[drive.click]

I recently traveled from Pune to Nagpur as part of my travel to Kanha National Park.

For travel from Pune to Kanha - I used the route - Pune - Nagar- Aurangabad-Jalna- Mehkar- Dongao - Karanja- Amaravati - Nagpur - Kanha

• Pune to Nagar - Four lane road is good but has traffic and thus if you dont leave early morning then the progress can be slow but road conditions are good.
• Nagar to Aurangabad - Less traffic but then the road isn't smooth all the way, there are various patches with surface undulations but still you can maintain 80-100 kmph
• Aurangabad to Jalna - The four lane road condition is similar to that of Nagar-Aurangabad. You can maintain good speed but some sudden bad patch is there
• Jalna to Mehkar and Dongaon - Its a two lane road but has smooth surface you can maintain good speed (however there could be truck traffic - while going since we went on the next day of Diwali we got empty roads
• Dongaon to Karanja - This road is the worst completely broken roads with big craters and you are frustrated. This situation continues till you reach near Karanja - this road may be only 50 kms but can easily take about 1.5 to 2 hrs. You are mentally tired
• Karanja to Amravati / Nagpur - The best routes all cement roads and you can maintain 100+ kmph throughout

For my return travel I took some detour in order to avoid the Karanja-Dongaon road and also to visit the Lonar lake.

Kanha - Nagpur - Amravati -Karanja - Mangrulpir- Washim- Risod-Lonar -Bibi-Jalna-Aurangabad- Pune
Here I will try to explain the road condition of changed route

• Karanja to Washim - Fantastic newly laid cement road, you can maintain throughout 100+ Kmph. Thousand times better than Karanja Dongaon.
• Washim to Risod - This road is 80% good with smooth surface where you can maintain good 80 Kmph. There are two stretches of approx 5 Kms each where complete new road is getting build hence a dirt track is to be used just parallel to new road construction. This slows you down but still better than Dongaon - Karanja road. So I will prefer this.
• Risod to Lonar - This is a very good road
• Lonar to Bibi / Sultanpur - The roads from Lonar to come back to Nagpur -Aurangabad highway could be narrow but all smooth. Need to be careful with google maps here it can take you via very small villages with really narrow roads

The route via Lonar-Washim-Mangrulpir can add about 30 Kms more to travel but I think its better to take it as it can give you a lot of peace of mind. You can avoid the worst stretch of normal route.

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by drive.click

Dongaon to Karanja - This road is the worst completely broken roads with big craters and you are frustrated. This situation continues till you reach near Karanja - this road may be only 50 kms but can easily take about 1.5 to 2 hrs. You are mentally tired

Calling this a road is overstatement. I came day before yesterday and cars and trucks were literally stopping to a halt, assessing the craters and then crawling past them. Utter disgrace. Worse is the fact that Dongaon is border of Washim and Buldhana district so it is abundantly clear that roads are bad because one district has lined pockets with money instead of laying tarmac.

Karanja - Mangrulpir- Washim- Risod-Lonar -Bibi

I did two variations of this route.

1. Mehkar-Risod-Washim-Karanja - Mehkar to Risod is pretty empty stretch with few bad patches while rest is good village road.

2. Karanja-Washim-Malegaon Jh-Mehkar - Washim to Malegaon Jh is a four lane concrete road in progress so there are several diversions. However, this still leaves the task of navigating Mehkar to Dongaon.

Also, just to add for benefit of others, there is a railway over-bridge in progress at Washim which slows down progress.

[AkshatR]

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

I did two variations of this route.

1. Mehkar-Risod-Washim-Karanja - Mehkar to Risod is pretty empty stretch with few bad patches while rest is good village road.

2. Karanja-Washim-Malegaon Jh-Mehkar - Washim to Malegaon Jh is a four lane concrete road in progress so there are several diversions. However, this still leaves the task of navigating Mehkar to Dongaon.

Also, just to add for benefit of others, there is a railway over-bridge in progress at Washim which slows down progress.

Ksameer, which one would you recommend? I would be doing Nagpur - Pune on Saturday.

Google shows the variation 1(in reverse) as 20 min /24km longer and variation 2 to be 30min / 29km longer than the crater prone standard route . I get that some bit of the extra time would be due to the Washim over-bridge work you have mentioned

[ksameer1234]

Originally Posted by AkshatR

Ksameer, which one would you recommend? I would be doing Nagpur - Pune on Saturday.

Regardless of the route you take, come straight up till Washim, the road is spotless till there. Options after Washim are like choosing between rock and hard place, I don't know if there exists any good road between Washim and Mehkar.

I would suggest you drive upto Risod from Washim and then continue to Mehkar. Please be aware, about 20 kms of these 70 kms of Washim-Risod-Mehkar are broken but to give a perspective of conditions, a sedan should be able to avoid scraping of these stretches.

Another reason for suggesting this route is exponential increase in number of cars on main route coupled with numerous trailers. Last week, villagers in Kenwad decided to dig up the roads leaving space only vehicles to pass in one direction. This led to about 30 mins lost time. Alternate route has hardly any traffic so far safer in case of such eventualities.

Google shows the variation 1(in reverse) as 20 min /24km longer and variation 2 to be 30min / 29km longer than the crater prone standard route . I get that some bit of the extra time would be due to the Washim over-bridge work you have mentioned

Don't go by the maps prediction for time, standard route is faster only if you drive past very early in morning or may be late in night.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by AkshatR

Ksameer, which one would you recommend? I would be doing Nagpur - Pune on Saturday.

Google shows the variation 1(in reverse) as 20 min /24km longer and variation 2 to be 30min / 29km longer than the crater prone standard route . I get that some bit of the extra time would be due to the Washim over-bridge work you have mentioned

Hi Akshat.

I have travelled Pune - Amravati 3-4 times and Pune - Raipur twice in past, before 2019. I visited this thread after long time and I am sad to read about the pathetic road condition between Mehkar and Karanja. I used to encounter a few bad patches in this section and in Jalna - Mehkar section too (near Jalna). But it was never this bad.

The standard route via Karanja - Malegaon Jahangir - Mehakar is 709 km. Why don't you assess the feasibility of Nagpur - Nanded - Parbhani - Ahmednagar - Pune route, which is 778 km long?

[tp_dominator]

Did Bilaspur - Pune last Thursday and followed the Amravati - Karanja - Mehkar - Jalna route. While coming from Pune, this stretch was covered earlier in the day and I don't recall the nightmarish stetch between Mehkar and Karanja but while returning I was flabbergasted. The road was totally pathetic and it took a lot of time due to the traffic and bad roads to cover the stretch between Amravati and Jalna. I did a marathon drive and covered the stretch in 19.5 hours including stops and also got a challan on the stretch between Karanja and Mehkar despite being very careful.

I think this stretch needs to be tackled in the early hours to avoid the traffic and maintain your pace if not planning to take any alternate route. I reckon after this journey, Pune to Bilaspur is doable in a day but not the return journey since one will hit this stretch in the afternoon if starting early. I left my home in Bilaspur at 4 AM and was at my home in Pune by 11.30 PM and also encountered heavy traffic at Shikrapur on the Shikrapur - Chakan turn.

[AkshatR]

Originally Posted by drive.click

For my return travel I took some detour in order to avoid the Karanja-Dongaon road and also to visit the Lonar lake.

Kanha - Nagpur - Amravati -Karanja - Mangrulpir- Washim- Risod-Lonar -Bibi-Jalna-Aurangabad- Pune
Here I will try to explain the road condition of changed route

• Karanja to Washim - Fantastic newly laid cement road, you can maintain throughout 100+ Kmph. Thousand times better than Karanja Dongaon.
• Washim to Risod - This road is 80% good with smooth surface where you can maintain good 80 Kmph. There are two stretches of approx 5 Kms each where complete new road is getting build hence a dirt track is to be used just parallel to new road construction. This slows you down but still better than Dongaon - Karanja road. So I will prefer this.
• Risod to Lonar - This is a very good road
• Lonar to Bibi / Sultanpur - The roads from Lonar to come back to Nagpur -Aurangabad highway could be narrow but all smooth. Need to be careful with google maps here it can take you via very small villages with really narrow roads

The route via Lonar-Washim-Mangrulpir can add about 30 Kms more to travel but I think its better to take it as it can give you a lot of peace of mind. You can avoid the worst stretch of normal route.

Originally Posted by ksameer1234

Regardless of the route you take, come straight up till Washim, the road is spotless till there. Options after Washim are like choosing between rock and hard place, I don't know if there exists any good road between Washim and Mehkar.

I would suggest you drive upto Risod from Washim and then continue to Mehkar. Please be aware, about 20 kms of these 70 kms of Washim-Risod-Mehkar are broken but to give a perspective of conditions, a sedan should be able to avoid scraping of these stretches.

Did Nagpur Pune today. started at 4am and had crossed Wagholi at around 4.30-4.45pm which includes some short stops and a photo op at Lonar Crater

Combined the routes suggested by @drive.click and @ksameer and took the below:

Nagpur - Amravati -Karanja - Washim- Risod-Lonar -Kingaon Jattu-Dusarbid-S.ked Raja-Jalna-Aurangabad- Pune

sharing details of the highlighted section.

• Karanja-Washim: Similar to the newly laid Kamargaon road and the delight starts moment you give the right turn towards Shelu Bazar a miss. to me it looked like it's essentially a Amravati-Washim road. we could we people exercising on this stretch and may cyclists
• Washim bypass seemed to be under construction. The road where the ROB is being constructed was bad
• Washim- Risod: This 40km distance was the worse than the Karanja-Dongaon patch for 50% of the distance including the dirt track Sameer mentioned. Slowest part of the journey (especially after the cement track to Washim)
• Risod-Lonar Lake: Good 40km Stretch.
• Lonar-Kingaon Jattu-Dusarbid (Skipping bibi): very Good 30km scenic 2 lane tar stretch. Hardly any traffic until you hit the Nagpur-Aurangabad rd couple of Kms before Dusarbid. Google doesn't recognise this road (was hell bent on taking me to Bibi) and hence it was the good old navigation via local Samaritans helped me discover this route)
  Once we were on the Nagpur- Aurangabad road, we were jolted back to the reality of heavy truck/ trailer traffic.
  overall as Sameer said faster or not, it was a less taxing route for sure with the visit to a UNESCO recognised site a bargain.

Drove through Aurangabad and Nagar and skipped the bypass. Not sure what the bypass road conditions are as we got some traffic in both cities/towns. Google Maps for some reason did not suggest the bypass (Jalna included) on ways

[profcalculux]

How was the ride till Nagpur? Did you take the below mentioned route?
I am doing Thane-Nagpur-Kolkata-Guwahati and back the same way.
Thane to Nagpur leg is planned for a morning-evening drive. So looking at good road suggestions that will now kill my speed.
TIA

Originally Posted by AkshatR

I am doing this route this weekend. based on the above, looks like Pune-Aurangabad-Jalna-Mehkar-Karanja-Amravati is going to be the one.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by profcalculux

How was the ride till Nagpur? Did you take the below mentioned route?
I am doing Thane-Nagpur-Kolkata-Guwahati and back the same way.
Thane to Nagpur leg is planned for a morning-evening drive. So looking at good road suggestions that will now kill my speed.
TIA

Since you are starting from Thane, do consider Thane - Nasik - Dhule - Akola - Amravati - Nagpur route. Dhule to Amravati will be slower than Thane to Dhule. But I think it will save you from horrible roads between Jalna and Karanja.

[profcalculux]

Thanks Rahul. I have mapped as per your suggestion. Seems Dhule to Khamgaon is single lane and will take 5+ hours appx. I saw the Google Satellite images.

https://goo.gl/maps/NHufkrchWhVTLT1T7

Please suggest if the above map is okay.

Originally Posted by AkshatR

I am doing this route this weekend. based on the above, looks like Pune-Aurangabad-Jalna-Mehkar-Karanja-Amravati is going to be the one.

Originally Posted by Rahul Bhalgat

Since you are starting from Thane, do consider Thane - Nasik - Dhule - Akola - Amravati - Nagpur route. Dhule to Amravati will be slower than Thane to Dhule. But I think it will save you from horrible roads between Jalna and Karanja.

[AkshatR]

Originally Posted by profcalculux

Thanks Rahul. I have mapped as per your suggestion. Seems Dhule to Khamgaon is single lane and will take 5+ hours appx. I saw the Google Satellite images.

https://goo.gl/maps/NHufkrchWhVTLT1T7

Please suggest if the above map is okay.

I don't have any clue of the road conditions on the above map, except that it's a 2 lane road. My friend from Mumbai drive to Nagpur as below:
Mumbai-Pune by-pass (Talegaon exit at the expressway)-Nagar-Aurangabad (night halt)-Mehkar-Karanja-Amravati-Nagpur.

the road conditions of this have been described in this tread

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by profcalculux

Thanks Rahul. I have mapped as per your suggestion. Seems Dhule to Khamgaon is single lane and will take 5+ hours appx. I saw the Google Satellite images.

https://goo.gl/maps/NHufkrchWhVTLT1T7

Please suggest if the above map is okay.

Yes, I had already told you that Dhule - Amravati will be slower than Thane - Dhule. But at least it will save your mood and your car from those horrible roads. And it won't be longer than Jalna - Mehkar - Karanja route.

Here is another option:
Thane - Mumbai Pune expressway - Talegaon - Shikrapur - Ahmednagar - Aurangabad - Jalna - Deulgaon Raja - Chikhli - Khamgaon - Shegaon - Daryapur - Amravati - Nagpur.

Jalna - Deulgaon Raja - Khamgaon will also be single lane road but lesser traffic and more peace of mind compared to Jalna - Mehkar - Karanja. One Mr. Alok Kelkar has taken this route on 02nd Nov 2020 and he has given a positive opinion about this route on Quora.

https://www.quora.com/How-long-does-..._ans=239360452

[autoweirdo]

A quick update from my friend who did Pune Nagpur route yesterday.
Start time: 5am (Baner)
Destination time: 5pm (AIIMS)
Route - Pune - Aurangabad- Jalna- Khamgaon - Shegaon - Daryapur - Amravati - Nagpur

Pune to Jalna roads are good. Jalna Khamgaon road condition is good with very less truck traffic, only issue 2 wheelers coming from wrong side. Shegaon to Amravati road is being cemented hence will face some traffic specially in small towns, but hardly any traffic. Post Amravati excellent road.

Best advantage of this route - no toll till Amravati.

[ritzy]

Just returned back to Pune after doing about 2200 kms to and around Nagpur - in Vidarbha.

As suggested earlier, while going to Amravati and then Nagpur, I went through Dusarbid - kingaon Jattu- Risod- Washim -Amravati. The road from Dusarbid all the way to Lonar and onwards to Risod is awesome. It has some great scenic landscape. Stopped for a few pics at Lonar crater also.

Risod to Washim is a road under construction and is the worst patch in this route. It should be okay in a month's time when the work is over. Washim to Karanja is flat cement road with great visibility. Good speed can be attained and maintained on this patch.

While returning, I had to come through Akola due to some personal work. Amravati to Akola is best done via Daryapur. It's a new road with very less traffic. It tempts you to press the accelerator harder.
The road after Khamgaon to Jalna via Chikhli is 70-80 % 4 lane cement road and very less traffic. I would prefer this route over jalna-karnja-Amravati route in future.

[abhi_tjet]

Planning a trip to home this weekend(Raipur). For Pune -Nagpur, as advised by Bhpians, Mehkar to Karanja via Shelu Bazar and Malegaon Jgr. should be avoided. Any latest updates on this for 2021?
Is Mehkar - Risod a decent route if I should avoid the above mentioned route?