[thirugata]

Hi fellow forum members. As the heading suggests, this is a route/travel query for a drive across India.
I am sure part of my answers will be hidden some where in multiple threads here.
How ever it would be very difficult to screen through them for what I need. Hence this thread.

I am starting an All India road trip probably in 3rd week of March. A tentative date of 20th March has been chosen as of now.
Plan is to drive to all state capitals and 7 UTs. Following is the route plan that has been drafted.



The drive starts from Bangalore.

Just in case if the map does not give clarity, I am writing down the route here.
Bangalore - Panjim - Mumbai - Dadra - Daman - Diu - Gandhinagar - Bhopal - Jaipur - New Delhi - Chandigarh - Jammu - Srinagar - Leh - Shimla - Dehradun - Lucknow - Patna - Gangtok - Guwahati - Itanagar - Kohima - Imphal - Aizawl - Agarthala - Shillong - Ranchi - Kolkatta - Bhubaneshwar - Raipur - Hyderabad - Amaravati - Chennai - Puducherry - Thiruvananthapuram - Bangalore.

(Yes I have added Leh here being stupidly optimistic , a final call about Leh will be taken once we reach Srinagar depending the weather condition. Its more of a hope)

Though I have done a lot of travel across south India in last few years, cities were never the destination.
So apart from the first day's drive to Panjim all will be new route for me to explore/experience.

This query is to gather details on road conditions, stay options and food options (we are veggies) along this route.
This is going to be a drive through kind of a trip with intention of driving to all states rather than exploring places. So not looking for recommendations on places to see. Please do share the information you have in line with this. Also would like to hear your experiences with long trips in terms of what to expect and how to go about it.

In terms of how I have decided to go about it:

Plan one day at a time in terms of booking hotels. Have never done this. All my trips have been booked well in advance. This would be new to me, would love to hear regarding their experience from people who travel like this.
Consider this as a marathon than a sprint.
Do not drive more than 8 - 9 hours in day in between 7 am - 6 pm.

Will be driving Skoda Fabia 1.2 TSi which has done 98000 Kms so far.
Approximate distance that would be covered in this trip is 15500 Kms.
Estimate is to complete this trip in 7 - 8 weeks.

Edit: Just noticed route to Leh from Srinagar is wrong in the map. May be there was some road block on the day I did this map. Please ignore that bit.

[ampere]

Quite an ambitious plan indeed!

On a high level all states covered can be easily planned.

1. Bngalore-Goa-Mumbai-Daman-Gandhinagar : Planned good roads.
2. Gandhinagar-Indore-Bhopal-Jaipur : Is Bhopal a must? Else you can do Indore-Ratlam-Jaipur. Gandhinagar-Indore needs to be planned.
3. Lots of details on Delhi-Leh-Jammu-Shimla sector
4. I also see you don't plan to take the 4-lanes/expressways from Shimla to North east. Something to think about.
5. Kolkatta-Bangalore: Either Coromandel expressway (Vishakhapatnam-Tirupathi-Bangalore) or Central India? That's again an open discussion and thing to plan.

[Axe77]

That's quite an exciting road trip you're planning - good luck and wish you a safe journey.

If you're so inclined, it would be lovely if you can put up a Travelogue thread chronicling the journey once you're back. Would make for wonderful reading and pictures I'm sure.

Cheers.

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by ampere

Quite an ambitious plan indeed!

On a high level all states covered can be easily planned.

1. Bngalore-Goa-Mumbai-Daman-Gandhinagar : Planned good roads.
2. Gandhinagar-Indore-Bhopal-Jaipur : Is Bhopal a must? Else you can do Indore-Ratlam-Jaipur. Gandhinagar-Indore needs to be planned.
3. Lots of details on Delhi-Leh-Jammu-Shimla sector
4. I also see you don't plan to take the 4-lanes/expressways from Shimla to North east. Something to think about.
5. Kolkatta-Bangalore: Either Coromandel expressway (Vishakhapatnam-Tirupathi-Bangalore) or Central India? That's again an open discussion and thing to plan.

Agenda is to drive to all state capitals and UTs. So there will be no change in the destinations that have been chosen. And route plan was made assuming "Google ko sab patha hai". Plan is to collect the information here from people who have done parts of these route and use that to make detailed plan on daily basis as the travel develops.

Also looking for info on which are the destinations where I need to have ILP in NE along this route.

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Hi fellow forum members. As the heading suggests, this is a route/travel query for a drive across India.

I personally don't have such an experience, but my friends are just about to finish a 101 day road trip pan India.

Here's their website - https://thegreatindiantravel.com and instagram - https://www.instagram.com/thegreatindiantravel2021/

I have asked them to pen a travelogue as well so that they can share their experiences.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Also looking for info on which are the destinations where I need to have ILP in NE along this route.

Mizoram is the only place where you'll need an ILP (or state permit or whatever they call it)...and where they'll actually make a big deal about checking it! I remember taking a permit for Eastern Arunachal, but I think for Western Arunachal that is not required, and I guess they have done away with it for the east too, but not sure, check. Imphal pretty much shuts down post-sunset, so get there pretty early. Finding acco was also not easy, from what I remember from 2016. Apart from that, Gangtok and Aizawl have narrow, steep roads, so parking is going to be a pain.

(What about the Andamans and Lakshadweep? )

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by am1m

Mizoram is the only place where you'll need an ILP (or state permit or whatever they call it)...and where they'll actually make a big deal about checking it! I remember taking a permit for Eastern Arunachal, but I think for Western Arunachal that is not required, and I guess they have done away with it for the east too, but not sure, check. Imphal pretty much shuts down post-sunset, so get there pretty early. Finding acco was also not easy, from what I remember from 2016. Apart from that, Gangtok and Aizawl have narrow, steep roads, so parking is going to be a pain.

(What about the Andamans and Lakshadweep? )

Thanks a lot for these priceless insights...
For Andaman and Lakshdweep, lets hope they build some bridge or the floating cars come and sold at affordable prices..

[am1m]

May I offer some unsolicited remarks?

I totally get the desire to tick off all the state capitals by road, or do the distance between xyz points in a certain time, and those sort of things. Have been there myself, have covered quite a bit of the routes on your map by bike (though over multiple trips and years). And one thing I've learned is that road trips with a "target" are the second worst way to travel and see a big, gorgeous, diverse country like ours. (IMHO, the worst way to travel is by flight!)

Ours is a country that deserves the impromptu and impulsive road trip, the unplanned detour down a narrow village road. The extra days or hours spent at an unexpected location, because you suddenly found a deserted beach, an ancient temple, the sweetest oranges in the north-east, a friendly group of people who let you sleep in their dhaba on a rain-blocked mountain pass and shared their whiskey bottle with you.

The expressways and National Highways connecting most capitals are in great shape. You have google maps, cars are reliable, so it's not really a challenge to do something like this anymore.

What you seem to have now and what is usually and always a challenge is getting the luxury of TIME for a trip like this.

So when you do have that luxury now- do you want to stick to your plan and miss out on 'God's own country' completely? Use the main highway between Bangalore and Panaji and miss the beautiful South Canara coastal route? Hit Jaipur but miss out on the lonely beauty of the desert frontiers of Jaisalmer, the mystery of Dholavira and the Rann of Kutch? Do a quick run on the superb Guwahati-Shillong road, but miss out on the root bridges of Nongriat and the exquisite rock pools further away? Traverse the mining roads of Dhanbad and Ranchi but completely skip the tiger reserves? (The list is endless...)

And as you said, you are anyway skipping the Andamans and Lakshadweep, so the 'complete set' is anyway a construct of your own making.

Don't get me wrong- like I said I get the allure, and each person's definition of what they want to 'complete' is their own. Just offering some thoughts about things I realized for myself over the years, that's all. Wishing you well on your journey!

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by am1m

May I offer some unsolicited remarks?

I totally get the desire to tick off all the state capitals by road, or do the distance between xyz points in a certain time, and those sort of things. Have been there myself, have covered quite a bit of the routes on your map by bike (though over multiple trips and years). And one thing I've learned is that road trips with a "target" are the second worst way to travel and see a big, gorgeous, diverse country like ours. (IMHO, the worst way to travel is by flight!)

Don't get me wrong- like I said I get the allure, and each person's definition of what they want to 'complete' is their own. Just offering some thoughts about things I realized for myself over the years, that's all. Wishing you well on your journey!

Hi,

It has been our desire to see the whole country "at least" once. As I prefer to drive, and cant do that to Andaman & Lakshwadeep, they are not part of this plan. This does not mean I will not go there. For me I am just starting to explore this country. This trip is not to say I have seen it all, but to say I have visited at least all states once. A detailed exploration of each state will follow whenever that happens. I have done quite a bit of 4 states down south in detail. ( You can check the link where I have penned down the little exploration I have done so far https://thirugata.blogspot.com/ ).That has made us realise it will take quite a few years to do a complete exploration of the entire country.
As you said, I didnt have luxury of time till now, hence had to be content with driving to places closer home. Now I do, so in a way its the beginning of new chapter for us. Lets see how that goes. Cross the bridge when we arrive there.

[ike]

Originally Posted by am1m

Ours is a country that deserves the impromptu and impulsive road trip, the unplanned detour down a narrow village road. The extra days or hours spent at an unexpected location, because you suddenly found a deserted beach, an ancient temple, the sweetest oranges in the north-east, a friendly group of people who let you sleep in their dhaba on a rain-blocked mountain pass and shared their whiskey bottle with you.

Very sensible indeed, rather than focusing on state capitals see what each state has to offer and pick the most desirable from among those (even better if OP has the time & resources to cover those also along with the capitals). But to each his own and visiting all the capitals would be an unforgettable experience too!

[sachin_cs]

What a way to explore our beautiful country, this surely is on my list to explore all the states by roads. Kudos to you for planning such an extensive road trip in your Fabia. I can help you with the Raipur -Hyderabad route. I did that stretch with my mom sometime back. Best way to reach Hyderabad from Raipur is Via Nagpur bypass.

• Raipur-Bhilai: Road is 4 lane but passes through many small towns and some construction work is going on, therefore it's best to cross this sector before office hours
• Bhilai-Rajnandgaon: Once you cross Bhilai, road & traffic improves exponentially and you will enjoy driving on this stretch
• Rajnandgaon-Bhandara: Don't take left on the Rajnandgaon bypass, rather go straight through the city because they have built flyovers and it's mostly devoid of traffic. On the other hand bypass road is not that well maintained and it's longer route. After crossing Rajnandgaon, you will enter Maharashtra and roads are good except in Sakoli where road widening work was going on. Roads become double lane near bhandara but nothing to worry about the road surface, just be careful of local bikers, cyclists
• Nagpur bypass: When you will be nearing Nagpur, don't enter the city, you will see a bypass towards Hyderabad and take that NORTH-SOUTH corridor road
• Once you have taken a left, you will have to take another turn because Mumbai -Hyderabad roads pass through the same junction
• Once you are on the Hyderabad highway, roads are good all the way to Hyderabad. There are some sections with bad surface, some passes through a town whose name I'm not able to recall which has bit of traffic and bad roads but doable. In Hyderabad, if possible, avoid entering the city and try to reach your local destination by using ORR

We started at 6 in the morning and reached Gachibowli by 5 in evening. It was a pleasurable drive and we did not feel as if have done 800kms in a day. Just be careful of interceptors near Rajnandgaon, Forest area near Bhandara, Adilabad (I was doing 5kmph more than the limit and I had to pay the fine. The speed camera was strategically placed on a sloping road).







Advice: You won't get good family dhabas or restaurants in the stretch, carrying your own food is highly advisable. We started with an early breakfast and only got to do our Lunch in Telangana around 3:30

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

What a way to explore our beautiful country, this surely is on my list to explore all the states by roads. Kudos to you for planning such an extensive road trip in your Fabia. I can help you with the Raipur -Hyderabad route. I did that stretch with my mom sometime back. Best way to reach Hyderabad from Raipur is Via Nagpur bypass.[list]

Hi, Thank you very much for the encouragement and sharing your experience.
As per the estimation I have made, I must be doing this stretch some time in first half of May. Will keep in mind the points you have mentioned.
Its high probability that I will take a break in between and split it into 2 days, with an over night stay in Nagpur (That's the plan), lets see how it goes.

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by thirugata

Hi, Thank you very much for the encouragement and sharing your experience.
As per the estimation I have made, I must be doing this stretch some time in first half of May. Will keep in mind the points you have mentioned.
Its high probability that I will take a break in between and split it into 2 days, with an over night stay in Nagpur (That's the plan), lets see how it goes.

Staying in Nagpur is also a good idea. Wishing you all the best with your voyage. Stay safe, drive safe and enjoy your drives. Whenever you are in this part of the country, if you need any help, please feel free to contact, I will share my details with you in dm

[Livnletcarsliv]

You will be one more inspiration and motivation for me to do a trip like this which is still in my dreams and wants stage. Of course, your travelogue will be another handbook as well for future travelers like me.

All the best and wish you a safe and sound trip.

[sameer sultan]

That’s one heck of a trip mate.

I get the point where you want to cover all the capitals of states and UT’s as part of your epic trip. There has to be a definitive destination in a journey otherwise it gets aimless. Even Google maps asks for a destination every time

Since you have taken out time of about 2 months to complete the trip keep a buffer as there will be contingencies in such a long journey.

Wish you the very best