[vaibhav_a_a]

Dear All

Has anyone done the Bhopal to Ajanta stretch in the last several months or can share any inputs regarding the current road conditions as well as the correct route information?

I understand that Bhopal-Indore is good and 4 laned. Indore- Dhamnod is mostly good but dont know about:

a) Dhamnod- Palasner-Dhule
b) Dhule-Jalgaon
c) Jalgaon-Ajanta.

Lastly, if the aim is to just leave the hotel on south edge of Bhopal in the morning (8:30 am), can we make it comfortably to Ajanta by evening (5:30 pm) with a lunch and two tea breaks?

thanks
Vaibhav

[amit_purohit20]

I dont know the recent road conditions in Madhya Pradesh. But Maharashtra road conditions are good, you might have to face roads which dont have a divider and it may slow you down.

If you are planning to visit Ajanta and Ellora then also visit Ghushneshwar jyotirling just opposite to the gate of Ellora. You can also do Shirdi in this trip if you plan properly.

[mm403]

Originally Posted by vaibhav_a_a

Dear All

Has anyone done the Bhopal to Ajanta stretch in the last several months or can share any inputs regarding the current road conditions as well as the correct route information?

I understand that Bhopal-Indore is good and 4 laned. Indore- Dhamnod is mostly good but dont know about:

a) Dhamnod- Palasner-Dhule
b) Dhule-Jalgaon
c) Jalgaon-Ajanta.

Lastly, if the aim is to just leave the hotel on south edge of Bhopal in the morning (8:30 am), can we make it comfortably to Ajanta by evening (5:30 pm) with a lunch and two tea breaks?

thanks
Vaibhav

Vaibhav , you have two options.
1) Take Bhopal , Indore - Dhule - Jalgaon - Ajanta. Road till Dhule is excellent. No idea about Dhule- Jalgaon. but should be 2 lane. Jalgaon Ajanta is good 2 lane Indore Dhule will be around 251 km

2) Bhopal - Indore - via Simrol - Khandwa,- Burhanpur -Edalabad- Pahuri- Ajanta (Indore to Ajanta ) 275 km approx.

I had done Pune Indore via Ajanta - Burhanpur and via Dhule. IMO, via, Burhanpur road is 2 lane whereas via Dhule is a 4 lane, so better go via Dhule. Also you can refer Pune - Indore travelogues .Number of posts are there on the route via Ajanta.
For Dhule - Jalgaon stretch check with @HVK

[vaibhav_a_a]

Amit - thanks.

Thanks mm403 - How would you rate Indore-Burhanpur road condtion though? The reason is google shows me a shorter route via mandideep-hoshangabad-harda-khandwa and that one is almost 100 kms shorter than the NH3 route. So if the route is even tolerable, we'd be saved from backtracking a whole lot and reach.

[mm403]

Indore Burhanpur -- 2 lane road, had travelled 3 years back so not sure of condition. Mandideep-Harda - Khandwa will be shorter - agree will save your time

[pjbiju]

I have travelled along Indore->Burhanpur->Edlabad->Bodvad->Jamner->Ajanta several times in the past years. I have not taken this route during this year though.

Indore->Burhanpur road is usually always in very good condition and is a toll road. There are many speed breakers on this road around villages.

The roads between Edlabad - Jamner could sometimes be a little bad or patchy at some places.

Some points about this route:

• Almost very little traffic all along the route
• Very few straight stretches, most of the roads have turns and twists
• Very few options for food. Almost no place for lunch until you reach Ajanta.
• There is a railway crossing at Bodvad where you may need to wait for 15-20 minutes.
• There is a railway crossing between Indore and Khandwa too

I used to start from indore at about 4:30 a.m. and reach Ajanta by 10:30 a.m. without stopping anywhere, except for bio-break stops.

Even if you use the Indore->Dhule->Jalgaon->Ajanta route, you may able to cover the distance in may be around the same time since you can do much faster speeds until Dhule.

[vaibhav_a_a]

pjbiju

First up - thanks! This is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. Couple more questions though - my parents are senior citizens so I dont think starting anytime earlier than 8:30 will be possible. Is there truck traffic / other traffic on the route later? (you've mentioned 6 hours starting at 4:30 am).

Second, I checked again and there's an option for me to drive from Bhimbetka area (which is the last visit point in Bhopal) via mandideep-hoshangabad-harda-khandwa and then joining the indore-burhanpur road. Any idea about former leg? If that legs OK then the route you've suggested makes perfect sense, it's shorter.

thanks again
Vaibhav

[dave7377]

Travelled on Indore-Dhule section this Diwali. Beautiful four lane road all the way from Indore to Dhule. (last 60kms have almost 10-11 rumbling type speed breakers). Left Indore at 530 and bypassed Dhule for Surat at 0840.
From Dhule to Ajanta: Take Dhule-Erandol (Nh06)-Neri (SH 185)-Ajanta- Around 135-kms. Nh-06 would be two lane, lots of truck traffic and speed breakers at every town
or
Dhule-Jalgoan-Neri-Ajanta: Around 155 kms. Road status remains same.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by vaibhav_a_a

...
Couple more questions though - my parents are senior citizens so I dont think starting anytime earlier than 8:30 will be possible. Is there truck traffic / other traffic on the route later? (you've mentioned 6 hours starting at 4:30 am).

Second, I checked again and there's an option for me to drive from Bhimbetka area (which is the last visit point in Bhopal) via mandideep-hoshangabad-harda-khandwa and then joining the indore-burhanpur road. Any idea about former leg? If that legs OK then the route you've suggested makes perfect sense, it's shorter.

thanks again
Vaibhav

Vaibhav,

The traffic on Indore->Burhanpur stretch does not get bad even if you start at 8:30 a.m. Usually there are a few buses and trucks along this road and most of the trucks are the regular ones and not the long container types. While passing through a couple of villages the road becomes strictly two lane and one has to be a little patient while passing through these stretches. Nothing to be alarmed about this though. There is also a small ghat section as you leave Indore towards Khandwa. Also the distance from Indore to Ajanta is approximately 310 km.

I have absolutely no idea about the Bhopal->Khandwa route since I have never used it anytime. Please ping HVKumar and he might be able to get some information about this route.

[sandeep joshi]

Just came from Indore/Ujjain/Omkareshwar to pune last week
Never ever take Barahanpur route , take Dhule route

Omkareshwar-dhannod : Excellent condition 2 laned
Indore/dhannod to Dhule : Excellent condition 4 laned toll road
Dhule to jalgaon : excellent condition : 2 laned , some traffice of trucks
Jalgaon to agantha : good condion 2 laned

Take left at Dhule to join jalgaon/nagpur road just before entering Dhule

[vaibhav_a_a]

Thanks Sandeep , this is different advise from what pjbiju wrote though. It will add kilometers as well. Did you travel on Burhanpur-Indore or Burhanpur-khandwa-Hoshangabad routes recently?

[gauravdgr8]

The route should be planned as follows:

Bhopal - Indore : 4 laned (4 hours max) - excellent roads

Indore - Dhule : 4 laned (4 hours max) - excellent roads

Dhule - Jalgaon: 61 kms (1 hour) good roads but old fashioned highway. Traffic is decent and you can drive at high speeds, just that you have to plan the overtaking.

Erandol - Ajanta : 80 kms (via the SH 185 to Neri and then to Ajanta) Roads are overall ok and should take around 90 mins to cover.

Please note that Ajanta to Aurangabad is around 90 kms and should take another hour and a half to cover that distance.

Where are you planning to stay at Ajanta. There is one MTDC hotel and some private ones, however please prebook due to holiday season.

[vaibhav_a_a]

Thanks Gaurav. The plan is to leave Bhopal as early as possible. Will stay at a hotel on Sehore byepass road on south side of bhopal so as to not get hit by any congestion in the inner city.

I've never driven this long at a stretch (using NH3 the bhopal-indore-dhule-jalgaon-ajanta stretch is 560 km and 10.5 hours) so just a bit wary of prebooking. I was thinking that if I leave it open, it'd give me the flexibility of staying in Jalgaon / Ajanta (it's only overnight).

Next morning, we can visit the caves and reach Aurangabad later where I have a booking for next three nights to cover Ellora / Paithan, etc.

If that drive was a bit less than 10.5 hours then I'd have prebooked in Ajanta.

[Ahmed]

Being a resident of Aurangabad and travelled on the said highway, I suggest you dock at Aurangabad and not Jalgaon. You can do Ellora Caves, Ghrishneshwar Mandir, Daultabad Fort, Panchakki, Bibi Ka Maqbara as well from Aurangabad.

Take this route:
Bhopal - Indore - Dhule - Chalisgaon - Kannad - Ellora - Khultabad and Aurangabad. Exquisite drive till Dhule - 4 lane. From Dhule to Aurangabad it is a single lane but better than the Jalgaon single lane. Lesser traffic. Better and economical to luxury hotels present here in Aurangabad as compared to Jagaon.

Please don't travel to Ajanta on Mondays as it is closed and it is open on all the Govt declared holidays.

[vaibhav_a_a]

Thanks Ahmed. Now that's three votes in favor of the dhule route (which is the more conventional one as well). To your point about not staying in Jalgaon / ajanta - I thought it'd save me some not backtracking. Here's the complete itinerary and please see if you'd like to recommend something:

Jaipur - Jhalawar and overnight (day 1) - 372 kms
Jhalawar temples and move to Sanchi ( day 2) - 300 kms
Sanchi / Vidisha exploration (day 3) - 100 kms
Sanchi to Bhimbetka / Bhojpur (day 4) and move as far south as possible Sehore or Indore - upto 330 kms
Sehore / Indore to Ajanta (day 5) - 400 to 570 kms depending on previous day.
Ajanta caves and to Aurangabad (day 6) - 90 kms
Ellora, Daulatabad, other monuments (day 7) - 60 odd kms.
Paithan dam / bird sanctuary and dyaneshwar udyan and rest from all the driving before starting back (day 8) - 110 kms.
Start for return via Ujjain - day 9
Ujjain - Jaipur - Day 10.

So as you can see it's the day 4 and 5 that I've been asking questions on.

Any suggestions / tips would help.

-Vaibhav