[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by graaja

Is Patna to Kalimpong feasible in one day?

Patna to Kalimpong in a day is feasible. Personally I would prefer to move on to Kalimpong instead of staying in Siliguri. I have never stayed in Siliguri unless it was absolutely necessary.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Patna is little off route, if you don’t have anything specific in Patna then you should rather stay at Bodh Gaya. Bodh Gaya is just around 30kms from NH2 off Sherghati.

Staying in Bodh Gaya would mean just 250km drive on that day. That is why I chose Patna as that would make Kalimpong possible the next day. If there are any other good places to stay if I avoided Patna, that would be fine as well. There are some towns from Bodh Gaya to Kalimpong like Begusarai, Naugachia etc. that seem to have basic hotels. That may be a better option than going to Patna?

Also the reason why I wanted to reach Kalimpong in the evening is so that we can spend one full day visiting interesting spots in Kalimpong.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Patna to Kalimpong in a day is feasible. Personally I would prefer to move on to Kalimpong instead of staying in Siliguri. I have never stayed in Siliguri unless it was absolutely necessary.

Thank you BlackPearl. I will plan to reach Kalimpong either staying at Patna, or at some other tier-II town on the way from Bodh Gaya to Kalimpong.

[airbus]

Originally Posted by graaja

Thank you so much for the inputs. I will consider the north bank to Pasighat instead of the Roing route.

How about the return trip route? Maybe you can take South bank for return. You will also get a chance to drive on Bogibeel bridge (India's longest rail-cum-road bridge). You can drive from Pasighat to Sivasagar (take a short break to see some historical monuments of Ahom kingdom) then drive to Kaziranga National Park for overnight stay. You can have an elephant safari next morning and drive to Guwahati in the afternoon.

Word of caution, national highway section from Dibrugarh to Jorhat may not be in great shape due to ongoing four lane work. But, Dibrugarh to Sivasagar section is very scenic with many tea gardens on both sides of the highway.

During winter months, North East will be fairly foggy at night and in the morning, please ensure that you have good fog lamps.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by airbus

How about the return trip route? Maybe you can take South bank for return. You will also get a chance to drive on Bogibeel bridge (India's longest rail-cum-road bridge). You can drive from Pasighat to Sivasagar (take a short break to see some historical monuments of Ahom kingdom) then drive to Kaziranga National Park for overnight stay. You can have an elephant safari next morning and drive to Guwahati in the afternoon.

Hi airbus. Thank you so much for the input. Yes. This is what I have planned for return. Planning to drive from Pasighat to Kaziranga, overnight halt at Kaziranga (new year eve) and then do a Safari next day and then drive to Guwahati. Plan is to do a few more days of exploring Meghalaya, but that part has not been planned yet.

[ABHI_1512]

Originally Posted by graaja

Staying in Bodh Gaya would mean just 250km drive on that day. That is why I chose Patna as that would make Kalimpong possible the next day. If there are any other good places to stay if I avoided Patna, that would be fine as well. There are some towns from Bodh Gaya to Kalimpong like Begusarai, Naugachia etc. that seem to have basic hotels. That may be a better option than going to Patna?

Also the reason why I wanted to reach Kalimpong in the evening is so that we can spend one full day visiting interesting spots in Kalimpong.

I mentioned Bodh Gaya as a stay since it would be around six hours or little more both ways, should you decide to visit there from Patna and also because of many good stay options. If the idea is to reach Kalimpong early then Patna is preferable. And you are right about the basic hotel facilities in the tier two towns.

Also, it gets dark pretty early in the east and that’s why I suggested you to stay at Siliguri as you would be driving for the first time on that route to Kalimpong. If you are okay to drive in dusk and steep gradients, I would not be the one to discourage you. As BlackPearl said above, he has never stayed at Siliguri but that’s because he is quite accustomed with the route. You will be best judge whether to proceed to Kalimpong or stay at Siliguri, depending on the time you take.

Edit: Forgot to mention one thing- FOG, keep an eye on the fog since it gets worse during the winters.

[graaja]

Originally Posted by ABHI_1512

Also, it gets dark pretty early in the east and that’s why I suggested you to stay at Siliguri as you would be driving for the first time on that route to Kalimpong. If you are okay to drive in dusk and steep gradients, I would not be the one to discourage you. As BlackPearl said above, he has never stayed at Siliguri but that’s because he is quite accustomed with the route. You will be best judge whether to proceed to Kalimpong or stay at Siliguri, depending on the time you take.

Thank you. I understand. I will keep the halts flexible and dynamic. Will be booking hotels depending on that day's drive and exhaustion levels. As you have mentioned, if I hit Siliguri a little late, then I will definitely halt at Siliguri. Will proceed to Kalimpong only if I can manage it before dark.

Thanks a lot for the inputs