[the_joker]

Originally Posted by rohan.xj

completely agree! Would just like to add one more category (not everyone may agree) - mud roads! Essentially these would include roads that just have traces of tarmac now, which in some cases renders the journey even more exciting!

I disagree. They may be exciting to drive on if you have a proper vehicle, but they surely aren't the best roads to drive on. You can't maintain a proper pace, there will be mud/dust everywhere and there is always a danger of damage to your vehicle if not driven properly. The best roads are the ones where you will enjoy driving your vehicle, either the drive or the scenery.

[faustus77]

Hi everybody
In sep/oct 2010 udaipur to jaipur via chittaurgarh was superb(except for a bad patch at udaipur and kishangarh) with hardly any traffic.At times i drove more than 2/3 km before overtaking a truck
In aug/sep this year on the same road,condition as good as before,there was 10 times more traffic.Seems the truckers avoided going via ajmer.
In sep this year also loved driving on the mega highway from chittaurgarh to firozepur hardly any traffic
Regards

[Rehaan]

A view of the beautiful Mahad ghat up to Mahableshwar. (Pics taken from "Elephants head").

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cya
R

[girishglg]

Now come to think of it don't we have a new contender on the block - The Yamuna Expressway?

Have not personally travelled on it though but those who have can probably vouch for it! What say?

[humans]

Originally Posted by girishglg

Now come to think of it don't we have a new contender on the block - The Yamuna Expressway?

Yes, Yamuna Expressway surely is not just the contender, but may be the top 5 in list of best roads in India, if not the absolute winner. The end to end cemented road need to be experience to understand the joy of straight, consistent speed, no obstacle driving, which is kind of rarity on India highways. Couple of minor drawbacks, you can't think of stopping for food, the convenience shops near tolls have very few things and that too quality is not good, high tolls, but that is understandable.

[drmohitg]

Voted for others. And my obvious pick has to be the Vadodara-Ahmedabad national expressway 1. Its one of the best roads you can drive on. And apart from good roads, no turns or cuts or obstructions, the best part of this stretch is the way people follow driving etiquette and drive in the left lane to allow a faster car to pass.

Some stretches of NH8 are awesome too specially around Udaipur. The road from Udaipur to Ahmedabad is quite a nice drive with mountains on both sides.

[CANPUSH]

There are few roads that always gave me immense pleasure to drive upon:

1. Road climbing to Nandi Hills near Bangalore (My latest experience is 10 years ago. Don't know if things have worsened since then.)

2. East Coast Road (ECR) from Chennai to Puducherry.

3. A nondescript road from Kanakvali to Achare in Konkan.

4. Road from Anjar near Gandhidham to Mundra in Kutch, Gujrat.

There are some not so bad experiences like Yamuna Expressway, Yashwantrao Chavan Expressway, Varodara-Ahmedabad Expressway, etc.

Worst was (As the section does not exists any more) Borghat between Khopoli and Khandala in late 80s! All who used that section in monsoon after dark will agree with me.

[mpksuhas]

My pick would be Pollachi - Valparai- Chalakudi road. Yes, surface is bad near KL-TN border. However the scenic 40 hairpins on way to Valparai. The beautiful drive beside Sholayar dam through tea estates and thick forested strech frequented by elephants before Athirapally dam makes it the best road I have driven through.

Yamuna Expressway between Agra & Greater Noida



NE1 between Vadodara & Ahmedabad









NH 7 between Bangalore & Kanniyakumari

[Reisender]

Ravi Sir, Is there a place/road available that your linea haven't ride on? .
Keep up the driving spirit.

[swiftdiesel]

There are 2 best stretches I've encountered:

The NH7 from Madurai - Kanyakumari and the new NH79 between Ulundurpetai - Salem. Near flawless roads these both!

[indian21r]

Hyderabad Outer Ring Road as well as the service road. It is a breeze to drive on this. Cruise Control all the way.

[mobike008]

My favorite roads in India are as follows in sequence from top to bottom :-

1. Hyderabad Outer Ring Road (ORR)

Absolutely no traffic and its a blast to drive on this road. I drive on service road every day to work and that itself can be driven on cruise control

2. NE1 (Vadodara to Ahmedabad)

Great highway though not as broad as Hyderabad's ORR. But, great traffic sense in Gujarat and Rajasthan and If you flash your lights even from over a km and vehicles in front moves to left lane

3. NH4 (Bangalore-Mumbai)

Awesome highway with some lovely bankings to the road. However, many times it gets crowded on several sections

4. NH7 ( Hyderabad-Bangalore)

4-Laned highway all the way. Stretch from Hyderabad to Kurnool is good and Kurnool to Bangalore is spectacular in terms of scenary and mountains etc.

Driven many times on MPEW and i dont like it. And, Iam yet to drive on the Yamuna Expressway.

[swami.n]

The 2 roads which I have driven & enjoyed the most are

1. ECR - Chennai - Pondy
Simply a visual treat having the beach on your side for 50 - 75kms of the 150odd Km journey. But would not recommend for night drives as it is 2 laned and no median.

2. NH45 - Chennai - Trichy - Madurai
Fantastic 4 laned highway with a lot of eateries opening up recently, all along.

mobike008 - Thanks for the ride in your White Annihilator on HYD ORR, where for the first time I experience 200+ speed ......

I am frequent on NH7 HYD-BLR and normally do it within 6.5 hours door to door (Kondapur to Vijayanagar). I have been driving on this road since 2000, first with Ikon for 6 years and then with Scorpio for rest of the time till date. I have seen how this road has evolved over a decade. I just love this stretch.

I always believe the formula for Good Drive is -
Good Drive = Driver's ability X Road Texture X Traffic Conditions

Based on this, I must say this stretch is really well behaved.
The other stretches I normally do are
SH17 : BLR - MYS - really crowded, though its smooth except at Mandya crowd and Maddur speed breakers.

NH48 : Nelamangala (BLR) to Mangalore via Hassan & Western Ghats

NH 17 : Mangalore to Goa, where you got sea on your left and Mountains on your right.
The 2 km stretch at Maravanthe is unique where you have the sea on the left and river on the right. (I will upload a pic later)

NH 4 : BLR - CHN via Chittoor and BLR - Dharwad (this is now getting redone, hence there could be some diversions, causing delays)

SH23 / NH67: Hubli - Karwar through the Western Ghats, this used to be maintained by L&T for a very long time not too sure about it now.

Cheers !