[bhp1]

@Kochar, Mcleodganj would take 4-6 hrs from Amritsar.
But it will be well worth, on the way Palampur, Dharamshala are all excellent hill stations. Do try & spend some time in Palampur, if you like natural springs & lush green tea gardens.

Oh yes, GD it had almost slipped my mind as Im more non veg. types.
For Amritsari nans, Ranjit Avenue has a couple of places which are good & for Fish, Hall Bazaar offers the best choice.

[hvkumar]

Mcleodganj is 200 kms, 4 hours, from Amritsar, along Nh15 till Pathankot (via Batala, Gurdaspur), and then NH20 (via Nurpur and Dharamsala).

Anyone has a status report on the broken-down Chakki Bank bridge between Pathankot and Nurpur - is it functional now?

[ashthedivx]

Looks like i am finally setted up for a vacation

I will be doing Delhi - Amritsar trip this weekend.

This thread had been a immense help to atleast me for knowing the available food joints. Thanks to all who contributed. cheers:

Any latest updates/tips-suggestions for Delhi - Amritsar route?


Cheers

[tsk1979]

Avoid Delhi border at night(9pm onwards), there a 2-3km long truck jams sometimes.
The Toll booth at Doraha has shifted to after Ludhiana, on the Sutlej bridge on the Ldh-Jalandhar road. Due to lesser number of gates, rush hour sees lots of jams because lot of people commute from Phagwara-Phillaur-Ludhiana every day.

Watch out for iron rod laden trucks from Sirhind to Gobindgarh stretch, esp at night, they have not warning lights and are the most dangeours nuisance on road.
From 7am to 6pm do not cross 90kmph anywhere in Haryana.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

From 7am to 6pm do not cross 90kmph anywhere in Haryana.

Is that because of speed checks by cops? How bad is it if you are caught?

[tsk1979]

400rs is the fine, mostly upto 110 you will pay that much. Above that I don't know.

[breezydrive]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Anyone has a status report on the broken-down Chakki Bank bridge between Pathankot and Nurpur - is it functional now?

Chakki bridge is still under repairs, but an alternate route w/o any extra travel is available to move towards Nurpur.

Another bridge between Kotla - Shahpur on NH-20 ( Pathankot - Palampur - Mandi ) is under major repairs.

[sonirohit]

Originally Posted by ashthedivx

Looks like i am finally setted up for a vacation

I will be doing Delhi - Amritsar trip this weekend.

This thread had been a immense help to atleast me for knowing the available food joints. Thanks to all who contributed. cheers:

Any latest updates/tips-suggestions for Delhi - Amritsar route?


Cheers

U can try the following route - delhi -> Panipat -> Ambala -> Chandigarh -> Ropar -> Hosiharpur -> Jalandhar -> Amritsar

It's much better to take this route instead of GT Road because of a heavy rush on GT road during daytime. esp in Ldh...

Good joints - Karnal (Mayur Dhaba), Ropar (There is a restaurant & verka milk bar next to the darya - don't remember the name though).

When in Haryana - you can cross 90, but be sure that you keep a tab on speed while around Karnal, Kurukshetra and Ambala...

BTW - panipat flyover is a charm to zoom on - did 130 this time in my DDiS. But there is no shortage of ASSES in india - some smart ones do manage to cross the flyover by jumping the barricades...

[ashthedivx]

Thanks guys... loaded with info it seems i am set to GO !!

[sudev]

Originally Posted by ashthedivx

Thanks guys... loaded with info it seems i am set to GO !!

A suggestion worth remembering.

When you approach Ludhiana there is a small round about. Straight in to the city and right front climbing the rail over bridge is bye-pass. Take straight in too the city and just keep going straight. You will come out on the other end of Ludhiana - faster. With most of the city and railway station area covered with a flyover this is best way to cross Ludhiana. Bye-pass is over whelmed with traffic.

[yamracing]

Originally Posted by sonirohit

U can try the following route - delhi -> Panipat -> Ambala -> Chandigarh -> Ropar -> Hosiharpur -> Jalandhar -> Amritsar

It's much better to take this route instead of GT Road because of a heavy rush on GT road during daytime. esp in Ldh...

I wouldnt buy this theory. the GT road still will be faster. Exiting Chandigarh, and then to Ropar on that horrible single lane highway will reduce avg speeds by a huge margin

[tsk1979]

I concur with Sudev, I have posted earlier also that going through the city is faster than taking the bypass because of a 1.5kms long flyover/
As for Ropar route... Avoid. Its crowded, bad traffic, and lots of rush.
GT road even with heavy traffic is quite fast
Only bottleneck is the bridge after ludhiana where NHAI collects toll

[sudev]

GT road or NH1 is faster. Going through Chandigarh you not only risk traffic but also very jealously monitored speed traps. Chandigarh cops are know to issue challan even if you are 1kmph over the limit.

That said. The way out is to head towards Ropar while bye-passing Chandigarh from Sirhind or Lalru. But I seriously doubt you will be better of or faster.

[vkochar]

I Finally did this trip I have always planned and never gotten to do it.

I went on the 17th. Here is a brief travelogue of the trip. Will post Pics and other details later on.

Started from Delhi ( Faridabad ) on 17th Saturday Morning at 7 AM, We were 4 people with full luggage in my Verna. This was the first time I would test my car to it's limit. I have been doing only short runs of 200 - 300 kms previously but this one was nearly 500 km's with full load.

We started at 7 AM and exited Delhi around 8 AM, took the straight road via Badarpur, Ashram, Rajhat and then towards Azadpur which leads to GT Road. Once at GT Road, it took another 25 minutes to come on the main road.

Once there we stopped at this ETHNIC RESORT for a toilet break. Nice place, just at the starting of Sonipat.

We then made a halt at Murthal ( Lucky vaisno Dhaba ) where the paranthas were simply divine. Stopped here for 45 minutes.

It was raining quite heavily so I could not exceed 80 kph at most of the roads.

The Panipat Elevated Road which runs for more than 8 kms is beautiful. It's a big time saver now.

Toll after this elevated flyover was 20 Rs. After that another Toll at Karnal.

We stopped at Karnal at the Savoy. They have clean toilets and Mc Donalds, Dominoes, Costa etc here.

There is a Haveli here as well ( Same as the one in jalandhar ). Better to stop there, but we chose the Savoy.

After that the journey was non stop till Jalandhar, took over 3 hours, crossed in to Punjab and then stopped at Haveli. here we had a fantastic Lunch and then lovely Gulab Jamuns outside. The place was packed.

We then left straight for Amritsar which took nearly an hour and a half.

So we reched around 6 PM at home.

Total Distance - nearly 470 kms ( home to home ).

Average of Verna Diesel - 17 kpl. With AC on 75% of the time and this was on absolute full load. Damn Good I say.

Roads are great for anyone travelling to Punjab.

Pics & return journey - will post later.

[sudev]

Was waiting for an update and pictures. Glad you made the trip AND with such fantastic FE.