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Old 23rd August 2020, 21:47   #31
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

Hello, I feel that the current route plan misses out mostly on Karnataka-Western ghats region. I wouldnt suggest anything through texts here,
However, please do google the following:
1. Jog falls.
2. Murudeshwar
3. Kudremukh
4. Ganesh gudi
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Old 23rd August 2020, 23:13   #32
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

Personally, I feel all of these different segments should be road trips independent of each other (as in not continuous). THat can allow making each segment more detailed and can include short detours to cover smaller but amazing POI. The positioning aspect would add to logistics but true for any road trip.
Secondly, different parts of India have different preferred times to tour. That would help in getting the best experience.
All this is based on the assumption that there is no urgency and time is on their side.

All the very best to them.
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Old 24th August 2020, 00:04   #33
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Re: Central - BR-UP

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
Central

Jalpaiguri - Purnia - Deoghar - Gaya - Patna - Ayodhya - Lucknow - Katarniyaghat - Dudhwa/Pilibhit

This section begins from Jalpaiguri to reach Dog-ear(JH) for a visit to Baidyanath Jyotirling Temple. From there head on to Gaya and Patna. Journey to Lucknow needs to br broken at Ayodhya and from there on they follow the Terai region bordering Nepal to Pilibhit. The Allahbad-Kanpur-Agra route is avoided since they have travelled trough this area before and with the purpose of taking a new rout through UP.


Inputs needed for:
  1. Places to visit near Purnia
  2. Whether Sasaram is a worthy de-tour on the way from Gaya-Patna
  3. The might skip one of the three (Katarniyaghat/Dudhwa/Pilibhit) depending on the park visiting season
  4. Iconic landmarks for a photo-op @ Patna and Lucknow.
Wow, this is going to be trip of a lifetime. Do keep us posted on updates regarding the trip.
As far as Lucknow is concerned they could visit the Imambara’s and the attractions around there and La-Martiniere College. Your Dad Should definitely try out the amazing food at Rahim’s, Maubeen and of course Tundey Kababi and Chaat over there
Do let me know if any help is needed.
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Old 24th August 2020, 00:10   #34
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

There are many people to advice about the route and stuff. Let me just share some inspiration, a retired IRS officer who has undertaken multiple road trips.
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Old 24th August 2020, 09:34   #35
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

If you are not planning on visiting Munnar and want to only see Periyar sanctuary then skip Udumalapettu and go via Theni to Kumily. Else take Udumalapettu-Munnar-Pooppara-Kumily route.

Stop over at Keylong as Sarchu is at a much higher altitude and chance of AMS is more. Start early from Keylong and reach Leh instead of stopping in between as you get mostly tented accomodation on this route. Its safer to take the Srinagar-Leh route first and return via Manali-Leh as you get gradually acclimatized. If going via Manali you also need permits for Rohtang pass which can be taken online. Permits are not needed while returning from Leh.

No permits needed for Leh city but if you plan to visit Pangong or Nubra then permits have to be obtained in advance from DC office in Leh.

Last edited by tomraven99 : 24th August 2020 at 09:37.
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Old 24th August 2020, 13:25   #36
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

Thumbs Up for the meticulous planning It is always gratifying to fulfill your parents wishes rather than showering materialistic gifts.

For the Kerala Leg, an alternate scenic route could be - Ooty -Coimbatore-Pollachi-Valparai- Vazhachal-Athirapally-Alappuzha-Kollam - Trivandrum

For the TN Leg:

Madurai - Please try to include Azhagar Koil & Pazhamudircholai temples to your itinerary apart from the temples in the Main City - Meenakshi Temple , Koodal Azhagar Temple etc. You may also plan to visit the Gandhi Museum if time permits which has some wonderful collection of things related to Gandhiji.

Pondicherry - An overnight stay at Pondy won't suffice. There is definitely a lot of history associated with the town plus a few scenic landmarks and it needs at least a day to do justice to the Town. A few must visit places - The White town including the Promenade, Aurobindo Ashram, Manakula Vinayagar Temple etc. plus Chunnambar Boat House and Paradise Beach(It is aSand Bar).

Chennai - Iconic landmarks -
1. Marina Beach, Light house and the entire stretch of Beach Road/Kamarajar Salai including Fort. St. George, Santhome Cathedral. The beach itself is not so clean compared to other beaches in the City (Thiruvanmiyur/Besant Nagar).
2. Kapaleeswarar temples and the Mada Streets of Mylapore.
3. St. Thomas Mount - for a bird's eye view of the city and the Airport - Take-offs and Landings can be seen.

Wishing your parents a wonderful and trouble-free journey.
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Old 24th August 2020, 16:22   #37
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Re: South East - Kanyakumari-Visakhapatnam

Quote:
Originally Posted by RedTerrano
First of all hats off to your mom and dad. To undertake such an adventure after retirement. Please convey my respect and best wishes to them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by whitewing
Wishing your parents memorable & safe road trips!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Researcher
Hats off to your parents! I wish them all the best for this trip of a lifetime!
...
Eagerly waiting for a great travelogue here!

If the plan is this detailed and thorough, I can only imagine how the travelogue is going to run into pages!
Quote:
Originally Posted by shrinandiyer
Brilliant plan.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dry Ice
Wonderful thread Tgo, and wish the trip is a grand success!
Quote:
Originally Posted by vgsr
I love that someone is doing this. I too am retired and have been planning a coast to coast trip for the last few years... All the best to them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by viXit
But what can be better than a LIVE team-BHP travelogue to keep us all up to date with the fun.
Consider making your parents join. Seeing that they are experienced travelers it's only a matter of time before we're listening from them.
Wishing them all the best!
This one is going to be One heck of a road trip.
All of BHP's experience is gonna come in handy.
Thanks to everyone for the good wishes and the support. .

We of course, have the travelogue duty to fulfill on Team-BHP. That's the only way we repay each other - in the currency of knowledge and experiences.


Quote:
Originally Posted by RedTerrano View Post
In 2018, I had driven from Pune to all the seven sisters. You might find my travelogue helpful.
Your travelogue is quite an information center and it also tells of what to expect when travelling in the remote hills. Went through it once. Will give it a thorough read once again.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Ragavsr View Post
If your mom is interested in archeology and temples as such, you have to break your journey in Thanjavur.

Chennai to Srisailam in one day is impossible ( would require 10-12 hours of driving) . Better to stop at Gandikota .

Also between Sarchu and Leh , most are tiny villages small towns. Karu and Upshi are larger villages or towns if you may call that. So dearth of good hotels exist on the route. However decent homestays are available everywhere, you just have to search.
Thanjavur has been coming up in the suggestions repeatedly. Lets put it on the list and re-work the plan soon.

Stop at Gandikota has been finalized then. Can they do Gandikota-Srisailam-Hyderabad in one day, with ample time to visit the temple?


Quote:
Originally Posted by whitewing View Post
Consider a midway halt at Chitradurga. I would suggest the following deroute:
Hampi->Chitradurga(Halt)-> Belur/Halebeedu/Hassan (halt)->Shravanbelagola ->Bangalore->>
Will see if they are keen on Halebeedu and Shravanbelagola. Places in the western ghats require more than a night's stop-over to enjoy the place. Plannign to do that in Ooty/Periyar which would have a similar environment, don't you think?


Quote:
Originally Posted by jagira View Post
Your parents can spend a day + night stay at Mandu (Mandavgarh). From Mandu, I would recommend going to Vadodara instead of Ahmedabad and staying there instead of staying in Ahmedabad & Rajpipla.
Also, I would suggest going to Aurangabad from Vadodara via Surat - Nashik instead of taking Rajpipla to Aurangabad route. It's a bit safer.
Mandu would be a nice stop-over. Thanks for the suggestion.
Rajpipla is on the list since we they have friends there who have been calling them since ages.

Quote:
Yep, Daman and D&N Haveli can be skipped.
Was thinking of that earlier, but on second thought, just to tick it off the box driving through Daman is a must. That will cover all inland UTs.

Quote:
...your parents can go to either Rani ki Vav or Adalaj Stepwell from Modhera... Lakshmi Vilas Palace... Udvada instead. It's close to Surat.
Dad was in Gujarat for three years before retirement and they both have traveled in the state extensively. Will ask them if these places catch their interest.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Researcher View Post
Yes and it is probably just running till the end of the month.
Thanks for the info. If Diu is off the list, I guess we won't need the RoRo ferry.

Quote:
In Bhubaneswar, you may visit the Lingaraj Temple.
Thanks for the suggestion. Will look it up.

Quote:
I would suggest you to have a bit of spare time at hand because roads in Jharkhand may not be in the best of conditions ...There is also quite a number of diversions and heavy traffic due to work in progress in NH16 around Cuttack-Panikoili
Thanks of the input.

Quote:
I will also suggest to keep a printed list of service centers that would be on your route in addition to saving on the phone.

You have covered almost everything that comes to my mind. Just keep some spare batteries and memory cards with a habit to frequently back-up to any cloud storage.
The printed list is a great tip. Spare batteries and cards were on my mind too.


Quote:
Originally Posted by manonsong View Post
One option is to go to Goa via the old NH 17 Highway along the Konkan Coast.
This was the original intention but we didn't know the route. Will trace this section again on the map with a stop at Chiplun.

Quote:
Aurangabad-Igatpuri road ... May be better to come to Nashik and stop over. Suggest York winery as a good place. .
Mumbai is an expensive city for hotels but great for eating out at reasonable costs.
Vsiting the wine producing part of the country sound quite interesting. Will rework this section. Stay in Mumbai is not a problem as we have family there.
Will keep you in the loop with the updated plan.


Quote:
Originally Posted by shrinandiyer View Post
Please consider few more destinations in TN.
Kanyakumari - Rameshwaram - Madurai - 1. Trichy - 2. Thanjavur - 3. Kumbakonam - 4. Karaikal - Pondicherry
Would love to compile a longer list of destinations, POI's and food provided I do some homework.
Will look-up these places and get back to you on this.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Dry Ice View Post
Reg. the photos, you can setup the camera to record GPS as well in the picture data.

Secondly if you backup the photos to Google photos,
Great tips and easy to manage as well. Will do a mock up and demonstrate the set-up to them before they begin. Thankfully, the Nikon P900 we have has an in-built Geo-tagging functionality.


Quote:
Originally Posted by viXit View Post
OTG adapters so they can do it directly on the mobile phone.
don't under any circumstance let them travel without a BSNL sim card.
Thanks for the tip. BSNL SIM is on the list.


Quote:
Originally Posted by vgsr View Post
They should avoid night driving in India and halt by 4/5 pm on driving days.
That's right, they concur your thoughts.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Alpha8118 View Post
Sasaram has absolutely nothing worthy of making a detour on the way to Patna.
Thanks for the quick tip. So I guess it goes off the list in the next revision.


Quote:
Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana View Post
Kallanai is a 2000 years old dam, probably the oldest in India, if not the world.

I recommend Amma mess.

Tanjore - Kumbakonam has narrow, curvy roads with very poor traffic sense prevailing among locals. They need to be very careful driving in that route.
Thanks for the tips on the places, food and traffic conditions. The dam sound damn interesting.
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Old 24th August 2020, 20:26   #38
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Re: South East - Kanyakumari-Visakhapatnam

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
Will see if they are keen on Halebeedu and Shravanbelagola. Places in the western ghats require more than a night's stop-over to enjoy the place. Plannign to do that in Ooty/Periyar which would have a similar environment, don't you think?
Depends what one intends to do, for hiking etc to soak in a place, one would need a couple of days. Temple visits are different though.

If Temples & forts are on the mind, would suggest roughly the below route, having read that they already have done the Konkan stretch (I persume covering Udupi, Kollur, Dharmasthala. Though the trip duration will increase atleast by 3x .

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hamp...em,+Tamil+Nadu
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Old 24th August 2020, 21:10   #39
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Re: Central - BR-UP

That's a great plan.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
Central

Jalpaiguri - Purnia - Deoghar - Gaya - Patna - Ayodhya - Lucknow - Katarniyaghat - Dudhwa/Pilibhit

This section begins from Jalpaiguri to reach Deoghar(JH) for a visit to Baidyanath Jyotirling Temple.
The road conditions can be confirmed by DBHPian Sheel as he stays at Purnea. He would also let you know about places to visit near Purnea.

Quote:
From there head on to Gaya and Patna.
I'm not sure about the roads from Deoghar to Gaya but Gaya to Patna is a mess. Road widening has started again. Distance is just 80kms but was taking around 5 hours a few months before lockdown. In Patna, a visit to Golghar and Bihar Museum is a must. Another landmark would be visit to one of the Ghats.

Quote:
Journey to Lucknow needs to be broken at Ayodhya and from there on they follow the Terai region bordering Nepal to Pilibhit. The Allahbad-Kanpur-Agra route is avoided since they have travelled trough this area before and with the purpose of taking a new route through UP.
From Patna, the route to follow would be via JP Setu (Loknayak Jai Prakash Setu : Bridging the gap (Digha-Sonepur Bridge)) and then outskirts of Chhapra to Gopalganj and thereafter the NH28 to Gorakhpur and Ayodhya. The roads are not that good till Gopalganj but great after that. They can visit Kushinagar. It's just short of Gorakhpur.


Quote:
[*]Whether Sasaram is a worthy de-tour on the way from Gaya-Patna
Not sure about this.

Quote:
[*]Iconic landmarks for a photo-op @ Patna.[/list]
Already shared.
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Old 24th August 2020, 22:10   #40
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Re: Planning a Pan-India road trip for my parents - Need advice

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
I seek your help and guidance for planning "THE" road-trip my parents been contemplating for the past two years.
Unlike most folks replying to you, I am sorry, but I would not be encouraging anyone, your parents included, to embark on a nearly 4-month-long road trip around India, especially since they live in India.

Why not? Consider the following:

Stress & fatigue: Your parents are not exactly young and sprightly. Age in certainly a big factor in the induction of fatigue. Travelling / sightseeing / driving every day over 4 months exacts a large toll of the body, esp. if one is over half a century old.

Boredom: As you said...
Quote:
Both are very sociable
...so then, how would they share their moments over those 4 months, without face-to-face interaction with their close friends and relatives? This will be more of a punishment trip than a pleasure trip!

Vehicle issues: Too long a trip, with too many service centres to deal with in remote corners of the country, can be stressful to them (and to the car). BTW, you have not mentioned what car they plan to drive.

Health & medical issues: Are they absolutely fit? No hypertension, not diabetic, and not on any other long-term medication? Are you sure they don't need to see their physician at all in 4 months? One doesn't want to visit new doctors for old ailments that may be an occasional bother.

Too much in too short a time: The trip would be like eating a gourmet buffet spread of 100 delicacies, in one continuous meal extending from breakfast to dinner. Instead of savouring the uniqueness of each dish, they'd end up with indigestion!

Nothing to look forward to later on: Hey, we've seen all that is to be seen in India! So we've run out of travel options to look forward to for next year!? That's a very disappointing situation for a retired person who loves travelling.

What would be better? Let them cover one state at a time. A 15-20-day trip to each state (or maximum 2 adjoining states at a time), at an interval of every 2-3 months, would let them cover the particular region in greater detail, as well as leave them to look forward to their next trip. And every state / region has a "best season" to travel to, so they can time their visits based on such research.

Share this post with them, and see what they say. As you said, they are...
Quote:
Very experienced road travellers
...so perhaps this piece of advice coming from another traveller might be to their liking.
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Old 25th August 2020, 02:02   #41
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Re: West - Jaipur-Mumbai

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
West

Jaipur - Bhopal - Gandhinagar - Rajpipla - Aurangabad - Mumbai

Lastly, pour in your suggestions for places worth visiting along the way.
MP has a lot to offer in terms of places to see. Indore is a street food heaven. Ujjain has famous religious places. Omkareshwar near Indore is a place worth visiting once. All these can be done within couple of days using Indore as base.

I will urge looking at State tourism videos and explore including them in itinerary. MP one is... .
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Old 25th August 2020, 12:58   #42
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Re: Pan-India drive

Quote:
Originally Posted by gauravanekar View Post
Hello, I feel that the current route plan misses out mostly on Karnataka-Western ghats region.
You're right about that. They have covered Mangalore to Gokarna earlier. A bit of the interiors would be great but we're also targeting max 5 days in a state which will leave this for the next visit which is more relaxed.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mmxylorider View Post
Personally, I feel all of these different segments should be road trips independent of each other (as in not continuous).

Secondly, different parts of India have different preferred times to tour. That would help in getting the best experience.
That was my first suggestion to them. But it is something of a challenge which my Dad is willing to take up. There will always be nooks and crannies which remain unexplored and will need be covered later.

Regarding the preferred travel time to different locations, we had thought the Jan-March/April time is most suitable for this trip as it provides for fair weather across the country including the hills. Jan 2021 or Jan 2022 is the next big debate.


Quote:
Originally Posted by AyushB View Post
As far as Lucknow is concerned they could visit the Imambara’s and the attractions around there and La-Martiniere College. Your Dad Should definitely try out the amazing food at Rahim’s, Maubeen
They would visit those places for sure. Mom had lived in Lucknow for a while as a kid and she has a few places in mind to stir up nostalgia. Will reach out to you in due course.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaguar View Post
There are many people to advice about the route and stuff. Let me just share some inspiration, a retired IRS officer who has undertaken multiple road trips.
A nice share. Will forward it to them when they are in doubt. Coincidentally my Dad retired from the IRS too.


Quote:
Originally Posted by tomraven99 View Post
Else take Udumalapettu-Munnar-Pooppara-Kumily route.

Stop over at Keylong as Sarchu is at a much higher altitude and chance of AMS is more. Start early from Keylong and reach Leh.
More keen on the route via Udumalpet thinking that it would have less traffic and would be more scenic.

Thanks a ton for the Keylong-Leh info. Pangong-so & Nubra are out since they have been there earlier. Will keep the Srinagar route as an alternative to tackle AMS.


Quote:
Originally Posted by TravelIKON View Post
Thumbs Up for the meticulous planning
Thank you. Just doing my but to make their life easier.

Quote:
For the Kerala Leg, an alternate scenic route could be - Ooty -Coimbatore-Pollachi-Valparai- Vazhachal-Athirapally-Alappuzha-Kollam - Trivandrum
So our initial plan skipped all those places in a stake where they have visited. For Kerala that includes Kochi, Alleppey, Munnar, Thekkady. Trivandrum is on the list only since it is the state capital.

Quote:
For the TN Leg:
... Azhagar Koil & Pazhamudircholai temples to your itinerary apart from the temples in the Main City - Meenakshi Temple , Koodal Azhagar Temple etc.

...The White town including the Promenade, Aurobindo Ashram, Manakula Vinayagar Temple etc. plus Chunnambar Boat House and Paradise Beach(It is aSand Bar).

...1. Marina Beach, Light house and the entire stretch of Beach Road/Kamarajar Salai including Fort. St. George, Santhome Cathedral. The beach itself is not so clean compared to other beaches in the City (Thiruvanmiyur/Besant Nagar).
2. Kapaleeswarar temples and the Mada Streets of Mylapore.
3. St. Thomas Mount
Quite a few suggestions, which I need to look-up. Thanks.


Quote:
Originally Posted by whitewing View Post
Depends what one intends to do, for hiking etc to soak in a place, one would need a couple of days. Temple visits are different though.

https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Hamp...em,+Tamil+Nadu
Thanks for working out the alternate route.
Hampi is the only thing on their mind in KA and Bangalore since it is the state capital. We are trying to cap the days spent in one state to 5. They have covered Gokarna-Mangalore, Mysore, Bangalore earlier.


Quote:
Originally Posted by BoneCollector View Post
... Gaya to Patna is a mess. From Patna, the route to follow would be
Thanks for the targeted responses. Kushinagar might catch their attention. Will get in touch with Sheel.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mmxylorider View Post
I will urge looking at State tourism videos and explore including them in itinerary. MP one is... .
They have done Gwalior, Jhansi, Orchha, Datia, Khajuraho, Panna, Indore, Bhopal, Ujjain, Omkareshwar and a few other places which i do not remember. I will check the tourism websites in more detail as you suggested.

Last edited by Jaggu : 25th August 2020 at 19:36. Reason: Removing YouTube link from Quoted post. Thanks
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Old 25th August 2020, 19:32   #43
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Re: North East-3 - ML

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
[*]Route condition for Shillong-Shallang-Goalpara, and whether it is advisable to take this route?
Just a few facts for you to consider. The road condition is very good. Smooth tarmac for almost the entire 250 kms stretch. But with a lot of hairpins especially the Nongstoin-Rongjeng stretch. Avoid this route if any in your group suffer from motion sickness (many people came to know they suffer from motion sickness only AFTER travelling on this route). The only place you'll get decent lodgings would be at Nongstoin, 100 kms from Shillong. No decent place to eat after Nongstoin till Goalpara. And absolutely no trips on this route during the monsoon due to the risk of landslides
Quote:
[*]Places worth a quick visit along Agartala-Silchar and Gillong-Shallang-Goalpara
Along the Shillong -Shahlang-Goalpara route, the drive itself is very picturesque with many photo-ops as you bob and weave along our hills and glens. At Nongstoin, Nongkhnum which is a river island with a network of majestic waterfalls is recommended but it would mean some offroading with a 5-hour round trip away from the highway you would be travelling on
Quote:
[*]Iconic landmarks for a photo-op @ Shillong[/list]
A lot.
Shillong Peak, the highest peak in Meghalaya, offers a scenic view of the entire Shillong city.
Sacred Grove at Mawphlang, a forest conserved from times immemorial.
Umiam Lake, a river dam into a lake for our electricity needs, provides a scenic atmosphere with an opportunity for a leisurely boat ride.
Laitlum, our very own mini-Grand Canyon and lots more.

Hope this helps
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Old 25th August 2020, 23:53   #44
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Re: South West - Mumbai-Kanyakumari

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
South West

Mumbai - Belgaum - Goa - Hampi - Bangalore - Ooty - Trivandrum - Kanyakumari

This part of the trip covers the west coast. Coastal routes are avoided since they will impede travel and more importantly they have travelled along the coast in Karnataka and parts of Kerala, but haven't been to Hampi, Ooty and Periyar NP.


inputs needed for:
  1. A better place to stop in between Mumbai-Goa (currently considering Belgaum)
  2. A place for a small break between Hampi-Bangalore
  3. Exact shorter route Ooty-Udumalpet-Periyar and its feasibility.
  4. A comfortable and outdoorsy place to stay near Periyal NP.
  5. Iconic landmarks for a photo-op @ Panaji, Bangalore and Trivandrum
  6. Lastly, pour in your suggestions for places worth visiting along the way.
Hoping things come back to normalcy and your parents can undertake this lovely journey and wishing them a great one in advance.

Based on my travel around these places, few quick suggestions.
1. Belgaum is a pretty decent place for a stay. Provided hotels are opened up for stay, The Fern (https://www.fernhotels.com/facilitie...-belagavi.html) is a very good hotel for stay. Also, the route from Belgaum to Goa is pretty scenic, provided one takes Chorla Ghat road (SH31 on Google Maps route search).
2. Between Hampi and Bangalore, Google maps suggest a route via Chitradurga and Tumakuru, which is around 341 KMS, but I would suggest taking the route via Bellary and Anantpur as this meets NH44 at Anantpur and that is the best road to drive to BLR. Also, during my last visit, a lot of work was going on the roads connecting Hubli to NH44, so hopefully, though this is mentioned as 371 KMS, it might be better and faster.
Option 1 - https://goo.gl/maps/RnxXQEdMsp1QxTXg6
Option 2 - https://goo.gl/maps/trg8WRKpudxbyXe98 (Longer, but I would suggest)
There aren't too many places for short brakes, but Anantpur has few decent stop overs adjoining the NH44, so those can be considered. Just for reference, AP02 (https://g.page/ap02-dine-in?share) looks neat and clean.

Places to visit - Just few of my suggestions
1. Goa - Most of the beaches in North are crowded and maybe a bit dirty. Most of the beaches in South are serene and calm. Don't visit Baga :-). Do visit the Bom Jesus Basilica (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basilica_of_Bom_Jesus). Otherwise, just hang around the place and have fun.
2. Hampi - The ruins, Tungabhadra Dam
3. Bangalore - Lalbagh (The old glory is gone, but still worth a visit), Bangalore Palace. Rest all depends on their interest and time available.

Note:
1. Please take a cab in Goa and Hampi, places to park are difficult and also, the cab guys know the place well. Make sure they get a good cab service though.
2. Hampi doesn't have any hotels, so Royal Orchid (https://www.royalorchidhotels.com/ro...hampi/overview) is a good place to stay.
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Old 26th August 2020, 09:34   #45
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Re: Central - BR-UP

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tgo View Post
This section begins from Jalpaiguri to reach Dog-ear(JH) for a visit to Baidyanath Jyotirling Temple. From there head on to Gaya and Patna.
Places to visit near Purnia
Your route would be

Jalpaiguri - Siliguri - Purnea - Bhagalpur - Hansdiha [border for BR & JH & a right turn here if coming from Bhagalpur side] - Deoghar.

I would suggest you to do the Bhagalpur section [especially the Vikramshila setu part over river Ganges] between ~9 in the morning till mid-afternoon. During this time, you may have to be content with some local traffic, but during other times, it would be never ending line of trucks.

Sorry, but, there is nothing much to see in Purnea or Bhagalpur. If interested, you may shop for Bhagalpuri silk, but for that, you would have to go inside the city [which is a royal mess].

There is so much to see in the hills, in Darjeeling / Sikkim area, let the West Bengal gang chime in. Reserve your time and energy on those parts and personally I would just drive through Bihar instead of stopping or looking at POI's.

No issues in driving anywhere, apart from jams etc. And the roads are best from ~December till ~June. Post that, monsoon plays havoc.
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