[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

Hi guys,

I am going to Manali through Shimla and coming back directly from Manali. Going with my wife and 4 year old daughter.

Day-2 : Kasuali - Chail - Shimla (Night stay Shimla)
Day-3 : Shimla (Night stay Shimla)
Day-4 : Shimla-Manali (Night stay Manali)

3. Is it OK to do it a humble petrol Polo? I am planning to take cab for (Marhi/Rohtang) because of parking hassles, etc. or can it also be done in Polo?

Day 2- May I suggest kasauli-subathu-Chail-Shimla. Since you the entire day for the journey might as well cover a few interesting locales around.

Day-4- What route are you taking? You can go via Bilaspur-Mandi, or Karsog-Ner Chowk-Mandi or via Narkanda-Sainj-Jalori-Aut.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

Day 2- May I suggest kasauli-subathu-Chail-Shimla. Since you the entire day for the journey might as well cover a few interesting locales around.

Day-4- What route are you taking? You can go via Bilaspur-Mandi, or Karsog-Ner Chowk-Mandi or via Narkanda-Sainj-Jalori-Aut.

That's a great suggestion for Day-2. I want to reach Shimla by evening to avoid parking hassles.

For Shimla-Manali route, I am dependent on Google Maps. Please suggest me the best route.

I just want to avoid Bilaspur because of bad roads everyone is telling.

[wanderernomad]

Originally Posted by mukeshgoel

That's a great suggestion for Day-2. I want to reach Shimla by evening to avoid parking hassles.

For Shimla-Manali route, I am dependent on Google Maps. Please suggest me the best route.

I just want to avoid Bilaspur because of bad roads everyone is telling.

You can never be sure of road conditions till you actually arrive on the spot to drive. However, since you will be covering the Mandi-Sundernagar-Bilaspur-Swarghat-kiratpur-Mohali-Banur-Ambala route on your way back for your up journey may I suggest-

Shimla-Tattapani-Karsog-Ner Chowk-Mandi. you can plan on having lunch around karsog. Advantage is that you can see the sulpher springs (though nothing great, but none the less, one place is ticked as done) at Tattapaani but the drive through Karsog is extremely beautiful through the thick forests.
The roads are ok to good as pert he latest information about 2 days back on the traditional Shimla-Kullu route via tuttu-ghaghas-sundernagar-mandi. Should take you about 6-7 hours on the traditional route.

[mukeshgoel]

Originally Posted by wanderernomad

You can never be sure of road conditions till you actually arrive on the spot to drive. However, since you will be covering the Mandi-Sundernagar-Bilaspur-Swarghat-kiratpur-Mohali-Banur-Ambala route on your way back for your up journey may I suggest-

Shimla-Tattapani-Karsog-Ner Chowk-Mandi. you can plan on having lunch around karsog. Advantage is that you can see the sulpher springs (though nothing great, but none the less, one place is ticked as done) at Tattapaani but the drive through Karsog is extremely beautiful through the thick forests.
The roads are ok to good as pert he latest information about 2 days back on the traditional Shimla-Kullu route via tuttu-ghaghas-sundernagar-mandi. Should take you about 6-7 hours on the traditional route.

That's extremely good suggestion for Shimla-Manali, will be doing it.

Please suggest me a route for Manali-Delhi minus Bilaspur. The bad road condition of Bilaspur is fresh.

[anupamjain008]

I am planning to do a Shimla trip from Noida in September 1st weekend. I plan to take the Noida - Panipat - Ambala - Chandigarh - Kalka - Solan - Shimla route. This is supposed to be my first surprise trip with my wife on her birthday. So really don't want to spoil it just because of bad traffic etc. Also, she usually gets sick driving on hilly terrain and hence I want to know if the stretch from Chandigarh onwards till Shimla is okay.

We plan to start from Noida at around 12 Noon and then stay overnight in Chandigarh. Then start early next morning for Shimla.

Any frequent travellers here who can tell me the latest conditions on these roads? Any suggestions will be welcome and help me in planning this trip.

[ptaneja]

Originally Posted by anupamjain008

I am planning to do a Shimla trip from Noida in September 1st weekend. I plan to take the Noida - Panipat - Ambala - Chandigarh - Kalka - Solan - Shimla route. This is supposed to be my first surprise trip with my wife on her birthday. So really don't want to spoil it just because of bad traffic etc. Also, she usually gets sick driving on hilly terrain and hence I want to know if the stretch from Chandigarh onwards till Shimla is okay.

We plan to start from Noida at around 12 Noon and then stay overnight in Chandigarh. Then start early next morning for Shimla.

Any frequent travellers here who can tell me the latest conditions on these roads? Any suggestions will be welcome and help me in planning this trip.

I usually do Gurgaon > Shimla trip 4 or 5 times a year atleast, the last I visited was in Feb and then in April - road condition then was OK. But after rains, I am not sure, if it has worsened - I am planning my next trip in first week of October.

On the other hand, if your wife do get travel sick, why not take the rail route ? But if you do want to try your hand in hill driving, then keep the speed at bends at max 40, any greater than this and she is going to throw up. The slower you are in hills, the lesser the chance of sickness.
(for instance my wife always used to get sick when travelling by taxi, but never in own car - more than 20 trips so far ! )

All the best, keep clicking snaps on the way !

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by ptaneja

The slower you are in hills, the lesser the chance of sickness.

And few more things
1) plenty of rest stops for a few minutes to flex the legs
2) don't eat a heavy meal before you begin the drive
3) ask all passengers to look outside the window and not to go to sleep/read a book. This helps avoid throwing up, as the twists and turns are anticipated with the visual inputs and there are less changes of throwing up.

[moralfibre]

I am planning to do a road trip ex-Delhi in the last two weeks of November or the first two weeks of December with my wife and my son who'll be two years old then. I'll have about 14-15 days of travel time available for us and need suggestions on the following.

Areas to cover: Delhi - Shimla - Manali - Dharamshala - Dalhousie - Amritsar - Delhi.

Questions:

1) Is end November - start December a good time to visit these places? Would the weather be too harsh to acclimatise during this time?

2) Should I visit these places in the order stated or should I reverse travel via Amritsar - Dalhousie - Manali - Shimla route?

3) I'll be booking an XUV / Ecosport from Zoomcar for the travel. I believe these would be more comfortable to travel in vis-a-vis say the Honda City?

4) Any suggestions on places to stay and how much time I should spend at each location? Any special tips on offbeat places that I could cover in this trip would be helpful.

5) I am ok with dropping an odd off track destination if it really saves me time that I could use at other locations?

Thanks!

[ppr]

Hi

I am planning to drive Delhi Mashobra just after Christmas. Google Maps shows 8 hrs. Is this realistic? Will the fog be a huge issue?

I hope to leave at 6 in the morning and reach by afternoon. Are the road conditions good? What is the best route?


Thanks

[Turbanator]

I am planning to drive Delhi Mashobra just after Christmas. Google Maps shows 8 hrs. Is this realistic? Will the fog be a huge issue?

Delhi - Chandigarh will be about 4 1/2 Hours if you start at 6 Am , Chandigarh - Shimla - Mashobra or Chandigarh - Chail - Mashobra - 5-6 Hours if we consider same person is driving with 2 breaks on way - will suggest route via Chail - little longer & difficult but suggested given the huge Jams Shimla has these days - do ensure to book Hotels in Advance for self and your driver if any , as those days are going to be very rushy .

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by ppr

Hi

I am planning to drive Delhi Mashobra just after Christmas.

I hope to leave at 6 in the morning and reach by afternoon. Are the road conditions good? What is the best route?

Originally Posted by Turbanator

will suggest route via Chail - little longer & difficult.

Hi,

I would suggest not to take the Chail route due to diversion at Kandaghat-Sadhupul.

I do accept that the diverted road through the riverbed is quite scenic but the 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. The debris damage your car paint as well.

Road after Chail is no good either but manageable due to very few traffic.

[ppr]

Originally Posted by Turbanator

Delhi - Chandigarh will be about 4 1/2 Hours if you start at 6 Am , Chandigarh - Shimla - Mashobra or Chandigarh - Chail - Mashobra - 5-6 Hours if we consider same person is driving with 2 breaks on way - will suggest route via Chail - little longer & difficult but suggested given the huge Jams Shimla has these days - do ensure to book Hotels in Advance for self and your driver if any , as those days are going to be very rushy .

Thanks Turbanator
I will be driving myself and we have hotel bookings. Is the Chail road good? and scenic? Will fog be a huge issue if we want to leave at 6 am? On the way back, we are halting for a night at Chandigarh so that will be easier.

[ppr]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi,

I would suggest not to take the Chail route due to diversion at Kandaghat-Sadhupul.

I do accept that the diverted road through the riverbed is quite scenic but the 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. The debris damage your car paint as well.

Road after Chail is no good either but manageable due to very few traffic.

Would you suggest the road through Simla? Will there be a lot of traffic on this road?

Thanks

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by ppr

Would you suggest the road through Simla? Will there be a lot of traffic on this road?

Thanks

Hi,

Yes there would be traffic before Solan and around 10 km before Simla and you need to cross entire Simla, but don't worry as here are the good things:


1. You might be reaching Simla after 5 PM and in hills local & car traffic reduces considerably after dawn.

2. Remember to take Solan bypass as Garmin or Nokia phone (no idea about Google) show you the road through Solan town, which is crowded. You may still have traffic before you reach Solan bypass.

3. Enjoy the drive rather than be in a hurry to reach. Try Gaini da Dhaba or Colonel Dhaba at Dharampur, which is better alternatives to Mc Donald's & Haldirams enroute.

[ppr]

Originally Posted by Wanderers

Hi,

Yes there would be traffic before Solan and around 10 km before Simla and you need to cross entire Simla, but don't worry as here are the good things:


1. You might be reaching Simla after 5 PM and in hills local & car traffic reduces considerably after dawn.

2. Remember to take Solan bypass as Garmin or Nokia phone (no idea about Google) show you the road through Solan town, which is crowded. You may still have traffic before you reach Solan bypass.

3. Enjoy the drive rather than be in a hurry to reach. Try Gaini da Dhaba or Colonel Dhaba at Dharampur, which is better alternatives to Mc Donald's & Haldirams enroute.

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?