[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by ppr

Thanks
I was hoping to reach Mashobra by 3 to 4 pm, if I leave at 6 am! I was planning breakfast at Murthal and then lunch somewhere between Chandigarh and Simla. Is that reasonable?

Hi,

Breakfast at Murthal at 8 AM is quite possible. You will take another 3 hours to reach Himalayan Expressways, say 11:30 AM.
It takes another two hours to reach Dharampur, where you can have your lunch. You can also have lunch at Parmanoo- Timber Trails.

Recommence your journey at 2:30 PM from Dharampur, you would need minimum of 2-1/2 to 3 hours to reach outskirts of Simla. So do not expect to reach Simla before 5 PM.

In Hills, the average speed is 30-40 KM per hour.

[KomS_CarLog]

Hello ppr. Delhi to Chandigarh is a good drive, on a good tarmac. Generally, it would take 3-3.5 hours from Delhi border to Chandigarh @ avg. 90kmph on a clear day. During Xmas, you may encounter dense fog in the wee hours, esp. once you touch the highway. If you do, this will certainly slow you down and add travel hours. Drive safe with your hazard lights on, along with fog/head lights. Don't drive on the left most lane as this will be used by trucks/tractors, with no lights ON. Stick to the middle lane. And most importantly, enjoy your drive. This is an experience in it's own If you plan to stop at Murthal, have food at Sukhdev Dhaba - old and time tested eatery. Enjoy your cold pitstop with a hot cup of tea and tandoori parantha (with butter)

Be prepared to reach your destination around 6pm (considering fog and the slow traffic on the hilly roads). Hope this helps.

[Turbanator]

Is the Chail road good? and scenic?
Yes very much - far better then Shimla one in my opinion

Will fog be a huge issue if we want to leave at 6 am?

Not really , even though FOG is unpredictable but NH1 is in great shape now with white markings - you wont have problems .

Remember to take Solan bypass as Garmin or Nokia phone

Whats that ? There is an alternate road at Kumarhatti which bypasses Barog but both roads merge just before Solan - you will need to turn right to go into Solan - everything is marked clearly - you cant miss .

Straight decent and the narrow climb does become a problem for cars.
Also they close the road from time to time for removing the debris carried down by descending cars.

Not a major issue - last I heard things are oK - when was the last time you visited ? I will update this thread once I hear back from my contacts.

if I leave at 6 am! I was planning breakfast at Murthal and then lunch somewhere between Chandigarh and Simla

Yes - very much - you can stop at Haveli Murthal that will be on your side just after Sukhbir Dhabba - just order their Combo Thaali - yummy Tandoori parantha's , Dahi , Daal , Butter & Tea all for Rs 165

For Lunch you can stop between Chandigarh & Simla - joints at dharmapur are good but not neat - probably you can stop at Timber Trail - go on Cable ride and have lunch - try their roof top restaurant - food is ok & bit pricey -but super location

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Whats that ? There is an alternate road at Kumarhatti which bypasses Barog but both roads merge just before Solan - you will need to turn right to go into Solan - everything is marked clearly - you cant miss .

No I am not referring to Barog bypass, Infact I did not knew about it.

Its about the left turn at the entry to Solan town. The map lead us to Solan town by directing us to turn right instead of left. We missed to see the road-sign as we were blindly following Garmin.

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Not a major issue - last I heard things are oK - when was the last time you visited ?

I visited in June this year.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

I visited in June this year.

Update, Oct 2015 was the last time I visited, and the trip from Gurgaon to Shimla lasted 9 hours approx. 4 AM to 1PM or so.

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

Update, Oct 2015 was the last time I visited, and the trip from Gurgaon to Shimla lasted 9 hours approx. 4 AM to 1PM or so.

Hi,

Yes, if you start by 04:00 in the morning, you have early movers advantage and would surely save an hour by the time you reach Murthal. Infact you can go further down and have break-fast at Jilmil or Haveli before Karnal.

May-June is peak summer holiday seasons and there is a mad rush to drive to mountains, hence it takes more time to Shimla or Manali.
There would be heavy traffic before Solan & Shimla. Also waiting at couple of railway crossing could be more than 30 minutes.

[Makin Rulesz]

I am planning a week long trip for Delhi-Shimla-Manali-Chandigharh-Delhi starting from last week of April.

There are couple of queries, for which I need your kind support in answering.

Since I will be reaching Delhi by flight, do I have enough time to reach Shimla safely before night, if I start at around 10 in the morning from IGI airport? Distance as per Google maps is 350 KM and 7.5 hours drive. As of now the plan is to hire a self driven car for the trip and if this leg of journey is too hectic I might have to opt for a taxi.

Do I get to see or rather touch and play with snow at around Manali or Rohtang during this period? My daughter is crazy about snow after she saw the Frozen movie.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by Makin Rulesz

I am planning a week long trip for Delhi-Shimla-Manali-Chandigharh-Delhi starting from last week of April.

There are couple of queries, for which I need your kind support in answering.

Since I will be reaching Delhi by flight, do I have enough time to reach Shimla safely before night, if I start at around 10 in the morning from IGI airport? Distance as per Google maps is 350 KM and 7.5 hours drive. As of now the plan is to hire a self driven car for the trip and if this leg of journey is too hectic I might have to opt for a taxi.

Do I get to see or rather touch and play with snow at around Manali or Rohtang during this period? My daughter is crazy about snow after she saw the Frozen movie.

Go for a taxi if you want to relax - and yes, calculate around 8 hours or so. Couple of weeks back when I left for shimla, we departed at around 5AM, and reached by 2:30PM. Couple of days later, a friend of mine joined me there, and he took 5:30AM to 5:00PM - widening of road from Kalka to Solan, and huge traffic jam on entering Shimla.

No snow was there till kufri, narkanda, naldhera and such. No idea about Manali - but at this time of year chances are less.

[Turbanator]

I will be reaching Delhi by flight, do I have enough time to reach Shimla safely before night, if I start at around 10 in the morning from IGI airport?

There are many flights around this time for Chandigarh , that will be far convenient .

Do I get to see or rather touch and play with snow at around Manali or Rohtang during this period?

Instead of Simla - Manali - explore options for Kalpa valley , not only you will get enough snow but it will be a different experience over the usual Simla - Manali circuit . There are enough threads here , you can hire Taxi from Chandigarh

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...aur-spiti.html



http://www.banjaracamps.com/camps-re...2/default.aspx


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-narkanda.html

[Makin Rulesz]

Thanks ptaneja

Yes, I am also not expecting any snow around Shimla, that is the reason I specifically asked for Manali and roundabout places. I have kept one day reserved for this and willing to travel, higher up the mountains if required.

I am too inclined to drive around the mountains, so still keeping this option open as of now.

[Makin Rulesz]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Instead of Simla - Manali - explore options for Kalpa valley , not only you will get enough snow but it will be a different experience over the usual Simla - Manali circuit . There are enough threads here , you can hire Taxi from Chandigarh

Those are really exotic places
My only reason for sticking to the standard Shimla-Manali trip is, abundant availability of staying options with all amenities. I do not want to take the risk of staying in some remote places with my 7 year old daughter, who would be travelling for the first time to such high altitude places. This is the very reason, I had been postponing my Leh/Ladakh trip for the last couple of years.

[Vitalstatistiks]

It's been over four years since the last update on this thread- hence taking the liberty of re-opening it. I am planning to do a Delhi-Mashobra run in the middle of August and have some queries:

1. As per GMaps- there's only one route to Shimla/Mashobra once you get on the hills. This is the Timber Trails-Dharampur- Kumarhatti- Solan- Kandaghat- all the way till Shimla. Is there a second/alternate road/route on the hills which is preferred?

2. Again, as per GMaps, this trip can be completed in 8 1/2 hours (without breaks). Is that realistic? I do Delhi-Chandi runs regularly, and that is about 4 hours each way. Is Zirakpur to Shimla in 4 hours realistic?

3. This is going to smack bang in the middle of monsoon, and I will be in a City CVT. Is there anything that I need to keep in mind about the road conditions, waterfalls on the roadways, driving only in sport mode etc?

Thank you for all your help! For those you wondering why risk during pandemic, this will be trip done in personal vehicle and stay at relative's place.

[ast.ggn]

Originally Posted by Vitalstatistiks

As per GMaps- there's only one route to Shimla/Mashobra once you get on the hills. This is the Timber Trails-Dharampur- Kumarhatti- Solan- Kandaghat- all the way till Shimla. Is there a second/alternate road/route on the hills which is preferred?

No, there is another alternate route which is via Shoghi bypass but it is long and involves few patches of broken roads. I did it last year. Check Shoghi bypass on google maps, you will get it. If you are planning to cross Shimla early morning, go via Shimla. It is the cleanest and shortest route. I have also heard about a bypass 3-4 kms just before entering Shimla, if you can find that.

Again, as per GMaps, this trip can be completed in 8 1/2 hours (without breaks). Is that realistic? I do Delhi-Chandi runs regularly, and that is about 4 hours each way. Is Zirakpur to Shimla in 4 hours realistic.

You can do it in 8 1/2 hrs, unless there is a traffic congestion. I started back from Mashobra at 7:30-8 AM in morning and reached back Delhi by 4:30-5 pm on a 310GS (via Shimla).

This is going to smack bang in the middle of monsoon, and I will be in a City CVT. Is there anything that I need to keep in mind about the road conditions, waterfalls on the roadways, driving only in sport mode etc?

If you are going via Shimla, then it is a well laid road, nothing that will bother City.

[ankitahuja]

Anyone done Gurgaon to Mashobra/Naldehra (or near about) recently?

After a bit of decent research the best route coming out is:

Gurgaon - KMP - Panipat (via Murthal) - Ambala - Zirakpur - Solan - Shimla - Mashobra/Naldehra

Seems to be the best route according to Google Maps as well. We avoid the Singhu border and most of it will be the NH (44 + 5)

Since we will be passing Punjab, do I need to register on the COVA APP? Do all passengers need the COVA APP installed?

[swunkjyn]

Originally Posted by ankitahuja

Anyone done Gurgaon to Mashobra/Naldehra (or near about) recently?

After a bit of decent research the best route coming out is:

Gurgaon - KMP - Panipat (via Murthal) - Ambala - Zirakpur - Solan - Shimla - Mashobra/Naldehra

Seems to be the best route according to Google Maps as well. We avoid the Singhu border and most of it will be the NH (44 + 5)

Since we will be passing Punjab, do I need to register on the COVA APP? Do all passengers need the COVA APP installed?

The route that you have shared is the only one. I did drive to Delhi and came back the same day. While going and coming back I followed the Gurgaon route and did not face traffic though had to be watchful as that route goes through a lot of small villages with a lot of speed-breakers.
I am from Shimla and have to travel to Punjab especially Mohali a lot, because my IN-LAWS live there. Just came back last week and I did not have to register for any App, nor was there anyone checking for COVID.
Now, I may not know if this applies to other Cities too but since you will be coming from Delhi so just before hitting Chandigarh Tribune Chowk (long before that), it will guide to the Shimla Highway Route so from that perspective I think you are set.