 110 kmph)
Udaipur - Shivpuri : ? (I dont know this)
Shivpuri - Kanpur : 6 hours (average speed 110 kmph)

Advantages
- Fast and smooth roads and safe to drive even at night time
- Busy route so lots of restaurants and tyre repair shops
- Less wear/tear of your car
- Better fuel efficiency
- High speed driving fun

Disadvantages -
Longer route so may be more fuel cost

Option 2 :
Pune - Aurangabad - Ahmednagar - Dhule - Indore - Guna - Shivpuri - Jhansi - Kanpur

This option will be very fast until Indore and again smooth from Shivpuri to Kanpur. Only slow section will be Indore to Shivpuri. I started at 4 AM from Pune and reached Indore bypass at 1.30 PM. I then struggled till 9.30 PM until Guna(50 kms before shivpuri) and night halted there. Trust me the potholes were nasty and my Vento went through a severe punishment. There were two railways crossings as well in between and this stretch was all single lane mostly. I still enjoyed this stretch as was quite an adventurous but will not want to try this route again unless this section gets repaired.

Advantages -
- Total distance that you travel will be less than option 1
- This option is quite possible in 24 hours total(first night halt at Guna)

Disadvantages -
- Deep potholes and irritating jerks after indore bypass until Shivpuri. Night driving not much advisable in this stretch
- You cannot maintain 80+ speeds after Indore until Shivpuri and your entire focus on road will be on finding the next pothole
- Not much puncture repair shops and car will have some wear/tear. Tyre alignment will surely go out big time.

Option through Nagpur/Jabalpur is not that fast and has quite a few challenges in many forms to tackle. Until Nagpur its BAU but post that your real adventure starts when the car population on road depletes, minimal eating joints, distant tyre repair shops and fuel pumps, not very safe(as I felt)

With i10 under my hood I would surely take a more stable route where I can enjoy driving with good eating joints and also if required can drive throughout night and its safe enough. M.P route would easily embrace a SUV or, any Mahindra vehicles and not suitable for sedans yet.

All the best

Regards,
Nikesh

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by Trojan

Leg 2 : Jalna-Karanja-Pulgaon-Wardha - 330KMs
Leg 3 : Wardha-Nagpur-Chhindwara - 204.4KMs
Leg 4 : Chhindwara-Seoni Chhapwara-Jabalpur - 196KMs

Since you are planning to go to Chindwara, best plan would be to go from Karanja to Amaravati, take NH6 to Nagpur (instead of Wardha), so that you can take the Ring Rad before the Nagpur city and join the Chindwara road easily instead of going on NH7 through the city.

-Little skeptical about the Jabalpur-Kundam-Tala-Rewa part, since this would go through Bandhavgarh NP, how safe is it and do we need to seek prior permission in order to take this route
-Are there auto LPG pumps available on this route, since mine also is LPG compatible, it would be a sure money saver.

NO permits or safety issues through Bandhavgarh WLS.
LPG facilities poor.

[Trojan]

Thank you HVK Sir and Nikesh, your comments are definitely very helpful,

@ Nikesh - I was contemplating the Udaipur route but some my friends travel to Gujarat regularly and they advised me about the traffic jams near the Narmada bridge toll, which by their experiences is a killer, since they are aware of the alternate routes through villages around they seem to be having an alternate way, but a first timer like me would surely end up getting stuck and hence not willing to take the chance.
The indore sector I have read your experience on that one, i10 would be tortured on that route and so would we... Vento is a very sturdy vehicle and could withstand the pothole onslaught...
The one through the Jabalpur et al sounds very promising (am a wildlife enthusiast) so getting a chance of going through any forest is VERY appealing to me, and having read your experience on that as well, it is the most lucrative one. A big thanks to you...

@ HVK - Thank you so much, you definitely know your way around...!!! Will alter my route accordingly...
just curious - are there any 'remote' chances of spotting any wildlife in the WLS zone... thank you once again


Regards,
Trojan

[Trojan]

Hello everyone,

I am back post 3500kms of awesomely exciting driventure

heres the route that we took,

Outbound - Left sunday late evening - halt at Jabalpur - reached Kanpur tuesday evening
Pune - Ahmednagar - Paithan (god knows why we went there) - Aurangabad - Karanja - Nagpur -Chhindwara - Seoni - "got lost in between" - Jabalpur (overnite halt) - Kundam - supreme Tala - Beohari - Rewa - lots of haphazard traffic - Allahabad - Kanpur

Since we didnt like the "getting lost part" we decided on an alternate route, heres the return itinerary
Kanpur - Allahabad - lots of haphazard traffic - Rewa - Beohari (superb dinner) - supreme Tala (1130pm) - Morning Safari (Magadhi Gate) - Shahpur - Mandla (new route) - Nainpur - Seoni - Chhindwara - Nagpur - Karanja - Jalna - Aurangabad - Ahmednagar - Pune

Out of the above, i think Pune - Nagpur was the most boring stretch with plenty of tolls (around 20-25 if i remember) compared to only 3 in entire MP and only 1 in UP, compared to the road condition I wonder why are we being charged so much, where as in MP with excellent roads it was only 3 (one for Bandhavgarh, one for Son river and the last for Chakghat)
It was an awesome trip and with the sights on offer, we actually did not feel that tired as well.
A very sad sight in MP though was the number of dead foxes on the road, we saw at least 8-10 foxes on the state highways and even a dead cow post Beohari, wish drivers would be more careful.

The detour towards Mandla was a definite saver in terms of time, road conditions are immaculate and these are bigger in comparison to the roads between Jabalpur and Seoni, my vote for this route, saves the Jabalpur traffic as well.

Thank you HVK for your inputs and tips, these were extremely helpful.


Regards

[bj96]

BHPians,
Hydrating this thread as my route is similar and destination is only about 50km further up, to Darbhanga. I need advice from experts and regulars on this sector.

I am planning a road trip to my ancestral home with family (2 adults and 2 kids, 7 and 2 years) in the week of Diwali. I will be driving my 10 year old WagonR (present ODO 68k) one way. Based on my driving habits and passengers on board, I will restrict ~500kms/day, dawn to dusk drive only.

After rummaging through wealth of information posted on several threads on this forum, I have drawn up following itinerary:

Pune -> Aurangabad - > Jalna -> Akola (night halt) -> Nagpur -> Jabalpur (night halt and possibly next day break too, sightseeing Bhedaghat etc.) -> Varanasi (night halt) -> Mohania ->Patna -> Hajipur -> Mushrigharari -> Samstipur -> Darbhanga.

I am familiar with first and last legs (Pune -> Aurangabad and Patna -> Darbhanga). Need advice on rest of the route condition, safety, better alternatives etc, and also about lodging and food options.

Thanks in advance,
-BJ

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by bj96

Patna -> Muzaffarpur - Darbhanga.

Hi!

It is not needed to go to Muzaffarpur to reach Darbhanga. You need to go to Patna - Hajipur - Samastipur (Musrigharari) and go straight to Darbhanga.

Thanks

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by bj96

Patna -> Darbhanga

Hi,as you have already and rightly decided on the route and also seconded by Sheel, I also suggest the same route.But I'm not aware of the roads on that stretch.If at all you plan to reach Darbhanga via Muzaffarpur, you must take the main route after Hajipur as its undergoing 4laning and work is patchy but easily motorable.I recently did Muzaffarpur Patna and it took me about 2 hours one way via main road.From Muzaffarpur you can take the 4 lane to Darbhanga.The most important bottleneck is Mahatma Gandhi Setu (you can read about it in a thread started by me,unable to post link as using mobile for this).
I have just one suggestion,as you'll be traveling from west to east,you'll encounter early sunsets and dark roads,it gets dark by 5:30pm these days.The road via Mahua from Hajipur becomes secluded at night.So kindly avoid such situation. Ask if anymore info is required.