[Sutripta]

[quote=rahul4640;2876504And as a veteran in these routes, I think you must admit that this road is more scenic and beautiful than the Cuttack route.[/QUOTE]
True, the ghat section near Keonjhar (and partly) the Bisoi- Bangriposi section was my favourite on this route.

But you will still pass through Jhargram/ Lodhasuli area. Only way of avoiding it (if you want to) is Balasore - Jaleswar - Kharagpur.

Regards
Sutripta

[xtremedeep]

Guys..

I head out day after tomorrow. There has been slight change, instead of leaving Pune on 19th evening, I am now leaving on early morning.. target for Day 1 is Sambalpur Odhisha. Day 2 is Kolkata via Kendujhar.. Can someone recommend me a good place to crash in Sambalpur?..

Deep

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

Guys..

I head out day after tomorrow. There has been slight change, instead of leaving Pune on 19th evening, I am now leaving on early morning.. target for Day 1 is Sambalpur Odhisha. Day 2 is Kolkata via Kendujhar.. Can someone recommend me a good place to crash in Sambalpur?..

Deep

Hotel Sheela Towers in Sambalpur is a good place. You have to go off the highway into town, but not too far.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

There has been slight change, instead of leaving Pune on 19th evening, I am now leaving on early morning.. target for Day 1 is Sambalpur Odhisha.

I do not think Pune-Sambalpur may be covered in a day, even if you start very early in the morning.

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

Day 2 is Kolkata via Kendujhar.

Sambalpur-Kendujhar (Keonjhar) route is OK. If possible, I suggest that you stop briefly to see the Sun Ghagra waterfall, after crossing the Kanjipani Ghat. It is right on the road. But please do not proceed beyond Jharpokharia (commonly known as Bombay chowk by the locals), unless you are driving a tractor and you have the slightest concern for your vehicle. NH-6 is in so bad shape in Jharkhand that it is almost sure to damage your vehicle.

[A.G.The Rambler]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

I head out day after tomorrow. There has been slight change, instead of leaving Pune on 19th evening, I am now leaving on early morning.. target for Day 1 is Sambalpur Odhisha. Day 2 is Kolkata via Kendujhar..

Hi Deep, I had done Kolkata-Mumbai last year December, you can also try for Raipur or Bhillai as 1st stop if you somehow think to stop before Sambalpur. Raipur to Sambalpur is not in great condition, pretty uneven and high lorry traffic around Saraipalli and some other places. Also, if you want you can come by Sambalpur-Angul-Choudwar into NH 5. I used this route and it was excellent and a scenic route.

[xtremedeep]

Originally Posted by A.G.The Rambler

Hi Deep, I had done Kolkata-Mumbai last year December, you can also try for Raipur or Bhillai as 1st stop if you somehow think to stop before Sambalpur. Raipur to Sambalpur is not in great condition, pretty uneven and high lorry traffic around Saraipalli and some other places. Also, if you want you can come by Sambalpur-Angul-Choudwar into NH 5. I used this route and it was excellent and a scenic route.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.. The trip went well. If you are driving a sedan, would advise you to avoid Chattisgarh.. the roads are simply aweful. My sedan was almost touching 4 years, and post trip.. I replaced it, without checking the damage. I am certain the rear suspension took a serious beating. Saraipalli was especially BAD.. I mean real bad.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.. The trip went well. If you are driving a sedan, would advise you to avoid Chattisgarh.. the roads are simply aweful. My sedan was almost touching 4 years, and post trip.. I replaced it, without checking the damage. I am certain the rear suspension took a serious beating. Saraipalli was especially BAD.. I mean real bad.

May I request you to share your experience in further details for the benefit of other. Mainly what route you followed, where you stayed for the night etc.

Incidentally I was travelling on the same route on 19/10/2012 and to Durgapur.
BTW are you from Durgapur.

[xtremedeep]

Originally Posted by Sommos

May I request you to share your experience in further details for the benefit of other. Mainly what route you followed, where you stayed for the night etc.

Incidentally I was travelling on the same route on 19/10/2012 and to Durgapur.
BTW are you from Durgapur.

Hey Somos.. yeah.. I am from Durgapur.. Do I know you?... My route was a rather hodgepodge.. A serious effort needs to be made to roll our own GPS aka HVK into a device .. I had the route.. but blame it on spending too many years in US.. I choose to trust Mr. MapmyIndia rather blindly.. I should call it Ms. MapmyIndia.. it created havoc on the planning.. I left Pune around 7 in the morning.. and the plan was to drag it till Sambalpur.. MapmyIndia, had different idea.. it took me to places where the road only shows up in GPS.. and finally connected to the main road around 5 in the evening.. the roads were scenic though.. thats when I shut it down.. and called up my uncle, who has been travelling this roads for ages.. for the laughs.. I entered Odisha thru AP.. because, MapmyIndia thought.. thats the quickest way.. now enough cribbing.. The return route is where I followed HVK's advise to the word.. left Kol around 5 AM.. reached Puri .. (not required per se.. but I had personal requirements to make it thru Puri)... Puri to Raipur was uneventful.. Saraipalli roads were getting repaired.. so it was a bit easy than going out.. one word of caution.. beware of Chattisgarh cops.. this people try to fleece you on any damn reason.. try to cross Saraipalli before dusk.. its a hell hole after that.. I drove non -stop from Puri till Amravati (around 19 hours) and crashed on the toll gate (just parked on the side and slept, with the engine on) .. Amravati to Pune thru Aurangabad is a piece of cake.. just try to avoid the Akola road.. it takes forever.. and immediately after Nagpur.. I would recommend taking the longer new single lane road. It is bare, and on a different trip.. I was touching 130+ on my Gypsy.. enuf Petrol bunks in regular intervals.. and if you are crossing Sambalpur after 2:30 PM.. would strongly advise to park in Sambalpur overnite.. I can send you the places, I crashed (have them somewhere)... for heavens sake don't drive thru the Sambalpur forest after 4:30 PM.. I saw first hand evidence of what happens.. and it does not show up on the Newspapers or in Internet.. morning is different .. it is a beautiful drive.. would advise touching base with HVK.. He is just awesome, when it comes to Indian roads..

Hope this helps.. strange though.. we must have crossed each other some place.. The only other vehicle I saw with a TBHP sticker on was a Yeti around 10 PM in AP.. I sincerely hope that was not you

D

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

... Puri to Raipur was uneventful.. Saraipalli roads were getting repaired.. so it was a bit easy than going out.. one word of caution.. beware of Chattisgarh cops.. this people try to fleece you on any damn reason.. try to cross Saraipalli before dusk.. its a hell hole after that..
.. and if you are crossing Sambalpur after 2:30 PM.. would strongly advise to park in Sambalpur overnite.. I can send you the places, I crashed (have them somewhere)... for heavens sake don't drive thru the Sambalpur forest after 4:30 PM.. I saw first hand evidence of what happens.. and it does not show up on the Newspapers or in Internet.. morning is different .. it is a beautiful drive.. would advise touching base with HVK.. He is just awesome, when it comes to Indian roads..

Hope this helps.. strange though.. we must have crossed each other some place.. The only other vehicle I saw with a TBHP sticker on was a Yeti around 10 PM in AP.. I sincerely hope that was not you

D

Yeah, me too from Durgapur, studied at Xavier's.

Did the cops harass you ? What happened ?
You see the cops are more-or-less the same in every state. As far as I am concerned never faced anything with the cops in CG.

Very eager to know what you saw in the jungles around Sambalpur.
I did an overnight journey from Mahishadal (near Haldia) to Bhilai on NH6/60/42 in January last and reached Sambalpur at 6:30 in the morning.

I don't think we crossed on the road. You came from AP-OR-WB route, whereas I followed the NH6 Sambalpur-NH42 Cuttack-NH5/60 Kharagpur-NH6 Kolkata-NH2 Durgapur route.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by xtremedeep

I entered Odisha thru AP..

Which route was that?

Saraipalli roads were getting repaired..

Which sections were bad?

try to cross Saraipalli before dusk.. its a hell hole after that..

High traffic?

I drove non -stop from Puri till Amravati (around 19 hours) and crashed on the toll gate (just parked on the side and slept, with the engine on) .. Amravati to Pune thru Aurangabad is a piece of cake.. just try to avoid the Akola road.. it takes forever.. and immediately after Nagpur.. I would recommend taking the longer new single lane road.

I suppose you took the Amaravati-Karanja-Mehakar-Jalna route?

for heavens sake don't drive thru the Sambalpur forest after 4:30 PM.. I saw first hand evidence of what happens..

Why? Safety issues?

[ethereal]

Dear All,
I am planning to do Kolkata to Mumbai in my 2 year old Manza in 1st week of June. This is going to be my first long trip with me as driver. I have never driven in this route in past. Though I have done Kolkata-Delhi & Mumbai Goa quite a few times. I have gone through the whole thread & was jst wondering if any one of the member can help me with recent log book. I plan to start from Kolkata at around 04:00 a.m. With me my wife & 8 year old son shall be accompanying.
Keeping this in mind, which place should be the night halt.? I am ok with driving till 20:00 hrs or so. Is Chattisgarh real bad?

I really appreciate if any one of you can assist me in this.

Regards,
Ethereal

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ethereal

Dear All,
I am planning to do Kolkata to Mumbai in my 2 year old Manza in 1st week of June. This is going to be my first long trip with me as driver. I have never driven in this route in past. Though I have done Kolkata-Delhi & Mumbai Goa quite a few times. I have gone through the whole thread & was jst wondering if any one of the member can help me with recent log book. I plan to start from Kolkata at around 04:00 a.m. With me my wife & 8 year old son shall be accompanying.
Keeping this in mind, which place should be the night halt.? I am ok with driving till 20:00 hrs or so. Is Chattisgarh real bad?

I really appreciate if any one of you can assist me in this.

Regards,
Ethereal

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.

[ethereal]

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?
=================
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.

Thank you very much Kumar Sir. I was sure you were going to assist . Route no 2 never came in my mind practically. I think it makes sense to drive on 4 lane, as I have my flat in Pune & am aware of the city roads.

Is there by any chance any one has Log Book for Vizag-Hyd-Mum sector.

Thanks Again.

Regards,
Ethereal

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by ethereal

Thank you very much Kumar Sir. I was sure you were going to assist . Route no 2 never came in my mind practically. I think it makes sense to drive on 4 lane, as I have my flat in Pune & am aware of the city roads.

Is there by any chance any one has Log Book for Vizag-Hyd-Mum sector.

Thanks Again.

Regards,
Ethereal

Yes, I do have detailed route plans (not just log books) but I need to update it for some more info (from a recent drive, lots of new info). When are you planning your drive? (so I know how much time I have to give you a detailed route plan)

[ethereal]

Thanks Sir for the quick reply. I am planning to take this trip in 1st week of June. I am really having knots in my stomach as the week is nearing. Actually I am was on some work assignment at Kolkata, which is getting over by month end. After that I need to go back to Mumbai. When I came from Mumbai to Kolkata, I opted to transport the new manza through carrier, but now while going back I plan to drive, as I don't want to take risk of car damage during transportation through carriers.