[PSG123]

Hi Guys,

Planning to do a Mumbai Kolkata on April 10th friday in a Skoda Rapid. Plan to start from office around 1 pm and cover as much possible till 12 midnight. Need to reach Kolkata by sunday 12 lunch.

My queries to anyone who has done this stretch recently:-

1. How are the roads now?
2. Can Nagpur be covered in 11 hours or do i stop at Jalgaon?
3. Is a detour from Sambalpur via Cuttack to Kolkata advisable? Are the roads around Behragora, Chichira still very bad?

Need your help and suggestions

[SafariMan]

Hey Everyone,

Plan Outline: Kolkata (Starting from near South City Complex) - Lonar lake - Ajanta Caves (Monday closed) - Ellora Caves (Tuesday Closed) - Shani Shinganapur - Shirdi - Mumbai (Pestom Sagar, Chembur) and back (directly to Kolkata)

Vehicle: Tata Safari 2.2 Dicor VTT LX (Least safety read as no ABS-EBD which I feel is a "very must" in highways)

Schedule: 21.00 hrs September 18, 2015 (Friday) from Kolkata - Have to reach Ajanta Caves by mid-day September 20, 2015 (Sunday). Ellora can be done on Monday.

Citizens: Me, Friend (who drives) with Dad and his Friend (Both non-drivers). No dearth of wise heads. Me and my friend enjoy non-veg (read prawns in Sambalpur-Orissa belt). Dad and his friend are pure vegetarian.

Query:

1. Is Kolkata - Ajanta Caves possible assuming we continuously drive (averaging 50kms per hour) with just fuel, food, stretch and bio breaks? Or should we leave a day earlier?

2. Kharagpur - Orissa border - Sambalpur route details? Or should be stick to two sub routes Gopiballabpur or Bharagora - Bisoi or Cuttack-Sambalpur? Need a clear picture on the best route on the Kharagpur - Orissa section?

3.Take the Nagpur - Aurangabad - Mumbai Highway (SH 207) from Amravati For Lonar? Any better suggestions?

4.Take SH 178 for Ajanta Caves and MSH 8 for Ellora Caves, Aurangabad - Shani Shinganapur route and Shani Shingnapur - Shirdi as shown in Google Maps? Anything better?

5. Final belt Shirdi to Mumbai via Sinnar by-pass or should I use Nashik route?

6. Apart from normal diesel wash servicing (Indian Oil Servo 5 litres recommended?) and good underbody wash, using System - D all through what else should I carry for nurturing and taking care of my beast? An Oil and all filter change would be done on my return to Kolkata?

7. Possible and best places for breaking trip (Specifically Fuel pumps and Food huts)?

8. Possible other places we could visit especially when we are returning back from Mumbai to Kolkata?

9. Must see Cave Numbers in Ajanta and Ellora? (Travelling with two 70 year olds)

10. All your suggestions and experiences are welcomed as the last time I had done a Kolkata - Mumbai - Kolkata trip was in August - October 2013 on a Mitsu Cedia. The return by mistake being through the deadly Lodashuli forests which I want to avoid this time around?

[anjan_c2007]

I am planning a road trip from Nagpur to Kolkata via Raipur, Sambalpur and then Kolkata during January 2016.

Any suggestions about the NH 6 stretch on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border and further around Sambalpur to Chaudwar ? What are the road conditions in these stretches ?

Other than that, I believe the other sections are quite motorable.The Nagpur- Raipur stretch is quite OK as I have recently done this stretch.

[Landkruzer]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

I am planning a road trip from Nagpur to Kolkata via Raipur, Sambalpur and then Kolkata during January 2016.

Any suggestions about the NH 6 stretch on the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border and further around Sambalpur to Chaudwar ? What are the road conditions in these stretches ?

Other than that, I believe the other sections are quite motorable.The Nagpur- Raipur stretch is quite OK as I have recently done this stretch.

As per this post, the OR border-Sambalpur road is fully 4 lane now. But the Arang-OR Border still seems to be in bad condition. You are talking about 150 km of under construction roads. All the best.
It may be worth trying the Nuapada route if you would like to explore new roads :-)

[raghuvir]

A bunch of us planning a road trip on bikes from Pune - Kolkatta. This is the route I'm looking at:
Pune-Nagpur-Raipur-Sambalpur-Kolkatta.
Need advice/suggestions regarding this route. Also, a couple of days back a friend of mine reported an incident near Jaleswar when they were returning from Puri-Kolkatta. A couple of superbikes and cars were travelling together and the superbikes were shot at near Jaleswar ofcourse with the intention to rob the bikes. I have personally not verified this incident, but am shocked.

[SafariMan]

Came home to Aamchi Mumbai from Kolkata by road on my Tata Safari 2.2 VTT starting 10.30 AM Jan 14, 2016 and reaching on January 18, 2016 @ 11.00 AM with my dad. This to accommodate dad and mom's 21st early evening flight to my sister's Singapore home. A total of 2148 Kms at an excellent 16.13 KMPL of Diesel and Toll of Rs.1258.

The Preparation: Usual ones - Air Filter - Rs600, 7.5 Litre's of HP Premium Oil - Rs 2100 (My take on the Castrols and other engine oils are they purchase the oil from Indian Oil / HP or BP and add their so called magic potion, similar to the KFC's and MCD's - the Chicken being Indian - why pay a hefty Rs 3500 odd for the Castrol Magnetic which is purely for the green colored dabba and Rs 50 sticker for the mechanic.), Front Worn out Brake Pads - Rs 1100, Bled the entire coolant and replace it with BP Coolant and distilled water - 4 Litres Costing in all within Rs500. Total cost: 5500. Tanked up 63 liter's of Diesel from Prince Service Petrol Pump, South City, Kolkata with 60 ml of System D.

Route and Condition:
1. Kolkata to Baripada via Kol-Chennai route and taking a right 6 kms before Balasore onto NH5. Excellent Roads till Balasore, NH5 till Bangriposi is not bad but single laned with Jhamsola - Bhubaneshwar traffic crowd.

Left Wheel bearing of my Safari broke that evening at Kuchai and had to stay back at a dhaba close to baripada. Next day being Makar Sankrati a Tata Commercial service centre Panda Automobiles near Baripada (+919439378008 / +917205203272) helped us change it at a nominal cost of 2100 all inclusive (Bearing, bolts, pin, Grease box and labour). A Toyota Corolla 1.6J and Honda City Type 3 earlier owned and having had same problem in Orissa had costed me 12k. That's why hats off to Tata for being the poor man's SUV/car. Had the time of my life with dad travelling to the tata service center by open top Tata Aces and Magic standing outside with aam janta.

2. Baripada to Bangriposi bye-passing Bombay Chowk via a left side road at Koilisuta village block. Excellent Roads. If in doubt go slowly and u will find a road on your left some 20 kms from Baripada. Ask the locals for bye-passing the horrible Bombay chowk.

3. Bisoi to Sambalpur Roads are very good. If your a non-veg don't miss out the prawn dishes of Sambhalpur. Dont miss the Sun Ghagra Waterfalls

4. Sambalpur to Raipur. Vast improvement in the roads Chattisgarh-Orissa border roads near Arang need not be anymore despised.

5. Raipur to Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve via Umred. Very Good roads. Saw Jai, Asia's biggest Bengal Tiger by booking an early morning self driven car trip inside Tadoba Andhari from Umred with a Forest Official Rs 600 per person to be booked online @ mahonline.nic and Rs 800 for the accompanying forest ranger.

6. Umred - Nagpur - Lonar Lake - Ajanta Caves - Ellora Caves. Good roads but traffic throughout the day. Details in a new travelogue

7. Aurangabad - Shani Shingnapur - Shiridi Sai Baba - Nashik - Mumbai. Good roads all through excepting Aurangabad - Shani Shingnapur (avoid Paithan route)

After my last bad experience in Aug-Nov 2013 travelling Kol-Mum-Kol driving through Lodashuli-Jhamsola-Bangriposi and saved only due to the sturdiness of the Mistsubishi Cedia Sports; this route is a breeze and a epic east-west corridor.

[Amlan]

Dear all,
Always dreamed of diving back home to the other side of the country. But till date it was either a train or a plane. After years of driving small or long, here I am planning my first cross country. It’s from Pune to my home-town Kolkata. Planning for almost a month now and another 5 months to go….. So a long planning phase just to make sure everything is nicely planned out!! Below are the details!

Cities: Pune to Kolkata and back!
Distance: 1900 kms per side (3800 kms in all)
Time: 1st week of October’2016
Car Model: WagonR 2006 model (CNG + Petrol) LXi BSIII AC

Car Condition: (THE GOOD PARTs) All 4 new absorbers, 4 new tubeless tires, new steering column, new steering rack, new lower arms, Engine OK – doing good as of now. (NOW THE NOT SO GOOD PARTS). Body roll (tall boy), car gets very light above 100km/hr (so the average top speeds with be 90s and cursing at 80s), not so strong headlights, rattling noise from dashboard/door panels while on bad roads but overall not much rattling on plain roads. (OVERALL CONDITION 3/5)

Do I want to take my own car – Yes. I don’t want to rent a car and do this trip.
Do I really want to do this trip – Yes. Very excited.
Co passenger – My better half & luggage for 2 weeks’ vacation (on backseat). CNG tank ate up all boot space

Is my wife excited too – She is, like me
Alternate driving? – No I am the only one behind the wheel. My wife is still learning her first gear.

Do I know the challenges of such trip – Yes, I understand how stressful it can be. I can keep myself calm and composed although I haven’t done this long a trip before. And I know I am the only driver.

Previous experiences – All 400 – 500 Kms 1 day trips in and around Maharashtra in my own car, few times

Time preference – Mostly want to drive in day light, until necessary to drive at night
Plans to combat stress – Frequent 10-15 mins break every 100km, Good music, Topics for chit chat, trying out local foods, Lots of photography and lots of water!

Ok, so now that I have answered question that you may want to ask me…. Following is my primary route plan

 Pune – Nagpur | 750 kms | 5am start – 7pm end
 Nagpur – Sambalpur | 575 kms | 6am start – 6pm end
 Sambalpur – Kolkata | 575 kms | 6am start – 7pm end

Same halts while coming back

Trail: Pune – Ahmednagar – Aurangabad – Jalna – Mehkar – Karanja – Amaravati – Nagpur – Raipur – Sambalpur – Keonjhar – Baharagora/Gopiballabpur – Kharagpur – Home

Same trail while returning.

Now, I want all your inputs, tips, suggestions, do’s and don’ts, alternate plans, best practices and everything you can throw at me. Also, if anyone have done this trip before, kindly share your experiences please. That would be wonderful.

My specific questions!

1. How are roads after Nagpur till Kharagpur
2. Will my WagonR be able to take this stress!
3. I know its stressful but is there something I am missing !

Eagerly awaiting your inputs !

[vinit]

Do a thorough check up of the car before the trip and keep the running spares handy as your car is almost a decade old. Also as you are driving in the peak summer season, so the car and the driver, both can get hot Keep lot of water available to keep both hydrated.

[Amlan]

Originally Posted by vinit

Do a thorough check up of the car before the trip and keep the running spares handy as your car is almost a decade old. Also as you are driving in the peak summer season, so the car and the driver, both can get hot Keep lot of water available to keep both hydrated.

Thanks Vinit !

Do you have any information on the road condition or have people who have done this trip in recent times ?

[F150]

Originally Posted by Amlan

Thanks Vinit !

Do you have any information on the road condition or have people who have done this trip in recent times ?

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ueries-14.html

Please refer above thread. I somehow prefer the route below in bold.

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Depends on which route you plan to take:

Route 1: Calcutta-Kharagpur-Keonjhar-Sambalpur-Raipur-Bhandara-Nagpur-Amaravati-Akola-Jalgaon-Dhule-Nashik-Bombay?

Route 2: Calcutta-Kharagpur-Jaleswar-Baleswar-Bhubaneswar-Brahmapur-SRikakulam-Vizag-Rajahmundry-Vijaywada-Hyderabad-Solapur-Indapur-Pune-Bombay?

Variation of ROute 1: Calcutta-Kharagpur-Jaleswar-Baleswar-Choudhwar (before Cuttack)-Angul-Sambalpur-rest of Route 1 route (to avoid the bad roads in JH & OR)

Variation of Route 1: Calcutta-xxxx-Nagpur-Amaravati-Karanja-Mehekar-Jalna-Aurangabad-Ahmednagar-Pune-Bombay (faster Nagpur-Bombay route)

If you are an aggressive driver, with early morning starts, late night arrivals, with minimal breaks, you can do Route 1 in 2 days of flat-out driving. In which case you can consider halt at Bhilai on Day 1.

On the same principle, you will be able to reach Vizag/Rajahmundry on Day 1 in Route 2, but may reach Solapur on Day 2, and Bombay itself only if you are prepared to drive on to the wee hours of the morning.

So choose your route. On Route 1, NH6 means bad roads, heavy truck traffic & poor facilities, heightening the risks. On Route 2, you are on 4-laned roads throughout (except Solapur-Indapur) and the additional 300 kms does not really matter, but you have to go through Pune city.

[Amlan]

Originally Posted by F150

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ueries-14.html

Please refer above thread. I somehow prefer the route below in bold.

Yes F150,
Somehow after a lot of analysis, forums, self learning, I have started favoring the PUNE - HYD - VISH - KOL route more now. Initially I really liked the 1st route as it was lot less in distance considering that I have to come back as well. But now I somehow feel, with better roads, the trip can be done better !

However I am still searching hard for route condition between Sambalpur and Kharagpur. But I guess things will not get better overnight, just because I have planned a trip ! Its been like that for years near the CG - OR - WB border

[Amlan]

Originally Posted by Amlan

Dear all,
Always dreamed of diving back home to the other side of the country. But till date it was either a train or a plane. After years of driving small or long, here I am planning my first cross country. It’s from Pune to my home-town Kolkata. Planning for almost a month now and another 5 months to go….. So a long planning phase just to make sure everything is nicely planned out!! Below are the details!

Cities: Pune to Kolkata and back!
Distance: 1900 kms per side (3800 kms in all)
Time: 1st week of October’2016
Car Model: WagonR 2006 model (CNG + Petrol) LXi BSIII AC

Car Condition: (THE GOOD PARTs) All 4 new absorbers, 4 new tubeless tires, new steering column, new steering rack, new lower arms, Engine OK – doing good as of now. (NOW THE NOT SO GOOD PARTS). Body roll (tall boy), car gets very light above 100km/hr (so the average top speeds with be 90s and cursing at 80s), not so strong headlights, rattling noise from dashboard/door panels while on bad roads but overall not much rattling on plain roads. (OVERALL CONDITION 3/5)

Do I want to take my own car – Yes. I don’t want to rent a car and do this trip.
Do I really want to do this trip – Yes. Very excited.
Co passenger – My better half & luggage for 2 weeks’ vacation (on backseat). CNG tank ate up all boot space

Is my wife excited too – She is, like me
Alternate driving? – No I am the only one behind the wheel. My wife is still learning her first gear.

Do I know the challenges of such trip – Yes, I understand how stressful it can be. I can keep myself calm and composed although I haven’t done this long a trip before. And I know I am the only driver.

Previous experiences – All 400 – 500 Kms 1 day trips in and around Maharashtra in my own car, few times

Time preference – Mostly want to drive in day light, until necessary to drive at night
Plans to combat stress – Frequent 10-15 mins break every 100km, Good music, Topics for chit chat, trying out local foods, Lots of photography and lots of water!

Ok, so now that I have answered question that you may want to ask me…. Following is my primary route plan

 Pune – Nagpur | 750 kms | 5am start – 7pm end
 Nagpur – Sambalpur | 575 kms | 6am start – 6pm end
 Sambalpur – Kolkata | 575 kms | 6am start – 7pm end

Same halts while coming back

Trail: Pune – Ahmednagar – Aurangabad – Jalna – Mehkar – Karanja – Amaravati – Nagpur – Raipur – Sambalpur – Keonjhar – Baharagora/Gopiballabpur – Kharagpur – Home

Same trail while returning.

Now, I want all your inputs, tips, suggestions, do’s and don’ts, alternate plans, best practices and everything you can throw at me. Also, if anyone have done this trip before, kindly share your experiences please. That would be wonderful.

My specific questions!

1. How are roads after Nagpur till Kharagpur
2. Will my WagonR be able to take this stress!
3. I know its stressful but is there something I am missing !

Eagerly awaiting your inputs !

Guys,
I need more information on the best route. Via Nagpur or Via Vizag ?

Its seems, people have planned this route more but have probably done less. I went to all the pages but I found more of planning but post execution posts & detailed experiences were less. I am really eager to collect more experiences. Please help guys

[subirdas]

Amlan, I did Pune-Kolkata-Pune in 2014 end and took the route via Nagpur-Sambalpur-Chaudwar-NH5-Kharagpur-Kolkata. Please refer to posts #183 and #186 on this thread for more details. Intended to return via Visag-Hyderabad, but owing to the fury of cyclone Hudhud, had to abandon the plan and retrace the same route via Sambalpur-Nagpur.

It's been 1.5 years since my trip and the road conditions would have changed. However, if I were to drive to Kol now, the odds are stacked up in going down via Visag.

Have a safe trip and please keep us posted on the route and road conditions.

[Amlan]

Originally Posted by subirdas

Amlan, I did Pune-Kolkata-Pune in 2014 end and took the route via Nagpur-Sambalpur-Chaudwar-NH5-Kharagpur-Kolkata. Please refer to posts #183 and #186 on this thread for more details. Intended to return via Visag-Hyderabad, but owing to the fury of cyclone Hudhud, had to abandon the plan and retrace the same route via Sambalpur-Nagpur.

It's been 1.5 years since my trip and the road conditions would have changed. However, if I were to drive to Kol now, the odds are stacked up in going down via Visag.

Have a safe trip and please keep us posted on the route and road conditions.

Thanks Subir
An appropriate question for you though. Any specific reason or all reasons why you may want to take a Hyd - Vizg route now ? Other than difference of 200 kms per side which is a downside, why should you think the longer route would be preferable now ?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by Amlan

Thanks Subir
An appropriate question for you though. Any specific reason or all reasons why you may want to take a Hyd - Vizg route now ? Other than difference of 200 kms per side which is a downside, why should you think the longer route would be preferable now ?

D1: Pune-Nagar-Aurangabad-Jalna
D2: Jalna-Mehekar-Karanja-Amaravati-Nagpur-Raipur
D3:Raipur-Baragarh-Sambalpur-Keonjhar-Kharagpur-Kolkata

Not the best of roads for sure, but direct & the shortest route.Poor facilities after Raipur.

Best route would be via Hyd,with only the Solapur-Hyd section of NH9 undergoing 4 laning now(some sections have been opened on one side).Other than this section all sections are in very good conditions.