[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Dr.AD

Will this work too?

Am told the direct route to Ausa from Omerga is in tatters. Google shows this in orange and red, so best avoided.

The route I took is this. Google shows a different road when I reverse the source and destination. The link shows Ujani as destination, for Osmanabad you have to turn left towards Tuljapur to get to Osmanabad.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by narayans80

The route I took is this. Google shows a different road when I reverse the source and destination. The link shows Ujani as destination, for Osmanabad you have to turn left towards Tuljapur to get to Osmanabad.

Great! Thanks a lot for the detailed tips. I will take this route you showed. I will report back here how it goes.

I think I will try this route (via Hyderabad) to go and take the Vijayapura-Hospet-Chitradurga route to come back to Bangalore. That will make it a loop drive, and I will get know both the routes. :-)

[RohanDeshmukh]

A quick glance on the map shows a huge "red" before Naldurg at 16:30 hours IST. I am considering taking a detour to Akkalkot and avoid this patch altogether. Will it be a good idea?

[SUBRU]

Gmaps is suggesting Vijayapura-Pandharpur-Pune as the default option. Is this good or would it be better to travel to Solapur and then take the Solapur-Pune highway?

Since I could not locate a separate thread for this route, I am posting it here as it is only a small detour from Pune-Hyderabad highway.

[dpkbehera]

I am planning to do the Hyderabad Pune route tomorrow. Google maps recommends the standard route (9 Hrs 25 min) at 6:45 am . Any recent feedback on this route would be appreciated. Any nasty surprises apart from the Naldurg Sholapur section?

[RohanDeshmukh]

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

I am planning to do the Hyderabad Pune route tomorrow. Google maps recommends the standard route (9 Hrs 25 min) at 6:45 am . Any recent feedback on this route would be appreciated. Any nasty surprises apart from the Naldurg Sholapur section?

Have a safe trip. Please update route information once you reach. Thanks!

[bj96]

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

I am planning to do the Hyderabad Pune route tomorrow...

Me too. Planning to start around 530am and stick to nh65 all through. Known devil is better than unknown especially after rains. Other than Naldurg Omerga section, this route is expected to be fine.

-BJ

[udaygk77]

Done this route y'day, around 5.30AM got stuck for 30mins at HPCL plant n hadapsar...huge jam due to an accident of 2 lorries where in entry to pune side got completely blocked lorry over turned on road.

Solapur to Karnataka border 90kms took 100mins....almost 70-80% 4 laning is done and to me it looked like all the way from Pune to HYD is on 4 lane now ( fe sections of single lane might not be more than 10-20kms),when compared to 2 yrs back kind of situation. Even 2 toll gates are being built in the 90kms Solapur to Omerga section whi ch means in few months it will be complete toll road.

[dpkbehera]

Originally Posted by RohanDeshmukh

Have a safe trip. Please update route information once you reach. Thanks!

Unfortunately dropped the plan and took a train. The decision was swayed by the bad weather forecast due to cyclonic kaar which ultimately did not have much impact.

[Dr.AD]

I completed this drive (Bangalore-Osmanabad and back) in my 3-series, thankfully without any issue. I stopped at Hyderabad on both ways, and thus, did Hyderabad-Osmanabad sections both ways.

The section near Naldurg continues to be bad, but it is not such a major deal-breaker that anyone should cancel their plans or find alternatives. If you take this road in daylight, and if you are careful, this is manageable. Of course, it needs a lot of patience.

It helped me a lot that the weather was dry there, and it did not rain. I can imagine the road would be much worse when it rains, and the huge potholes on the diversions (which are otherwise manageable in dry conditions) would become very difficult to manage when there is water. So in summary, I would not recommend this route at all in dark, or when it rains. In daylight and in dry conditions, this is manageable. Please don't take this after sunset.

Originally Posted by narayans80

There's a Dalimb-Lohara detour that I had taken driving Hyderabad from Ujani, that I've written here (Hyderabad - Shirdi : Route Queries). This joins Tuljapur-Ausa 4-lane and Tuljapur-Osmanabad is 4-laned too.

Thanks again for your suggestion. I followed this while going from Hyderabad to Osmanabad. This section is certainly better than Naldurga section, but I found this road to be very patchy, with some potholes here and there, and the top surface broken down causing a very choppy ride throughout. Had to be slow and patient throughout. At some points, it goes through villages and becomes quite narrow.

Originally Posted by nitinralli

Go ahead with your plan 3 series would be able to do it. I have seen few Audis crossing that section. Just cover that stretch in day light and keep your eyes open.

Thanks again. Your assessment was spot on. Given that the weather was dry, decided to take the usual Naldurga road while returning. And the car made it fine. Of course, I had to be very careful over those nasty diversions and non-existent roads. But at crawling speeds, and watching every pothole carefully, the car made it without a scratch!

And as others pointed out, there are almost no facilities (except for some very basic dhabas for trucks) on this section. Finding clean restrooms on this road is a major challenge.

[RohanDeshmukh]

I too completed my Pune-Hyderabad-Pune trip last week.
Wonderful city, Hyderabad is.

Completely agree with what Dr.AD mentioned above. Also about our loo-breaks, we unabashedly used the loos on the Petrol Pumps, without actually re-fueling at them. They were definitely clean and well-maintained.

[srikar27]

Hello People,

I do plan to travel with my kids on this route. Any pointers for good eat outs on this route will be appreciated.

[jayded]

Originally Posted by RohanDeshmukh

I too completed my Pune-Hyderabad-Pune trip last week.
Wonderful city, Hyderabad is.

Completely agree with what Dr.AD mentioned above. Also about our loo-breaks, we unabashedly used the loos on the Petrol Pumps, without actually re-fueling at them. They were definitely clean and well-maintained.

Hi,

How is the overall road condition? Especially around Naldurg-Solapur? Planning to drive to Lonavala from Hyderabad in 2 days.

[RohanDeshmukh]

Naldurg-Omerga road condition is not great. Drive carefully on this small stretch of 10 Kms. Beware of big deep potholes. Drive during day, so that you see them.
Rest of the road is in a great condition. Refer to Dr.AD's detailed review above

[mrinalnanda]

Hello,
Is it recommendable to travel from Pune to Hyderabad (starting at around 3 AM) along NH65 (the standard route)?
Could anybody please comment on the road conditions, lighting and traffic at that point of time?

Thanks!