[lejhoom]

I took this route last week. Hyderabad -Varanasi. Stayed at MP Tourism hotel at Bhedaghat for the night. For onward journey, drove through Mirzapur. The newly laid concrete road with very less traffic is a pleasure to drive. The road in MP was not smooth because of patched-up potholes. I wonder why they need to fill the potholes a few centimetres up while filling up. Then there are unexpected potholes, some of them large enough to damage the wheels.

[W@SIM]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

I took this route last week. Hyderabad -Varanasi. Stayed at MP Tourism hotel at Bhedaghat for the night. For onward journey, drove through Mirzapur. The newly laid concrete road with very less traffic is a pleasure to drive. The road in MP was not smooth because of patched-up potholes. I wonder why they need to fill the potholes a few centimetres up while filling up. Then there are unexpected potholes, some of them large enough to damage the wheels.

How was the hyderabad to nagpur stretch? especially around the MH border.
also how long was this drive

[Rangy62]

Drove from Bangalore to Panna in the 2nd week of September. The roads after Adilabad when you enter Maharashtra is ridden with pot holes. Try to avoid driving this stretch in the dark.

[lejhoom]

Originally Posted by W@SIM

How was the hyderabad to nagpur stretch? especially around the MH border.
also how long was this drive

Hyderabad upto MH border is excellent road. Nightmare begins from Pandharkawada all the way to Hinganghat. Potholes of various sizes and shoddy repair work plus newly forming potholes will ensure the most uncomfortable journey. And they collect toll. If you question them the rationale, they will ask you to complain to NHAI.

It may take 7 to 8 hours to do Hyderabad -Nagpur stretch. I suggest you start early, around 4 am or so, so that you can cover major distance. Look out for speed cameras in TS. There's one at near Kamareddy with a ridiculous speed limit of 65km. That's right. Presently inside Hyderabad city for roads with dividers speed limit is 60km! You can avoid paying fine on the highway if you start early.

[kmaitrey064]

Originally Posted by lejhoom

Hyderabad upto MH border is excellent road. Nightmare begins from Pandharkawada all the way to Hinganghat.

I drove from Secunderabad to Nagpur a couple of days ago. As you said, it's a nightmare of a road and riddled with potholes. I'd like to add that there are two large ditches in the stretch between Pandharkawada and Hinganghat, that are deep and long enough to deploy front airbags. I saw a truck driver making a complete stop before one such ditch and creep slowly afterwards. To anybody driving through this stretch, I'd suggest to avoid night-driving, especially if you have low-profile tyres. The last 90km towards Nagpur went relatively far better than this pothole-fest.

Regarding the speed-cams, I could spot them on almost every alternate highway crossing/U-turn during TS stretch of NH44. Many of them have speed limits of 80kmph. My friend from Warangal also confirmed the same number.

I also drove on the necklace road around Hussain Sagar. I could see speed limit of 30kmph listed on many places on that road, and somehow the traffic around me was complying to that so I did as well. Locals, feel free to confirm/correct this.

[lejhoom]

Originally Posted by kmaitrey064

I also drove on the necklace road around Hussain Sagar. I could see speed limit of 30kmph listed on many places on that road, and somehow the traffic around me was complying to that so I did as well. Locals, feel free to confirm/correct this.

According to the newspaper reports on 26 August 2022 for vehicles in Hyderabad city the following applies. "According to the notification, the speed limit for cars on roads with dividers is 60 kmph. On roads without dividers, it is 50 kmph. On colony roads, the maximum speed of the cars can be 30 kmph. For bikes, autos, buses and other vehicles, the speed limit on roads with dividers is 50 kmph. On roads without dividers, it is 40 kmph."

[gajadonga]

Originally Posted by kmaitrey064

I'd like to add that there are two large ditches in the stretch between Pandharkawada and Hinganghat, that are deep and long enough to deploy front airbags..

Travelled last week to Nagpur the road conditions between Pandharkawada and Hingaghat remains the same .They charge toll on this stretch but roads are not in good condition .Patch works are also not good

[vimarshpratap]

I travelled last week from Hyderabad to Indore via Nagpur. Compared to October, they have certainly patched up the potholes that appear after the MH border and it's become marginally better to drive. At least I didn't have to keep applying brakes every 30 seconds to avoid one pothole after another! But the patch up is quite shoddy at some places, so it is certainly not a smooth drive, and you need to drop your speeds to manoeuvre some of these. I didn't see any other road repairs going on anywhere, so I guess this is the best we have for now. The rest of this route continues to be a breeze and I hope it stays that way.

[justinjoyn]

Just did an overnight drive from Nagpur to Hyderabad. The Maharashtra portion of the highway is not at all maintained well. There are a lot of rough patches and pot holes. You can’t comfortably go over 80kph, especially during night time. The Telangana section is much better apart from a couple of police checkpoints and diversions. The speed breakers once you reach Hyderabad is still a painful experience.

[Khanabadosh85]

Traveled from Hyderabad to Tadoba (Chimur) before New Year. Telangana portion of the highway is a breeze. Excellent roads, but the conditions start deteriorating as soon as you enter Maharashtra after Adilabad. Nothing major, just uneven roads, ill maintained dividers, overgrowing bushes on both sides etc.
Nothing good to eat on the entire stretch unless you decide to enter Adilabad or Nizamabad.

[yamoody]

Traveled from Nagpur airport to Secunderabad (Hussain Sagar lake) today.

I started around 10am from Nagpur

• The first leg, up until Jamb is very good road. I got some light traffic which prevented me from using cruise control.

• The ~75km stretch from Hingaghat to Pandharkawada was done in an hour with ~75% of it in cruise control. As others have said, the road isn’t good (especially by the highway standards we’ve come to expect in India now). It has good & bad patches. And bad patches come up without warning.

• Another 20 minutes or so, I officially crossed over to Telangana (12:30pm)

• I was in Medchal by 4:30-4:40pm (~6h30m total so far). As others have noted, the roads are excellent once we enter Telangana. However, there are numerous towns / crossings where we have to slow down. I was on cruise control only 50% of the time.

• So far, this included about 20minutes of total break time. Also, no great places to eat throughout the journey.

• Post this, the heavy traffic I faced was as anticipated I took a long 30 minute break, steeled myself and reached hussain sagar about 6:30pm.

• If it helps, I was in a Jeep Compass Model S (4x4)

[ottocycle]

Travelled Varanasi to Hyderabad in first week of June and updating here with route condition.

Day 1: Varanasi to Nagpur

• Took the route via Mirzapur. Crossed the Mirzapur city in early morning so it didn't affect traffic wise.
• Route from Mirzapur to Rewa and even till Katna are great.
• Avoided Rewa bypass as it's 2 lane road with heavy truck traffic. Given it was just around 8:30 while crossing the Rewa, there was no traffic in Rewa city too.
• Katni bypass is under major construction. I had taken that while my trip from Hyd to Varanasi couple of months back. It was a major time waster. Decided to travel through Katni city this time. Traffic was usual minor city traffic.
• Road was good till Nagpur
• Finding a good hotel with reasonable price (and most important safe parking became a hassle in Nagpur). I should have researched before. Finally settled to stay at Airport Center Point Hotel in Nagpur. Bad parking arrangement but I was too tired to explore further. 4480/- per night was not cheap. But room was very nice and lit. The breakfast spread was just ok and limited though. I would say overpriced.

Day 2: Nagpur to Hyderabad

• Started around 11 AM next day from Nagpur for Hyderabad.
• Fueled up at Reliance Petrol Pump outside of Nagpur towards Hyderabad
• Roads in Maharastra have improved from last time. I faced only one pathole that created problem.
• The road wasn't smooth but it was no longer a nightmare that it used to be few years back
• There was one or two diversions in Telangana side too but was well marked.
• Hyderabad traffic though was more than usual. Evening effect may be.

[Revvatron]

I will be travelling to Nagpur from Hyderabad towards the end of this month, can anyone suggest any good place to eat. Based on the posts in this thread, there aren't any. Even dhabas or road side stalls would do.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

can anyone suggest any good place to eat.

Except for Pandharkawada Hinganghat region where there are depressingly less. There are a handful on Telangana. Depends on what approximate locations you are looking at.

[Vipin Kumar]

Originally Posted by Revvatron

I will be travelling to Nagpur from Hyderabad towards the end of this month, can anyone suggest any good place to eat. Based on the posts in this thread, there aren't any. Even dhabas or road side stalls would do.

From Hyderabad to Kamareddy, there are plenty of places. But beyond that, quite rare. There are only roadside dhabas mainly catering to truckers. There are some tea-stalls too. One can go via Nirmal town, if one is desperate. It will not waste much time. There are a couple of restaurants.