[kabir3551]

Contd.....

Left turn from Karanja Bypass


Improved road condition after Kamargaon


Slight Bad Road

Amravati By Pass Road


Amravati Bypass Road


Merging onto NH53


Halt @Hoel Gauri Inn


After crossing the bad section of the highway we merged onto AH46. We took the Amravati Bypass road. We had planned a halt for lunch at Gauri Inn, Amravati. The said hotel is located on the highway itself. The road condition of the Amaravati by pass was too good. Finally, I was able to smile happily and enjoy the superb road. The confidence level in the car had increased and there was completely different energy in the atmosphere within the car. We took halt at Gauri Inn hotel. We ordered food. I was really disappointed and let down by the quality of the food served to us. The Panner Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken ordered by us were very sweet. I had never eaten such sweet Paneer Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken till now. The energy dipped due to the poor quality of food. We again continued towards Nagpur and made sure that, we will never visit Gauri Inn hotel again. Now we started from Gauri Inn, Amravati for Le Meridian, Nagpur. We paid at the toll plaza. This was the first paid toll plaza in our journey. The butter smooth road continued till the Nagpur Bypass. We took right turn for the Nagpur Bypass. After few kms the road condition of the bypass drastically changed. I cannot even call the road worst. Worst would be understatement. After crossing SEZ Road onto the Airport Road, we reached Hotel Le Meridian at 6.37pm.

Merged onto AH46


1st Toll Plaza



Amravati Nagpur Road



Amravati Nagpur Road



Nagpur Bypass Road



Poor Bypass Road



Poor Bypass Road



SEZ Road



Airport Road




21st May 2017- Nagpur – Bhandara – Rajnandgaon – Durg – Bhillai – Raipur.

On 21st May 2017, the last leg of our journey from Pune to Raipur started. It was Nagpur – Bhandara – Rajnandgaon – Durg – Bhillai – Raipur. The road which we left from Amaravati to Nagpur continued all the way till Raipur. The road was too good. I always maintained speed of 100-105 km/hr on other roads, whereas on Mumbai - Pune Expressway I drove sometimes touching 120 km/hr. The confidence on Mumbai – Pune Expressway is all together different. I have Innova so I don’t think of taking it beyond 110 km/hr. It is always advisable to be careful when the entire family is with you. Certainly on the said road one can touch 120 km/hr, however, it is better to avoid it. We took a halt for lunch at Roop Resort, Sirpur. The said hotel is truly value for money. Food was excellent. It certainly erased the bitter taste of Gauri Inn. If you are on the said route it is advisable to have a halt at the said hotel. It is located before the Maharashtra-Chattisgarh Border. From Bhandara to Durg there are some stretch of may be 4-5kms of road which are not having dividers and it is really scenic. It is like a wildlife sanctuary. There are signals of wildlife animals crossing.


Exit from Le Meridian



Mumbai – Kolkata Highway



Merged onto AH46



Mumbai – Kolkata Highway


Toll Booth on Mumbai – Kolkata Highway.


Patch work in progress


Bhandara Bypass


Beautiful Road


Maharashtra-Chattisgarh Border/Check Post


Chattisgarh Road


Chattisgarh Road


Rajnandgaon Road


Durg By Pass

[kabir3551]

Bhillai Road


Entry to Raipur


Finally we reached Raipur at around 5pm. The road was good and I thoroughly enjoyed the drive. This was my third long drive. The first road trip started in December 2015 for Goa, May 2016 for Mysore and Ooty and May 2017 for Raipur. The fun and pleasure of a road trip will only be understood by the one who enjoys driving and is passionate about driving. Total distance covered 1008 kms. Enjoyed driving on beautiful roads and bad roads. Experienced that one should be prepared for the good and the bad also. If there is good then there is bad and when there is bad then the value of good is known. Thanks alot.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by kabir3551

Hello friends. I had requested for inputs from the members of this thread as I had planned for a trip from Pune to Raipur. I had planned for Pune to Raipur trip commencing from 19th May 2017 -28th May 2017.

Hi Kabir, am planning a trip from Pune - Nagpur next week.
Went through your detailed photologue. Thanks for sharing.

Had few queries, if you can help with them:

• Would you suggest the same route as you had taken from Pune to Nagpur, with monsoon still hovering around?

• I noticed that you suggested to enter Ahmadnagar city but to bypass Aurangabad. Was this due to the specific time of the day that you reached these places, or this is a standard directive for all seasons given the road conditions/traffic etc?

I intend to undertake the entire Pune-Nagpur trip (Google Maps says about 725 kms) in one day itself, since I am accustomed to daily long driving (850km+) with family, after having done Pune-Bhopal trips 2 times in the last year or so.

[kabir3551]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Hi Kabir, am planning a trip from Pune - Nagpur next week.
Went through your detailed photologue. Thanks for sharing.

Had few queries, if you can help with them:

• Would you suggest the same route as you had taken from Pune to Nagpur, with monsoon still hovering around?

• I noticed that you suggested to enter Ahmadnagar city but to bypass Aurangabad. Was this due to the specific time of the day that you reached these places, or this is a standard directive for all seasons given the road conditions/traffic etc?

I intend to undertake the entire Pune-Nagpur trip (Google Maps says about 725 kms) in one day itself, since I am accustomed to daily long driving (850km+) with family, after having done Pune-Bhopal trips 2 times in the last year or so.

Hi JoshMachine. First Query- I would advice you to stick with the google map route. Take the same route taken by me. The road after Jalna till Amravati is not that great. Two lanes. Monsoon may have taken toll on the road.

Second Query- I guess there was a by pass but I refrained taking it. It would be best to enter city. If you are going to do Pune-Nagpur then you will cross Ahmednagar in the morning. Since your family is traveling with you I would advice to have break journey, since road after Jalna till Amravati is not good, it is doable. Also you need to check if there is any good hotel after Jalna. If you halt in Jalna then there is Saffron Hotel. You can try that.

If you are doing Pune-Nagpur in one day, I would advice an early start of 3.30am or 4pm. So even if you take 12-14 hours, you will reach before sunset.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

I noticed that you suggested to enter Ahmadnagar city but to bypass Aurangabad.
I intend to undertake the entire Pune-Nagpur trip (Google Maps says about 725 kms) in one day itself, since I am accustomed to daily long driving (850km+) with family, after having done Pune-Bhopal trips 2 times in the last year or so.

Avoid the Nagar bypass. Its a bad road and full of trucks. Plus its longer by few
kms.

I would suggest keep your options open to do a night halt at Amravati. Just keep a list of hotels handy and contact them on the way if you feel tired and want to rest for the night.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by kabir3551

. The road after Jalna till Amravati is not that great. Two lanes. Monsoon may have taken toll on the road.

Thanks, how much approx of this stretch between Jalna and Amravati is not good? And typically how long would it take to cover this?

Second Query- I guess there was a by pass but I refrained taking it. It would be best to enter city. If you are going to do Pune-Nagpur then you will cross Ahmednagar in the morning. Since your family is traveling with you I would advice to have break journey, since road after Jalna till Amravati is not good, it is doable. Also you need to check if there is any good hotel after Jalna. If you halt in Jalna then there is Saffron Hotel. You can try that.

If you are doing Pune-Nagpur in one day, I would advice an early start of 3.30am or 4pm. So even if you take 12-14 hours, you will reach before sunset.

Thanks for all the tips, Kabir.
Yes, like my previous long trips I intend to start early.

Would you know if someone in this forum has travelled Pune-Nagpur in one day? Distance wise, it doesn't look much hence asking.

Originally Posted by freedom

Avoid the Nagar bypass. Its a bad road and full of trucks. Plus its longer by few
kms.

I would suggest keep your options open to do a night halt at Amravati. Just keep a list of hotels handy and contact them on the way if you feel tired and want to rest for the night.

Sure, thanks freedom. When you enter Ahmadnagar city, are there clear directions to exit the city and move towards Aurangabad, which would be the next logical destination in my trip to Nagpur?
I intend to try and reach Nagpur the same day. So let's see.

[freedom]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

Sure, thanks freedom. When you enter Ahmadnagar city, are there clear directions to exit the city and move towards Aurangabad, which would be the next logical destination in my trip to Nagpur?

Just as you approach Nagar (about 10 km before) you will see markings to turn for the "Bahya valan Marg" (bypass) ignore the boards and continue straight for Nagar town.
Once in Nagar town look for signboards to Aurangabad. its a pretty straight forward route. Just follow Google Maps and ask around for directions to Aurangabad if you get lost in Nagar city.

There are a lot of food joints near the turn off for Nagar bypass. Nagar to Aurangabad also has a few descent road side hotels.

Once you cross Aurangabad I didn't see many joints. Jalna to Mehkar also has very few options.

If you start at 430 ish, take a brunch break in Aurangabad and then take the next food break at Mehkar.

Lots of petrol pumps on the highways so no need to worry about fuel and toilet breaks.

I did a Marathwada trip last year end. Though I only travelled to Lonar, you can use the details for your reference for Pune-Mehkar part of your trip.
Check this travelogue

Originally Posted by freedom

The plan

27th - Pune-Aurangabad
28th - Aurangabad-Verul(Ellora)
29th - Verul-Ajantha
30th - Ajantha-Lonar
31st - Lonar-Pune

All the best for your trip!

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by freedom

Just as you approach Nagar (about 10 km before) you will see markings to turn for the "Bahya valan Marg" (bypass) ignore the boards and continue straight for Nagar town.
Once in Nagar town look for signboards to Aurangabad. its a pretty straight forward route. Just follow Google Maps and ask around for directions to Aurangabad if you get lost in Nagar city.

There are a lot of food joints near the turn off for Nagar bypass. Nagar to Aurangabad also has a few descent road side hotels.

Once you cross Aurangabad I didn't see many joints. Jalna to Mehkar also has very few options.

If you start at 430 ish, take a brunch break in Aurangabad and then take the next food break at Mehkar.

Lots of petrol pumps on the highways so no need to worry about fuel and toilet breaks.

I did a Marathwada trip last year end. Though I only travelled to Lonar, you can use the details for your reference for Pune-Mehkar part of your trip.
Check this travelogue


All the best for your trip!

Super Thanks buddy. Will definitely note these points. And will come back to you again if there are more queries

[JoshMachine]

A query - while crossing Malegaon Jehangir, is it advisable to take a diversion to Akola, take the bypass and then proceed towards Amravati? Have seen travel companies do that.
Is it due to passenger pick-up from Akola or is it due to better road conditions (and thus less time consumed) that these buses take Akola bypass?

[ObsessedByFIAT]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

A query - while crossing Malegaon Jehangir, is it advisable to take a diversion to Akola, take the bypass and then proceed towards Amravati? Have seen travel companies do that.
Is it due to passenger pick-up from Akola or is it due to better road conditions (and thus less time consumed) that these buses take Akola bypass?

Not sure if you still need this information, yet doesn't hurt sharing -

I did the Pune - Paratwada stretch in the last week (11th - 15th Aug) and took the following route:
Pune > Nagar (avoid ByPass) > Aurangabad > Jalna > Chikli > Khamgaon > Shegaon* > Akot > Anjangaon > Paratwad.

* : Shegaon has a beautiful garden - Anand Sagar. It is a worth a visit for people going on that route. (http://www.gajananmaharaj.org/anandsagarenglish/)

After Aurangabad its a two lane road and I could maintain 70-80 kmph. while on a few stretches I could easily go till 100 kmph for a couple of minutes.

I gave Amravati a miss and visited Chikhaldhara hill station. It was one of the better decisions as Chikaldhara is also a great place to visit. The greenery will take your breathe away! The approach road from the Paratwada side is also in great condition and you can have some fun of the twisties.

HTH ..

[kabir3551]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

A query - while crossing Malegaon Jehangir, is it advisable to take a diversion to Akola, take the bypass and then proceed towards Amravati? Have seen travel companies do that.
Is it due to passenger pick-up from Akola or is it due to better road conditions (and thus less time consumed) that these buses take Akola bypass?

You don't need to go to Akola. Skip Akola. Continue for Amravati. Roads before Amravati is good and after Amravati is amazing. All the suffering will vanish once you reach Amravati.

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by ObsessedByFIAT

Not sure if you still need this information, yet doesn't hurt sharing -
I did the Pune - Paratwada stretch in the last week (11th - 15th Aug) and took the following route:
Pune > Nagar (avoid ByPass) > Aurangabad > Jalna > Chikli > Khamgaon > Shegaon* > Akot > Anjangaon > Paratwad.
After Aurangabad its a two lane road and I could maintain 70-80 kmph. while on a few stretches I could easily go till 100 kmph for a couple of minutes.

Thanks mate for the advice. I have been to Shegaon earlier however plan to go to Nagpur directly and hence may not take this route.

Originally Posted by kabir3551

You don't need to go to Akola. Skip Akola. Continue for Amravati. Roads before Amravati is good and after Amravati is amazing. All the suffering will vanish once you reach Amravati.

Ok, thanks Kabir. Is it entirely 2-laned road between Jalna and Amravati or some parts?

So the route plan is:
Pune > Ahmadnagar > Aurangabad > Jalna > Karanja > Amravati > Nagpur

Intend to start around 5 am on Saturday.

Any last minute suggestions or updates to the current monsoon road conditions will be greatly appreciated.

[scwagh]

Hi Joshmachine, I am also going to leave for Raipur from Pune on this weekend. I have planned to leave on Friday morning by 5-530 am and am going to take the same route as suggested by you above. Few of my friends have taken this route and it took them around 11-12 hours with an early start.

Initially I had planned to halt in Nagpur and then continue towards Raipur on Saturday morning but now I am thinking to stretch the drive till Raipur. Will update the route conditions post my trip on Friday so you can plan for your journey on Saturday

[JoshMachine]

Originally Posted by scwagh

Hi Joshmachine, I am also going to leave for Raipur from Pune on this weekend. I have planned to leave on Friday morning by 5-530 am and am going to take the same route as suggested by you above. Few of my friends have taken this route and it took them around 11-12 hours with an early start.

Initially I had planned to halt in Nagpur and then continue towards Raipur on Saturday morning but now I am thinking to stretch the drive till Raipur. Will update the route conditions post my trip on Friday so you can plan for your journey on Saturday

That's really good to know, thanks. I will eagerly await your feedback on that route. But hoping that it will not be very tiring for you at the end of the day to compile the review

[scwagh]

Originally Posted by JoshMachine

That's really good to know, thanks. I will eagerly await your feedback on that route. But hoping that it will not be very tiring for you at the end of the day to compile the review

Thanks Joshmachine. Yes it will be a long drive but I will give a short update on the journey . I am not very sure about driving all the way up-to Raipur, might break the journey in Nagpur and continue on the next day.