[kaushik60]

Hi!

We're a group of 8 planning a trip from Jamshedpur to the North East. There will be 3 vehicles - 1 car (Ford Figo) and 2 bikes (CBR 250R and P220F). We will be doing this from 1st March to 19th March, and what better day to start planning than the beginning of new year! The tentative plan is as follows. Kindly go through and give feedback regarding the feasibility.

Day 1 : Jamshedpur - Suri
Day 2 : Suri - Siliguri
Day 3 : Siliguri - Guwahati
Day 4 : Guwahati (local)
Day 5 : Guwahati - Shillong - Cheerapunji
Day 6 : Cheerapuji - Shillong - Guwahati
Day 7 : Guwahati - Bomdila
Day 8 : Bomdila - Tawang
Day 9 : Tawang (local)
Day 10 : Tawang - Bomdila
Day 11 : Bomdila - Guwahati
Day 12 : Rest day
Day 13 : Guwahati - Phuentsholing
Day 14 : Phuentsholing - Thimpu
Day 15 : Thimpu - Paro - Thimpu
Day 16 : Thimpu (local)
Day 17 : Thimpu - Phuentsholing
Day 18 : Phuentsholing - Bhagalpur
Day 19 : Bhagalpur - Jamshedpur

Now my questions:

1. To reach Siliguri from Jamshedpur, what would be the best route? Google maps gives me 3 options:
a. Jamshedpur - Bankura - Suri - Morgram - NH34 towards Siliguri
b. Jamshedpur - Raghunathpur - Kuri - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnea - Siliguri
c. Jamshedpur - Bundu - Muri - Bagodar - Bhagalpur - Siliguri

Which route would offer better roads? Also, can Jamshedpur - Siliguri be covered in a day? I have currently broken it up into 2 days given my past experience with roads in the area, but we would love to get to the NE states quicker and spend more time there then in transit. Is it feasible to leave Jamshedpur early morning and reach Siliguri by night?

2. Given the recurring Adivasi - Bodo violence, which would be the best route to take for Siliguri - Guwahati?

3. Day 4 to Day 11 has been planned without much knowledge of road quality. Please comment whether the plan is too aggressive or too unambitious.

Apart from these, any other suggestions are gladly welcomed. We would also have 3 ladies in the group, and so we want our overnight halts in decent places with good stay options. Suggestions for value-for-money hotels would be great! If any of the halts do not satisfy this criteria, please suggest alternative night halt spots.

Looking forward to a great trip!

@Mods: I couldnt find a thread giving information on the Jamshedpur - Siliguri route, and hence the new thread. If a similar thread exists, please do merge it. Thanks!

-Kaushik

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Now my questions:

1. To reach Siliguri from Jamshedpur, what would be the best route? Google maps gives me 3 options:
a. Jamshedpur - Bankura - Suri - Morgram - NH34 towards Siliguri
b. Jamshedpur - Raghunathpur - Kuri - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnea - Siliguri
c. Jamshedpur - Bundu - Muri - Bagodar - Bhagalpur - Siliguri

For good road I would suggest -
Jamshedpur - Bankura - Suri - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnea - Siliguri. You might face about 50 kms of bad road between Dumka and Bhagalpur, but most probably the road will be better by March.

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

For good road I would suggest -
Jamshedpur - Bankura - Suri - Dumka - Bhagalpur - Purnea - Siliguri. You might face about 50 kms of bad road between Dumka and Bhagalpur, but most probably the road will be better by March.

Do you think we could cover it in 1 day? Or should we break it up?

[Samba]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Do you think we could cover it in 1 day? Or should we break it up?

Just trying to give you an rough estimate of time. It may increase or decrease according to situation!

Jamsedhpur to Kharagpur - 4-5 Hours.
Kharagpur to Bankura-2 Hours.
Bankura to Durgapur - 1 hour
Durgapur to Suri - 1.5- 2 Hours
Suri to Bhagalpur- 4-5.5 hours
Bhagalpur to Siliguri - 4-5 hours

[Ashkait Kapoor]

Day 3 to day 7 can easily be done according to your plan. However I'm not sure about how safe would be the Siliguri-Ghy and Ghy-bomdila route due to the recent disturbances in those areas.

At Ghy you will find plenty of good budget hotels whilst at cherrapunjee you could chose to stay amonst any of these places- coniferous, sai-mi-ka, orchid, laitkynsew or cherrapunjee holiday resort, all these are safe and the resorts should be having tariffs ranging from 1.5 to 2k a night though it varies a little according to season.

[BlackPearl]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Do you think we could cover it in 1 day? Or should we break it up?

I think it would be better to stop over at Bhagalpur and then drive the next day from Bhagalpur to somewhere between Siliguri and Guwahati.

[kaushik60]

Thanks all for your inputs. In order to accommodate a bit of Eastern Arunachal, we modified our plans a little and dropped Meghalaya. Here is the revised ( and a tad more aggressive) plan.

Day 1 (Sun) : Jamshedpur - Suri
Day 2 (Mon) : Suri - Siliguri
Day 3 (Tue ): Siliguri - Guwahati
Day 4 (Wed) : Guwahati (local)
Day 5 (Thu) : Guwahati -Dibrugarh
Day 6 (Fri) : Dibrugarh - Namsai
Day 7 (Sat) : Namsai - Tezu
Day 8 (Sun) : Tezu - Hayuliang - Tezu
Day 9 (Mon) : Tezu - Dibrugarh (via Saikhoa Ghat, ferry)
Day 10 (Tue) : Dibrugarh - Bhalukpong/Bomdila
Day 11 (Wed) : Bhalukpong/Bomdila - Tawang
Day 12 (Thu) : Tawang (local)
Day 13 (Fri) : Tawang - Bhalukpong
Day 14 (Sat) : Bhalukpong - Guwahati
Day 15 (Sun) : Guwahati - Galephu/Phuntshilong (and obtain permits)
Day 16 (Mon): Gapethu/Phuntsholing - Paro
Day 17 (Tue) : Paro - Gedu
Day 18 (Wed) : Gedu - Purnea
Day 19 (Thu) : Purnea - Jamshedpur

Specific inputs needed:
1. Route from Siliguri to Guwahati: Either through Falakata- Cooch Behar - Bakshirhat - Goalpara- Boko, or through Sevoke - Hashimara - Bongaigaon - Guwahati. Which would be relatively safer if Bodo-Adivasi violence starts again?
2. Tezu to Dibrugarh via Saikhoa ghat: How often does the ferry run?
3. Dibrugarh to Bhalukpong/Bomdila: Is it possible to reach Bomdila the same day? What would be travel time from Dibrugarh?
4. Entry point to Bhutan: How is Guwanati -Galephu-Thimpu route? Our return in through Phuntsholing, and we want to explore a different route on the onward journey if possible.

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by Samba

Just trying to give you an rough estimate of time. It may increase or decrease according to situation!

Jamsedhpur to Kharagpur - 4-5 Hours.
Kharagpur to Bankura-2 Hours.
Bankura to Durgapur - 1 hour
Durgapur to Suri - 1.5- 2 Hours
Suri to Bhagalpur- 4-5.5 hours
Bhagalpur to Siliguri - 4-5 hours

But to reach Bankura from Jamshedpur, I wouldn't go through Kharagpur right? Google maps shows routes through:

1. Jamshedpur - Patamda - Purulia - Bankura
2. Jamshedpur - through Chandil forest reserve - Banduan - Manbazar - Indpur - Bankura

Which one do I take? So many roads criss-crossing these areas, Im really confused

[Samba]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

But to reach Bankura from Jamshedpur, I wouldn't go through Kharagpur right? Google maps shows routes through:

1. Jamshedpur - Patamda - Purulia - Bankura
2. Jamshedpur - through Chandil forest reserve - Banduan - Manbazar - Indpur - Bankura

Which one do I take? So many roads criss-crossing these areas, Im really confused

Yes you can take these routes too. Via Kharagpur you will drive through NH, the road till Jamsola is not in good shape and Bengal/Odisha/Jharkhand border at Jamsola is also famous for traffic jams. So once you cross Jamsola drive to Kharagpur should be fair.

On the Route 2- Jamshedpur - through Chandil forest reserve - Banduan - Manbazar - Indpur - Bankura

You will drive through state roads. Road condition is good mostly. But you have to be slow due to villages all around. So hens , goats, cows and villagers occupying the road will be a common sight. In this route after Bolorampur take the Dam road to reach Purulia faster through Chandil/Ayojdha Pahar.

Regarding route 1 you have mentioned, i have no idea on that route, i never traveled on that and i do not have any update on that route too.

For both the mentioned routes you can ask lovecars21 once. He has traveled to Jamsedpur from Asansol via Bankura and Purulia recently.

[kaushik60]

Dear all,

As our trip nears, we're planning on how to get the Inner Line Permits for Arunachal Pradesh part of our trip. On doing some research, I found that ILPs can now be obtained online itself at this link. It seems to be a simple enough process, where we have to upload documents and a photo online, after which the application would be verified. Post this, we pay the amount online, and the permit is basically a printout available after this simple process.

Has anyone done this previously? We want to be sure about this before our trip so that we dont face any problems on the ground with these 'online' permits. Any help from anyone with experience in this matter would be much appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
Kaushik

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Has anyone done this previously?

Don't even entertain the thought of applying for ILP online. That website has only one option for Papum Pare area surrounding Itanagar. The popular destinations like Tawang, Ziro, Tezu, etc. are not covered. I tried applying online including all my proposed destinations in the 'purpose of visit' box and after a few days, my application got rejected! Now, I am thinking of applying to the resident commissioner, New Delhi by post well in advance.

[drive_factor]

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Also, can Jamshedpur - Siliguri be covered in a day?

It is possible but a little ambitious in this case as you have those bikers (presumably with pillion) in the mix. This may reduce your speed 30% overall if the car and bikes stick together on convoy mode.

Secondly, your proposed route via Suri may not be the best. Please find out the current road situation along that route. Plus you may have a few super choke points till Dalkhola. Thus you may consider the following:

Day 1
Jamshedpur - Bhagalpur (390km)
Via PURULIA > DHANBAD>GIRIDIH>DEOGHAR. Take the Banka road to enter Bhagalpur.

Day 2
Bhagalpur - Gorumara WLS (325km)
Via Siliguri, Sevoke.
(You can take a Safari here with very good staying options)

Day 3
Gorumara - Guahati. (400km)

Road condition for Day 1 and Day 2 will be good to reasonable. For Day 3 you need to enquire.

I have the complete GPS coordinate for JAMSHEDPUR > DEOGHAR> GORUMARA >PHUENTSHOLING routing circa 2013 and would be happy to share if needed.

You will also be wise to seek advice from our esteemed forum member Shri "Debuda" who has been to Tawang from Jamshedpur and Distinguished member Shri "Sheel" who can guide you on areas around Bhagalpur / Purnea and beyond.

[kaushik60]

Originally Posted by J.Ravi

....one option for Papum Pare area surrounding Itanagar. The popular destinations like Tawang, Ziro, Tezu, etc. are not covered....

Just as I feared, this is not to be

You also mentioned applications by post. Do you know how long this process takes? If I apply in the nest few days, do you think I can get the permits by 25th of Feb? If so, we'll go ahead and do this immediately.
Thanks!

Originally Posted by kaushik60

Do you know how long this process takes?

I called the resident commissioner's office at New Delhi. I was told to apply just 20 days before the journey with a self-addressed and sufficiently stamped envelope with 2 copies of photographs of all the visiting persons, copies of voter ID cards, details of the destination and period of visit. They will send the ILP valid for 15 days to the applicant by post.

If I apply in the nest few days, do you think I can get the permits by 25th of Feb?

Yes. Go ahead and apply immediately with all the documents to the resident commissioner, New Delhi, so that you need not waste one day of your trip.

[kaushik60]

Hey folks!
Can anyone please help me with stay options at the following places? Will be travelling with 2 bikes and 1 car, and will also have ladies in the group. So looking for decent, economy options with safe parking facility.

1. Bhagalpur (or any other intermediate place between jamshedpur and siliguri)
2. Bomdila
3. Tawang
4. Phuntsholing
5. Thimpu

Thanks a lot!
Kaushik