[udaygk77]

Did my Hyd (Manikonda) to Pune (Wakad) journey y'day on 21st Oct in 10..5hrs (Actual Travel time) from 7AM to 7PM, through HYD-Zaheerabad - Humnabad-Gulbarga - Aland-Akkalkot - Solapur-Pune.

Preferred this route as i'm travelling along with 90+ yrs Grand mom and don't want to take chance through Solapur- Omergao route.

HYD to Humanabad is now full toll road with 2 tolls of iNR 80/- each , which is think started operation from mid Oct'17 , as i was not charged on my onward journey in the same section on 7th Oct. This L&T Deccan highway is newly laid butter smooth fantastic highway where in 3 digit high speeds can be achieved without a blink.

Humanabad - gulbarga - Aland is good. Akkalkot to solapur is i think slightly widened with lots of weekend traffic from opposite side. After solapur initial 50kms is NOT at all NHAI toll standard, where in you have to struggle to maintain 3 digit speed.

[dpkbehera]

Did the return stretch from Pune to Hyderabad via Pune - Solapur (via NH 65) - Naldurg Omerga - Hyderabad on 22nd. Started at 8:00 am and reached at 5:30 pm. It included a 45 min break. Lots of holiday ending traffic and longish queues at tolls. Fastag experience needs improvement. However an overall pleasant experience especially with cloudy weather on entering Telangana.

Had a near miss as an over speeding Mercedes nearly rear ended my car. It seems that everyone knows how to speed up but very few know how to slow down/stop in time.

[aniketbapat]

Did the return journey nallagandla to kharghar today , started at 7 am and reached home at 330pm with 30 Min brunch+diesel stop at Solapur
So again around 8 hrs of drive time .

Faced a lot of traffic towards Pune as well as till Solapur but was able to make up time till omerga then between Solapur and outskirts of Pune and then on my fav road the expressway

I was planning to do omerga-aland-akkalkot-solapur to bypass the bad section till Solapur but missed the turn for aland and continued straight to Solapur via the under construction highway . I feel the road while coming back to Solapur from omerga is worse that the one going to omerga , it's just bad on return side , did the recent goers also feel the same ?? Did anyone else do the aland route seems like a good option to get back directly on the L&T stretch when going to Hyderabad or bypassing the bad section when coming back.

[21Archer84]

Thanks so much for keeping the updates about the road condition flowing guys. Just came across a Vlog on YouTube. Skip to about 15mins in the video to see the condition of road from solapur.

https://youtu.be/poqHyNNVy8E

That asphalt is as black as it could get from KA. Hoping to drive this stretch in few months time.

Just thought of sharing as there were no pics and only emotions being shared so far

[RoadTiger]

Did the Hyd (Gachibowli) - Solapur stretch of 300 kms to and fro over the weekend. Updates :
- First stretch from Gachibowli to Patancheru - ORR - 20 kms - Super good ; Toll 40
- Patancheru to Sangareddy - Nice road, no potholes, no toll
- Sangareddy to Maharashtra border - About 150 kms - awesome 4-laned road built by L&T with 2 tolls of Rs 80 each
- Maharashtra border (Omerga) to little after Naldurg - Poor quality of road surface, lots of potholes ranging from small to deep enough to scrape underbody for sedans, diversions, steep shoulders by roadside, construction going on, not recommended after dark
- Last 25 kms to Solapur - smooth road, often 2 laned and no tolls.

Overall, other than the 70 kms stretch mentioned above, the roads are very good. Took me about 5 hours without breaks either way with the first 200-odd kms covered in a little less than 3 hours.

[skdking]

Originally Posted by unoczar

No, actually Satara was the common point for me. ......

Hey Khalid Bhai,

Sorry for going OT.

Where is the Travelogue of the Hyd-Del-Shimla trip?

[unoczar]

Originally Posted by skdking

Hey Khalid Bhai,

Sorry for going OT.

Where is the Travelogue of the Hyd-Del-Shimla trip?

Really sorry brother. I've written just the intro page and forgot all about it in my busy schedule. It is sitting in the Assembly Line. Allow me some time to dig up the photos and write it up.

Thanks.

[IshaanIan]

Bought a used Subaru Forester recently from Pune and drove it down to Hyderabad in 7 and a half hours exactly. Left at 4 am from Pune airport and reached my friend's house in Trimulgherry Secunderabad at 11:30 am. Car had no working AC and a broken gearbox mount, bad suspension linkages and was in general far from good condition. It is going to be attended to by Mr. Prabhu who owns New Mars and will ensure the car gets back to the top shape that I expect my cars to be in.

First leg till Sholapur was great, after which roads were absolutely horrible leading to 1st, 2nd and 5th gear not engaging at all. We literally did most of the trip in just 3rd and 4th gear giving many brand new cars being driven enthusiastically, a run for their money.

The Forester truly amazed us for the first time when we used a Cruze as the pilot car till Sholapur. We were easily able to cruise and keep up at high speeds and what's more, we were able to take curves at the same speeds and the car did not require any braking or letting go of the accelerator pedal over undulations and expansion joints that we could see was clearly unsettling other cars. The suspension is tuned so brilliantly that you feel everything yet it is never jarring and the car is always able to ride comfortably over imperfections while retaining its speed and its ability to brake and steer (impreza rally chassis making its presence felt). Over the bad roads from Sholapur uptil Karnataka, we were literally killing it no car, bus, truck or suv was able to keep up with us we never got held back on the single lane diversions as the car was eager to go off the road to overtake never once losing its ability to steer in any direction we wanted it to and never once giving anything but a well planted ride not at all bouncing about like some other cars that tried to keep our pace. Last stretch once we reached Telangana was the best. Roads were the smoothest and most properly marked (barring the ORR that we took to get to Secunderabad). I was always a fan of the car but doing this trip was truly a revelation to both me and my friend in the co-pilot seat who was acting as my navigator. Even though we had to stop for fuel twice, toilet breaks and to buy water, we were constantly grinning widely as google maps kept decreasing the estimated time of arrival from 3 pm all the way down to 11:30 am. Never done this route before but both of us are so inspired by this car now and I am overjoyed that I made the decision to buy it even though it was far from perfect condition.

Attaching a picture of the car at BP pump matching well with the Bharat Petroleum Colours

[Shanksta]

Drove from Hyderabad to Pune today. Started at 7:36AM and reached Magapatta City at 5:15PM.

Total Time : 9 Hours 39 minutes including 1 hour of stops for Tea and lunch.
Distance: 547kms

Break-up:
* Alwal to Patancheru exit ORR : 35kms, 45 minutes.
Really good roads and there was minimal traffic.

* Patancheru to Omergaon : 192kms, 2 Hours 45 minutes.
Beautiful smooth roads by L&T. There was minimal traffic today.

* Omergaon to Maya hotel at Sawaleshwar : 99 kms, 2 hours 15 minutes.
Horrible roads throughout this stretch, Potholes of every size and shape. Roads 10kms before Solapur are acceptable and from Solapur they are brilliant till Pune.

* Sawaleshwar to Magaraptta city : 221kms, 3 hours 15 minutes.
Good roads, but a lot of tractors to look out for. Ensure you do not break any rules tons of cops waiting at Toll booths to stop you. We did not get stopped anywhere.

[binil]

We are planning to do Pune - Hyderabad - Kolhapur stretch during Christmas. Our plan is to take it easy as we will be traveling with our 2.5 years old daughter. We intend to start on 22nd Dec afternoon (around 3:00 PM) and take a night halt after 4-6 hrs driving and drive to Uppal the next day.
From the previous posts, it seems that the Solapur - Naldurg - Omerga stretch should be avoided and Solapur - Akkalkot - Aland - Gulbarga - Humnabad should be taken. Google maps keep showing the Omerga route as fastest though. My questions are
1. If we are able to start early on 22nd, would like to continue beyond Solapur. Is Gulbarga (or any other place on the way) recommended as a night halt place? Are their good, clean hotels?
2. I could see Google Map is showing a route to Naldurg via Tuljapur. Any idea about road condition of Solapur - Tuljapur - Naldurg stretch? Naldurg to Omerga is anyway bad.
3. We will be going to Uppal, how much city driving is involved? Do we go via ORR?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by binil

We are planning to do Pune - Hyderabad - Kolhapur stretch during Christmas. Our plan is to take it easy as we will be traveling with our 2.5 years old daughter. We intend to start on 22nd Dec afternoon (around 3:00 PM) and take a night halt after 4-6 hrs driving and drive to Uppal the next day.
From the previous posts, it seems that the Solapur - Naldurg - Omerga stretch should be avoided and Solapur - Akkalkot - Aland - Gulbarga - Humnabad should be taken. Google maps keep showing the Omerga route as fastest though. My questions are
1. If we are able to start early on 22nd, would like to continue beyond Solapur. Is Gulbarga (or any other place on the way) recommended as a night halt place? Are their good, clean hotels?

The only place with options to stay is Solapur(again not many good options,but yes there are hotels)Gulbarga etc,there are no good places to stay.My suggestion would be for you to start early on 23rd and reach Uppal for a late lunch (Dep by 4/5am arrival Uppal by 2-3pm).I have been travelling with my daughter from the time she was a 1yr old and kids generally do not have any problems(unless there are specific issues)

Originally Posted by binil

2. I could see Google Map is showing a route to Naldurg via Tuljapur. Any idea about road condition of Solapur - Tuljapur - Naldurg stretch? Naldurg to Omerga is anyway bad.

Not worth it IMO.

Originally Posted by binil

3. We will be going to Uppal, how much city driving is involved? Do we go via ORR?

It is better to take the ORR and exit at Ghatkesar onto the Warrangal highway and drive towards Uppal.Easier this way than driving through the messy city traffic,

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by binil

3. We will be going to Uppal, how much city driving is involved? Do we go via ORR?

The direct route from Patancheru to Uppal via JNTU in Kukatpally is around 41 kms, while the one via ORR is double the distance. Right now (noon time), Google estimates 90 minutes in either route. But if you reach during peak hours, the direct route will be painfully slow, especially as it passes through the main choke points of Hyderabad like JNTU, Begumpet, etc. But if you are reaching Hyderabad late night, the direct route may be better. It is your call.

I'd any day prefer the longer route via ORR.

[hyd_traveller]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The direct route from Patancheru to Uppal via JNTU in Kukatpally is around 41 kms, while the one via ORR is double the distance. Right now (noon time), Google estimates 90 minutes in either route. But if you reach during peak hours, the direct route will be painfully slow, especially as it passes through the main choke points of Hyderabad like JNTU, Begumpet, etc. But if you are reaching Hyderabad late night, the direct route may be better. It is your call.

I'd any day prefer the longer route via ORR.

No need to touch Begumpet.
Patancheru - Kukatpally - Kukatpally Y Junction - Balanagar - Bowenpally - Tarbund - Secunderabad - Mettuguda - Tarnaka - Uppal.
But yes. Kukatpally, Balanagar, Tarbund & Secunderabad will be choked in the evening traffic between 5:30pm and 8:30pm.

[binil]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

The direct route from Patancheru to Uppal via JNTU in Kukatpally is around 41 kms, while the one via ORR is double the distance. Right now (noon time), Google estimates 90 minutes in either route. But if you reach during peak hours, the direct route will be painfully slow, especially as it passes through the main choke points of Hyderabad like JNTU, Begumpet, etc. But if you are reaching Hyderabad late night, the direct route may be better. It is your call.

I'd any day prefer the longer route via ORR.

We too will prefer the longer route via ORR. Though we think that we will be reaching by mid-day on a Saturday, still it's easier to drive double the distance in same time.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by binil

We too will prefer the longer route via ORR. Though we think that we will be reaching by mid-day on a Saturday, still it's easier to drive double the distance in same time.

Wise decision.

Here's the story I got regarding alarming traffic on Saturday afternoon's when I moved to Hyderabad 15 years ago. I was told that most IT guys hang out late at pubs on Friday nights. They wake up late on Saturday, and then hit the roads for shopping and recreation just after 12 noon. Therefore Saturday afternoon traffic is as bad as regular weekdays.