[awarty]

I will be driving from Pune to Nasik later this month.

Could someone who has traveled this route recently please post their experiences, things like road conditions, fuel availability etc.

Any other tips will be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

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[RemingtonSteele]

Pune - Nasik via the regular Narayangaon, Sagamner, Sinnar etc. is a hell of a road with 6 ghats, non-divided road and heavy traffic which can take anywhere between 5-6 hours or sometimes more.

I just heard the other route Pune-Kalyan-Nasik is a the better route with less driving strain and one can reach within 4.5 hours even though the distance is approximately 55kms longer.

Though I found the map route details from Google Maps, but still would want to know the exact elaborate way to proceed with good road conditions & tips for better shortcuts to cut the Mumbra, Kalyan traffic from the mates who have already explored it this way.

[selfdrive]

I just did the regular Pune Nasik route last weekend. It took me a little less than 5 hours with a break of 45 minutes included. I would say driving time (steady) is a bit more than 4 hours
My 2 cents on this route:
Bhosari now has a flyover, so one should be able to save some time there. There is a toll naka after Bhosari. I dont remember the exact point, but after this the road is good for around 20 kms (except the Chakan crossing). Four lanes with a divider.
The ghats upto Sangamner had some road work going on. There are a couple of places at the most where traffic is halted and allowed in one direction at a time. No huge delays though. Overall the road surface is good to excellent
Sangamner town is the usual nightmare to cross, but after this there was little to no traffic upto Sinnar (and a little bit beyond). The last 8 to 10 kms into Nashik was a bit slow, but nothing to worry about.
If you take the regular route there is a spanking new Vithal Kamat restaurant a little after Ale Phata (at the 100 km mark from Pune approximately). Food & service was good. Toilets were super clean.

As for the other route, while you may be faster between Pune and Panvel I think you may take more time between Panvel & Thane/ Kalyan.
Overall distance of regular route is 211 kms and the route via Kalyan is 283 kms.

[hvkumar]

It is not worth going via Kalyan, because of the trouble of crossing the Bombay-Thane-Kalyan region. You can exit expressway at Kalamboli via the Thane exit (500 mtrs before the Bombay exit) and go via Taloja to Shil Phata from where you will go via Dombivli to Kalyan. But you have to enter Kalyan town which is also a big time-waster.

[RemingtonSteele]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I just did the regular Pune Nasik route last weekend. It took me a little less than 5 hours with a break of 45 minutes included.

@Selfdrive: I did Pune-Nasik-Pune within a day twice last week.
What I observed is, you can reach within 5 hours only if start during particular time of the day.
On the 1st run: It was last Tuesday I started early morning 6:00AM from Satara road Pune, reached Nasik at 10:45 AM. This drive was good with relatively free roads during early morning hours. During the way back I started the same day during 3:30PM, reached Pune (Satara Road) 8:45PM, this includes 20 mins break at Daulat Dhaba. This way back drive was full of heavy traffic, little chance to overtake + the crazyness at Narayangaon, Manchar & Chakan.

On the 2nd run: It was last Sunday. The early morning drive was similar to earlier.
On the way back I started from Nasik at 4PM and reached Pune (Satara Road) at 10:00 PM. This was a real frustrating drive. This way back drive was full of heavy traffic, as usual little chance to overtake, 40 feet container jamming the ghat for 30 mins. In addition not to forget the crazyness at Narayangaon, Manchar & Chakan. The undivided road increases the driving pain a lot.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

It is not worth going via Kalyan, because of the trouble of crossing the Bombay-Thane-Kalyan region.

But you have to enter Kalyan town which is also a big time-waster.

I heard from a person that he regularly makes it in 4-4.5 hrs (I hope he is not boasting) with a drive on fully divided roads all the way except for some 15-20 kms in between. Thats the reason I was curious to know this route. Do you have experience of anyother route eg: via Shilphata or via Mumbra etc or anyother way??

Anyway I will find out the exact route he follows sometimes next week and update. The problem is I am not very verse with these routes so will need a map understanding of what he says.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

What I observed is, you can reach within 5 hours only if start during particular time of the day.

+1 to that. in fact I left on Saturday around 10am (though I had planned for 6am too!) However, it still took me the same time, maybe because I made up for lost time after Ale Phata.

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

This way back drive was full of heavy traffic, little chance to overtake + the crazyness at Narayangaon, Manchar & Chakan.

This is the first time I have driven completely both ways on this route. I observed that the traffic on the return (Nashik-Pune) is by far much worse than the traffic going out of Pune. I did not think much of it till you mentioned this yourself, but I got really mad at 3 drivers at least between Narayangaon and Bhosari during my return. They were attempting insane overtaking stunts. Nothing of the sort on my way out. I wonder why there is a difference as the roads/ people are the same on both sides

I drove a few miles out of Nashik towards Ghoti/ Kasara on the Mumbai highway. While the road condition is excellent, work is ongoing on some stretches immediately after Pandavleni. I can see why this route could be more enjoyable/ stress free than the regular route (discounting the Kalyan/ Thane in:out as mentioned by HVK sir)

It seems like you are a frequent traveller on this route. If and when you use the Kalyan route, do update your "first hand" experience for our benefit.

[bijuiser]

I have been doing Pune- Nashik and Pune-Kalyan almost thrice a year. The best time is to start before dawn or late night. Pune-Nashik you will find slow moving traffic at many places as the villages do not have parallel roads. Pune-Kalyan the only problem area is the 5 kms radius around Shilphata chowk, as it's mostly used by trucks to bypass the city. I've seen hundreds of trucks lined up from all directions and jams which take more than an hour to clear. I never take the Kalyan route if i do not have any business in kalyan.

[bijuiser]

I have been doing Pune-Nashik and Pune-Kalyan almost thrice a year. The best time is to start before dawn or late night. Most of the villages on the highway do not have parallel/service roads, so expect some slow traffic during the day. Pune-Kalyan the only problematic area is the 5 Kms radius around Shilphata Chowk. Most of the trucks use this route to bypass the town. I've seen hundreds of trucks lined up in jams which have taken more than an hour to clear. If you don't have any business in Kalyan, I recommend to avoid this route.

[shipnil]

Originally Posted by bijuiser

I The best time is to start before dawn or late night. Pune-Nashik you will find slow moving traffic at many places as the villages do not have parallel roads.

By late night, what time do you have in mind? I am going tomorrow and need to start back to Pune at around 8 pm. Would the traffic be less?

[SX4LOVER]

Originally Posted by shipnil

By late night, what time do you have in mind? I am going tomorrow and need to start back to Pune at around 8 pm. Would the traffic be less?

I did Pune Nashik a few times at different times of the day and realised that:

(a) Its the best to leave Pune between 5 to 7 AM in morning.

(b) Its the best option to take the "regular" route via narayangaon - sangamner as the roads are good and not much traffic since most of the truckers from north come via shirdi - ahnednagar route.

(c) Always plan to reach back Pune by 7 PM evening to avoid traffic. Else start early morning from nashik and reach Pune by 9 AM.

(d) And dont forget to visit the rock museum near nasik if you can find the time. more details at Superb Minerals India Pvt. Ltd. - Exporter of Indian Geological Specimens , Specializes in Zeolite / Zeolites minerals.

[PuntoMania]

I achieved what I believe is the ideal time for the Nasik Pune route today morning.

Left from Nasik road at 4:32 am
Reached Nasik Phata in Pune at 7:47 am
Took one break of about 10 minutes near Sangamner to clean my windshield and take a leak.

So I took approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes to cover the Nasik-Pune route ! Yep, believe that.
Just so you guys know, I am a 0 risk driver + my car is in its run in, so theres no harsh acceleration from my side. No rash driving, no risky overtakes, just consistent speed of 80-120. Infact I was doing 60-80 on the Nasik-Sangamner route due to moderate to heavy rainfall. There was hardly any traffic up until Rajgurunagar.

I normally do manage to traverse the route on Monday mornings in about 3 hours and 45 minutes (when I leave around 5-5:15 am), but today was great !

Road condition update : The road from the ghat before Sinnar up until Sinnar has a lot of massive potholes from the rains of last 2 weeks. Best to keep your speed low till you pass this town else you'll end up with a broken wheel rim or worse.

EDIT : On Friday, I left from Hinjewadi Pune at 4:10 pm, and reached Nasik Road at 8:15 pm. I guess that is also a pretty decent time (4 hours and 5 minutes), with no breaks in between. There was the usual traffic at Sangamner and Narayangaon, but the highway stretches were mostly clear so you could cover them fast.

[selfdrive]

Originally Posted by PuntoMania

So I took approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes to cover the Nasik-Pune route ! Yep, believe that.
Just so you guys know, I am a 0 risk driver + my car is in its run in, so theres no harsh acceleration from my side. No rash driving, no risky overtakes, just consistent speed of 80-120.

EDIT : On Friday, I left from Hinjewadi Pune at 4:10 pm, and reached Nasik Road at 8:15 pm. I guess that is also a pretty decent time (4 hours and 5 minutes), with no breaks in between. There was the usual traffic at Sangamner and Narayangaon, but the highway stretches were mostly clear so you could cover them fast.

Great times recorded there, Puntomania! It is great to hear this can be acheived by driving safe.
Honestly, I am flabbergasted that you could reach Nasik in 4 hours flat in daytime/ evening; the gods must have been smiling on you that day. Did you go to Nasik Phata via Pimpri?
Just for the record, the same day I took about 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Kothrud from Pune station.

[RemingtonSteele]

Originally Posted by PuntoMania

I achieved what I believe is the ideal time for the Nasik Pune route today morning.

Left from Nasik road at 4:32 am
Reached Nasik Phata in Pune at 7:47 am
Took one break of about 10 minutes near Sangamner to clean my windshield and take a leak.

So I took approximately 3 hours and 5 minutes to cover the Nasik-Pune route ! Yep, believe that.

Those are really good timings considered to what I experienced.

Btw bro from my past experiences I really don't encourage so early morning drives. During these hours are truckers are in zonged state with the sleep hovering all over them, I had a fortunate escape couple of years back during such hours.
IMHO the twilight times, especially morning twilights are the most dangerous to drive.

BTW couple of weekends back I tried the Pune-Shilphata-Mumbra-Shahapur-Nasik road (its around 45 kms longer than the usual Pune-Nasik road).
Just wanted to give it a try once.
It took me around 6 hours which includes @30 mins jam at mumbra.
The drive was a lot relaxing on the fully divider based roads as compared to the non-divided Pune-Nasik road.
Not to forget the awesome drive through Kasara ghat; Wow man what a scenic route it is.
Someone told me I should have taken shilphata-kalyan bypass road to touch Nasik highway and totally avoided mumbra then I could have reached almost 45 mins earlier.

[PuntoMania]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Great times recorded there, Puntomania! It is great to hear this can be acheived by driving safe.
Honestly, I am flabbergasted that you could reach Nasik in 4 hours flat in daytime/ evening; the gods must have been smiling on you that day. Did you go to Nasik Phata via Pimpri?
Just for the record, the same day I took about 1 hour 15 minutes to reach Kothrud from Pune station.

Thanks Selfdrive. Yes, I started from Hinjewadi and passed through Pimpri. There was no traffic inside the city at 4 pm which saved me a lot of time.

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

Those are really good timings considered to what I experienced.

Btw bro from my past experiences I really don't encourage so early morning drives. During these hours are truckers are in zonged state with the sleep hovering all over them, I had a fortunate escape couple of years back during such hours.
IMHO the twilight times, especially morning twilights are the most dangerous to drive.

Thanks for the advice, I know about this problem (twilight truck drivers) it is an issue especially on an undivided carriageway, but then the whole Pune Nasik Highway itself is a bit of a risk. Even today there were atleast 3 vehicles (two trucks, one Ford Ikon) at different places that were parked bang in the middle of the road after an accident which looked recent.
Atleast on this route, morning truck traffic is very very less, so perhaps its a risk worth taking ? The road is almost empty for large stretches in these hours (4-7 am)

Originally Posted by RemingtonSteele

BTW couple of weekends back I tried the Pune-Shilphata-Mumbra-Shahapur-Nasik road (its around 45 kms longer than the usual Pune-Nasik road).
Just wanted to give it a try once.
It took me around 6 hours which includes @30 mins jam at mumbra.
The drive was a lot relaxing on the fully divider based roads as compared to the non-divided Pune-Nasik road.
Not to forget the awesome drive through Kasara ghat; Wow man what a scenic route it is.
Someone told me I should have taken shilphata-kalyan bypass road to touch Nasik highway and totally avoided mumbra then I could have reached almost 45 mins earlier.

I did the same 3 weeks back and I was also stuck at Mumbra for 45 minutes due to a jam. It took me about 5.5 hours and the toll was also too much (I think approximately Rs 300. Not worth it

[CANPUSH]

Latest Experience - 13th August Pune Nashik by regular route - 8 hours ( 11 am to 7 pm) - Stuck at - Chakan Talegaon Road junction for 1.5 hours. It took 45 minutes to cross Manchar and 35 minutes for Narayangaon.

Thereafter, Stuck for 1 hour at Alephata, Thankfully no detention at Bota. Break of 20 minutes at Daulat. 30 minutes at Sangamner bridge and 20 minutes near Shinde. Sinnar to Nashik road section was as busy as a typical urban artery. Say, Tilak road of Pune.

My friend who took 11.30am Shivneri reached Nashik at 9 pm.

Next day on return took Nashik -Kalwa-Belapur-Pune Route - 90 extra kilometers + toll of Rs. 244 - It took 6.15 hrs (12.00 pm to 6.15 pm) with 30 minutes break at Khalapur food plaza. Smooth drive. Nice road except for 7-8 Kms from Pandavlene. Little jam at Kalwa on the bridge approaching toll naka on NH3. It may have taken 10 minutes to pass through.

It seems these days one has to be fortunate to reach Nashik using regular NH50 route in 5 hours during day time.

During Nights between 8 pm and 6 am it may be possible to cover the stretch in 4.30 hrs flat.