[sreepathy]

Though I was planning a trip to Kerala from Ahmedabad and had sought guidance about it over here, the trip was successfully scuttled by my better half. The Kerala trip will have to wait for sometime, I guess.

In the meantime, there arose a possibility for a road trip to Shimla. Bookings have been done for the last week of December in Shimla.

Now I need help.

Google navigation displays the route as Ahmedabad – Udaipur – Chittorgarh – Bhilwara – Kishangarh – Jaipur – Rewari - Rohtak – Karnal – Chandigarh - Shimla. Is this fine?

I have been to Udaipur and my familiarity to that part of the country and terrain ends there.

I am planning to start early and stop over at Jaipur and do some sightseeing in the evening and maybe next morning and leave for Chandigarh, where I am planning to halt for a couple of days at a friend’s place and then move on to Shimla, stay there for five days and return.

I will be driving my vento petrol with wife and two kids.

I need guidance on a stopover in Jaipur (around 650 km from Ahm) or a place nearby.. with places to stay, eat and see.

I can also reach Delhi the same day (around 900km from Ahm), stay there overnight and then leave for Chandigarh.

In Jaipur (or in Delhi) I don’t want to enter the city.. a hotel on the highway, which is good and safe enough for a family, will be nice.

Also, no idea how difficult the driving will be in and around Shimla during that time.

[khoj]

The proposed route is quite alright. Your comments however are a bit contradictory. You do not want to enter Jaipur yet you want to go sight seeing. All of the options for staying for Jaipur are located inside the city. There are of course options available for staying on the highway but I would not recommend these for staying with family in tow.

Kishangarh from where you can proceed directly to Rewari Rohtak onwards is 100 kms West of Jaipur and unless you are willing to go via Delhi there is no point in coming to Jaipur.

In case visiting Jaipur is a must, then plan in a way that lets you drive in either direction of the Jaipur-Dilli section on a Sunday. This will allow for a peaceful drive and loads of time saving as you will be spared the vagaries of industrial traffic (trucks, buses and private vehicles) that one encounters almost from Behror (midway of Jaipur Dilli) all the way to the NCR.

There are good stay options in Kishangarh however in view of the tourist season in that part of the country you may need to book in advance. More so since Kishangarh is also the gateway for travellers taking the Kishangarh-Bhatinda mega highway in either direction.

Coming to Dilli, you have no option but to enter the city. However crossing the city itself is not that much of an issue as entering & exiting are.

Once you firm up your route, appropriately located hotels can be suggested.

Last but not the least, you have to factor in the joker in the pack : FOG. This one weather phenomenon can lay to waste the best of plans and make schedules go haywire. Road, air & train travellers face this phenomenon starting around Jaipur and all the way up to Ambala (next door to Chandigarh). It could be light fog wherein you can see a few feet ahead to dense enough where you cannot see your car's bonnet. I am not trying to scare you but only relaying a scenario that is played out every year from Nov-Dec all the way to end January, with mid December to mid January being the worst.

You may want to explore the option of flying in to Chandigarh and then taking an experienced taxi + driver to Shimla. This is a very popular and worry free option especially when one has not driven in fog beforehand. One could also take a train from Chandigarh to Kalka from where most Shimla based hotels provide drop and pick up plus scores of options are available in form of private taxis etc.

Originally Posted by sreepathy

In the meantime, there arose a possibility for a road trip to Shimla. Bookings have been done for the last week of December in Shimla.

Now I need help.

Google navigation displays the route as Ahmedabad – Udaipur – Chittorgarh – Bhilwara – Kishangarh – Jaipur – Rewari - Rohtak – Karnal – Chandigarh - Shimla. Is this fine?

I have been to Udaipur and my familiarity to that part of the country and terrain ends there.

I am planning to start early and stop over at Jaipur and do some sightseeing in the evening and maybe next morning and leave for Chandigarh, where I am planning to halt for a couple of days at a friend’s place and then move on to Shimla, stay there for five days and return.

I will be driving my vento petrol with wife and two kids.

I need guidance on a stopover in Jaipur (around 650 km from Ahm) or a place nearby.. with places to stay, eat and see.

I can also reach Delhi the same day (around 900km from Ahm), stay there overnight and then leave for Chandigarh.

In Jaipur (or in Delhi) I don’t want to enter the city.. a hotel on the highway, which is good and safe enough for a family, will be nice.

Also, no idea how difficult the driving will be in and around Shimla during that time.

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by khoj

The proposed route is quite alright. Your comments however are a bit contradictory.
=========
One could also take a train from Chandigarh to Kalka from where most Shimla based hotels provide drop and pick up plus scores of options are available in form of private taxis etc.

Thanks for your detailed reply.

i will be driving during daytime only. so i guess fog can be managed somewhat. just checked with a colleague who does delhi-ahmedabad frequently.. who said daytime driving will be fine.

i think i will stay in jaipur city. so i will need names of places to stay and maybe to eat. might avoid sightseeing depending on time availability/constraints.

in that case won't stop in delhi and proceed directly to chandigarh.

if not for driving i won't go to shimla though wife is pestering for a rail/air journey. she did that last time when i planned for mahabaleshwar (nearly 800km from ahmedabad). but we went by road and reached there in one day (3am to 6pm) without any problems though i was driving first time through ghats.

I can choose to drive on a sunday from jaipur to chandigarh.

[khoj]

Well, I am sure you will manage this journey too without any problems divided in to three segments namely

Ahmedabad >> Jaipur >> 675 kms

Jaipur >> Chandigarh >> 500 kms

Chandigarh >> Simla >> 115 kms

In Jaipur depending on the kind of trip I have stayed at different places with different budgets. For a simple overnight stay I would recommend the Fortune Select Metropolitan. This hotel straddles the front portion of a mall that has a CCD or Costa and a nice play area for the kids. Across the road is yet another mall with a McD on the ground floor and a cineplex to boot. The general area is quiet at night but humming with activity during the day as it is very close to the station and straddles the beginning of MI road which is the main shopping area and has various eating options. The hotel itself serves very good cuisine and the two malls also offer various options. Just down the road is another independent shopping complex that houses a subway and a stone's throw away is the ITC Rajputana where I strongly recommend the 'Peshawari' restaurant. The Rajputana also has a 24 hour coffee shop that serves great food and is busy well in to the late hours. In case you stay at the Rajputana do remember that the old wing has very large rooms but overlook the approach to the railway platforms, so a sharp hoot to two is not uncommon. The trick here is to ask for a room no higher than first floor so that the neighbouring buildings block the sounds. The new wing (building perpendicular to the main hotel) has quieter but smaller rooms.


I would recommend my current favourite the Marriott too which offers better standards than the ITC (room wise) at half the price and with an excellent 24 hour restaurant and a speciality Indian restaurant 'Zaika' but then that is across the town close to the airport and a little away from the action. It is a better option for longer stays. Again in the general area of the Marriott our own fellow member 'deky' has his own establishment "Starboard". I have stayed at his place too as have various other Tbhpians and I highly recommend it for an overnight stay. Being a guest house he does not offer meal options in general though I got a fantastic dinner but there are places nearby and the rooms themselves are large and very neat and clean. Being an ex mariner from the hospitality side 'deky' runs a tight ship and the boys there offer excellent service and look after you as one would look after a personal guest at home


What else can i tell you, ok so beyond Udaipur let me list out a few options for food and bio breaks. BTW while @Udaipur do not take the bypass road, instead drive straight in to the city and at Surajpol take the university road to drive to Dabri and rejoin NH8. Till last information as of a 3 odd months back the bypass was in bad shape (has been this way for some years now) and it is easier to go via the city. Time taken is same and so is the distance, besides this gives you an opportunity to go through the market/ hotel area etc. just in case. Now back to beyond Udaipur

1. 135 kilometres beyond Udaipur between Chittaurgarh and Bhilwara you will get BPCL Soniyana (1 km+ from the toll booth on LHS). This houses the apna Dhaba and offers clean loos, well as clean as one can get.

http://catalog.bhilwaraonline.in/Business/ghardhaba


2. In case the need arises to buy something you can leave the NH8 beyond Hamirgarh (marked by a large HP company owned bunk (very large and on your RHS). Approx 8-9 kms. beyond this pump you will see a Black Granite gateway to your RHS saying "Welcome to Bhilwara" Take this turn and going through the gateway 5 kms down on your left hand side you will come to the cleanest hotel in Bhilwara. It's name is Paradise or similar (I will look for the exact name and advise). The area around is barren but don't let that scare you. The same road takes you to the leaner side of Bhilwara rail station with market along side. Keep straight and you will climb a flyover that forks at its crest. The straights/left arm is what you want and a few kms beyond it will bring you back on to NH8. The left arm doubles back and takes you in to Bhilwara town.

The other good thing about this turnoff is that from the point of leaving and rejoining the NH8 it enables you to skip a toll plaza and saves 15kms distance wise.


3. The NH8 after Nasirabad culminates in to the Kishangarh Jaipur highway. Take the ramp up to join the Expressway. In case you need a break go along side the ramp towards Kishangarh. Under the ramp take a left and about a half kilometre down the road is the hotel Heritage to your left. A decent place for a break.

4. Back on the expressway halfway through you will cross Dudu which has yet another BPCL COCO with an 'Apna Ghar' however here drive a few more kilometres (35) to BAGRU and you will come to Hotel Highway king, yet another decent option for a quick halt. In fact between jaipur and Delhi too the same group has two more establishments at Shahpur and then at Behror.

http://hotelhighwayking.com

5. Beyond Dilli the one decent stop is the Haveli complex at Murthal
http://haveliheritage.net/murthal/

6. Also at Murthal you will come across various dhabas on your LHS as soon as you come down the flyover. These are namely "Pehelwan" "Gulshan" "Sukhdev" "Ahuja" and a few more.

Now these dhabas are open 24 hours and serve only veg food, their speciality being "PARANTHAS" with white butter. They also offer cleanish facilities, the trick is to eat here and then use the facilities at Haveli down the road. People from Dilli drive out on lazy Sunday noons for an extended brunch of the traditional taste. The recommended one being 'Aloo Pyaaz (onion) parantha". I prefer Gulshan as his parking lot is bricked up and he offers inside sitting option in case the weather is unfavourable (too cold or hot).


I have posted what all I could remember off hand. Let me know if you need any additional information

[sudev]

Giving it a spin but would recommend that you use this route https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ah...31.1046052!5i1

First night stay at Churu - Malji ka Kamra and then Chandigarh. OR stay at Ajmer/Pushkar.

You will really not be able to do much at Jaipur.

Leaving NH8 at Kishangarh is good option and roads are reasonably good. @khoj has already covered about going through Udaipur instead of bye pass.

I would advise not entering Delhi on NH8 after evening till past midnight. Huge jams are order of the day between Daruhera to Bilaspur to Manesar to Gurgaon. Have had one to five hour wasted especially in foggy season.

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by khoj

Well, I am sure you will manage this journey too without any problems divided in to three segments namely

Ahmedabad >> Jaipur >> 675 kms

Jaipur >> Chandigarh >> 500 kms

Chandigarh >> Simla >> 115 kms

In Jaipur depending on the kind of trip I have stayed at different places with different budgets. For a simple overnight stay I would recommend the Fortune Select Metropolitan. This hotel straddles the front portion of a mall that has a CCD or Costa and a nice play area for the kids. Across the road is yet another mall with a McD on the ground floor and a cineplex to boot. The general area is quiet at night but humming with activity during the day as it is very close to the station and straddles the beginning of MI road which is the main shopping area and has various eating options. The hotel itself serves very good cuisine and the two malls also offer various options. Just down the road is another independent shopping complex that houses a subway and a stone's throw away is the ITC Rajputana where I strongly recommend the 'Peshawari' restaurant. The Rajputana also has a 24 hour coffee shop that serves great food and is busy well in to the late hours. In case you stay at the Rajputana do remember that the old wing has very large rooms but overlook the approach to the railway platforms, so a sharp hoot to two is not uncommon. The trick here is to ask for a room no higher than first floor so that the neighbouring buildings block the sounds. The new wing (building perpendicular to the main hotel) has quieter but smaller rooms.


I would recommend my current favourite the Marriott too which offers better standards than the ITC (room wise) at half the price and with an excellent 24 hour restaurant and a speciality Indian restaurant 'Zaika' but then that is across the town close to the airport and a little away from the action. It is a better option for longer stays. Again in the general area of the Marriott our own fellow member 'deky' has his own establishment "Starboard". I have stayed at his place too as have various other Tbhpians and I highly recommend it for an overnight stay. Being a guest house he does not offer meal options in general though I got a fantastic dinner but there are places nearby and the rooms themselves are large and very neat and clean. Being an ex mariner from the hospitality side 'deky' runs a tight ship and the boys there offer excellent service and look after you as one would look after a personal guest at home


What else can i tell you, ok so beyond Udaipur let me list out a few options for food and bio breaks. BTW while @Udaipur do not take the bypass road, instead drive straight in to the city and at Surajpol take the university road to drive to Dabri and rejoin NH8. Till last information as of a 3 odd months back the bypass was in bad shape (has been this way for some years now) and it is easier to go via the city. Time taken is same and so is the distance, besides this gives you an opportunity to go through the market/ hotel area etc. just in case. Now back to beyond Udaipur

1. 135 kilometres beyond Udaipur between Chittaurgarh and Bhilwara you will get BPCL Soniyana (1 km+ from the toll booth on LHS). This houses the apna Dhaba and offers clean loos, well as clean as one can get.

http://catalog.bhilwaraonline.in/Business/ghardhaba


2. In case the need arises to buy something you can leave the NH8 beyond Hamirgarh (marked by a large HP company owned bunk (very large and on your RHS). Approx 8-9 kms. beyond this pump you will see a Black Granite gateway to your RHS saying "Welcome to Bhilwara" Take this turn and going through the gateway 5 kms down on your left hand side you will come to the cleanest hotel in Bhilwara. It's name is Paradise or similar (I will look for the exact name and advise). The area around is barren but don't let that scare you. The same road takes you to the leaner side of Bhilwara rail station with market along side. Keep straight and you will climb a flyover that forks at its crest. The straights/left arm is what you want and a few kms beyond it will bring you back on to NH8. The left arm doubles back and takes you in to Bhilwara town.

The other good thing about this turnoff is that from the point of leaving and rejoining the NH8 it enables you to skip a toll plaza and saves 15kms distance wise.


3. The NH8 after Nasirabad culminates in to the Kishangarh Jaipur highway. Take the ramp up to join the Expressway. In case you need a break go along side the ramp towards Kishangarh. Under the ramp take a left and about a half kilometre down the road is the hotel Heritage to your left. A decent place for a break.

4. Back on the expressway halfway through you will cross Dudu which has yet another BPCL COCO with an 'Apna Ghar' however here drive a few more kilometres (35) to BAGRU and you will come to Hotel Highway king, yet another decent option for a quick halt. In fact between jaipur and Delhi too the same group has two more establishments at Shahpur and then at Behror.

http://hotelhighwayking.com

5. Beyond Dilli the one decent stop is the Haveli complex at Murthal
http://haveliheritage.net/murthal/

6. Also at Murthal you will come across various dhabas on your LHS as soon as you come down the flyover. These are namely "Pehelwan" "Gulshan" "Sukhdev" "Ahuja" and a few more.

Now these dhabas are open 24 hours and serve only veg food, their speciality being "PARANTHAS" with white butter. They also offer cleanish facilities, the trick is to eat here and then use the facilities at Haveli down the road. People from Dilli drive out on lazy Sunday noons for an extended brunch of the traditional taste. The recommended one being 'Aloo Pyaaz (onion) parantha". I prefer Gulshan as his parking lot is bricked up and he offers inside sitting option in case the weather is unfavourable (too cold or hot).


I have posted what all I could remember off hand. Let me know if you need any additional information

thanks again.

will keep a note of all the places/eateries you have mentioned.

Have decided to break the journey into ahm-jaipur, jaipur-cgarh, cgarh-shimla.

Just checked out starboard.. it's cheap and good, i guess (from the photos). will decide on where to stay in jaipur an while later, closer to the journey date.

I can also ask my ToI colleagues in jaipur to book that for me. Alternatively, I can also check if ToI has a guest house in jaipur. Not all times offices have guesthouses, so not sure about jaipur.

A special thanks for the Udaipur bypass info. Usually I tend to take the bypass to avoid city traffic. So this info will surely be a great help.

Plus, will need some info on what to do in Shimla. If Shimla doesn't have snowfall, would like to go to a place to see that. Besides, some places to visit there.

Originally Posted by sudev

Giving it a spin but would recommend that you use this route https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ah...31.1046052!5i1

First night stay at Churu - Malji ka Kamra and then Chandigarh. OR stay at Ajmer/Pushkar.

You will really not be able to do much at Jaipur.

Leaving NH8 at Kishangarh is good option and roads are reasonably good. @khoj has already covered about going through Udaipur instead of bye pass.

I would advise not entering Delhi on NH8 after evening till past midnight. Huge jams are order of the day between Daruhera to Bilaspur to Manesar to Gurgaon. Have had one to five hour wasted especially in foggy season.

Will check out the route you suggested. Might use while coming back, so that there is something new on return route. How are the roads in this route?

Won't be entering delhi.

[sudev]

It is decent route all the truck traffic from Punjab to western destination use this. Many dhabas. Churu, Hissar are main towns. I have traveled on the route few times and would recommend it as it is shorter and avoids Delhi NCR

[amikacin]

Originally Posted by sudev

Giving it a spin but would recommend that you use this route https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Ah...31.1046052!5i1

First night stay at Churu - Malji ka Kamra and then Chandigarh. OR stay at Ajmer/Pushkar.

You will really not be able to do much at Jaipur.

Leaving NH8 at Kishangarh is good option and roads are reasonably good. @khoj has already covered about going through Udaipur instead of bye pass.

I would advise not entering Delhi on NH8 after evening till past midnight. Huge jams are order of the day between Daruhera to Bilaspur to Manesar to Gurgaon. Have had one to five hour wasted especially in foggy season.

I was going to suggest an alternative route, as sudev sir already mentioned it. I am currently posted at Churu and travel a lot through the district. If you want to avoid the traffic and all the mess of NH 8, this is a better option. In fact you can give it a try on the way back.

There are a couple of decent options available at Churu for night stay. However there is road widening work going on between Churu and Rajgarh (probably upto haryana border). This stretch of 65 Km would cause some grief. Rest assured, you wont face as much traffic on this route compared to the other ones.

[sudev]

Come to think of it NH65 is what gets up to Shimla.

[amikacin]

Originally Posted by sudev

Come to think of it NH65 is what gets up to Shimla.

Nice observation sir. It is NH 65 starting from Pali and all the way upto Ambala, via Jodhpur, Nagaur, Churu, Hisar, Kaithal and Ambala.

Sudev sir, would definitely like to meet you if you plan any trip this part of thar desert.

[Turbanator]

If you are coming from Jaipur towards Chandigarh / Simla you can simply bypass Delhi , look for a Left turn somewhere before Bawal - this is a proper 4 lane toll highway and you can save 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on time of day . You will join NH1 just before Panipat and going further around 30 km you can stop for food at NeelKanth Dhaba on your Right just before you enter Karnal .

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Pa...9!2d26.9124336

[khoj]

This is an interesting update and seems to be the completed portion of the proposed Dilli bypass ring road that has been under construction for almost a decade now. Do correct me if I am wrong in my assumption.

Turbanator, trust you have travelled on this road yourself. How is it in terms of availability of fuel pumps (especially petrol)?

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If you are coming from Jaipur....., look for a Left turn somewhere before Bawal - this is a proper 4 lane toll highway and you can save 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on time of day . You will join NH1 just before Panipat and ...

[sudev]

@khoj...nice highway and plenty of dhaba's petrol bunks. Many Haryana towns are just off the highway. Have not traveled the complete stretch but done parts of it. Much better than Delhi Gurgaon mad house.

[Turbanator]

How is it in terms of availability of fuel pumps (especially petrol)

I travelled from Panipat to an exit near Rohtak where we can go either towards Jhajjar - Bawal or Bhadurgarh - Gurgaon . Many pumps on the way though for food I will recommend NH1 Dhaba's .

Rohtak- Jhajjar - Bawal is also 4 Laned - just like express way

You don't need to go inside Rohtak , there is a new Bypass coming from Hissar side towards Delhi and thereafter take Gohana Bypass - once you take a left from Bawal you wont miss any thing as everything is clearly marked - follow directions to Panipat

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Pa...26.9124336!3e0

[sreepathy]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

If you are coming from Jaipur towards Chandigarh / Simla you can simply bypass Delhi , look for a Left turn somewhere before Bawal - this is a proper 4 lane toll highway and you can save 1 - 1 1/2 hours depending on time of day . You will join NH1 just before Panipat and going further around 30 km you can stop for food at NeelKanth Dhaba on your Right just before you enter Karnal .

https://www.google.co.in/maps/dir/Pa...9!2d26.9124336

was checking out the route on the map. yes there is a turn at bawad before bawal and it goes to rewari. hope you meant that. this is the route being shown by mobile navigation too. checking out NH 65 too. hope roads are good on that route