[ShankarG]

Originally Posted by ampere

I would suggest the Jaipur option. Jaipur-Kishangarh-Chittorh-Neemuch-Ratlam-Lebad-Indore.

This is end to end 4-lane.

Thank you so much.

Any idea on the Jaipur - Kota - Ujjain - Indore stretch? Should this be preferred over via chittor (saves about 70Kms).

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by ShankarG

Thank you so much.

Any idea on the Jaipur - Kota - Ujjain - Indore stretch? Should this be preferred over via chittor (saves about 70Kms).

Not sure why are you considering this route. I did Greater Noida to Indore in June, the only bottle neck on that route was Shivpuri. IIRC, it took me 13 hrs to reach Indore, you can find my detailed post on Delhi-Mumbai: Route Queries thread.

[breezydrive]

We did Noida -Indore a few years ago! The route was Noida-Jaipur - Chittorgarh-Jaora - Ujjain- Indore.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by breezydrive

We did Noida -Indore a few years ago! The route was Noida-Jaipur - Chittorgarh-Jaora - Ujjain- Indore.

Thanks! This confirms my doubt. I was not sure of the Jarora-Nagda-Ujjain section. (Hence was suggesting the longer route via Ratlam/Lebad).

Ujjain-Indore of course is good.

[YD14]

Originally Posted by ShankarG

Thank you so much.

Any idea on the Jaipur - Kota - Ujjain - Indore stretch? Should this be preferred over via chittor (saves about 70Kms).

I can tell you about road upto Jhalawar which I have travelled on two times. The road is four lane and the surface is more or less perfect, with light to medium traffic at daytime. Though, almost half of the traffic consist of trucks and at night time, the traffic consists mainly of trucks.

[ShankarG]

Completed the Noida-Indore-Noida round trip yesterday.

Total distance: 820 kms one way
Toll charges: ~Rs.1200 one way
Route taken: Noida <>Agra<>Gwalior<>Shivpuri<>Dewas<>Indore

Updates
1. 95% of the road is super fantastic on the entire route.
2. Agra Gwalior stretch is little messy as reported by various other fellow bhpians as well. But it is manageable.
3. This road has a very limited passenger vehicle movement. Commercial vehicles is all you have to navigate.
4. There are just 3-4 decent food joints for family on the entire stretch on the route. Dhabas are in plenty and most of them have just truck drivers as customers. It would be better to carry home food and home tea/coffee as well.

Tips for travelers
1. If you follow Google maps from DEL-IDR stretch, it will recommend you to exit the Yamuna expressway at the mathura exit. Avoid that exit unless it is showing substantial time saving. Take the exit at the Yamuna Eway end that connects you to Agra Inner ring route. The former route will take you to single lane roads inside Agra city through a lot of city traffic.
2. Be extremely watchful of roaming bovines esp. between Guna and Biaora. They emerge from anywhere and come right in the middle of the highway. Any negligence can cost heavily.
3. Google maps will recommend traveling via. Dewas city showing all green roads. This is to be avoided and instead take the Dewas bye-pass.
4. For the IDR-DEL stretch, take the last exit to the Gwalior city (the road is under construction after that and hence you will hit a dead-end). Any exit before that will take you through poorly maintained single lane roads inside Gwalior town.
5. All toll plazas except Agra Inner ring road (Rs.35 one way), Dewas By-pass (Rs. 10 one way) and Yamuna Eway (Rs.415 one way for the full stretch) will accept Fastag. Keep the change handy.
6. If you see a decent food joint, don't wait for the next one and take a halt for bio breaks etc.. There are hardly any decent food joints or resorts the way we see on Delhi-Amritsar / Jaipur / Dehradun type stretch.

Some random clicks below:

[gulerianeeraj]

Originally Posted by ShankarG

Completed the Noida-Indore-Noida round trip yesterday.

Total distance: 820 kms one way
Toll charges: ~Rs.1200 one way
Route taken: Noida <>Agra<>Gwalior<>Shivpuri<>Dewas<>Indore

1. Thank you for the valuable inputs.
2. Can you clarify how much time did it took from Delhi to Gwalior and then Gwalior to Indore?
3. Can Delhi to Indore be done in one stretch or should we plan a halt somewhere in between?

[ShankarG]

Originally Posted by gulerianeeraj

1. Thank you for the valuable inputs.
2. Can you clarify how much time did it took from Delhi to Gwalior and then Gwalior to Indore?
3. Can Delhi to Indore be done in one stretch or should we plan a halt somewhere in between?

I did Delhi to Indore in a single day. Took me about 14 hours of driving with i think 4 breaks.

Delhi to Gwalior is 4 hours. Gwalior city traffic and roads were bad back then and it took us nearly one hour to exit. Can't say what's the situation now.
Gwalior to Indore was again ~5 hours + break time.

I don't see a challenge in covering the stretch in a single go. However make sure you are adequately rested throughout. Even if you feel slight fatigue, please take a halt / nap and then proceed. This road has a lot of cattle esp. after Gwalior and you must be 200% alert without any distractions. Good luck.

[metropolis]

Hello everyone,

I'm planning Delhi-Ujjain-Delhi soon.

Could someone here please suggest on the following:

1. Best possible route on both the ways.
2. Ideal place for halt between Delhi-Ujjain and Ujjain-Delhi (not keen on night driving).
3. Is it advisable to complete DL-Ujjain in a day?
4. Any other pointers to consider?

Thank you and have a safe drive!

[mayukh42]

Originally Posted by metropolis

Delhi-Ujjain-Delhi

1. Best possible route on both the ways.
2. Ideal place for halt between Delhi-Ujjain and Ujjain-Delhi (not keen on night driving).
3. Is it advisable to complete DL-Ujjain in a day?
4. Any other pointers to consider?

1. I can comment on the route via Agra since I drove Indore-Agra this month.

Indore-Dewas: bad surface, considerable potholes.
Dewas-Guna: good, concrete pavement
Guna-Shivpuri: bad surface with unavoidable potholes
Shivpuri-Gwalior (bypass): best surface of the stretch
Gwalior-Agra: more traffic but with flyovers/ dividers at Morena/ Dholpur, pretty fast stretch

As for the alternative via Jaipur, Google Maps is actually showing via the new Delhi-Mumbai expressway up to Chimanpura, then via Kota. But this stretch without the expressway part is not fully 4/6 laned, there are considerable stretches of 2 lane undivided roads. Whereas the route via Agra is completely divided lanes.

2. You can break at Gwalior. The Narayanam hotel is decent. Between Gwalior and Indore not much halt options, There is a MPTDC Motel at Biaora but is too close to your destination.

3. I won't suggest doing 850 kms a day as the road surface is not good throughout and with rains could deteriorate further.

4. Cow menace is not that big of a problem as made out to be in the forum for MP and UP, but one still needs to be careful and be ready to stop if required. Honk early if there is a truck who will change lanes on seeing a cow without looking back.

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by mayukh42

As for the alternative via Jaipur, Google Maps is actually showing via the new Delhi-Mumbai expressway up to Chimanpura, then via Kota. But this stretch without the expressway part is not fully 4/6 laned, there are considerable stretches of 2 lane undivided roads. Whereas the route via Agra is completely divided lanes.

I would prefer this route; want to avoid potholes to the best considering I drive a sedan. Thank you for the valuable insights bro.

If anyone else can throw light on Jaipur-Kota route please?

Also, any good place to stay in Ujjain?

Thank you.

[sach.sri]

Originally Posted by metropolis

I would prefer this route; want to avoid potholes to the best considering I drive a sedan. Thank you for the valuable insights bro.

If anyone else can throw light on Jaipur-Kota route please?

Also, any good place to stay in Ujjain?

Thank you.

I took this route on a recent trip from Gurgaon to Ujjain. the road conditions are top class. I drove the whole way in one shot. Started at 6:30 pm in the evening from Gurgaon and reached Ujjain at around 4.30am in the morning, with around 1 hr brk in between.

I you start early you can break in Kota - there are some nice places to see in and around Kota if you want to spend some time there. There is also Bundi with a very awesome fort that you can visit.

We stayed in a hotel called Hotel Abika Elite. It was a decent place with stilt parking inside their boundaries.

[vina]

Originally Posted by sach.sri

I took this route on a recent trip from Gurgaon to Ujjain. the road conditions are top class. I drove the whole way in one shot. Started at 6:30 pm in the evening from Gurgaon and reached Ujjain at around 4.30am in the morning, with around 1 hr brk in between.

I you start early you can break in Kota - there are some nice places to see in and around Kota if you want to spend some time there. There is also Bundi with a very awesome fort that you can visit.

We stayed in a hotel called Hotel Abika Elite. It was a decent place with stilt parking inside their boundaries.

I'm thinking of doing Ghaziabad-Bangalore later this year; this information is very helpful

[metropolis]

Originally Posted by metropolis

I would prefer this route; want to avoid potholes to the best considering I drive a sedan. Thank you for the valuable insights bro.

If anyone else can throw light on Jaipur-Kota route please?

Also, any good place to stay in Ujjain?

Thank you.

Update:
Completed the entire trip without any day breaks and took the NE4 highway which was fine.

Started at 6am and was at Ujjain sharp 6pm with an hour of three breaks including refueling.

The entire stretch is a breeze to drive. Only issue faced was while coming back to take the NE4 that is closed at the moment. Had to drive back to Lalsot for another 90 km to join the expressway that took another three hours to reach Delhi.

Overall, an amazing experience of 48 hours.

Cheers!

[bimal_67]

Finished a Delhi - Indore - Mhow - Ujjain - Delhi trip last weekend. This was my second drive to Indore in a year. During the previous trip Indore was halt point on the way to Shirdi. Splits for this trip are as indicated below: -

Day 1: Delhi - Mhow (via Indore)

Route : Delhi - Gurugram - thereafter DME NE4 (exit at Kustala toll) - NH 552/148D - Join NH 52 at Hindoli cut - Kota bypass - Jalrapatan - 148N to Ujjain - Dewas bypass - Indore Bypass - Mhow.

Distance : 832 Kms to Mhow

Journey time : 13h 45 m with driving time of 12h 10m. Average speed 68.4 kmph. Drive started at 0530hrs.

Road conditions : NE4 is getting crowded and remnants of two accidents could be seen. There is no toll from Lalsot to Kustala exit as the facilities are yet to open up though the roads are open. Heavy vehicles are not permitted in this stretch. The road from Sawai Madhopur after the Kustala exit to Hindoli cut in NH 52 is in excellent condition. Traffic is sparse, with practically no heavy vehicles. Kota bypass was a breeze and with luck on our side to clear the traffic hurdle near the Mukandara Tiger Reserve - Dara Railway overbridge, we could make good time. The road from Jalrapatan to Ujjain is also in good condition, but there is intermittent traffic especially around populated areas of Soyat Kalan, Susner and Agar. Ujjain was expected to be crowded, and getting into the Ujjain Ring Road smoothly is the key. Thereafter the road to Dewas and bypass are excellent. Indore Bypass was also crowded with evening traffic. The roads leading to Mhow after Indore from NH 52 are full of speed breakers.

Day 2 : Mhow - Ujjain - Mhow. Day was kept aside for Ujjain Mahakal pilgrimage, shopping, sight seeing and family time with relatives at Mhow.

Day 3 : Mhow - Delhi

Route : Mhow - Indore - Ujjain - 148N to Jalrapatan - NH 52 - Kota Bypass and continue on NH 52 to Hindoli cut - NH 552/148D to Sawai Madhopur and take DME NE4 at Kustala toll - Sohna Exit - Gurugram - Delhi

Distance : 816 Kms to Delhi

Journey time : 13h 40 m with driving time of 11h 30m. Average speed 70.6 kmph. Drive started at 0530hrs.

Road Conditions : As in the onward leg, the journey started at 0530hrs. Mhow to NH52 is not in good condition as mentioned before. Being early morning time, decided to follow Google maps which guided right through Indore city being of shorter distance and then again through Ujjain. Got out easily with very little traffic. A word of advise on early morning drives through MP where many shops open only later than 0930 hrs, is to carry some breakfast OR to locate confirmed shops well in advance on the map. This was the experience on our previous and this trip. The stretch from Hindoli cut to the Kustala toll entry is a lovely driving experience with absolutely nil heavy traffic. Maybe once the stretch from Sawai Madhopur to Lalsot becomes fully operational, heavy traffic might increase in this stretch also. Exited back at Sohna exit and into Gurugram evening traffic though we got through before the traffic peaked. A special mention of the MacDonald's which has opened in the return side at Dighariya Tappa Rest point. It is extremely crowded and the problem appears to be the preparation speed not being able to cope up with the ordering speed. Customers can order by themselves and need not go up to the counter to do so. It is an experience than can be given a miss till the situation improves.

Overall a good driving experience on this pilgrimage trip!