Suggestions on Road Trip From Trivandrum to Shimla

enygma · 28th June 2007, 17:27

A few tips

- Dont miss the food at Giani Ka Dhaba at Dharampur, between Kalka and Shimla.
- Instead of staying at Shimla, stay overnight at the less crowded and more scenic nearby places like Kasuali, Narkanda or Fagu.
- On the Delhi-Shimla stretch, watch out for small sign boards for the road to Chandigarh after Ambala. The older Ambala-Chandigarh NH is undergoing repairs currently and the diversion could cost you an additional hour or so, especially if it is rainy.

bruty · 28th June 2007, 17:44

Yes do not forget the advice from enygma, its really worth to stop at that place. One more suggestion from my side, when you are taking so much pain and effort whay to stop at Shimla only, go beyond that , the best places are after Shimla onlt. Shimla is very much crowded. It has started raining very hard so be prepared, but do not woory the roads are good enough to drive.

hitanshu · 29th June 2007, 00:19

Giani da Dhaba. Passable food. Bad service (to bikers). least interested even in collecting check (atleast on first floor). Only real utlity. Some of the finest eye candy of north India packed into a dhaba

Best thing ever: For some bad roads and zero traffic, at Kandaghat (~42 to shimla), take a right for Chail, then onward to Kufri. There on, move atleast to Fagu/Theog (nice PWD guesthouse), Narkanda/Haut (superb views of Himalayas, goooood altitude!)

kpzen · 29th June 2007, 08:25

TVM- EKM roads are in bad condition at the moment after the heavy rains. I dont think u will be able to cover that distance in 3hrs in a Santro & its not a good idea to be aggressive on Kerala highways with those red buses

around unless u are driving some monster Safari or a Volvo

CrAzY dRiVeR · 29th June 2007, 08:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by kpzen

TVM- EKM roads are in bad condition at the moment after the heavy rains. I dont think u will be able to cover that distance in 3hrs in a Santro & its not a good idea to be aggressive on Kerala highways with those red buses

around unless u are driving some monster Safari or a Volvo

Specially around kayamkulam, the roads are horrible with crater sized potholes. I went on a trip last weekend, and the roads were hard for the accent CRDi to take good speeds. Am sure it would be a tough ask for a Santro.

I was sitting at the rear with seat belt on, and one crater swayed the car so much, i banged my head on the side glass.

Plan around 4 hours for TVM- EKM.

dodge3p · 2nd July 2007, 16:49

Thanks a lot for pouring in these valuable opinions. Hearing all these from the fellow bhpian's I had decided to take Manglore,Mumbai,Jaipur,Delhi route. But considering the road condtions due the ongoing torrential rains, is the road conditions still good enough to take this route.

The info from thread 'Costal Karnataka National Highways' looms like a very big threat

. If this is the condition persists only for very few kms, It is managable. But if this condtion streches long, I dont think its a good enough option to consider

. I would like to hear from you the condtions along the route Trivandrum,Manglore,Mumbai,Jaipur,Delhi and It would be great if someone could compare it with the route Trivandrum,Banglore,Hyderabad,Nagpur,Jhansi,Agra,D elhi.

hvkumar · 2nd July 2007, 17:38

Now that monsoons have begun in right earnest all over, let me caution you on the "conventional" bad stretches:

NH4 Bangalore-Bombay
Davangere-Harihar Bypass

NH8 Bombay-Delhi
Ghodbunder-Manor, sometimes, pot-holed
Surat Bypass
Surat-Vadodara, often the worst, as monsoons progresses, total deterioration, pot holes with washed-out roads
Vadodara Bypass - can be bad, pot holed

NH17
Kasargod-Mangalore-Udupi-Kundapura
Other random stretches, all the way to Kumta

Chiplun Bypass, took a beating last week
Mahad-Pen-Panvel, already cracked up with the first rains

NH27
Laknadon-Narasingpur-Sagar-Lalitpur, terrible after the rains, rains have hit MP already

rajeshtk · 10th June 2009, 15:28

@Dodge..

Hey there!

Did you drive your car upto delhi?
Which route did you take finally?
Can you specify major places enroute?

How many days you took to reach Delhi?
How many night stays?

darklord · 20th January 2010, 21:44

Ding dong

.

Bumping up this old thread, just to ask a simple question.

"Did you do it?"

rajeshtk · 21st January 2010, 09:30

No man.

I could not :(

Had a major financial crisis in the time I was planning to do hit the road!
And the co-driver pulled out..

Tryin to do it this year!

Uh.. This might be the last trial as a bachelor :P

28th June 2007, 17:27	#16
enygma BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore - The SpeedBreak City Posts: 36 Thanked: 13 Times	A few tips - Dont miss the food at Giani Ka Dhaba at Dharampur, between Kalka and Shimla. - Instead of staying at Shimla, stay overnight at the less crowded and more scenic nearby places like Kasuali, Narkanda or Fagu. - On the Delhi-Shimla stretch, watch out for small sign boards for the road to Chandigarh after Ambala. The older Ambala-Chandigarh NH is undergoing repairs currently and the diversion could cost you an additional hour or so, especially if it is rainy.
	() Thanks

28th June 2007, 17:44	#17
bruty BHPian Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Delhi Posts: 238 Thanked: 10 Times View My Garage	Yes do not forget the advice from enygma, its really worth to stop at that place. One more suggestion from my side, when you are taking so much pain and effort whay to stop at Shimla only, go beyond that , the best places are after Shimla onlt. Shimla is very much crowded. It has started raining very hard so be prepared, but do not woory the roads are good enough to drive.
	() Thanks

29th June 2007, 00:19	#18
hitanshu Newbie Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Delhi/Ahmedabad/... Posts: 19 Thanked: 0 Times	Giani da Dhaba. Passable food. Bad service (to bikers). least interested even in collecting check (atleast on first floor). Only real utlity. Some of the finest eye candy of north India packed into a dhaba Best thing ever: For some bad roads and zero traffic, at Kandaghat (~42 to shimla), take a right for Chail, then onward to Kufri. There on, move atleast to Fagu/Theog (nice PWD guesthouse), Narkanda/Haut (superb views of Himalayas, goooood altitude!)
	() Thanks

29th June 2007, 08:25	#19
kpzen Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Faridabad Posts: 5,610 Thanked: 1,876 Times View My Garage	TVM- EKM roads are in bad condition at the moment after the heavy rains. I dont think u will be able to cover that distance in 3hrs in a Santro & its not a good idea to be aggressive on Kerala highways with those red buses around unless u are driving some monster Safari or a Volvo
	() Thanks

2nd July 2007, 16:49	#21
dodge3p BHPian Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: TVM Posts: 56 Thanked: 53 Times	Still confused... Thanks a lot for pouring in these valuable opinions. Hearing all these from the fellow bhpian's I had decided to take Manglore,Mumbai,Jaipur,Delhi route. But considering the road condtions due the ongoing torrential rains, is the road conditions still good enough to take this route. The info from thread 'Costal Karnataka National Highways' looms like a very big threat . If this is the condition persists only for very few kms, It is managable. But if this condtion streches long, I dont think its a good enough option to consider . I would like to hear from you the condtions along the route Trivandrum,Manglore,Mumbai,Jaipur,Delhi and It would be great if someone could compare it with the route Trivandrum,Banglore,Hyderabad,Nagpur,Jhansi,Agra,D elhi.
	() Thanks

2nd July 2007, 17:38	#22
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,454 Times	Now that monsoons have begun in right earnest all over, let me caution you on the "conventional" bad stretches: NH4 Bangalore-Bombay Davangere-Harihar Bypass NH8 Bombay-Delhi Ghodbunder-Manor, sometimes, pot-holed Surat Bypass Surat-Vadodara, often the worst, as monsoons progresses, total deterioration, pot holes with washed-out roads Vadodara Bypass - can be bad, pot holed NH17 Kasargod-Mangalore-Udupi-Kundapura Other random stretches, all the way to Kumta Chiplun Bypass, took a beating last week Mahad-Pen-Panvel, already cracked up with the first rains NH27 Laknadon-Narasingpur-Sagar-Lalitpur, terrible after the rains, rains have hit MP already
	() Thanks

10th June 2009, 15:28	#23
rajeshtk Newbie Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 13 Thanked: 0 Times	@Dodge.. Hey there! Did you drive your car upto delhi? Which route did you take finally? Can you specify major places enroute? How many days you took to reach Delhi? How many night stays?
	() Thanks

20th January 2010, 21:44	#24
darklord BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: TVM (KL-16) Posts: 743 Thanked: 3,112 Times View My Garage	Ding dong . Bumping up this old thread, just to ask a simple question. "Did you do it?"
	() Thanks

21st January 2010, 09:30	#25
rajeshtk Newbie Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 13 Thanked: 0 Times	No man. I could not :( Had a major financial crisis in the time I was planning to do hit the road! And the co-driver pulled out.. Tryin to do it this year! Uh.. This might be the last trial as a bachelor :P
	() Thanks