[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thank you very much. As we will be leaving around 5 to 530 am, i guess we might have breakfast at Zaheerabad or some place near Basav Kalyan. Know any place?

Osmanabad will be too early for lunch, as I guess we will cross it by 11 am. I think a late lunch near Aurangabad might be better. Do let me know if you are aware of any food joints between Beed and Aurangabad.

Further, google maps suggests the route from Aurangabad to Kopargaon via Gangapur and Vaijapur, though there is a direct route to Vaijapur that is shorter. Any inputs on which route i should take?

To sum up, I need inputs only for the below points now:-

1. Place for lunch between Beed and Shirdi. Is the BP COCO bunk/ ghar dhaba near Waluj having a decent restaurant?

2. Should I go to Vaijapur from Aurangabad via Gangapur or via the direct route that is 14 kms shorter (via Lasur)?

I've already found a restaurant for breakfast at Basav Kalyan--Gujarat hotel that someone posted about on this thread a few pages ago.

[narayans80]

Sunrise hotel past Beed bypass or Wood leaf at Aurangabad

Didn't try food at Waluj ghar dhaba

Via Gangapur not via Lasur

[CircleOfLife]

We are planning to drive to Nashik& shirdi being near hence the query on this thread.

• Is there is a RTPCR required for travelling via road in car?
• What is the best possible route?
• Best places for pit stop as there will be family tagging along

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Is there is a RTPCR required for travelling via road in car?

State of Maharashtra has still not made RTPCR negative mandatory. The least expectation as of now is that everyone (adults) should be double vaccinated.

But when you drive from Hyderabad to Nashik/Shirdi, your route will involve crossing into Karnataka briefly both during onward and return. On return, expect designated authorities in Karnataka ask you for negative RTPCR. But If your destination is Hyderabad, you should ideally not face any issues.

What is the best possible route?

Hyderabad - Humnabad - Naldurg - Tuljapur - Osmanabad - Beed - Aurangabad - Gangapur - Vaijapur - Yeola - Nihpad - Nashik.

This route will mostly be clean except stretches between around Yeola.

There will be shortcuts that Googlemaps may throw you but in reality the one above even with little longer distance will be more efficient and consume similar or even lesser times.
[*]Best places for pit stop as there will be family tagging along[/quote]
Along the Hyderabad Sholapur route till Naldurg, you can refer a dedicated thread on Hyderabad-Pune/Mumbai.

Between Tuljapur and Aurangabad, here are some of the options:

Originally Posted by narayans80

Sunrise hotel past Beed bypass or Wood leaf at Aurangabad

MH-25 Food Mall, Osmanabad

Food Town Restaurant, Osmanabad

Hotel Pandurag Veg, Yermala

All the 3 above are on the Tuljapur - Aurangabad Highway. You will not find much options after Aurangabad to Nashik road as it passes through very small towns and a route that is not a typically busy highway that demands car driver/family friendly restaurants.

There is a decent one after Yeola (you will be closer to Nashik around here anyway) called Saheba which you can note down in case you are running behind schedule.

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

Hyderabad - Humnabad - Naldurg - Tuljapur - Osmanabad - Beed - Aurangabad - Gangapur - Vaijapur - Yeola - Nihpad - Nashik.

This route will mostly be clean except stretches between around Yeola.

There will be shortcuts that Googlemaps may throw you but in reality the one above even with little longer distance will be more efficient and consume similar or even lesser times.

Thank you for the reply. Google maps points 3 different routes. Any further inputs in the below?

First one being via Indapur. Second longest route 732 km with shortest time.




Gachibowli-> Boripardhi -> Shirur-Sangavi Rd/Shirur - Satara Rd, MH SH 54 and Kawathe - Jambut Rd to NH 61 in Belhe -> Damodar Nagar



Second option is via Ahmed Nagar. It is shorter route in terms of 689 Kms but takes approximately same time.





Third option is via Gangapur. Longest route 741 kms

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Thank you for the reply. Google maps points 3 different routes. Any further inputs in the below?

I mentioned this when I replied to your query earlier as below:

Originally Posted by paragsachania

There will be shortcuts that Googlemaps may throw you but in reality the one above even with little longer distance will be more efficient and consume similar or even lesser times.

Hence, please consider Tuljapur Aurangabad Vaijapur route as the road conditions on this one remains the best among the other choices. This is being advised based on some of our recent travels including mine last month.

[vnabhi]

Thanks to Narayan and Parag, we had a smooth trip to Shirdi and back. Below is an update (though a bit long, might help some people):-

Four of us left Hyderabad at 530 am on Dec 26th in my Ecosport. Stopped for breakfast at 8 am at Punjabi Dhami dhaba that is beside the hotel with the same name. It is around 182 kms from my Hyd apartment. Had puri bhaji and aloo paratha. The former was excellent, while the latter were not that great, as they were made with maida, not aata. Gujarat hotel was on the other side of the highway, so I avoided it as there was no gap in the median near it.

Started towards Naldurg at 830 am. There were a few patches of potholes between Omerga and Naldurg fort, but most were only for 100 to 200 meters. There were three of four diversions too where the road was undivided, owing to onward leg being under repairs. Easy to cross during daytime, but caution needed in darkness.

Around 2 kms near the Naldurg road has many steep curves and an undivided road. This was the case in Dec 2007 also when I last drove. Luckily there were no jams as traffic was thin on Sunday. Around a km after the fort, I took a right turn at odo 258 towards Tuljapur.

The next 36 kms to cross Tuljapur and meet the Solapur Aurangabad highway was undivided, with a few potholes in the first 10 kms. Could cover the stretch in around 45 minutes. From there onwards, the road was butter-smooth and 4-laned all the way till Zalta, Aurangabad. Sropped at Sunrise hotel after Beed for a bio and tea break at noon for around 25 minutes. It has very good restrooms!

Had to turn right at Zalta towards Aurangabad airport, but somehow did not get directed by Google to take the extreme left and then take a right turn under the middle of the flyover. So I took a U turn after crossing the flyover and headed in the correct direction. Took around 25 minutes to cross the city--traffic was less as it was a Sunday.

We stopped under a tree after exiting Aurangabad to have packed lunch. Being Sunday, i guess google mis-directed us to take the shorter route to Vaijapur Jn instead of via Gangapur. We realised only after 10 kms or so, and did not want to go back. The route was undivided and patchy, and had several horrible sections of 100 m each. The GC of the car saved us from under-belly hits, but we decided to avoid this route next time!

From Vaijapur Jn to the left turn near Kopergaon was the same road, but overall better. We reached the Kopergaon to Shirdi stretch around 410 pm, and there were only 12 kms left to reach Shirdi. But alas, when Shirdi was only 8 kms away, we got stuck in the mother of all jams caused by trucks. As nothing was moving for 15 minutes, we heard the jam was for 4 kms and might take 2 hours to cross!! So we managed to squeeze through to the other side of the road near a gap on the divider, and followed some local vehicles taking a narrow, untarred village road that was a detour. It took nearly 15 minutes more to get onto that narrow road as some vehicles were coming in the opposite direction, and there was hardly any space. This apart, many vehicles were taking a U turn to head back as there was confusion galore.

A few times, we had to get down and request some to move their vehicles to the extreme left so that we could cross. Else there was no way for vehicles in either direction to move further. Looks like Baba took pity and we could finally merge with the highway around 200 m ahead of the start of the jam (or end of the jam), and reach our hotel at 515 pm, instead of 430 pm. Phew, what a journey!! Owing to this, it was a full 12-hours door to door. Odo was 665 kms. Driving time 10 hours and 27 minutes.

After a short nap and freshening up, we strolled towards food stalls around 745 pm. We had booked paid darshan at 9 pm, so we had plenty of time. And we were right opposite gate number 1. Luckily, a vendor apprised us that 9 pm slots have been cancelled by the temple authorites to comply with Sec 144 imposed from Dec 25th from 9 pm to 6 am! We rushed across and were told to note down our booking number on a piece of paper, deposit mobiles and footwear in the counter nearby and rush to the entrance with only ID proofs. We were told that they will be closing it in 5 minutes! Despite the huge rush at those counters, we could reach the entrance around 8.05 pm and were allowed inside. It looks like we were among the last, as we could see only a dozen people behind us! We were out in 40 minutes, owing to the rush caused by the 9 pm slot being merged with the 8 pm slot! Else it would have been faster! It was a close shave! At least the authorites should have emailed on SMSd us about the 9 pm slot cancellation!

I'll post info on the return route later. We came back via Ellora and also visited the Tulja Bhavani temple at Tuljapur!

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by CircleOfLife

Thank you for the reply. Google maps points 3 different routes.

Shortcuts in Marathwada are not for the faint hearted. You can take, if you want to present an use case to buy a new car

The route Parag mentioned is the best in terms or tarmac found over multiple iterations, even though distance wise its the longest. Bulk of the route can be hammered in low triple digits with minimal traffic, only Tuljapur-Naldurg will be an exception 70-80ish.

Bulk of the Jalna-Aurangabad-Shirdi packages of Mahamarg are almost done, so we might see some sections open up in 2022, this would cut short another hour at least over the current route being suggested. Ofcourse this is subject to where the interchanges are planned.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

left Hyderabad at 530 am on Dec 26th

This is weekend, and busy holiday weekend at that. that's why all this jam, even 40 min Darshan. If you had been after New year, you could have visited multiple times during the day

[CircleOfLife]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

I mentioned this when I replied to your query earlier as below:

Hence, please consider Tuljapur Aurangabad Vaijapur route as the road conditions on this one remains the best among the other choices. This is being advised based on some of our recent travels including mine last month.

I recently did Mumbai to Hyderabad and route is fairly good hence the query, as with Option 1 upto indrapur the route is familiar one. Point taken on the route. Will follow the same.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Shortcuts in Marathwada are not for the faint hearted. You can take, if you want to present an use case to buy a new car

The route Parag mentioned is the best in terms or tarmac found over multiple iterations, even though distance wise its the longest. Bulk of the route can be hammered in low triple digits with minimal traffic, only Tuljapur-Naldurg will be an exception 70-80ish.

Bulk of the Jalna-Aurangabad-Shirdi packages of Mahamarg are almost done, so we might see some sections open up in 2022, this would cut short another hour at least over the current route being suggested. Ofcourse this is subject to where the interchanges are planned.
D

I don’t have a business case to add a new car after purchasing a brand new one with GC of 135 mm. This trip seems to provide that ammunition.

Jokes apart, have managed to surprise by taking uncharted routes on a vento and always coming out victorious, but this is not going to happen with Octavia. It’s a larger vehicle with lower GC. Extra caution is needed.

Thank you both for the suggestion. appreciate it

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by narayans80

This is weekend, and busy holiday weekend at that. that's why all this jam, even 40 min Darshan. If you had been after New year, you could have visited multiple times during the day

On the jam, i inquired and was told that cops do not allow trucks to ply till around 530 pm in southwards direction. We found cops blocking heavy vehicles soon after passing the jam, around one km from the temple. I am not sure if it is a daily blockade, or only on Sundays.

You are right regarding holiday weekend, but the hotel guy said Dec 25th was all full, but rooms were available on the day we reached--26th. The rush was caused by the sudden announcement of Sec 144 from 9 pm. This entailed restricting entry from 8 pm. We later heard that a gentleman from Delhi had a booking for 9 pm slot with a huge gang of around 100 people. He was very aggrieved about the change in timing, and the lack of communication. I believe he was asked to come at 7 am the following day.

But restaurants and markets were open all night, it was only government institutions that were observing section 144!

As we also had a free darshan slot for 8 am on the following day, we inquired from a security guard if it will be crowded even more. He advised us to arrive before 6 am to Gate # 2 and enter the free dharshan queue. He said most people throng the place 8 am onwards to avoid the cold atmosphere. He also said they are not finicky about the timing reserved for free darshan and will allow people even before it.

So we did so and were in the queue by 550 am sharp--we did not carry our mobiles or footwear, but only ID cards. We were lucky to complete the darshan within 25 minutes, and had a better view than the prior day.

Hope this helps.

[bhugs]

I was planning to visit Shirdi from Hyderabad and was searching for the road conditions. Found this thread was updated last year, so anybody took a ride on this sector this year? If so kindly update if the VNabhi route and rod conditions, still hold good.

Also I will be travelling with my old mom so planning to do this ride in 2 days time taking a break in between so can someone suggest a decent place to stay, may be little closer to Shirdi side so that next day after the drive we can finish the darshan as well.

If you can also suggest a good place to stay in Shirdi, kindly do so.

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by bhugs

If so kindly update if the VNabhi route and rod conditions, still hold good.

While I won't comment on the route conditions between Hyderabad and Sholapur and prefer those who have recently driven to tell you, I can certainly tell you that:

• Sholapur to Aurangabad road continues to remain very good
• Aurangabad bypass is fully operational
• Since Samruddhi Mahamarg is now open between Nagpur & Shirdi, you can very well consider taking this road to reach Shirdi from Aurangabad

Aurangabad Bypass to Shirdi via Mahamarg

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by bhugs

Shirdi from Hyderabad

Hyd Solapur conditions can be seen in the Pune-Hyd thread (Pune to Hyderabad : Route Queries). The diversions on Omerga-Naldurg and 2-laned Naldurg ghat remain for ages.

If you are driving, then taking Jambhala interchange and getting out at Exit 20 onto Kopargaon-Shirdi highway is the fastest.

If you are riding, then Zalta-Aurangabad Bypass-Waluj-Gangapur-Vaijapur and join Kopargaon-Shirdi highway.

If you are visiting the Xmas weekend, it will be a mess (and will likely be the same for New Year weekend as well). I did this mistake 5 years back. Entering and exiting town will be a maze of barricades. With an online booking it took us 1 hour. Entering and exiting town took 1-2 hours each direction(yes I meant Shirdi). One BHPian we met that day, left without darshan, that's how bad the crowd was. On a short 15 km stretch of Shani Signapur-Rahuri I saw 3 road rage incidents live!

[paragsachania]

Originally Posted by narayans80

If you are driving, then taking Jambhala interchange and getting out at Exit 20 onto Kopargaon-Shirdi highway is the fastest.

The route link/URL in my earlier response exactly has these via points for ease of navigation. The good thing that they have designed is seamless exit from NH52 and entry into Samruddhi Mahamarg.

[bhugs]

Originally Posted by paragsachania

While I won't comment on the route conditions between Hyderabad and Sholapur and prefer those who have recently driven to tell you, I can certainly tell you that:

Thanks Parag for the route guidance, will surely use that for my trip.

Originally Posted by narayans80

Hyd Solapur conditions can be seen in the Pune-Hyd thread (Pune to Hyderabad : Route Queries). The diversions on Omerga-Naldurg and 2-laned Naldurg ghat remain for ages.

Hi Narayan, thanks for the warning. I was actually planning to do this 'drive' after X Mas but after reading your post will shift it to first week of 2023. Can't take chances with wife and mom on board.