[sinharishi]

Return journey to NCR:

• Route taken: Mumbai-Surat-Vadodra Bypass-NE1-Ahemedabad-Himmatnagar-Udaipur Bypass-Nathdwara (Halt)-Rajasmand-Bhilwara-Shahpur-Deoli-NH52-NH23-NE4-EPE-G.Noida.
  
  
• Travel time: Day-1 13.5 hrs with 2 breaks, Day-2 10.5 hrs with 2 breaks.
  
  
• Escaped Mumbai right on time before NH48 was blocked by truckers. Stopped at Sri Datta for vadapavs. Breakfast halt at Jalaram Kathyawadi just ahead of Ahura. Uneventful drive till Ahmedabad. Most of the restaurants were closed due to 1st Jan. Found one open - Hocco 1944 something on ring road.
  
  
• Drove non stop till Nathdwara from Ahmedabad. We reached Nathdwara in under 4 hrs flat. Checked-in at Marutinandan Grand.
  
  
• Day-2: Started really late at 1030am due to thick fog. Surprisingly, there was fog till Bhilwara. At Bijainagar we were stopped by truckers. Took u-turn and re-routed to NH148 towards shahpura-deoli.
  
  
• Stopped for lunch at Surya Mahal on NH52. Took NH23 from NH52 to reach NE4 entry. No fog as we entered NE4 in the evening. Overall a relaxed drive. New McDonald's open on both sides on NE4. North bound it is just after Jaipur entry.
  
  
• So we ended up taking the exact same route we took in Sept 2023 between Udaipur and NCR.

Day-1 start, lovely weather



Day-2 start, hardly any visibility



Surya Mahal @ NH52



New McDonald's @ NE4



Overall trip stats. Harrier BS6.1.

[Totoro11]

Originally Posted by Roan J

Earlier this week, I was passing through Kota and a truck driver told me that both sides of the DME stretch between Lalsot and Sawai Madhopur is available to users but tolling has not begun. However, with family, it may not be advisable to take this part.

Kothun-Kota-Jhalawar-Pipaliya-Bhanpura interchange can be a route to use to cover the DME gap after exiting at Lalsot.

I have heard about the stretch beyond Lalsot being open from multiple people. Has anyone tried using this till Sawai Madhopur? I am planning a trip in Feb till Bhanpura/Gandhisagar dam and was wondering how far can we go on NE4.

[Roan J]

I follow some vloggers who regularly cover updates on DME but have not seen anyone suggesting that the Lalsot-Sawai Madhopur stretch can be used. Will wait to hear from your experience, if you choose to check it out next month. Going by the Transport secretary's announcement this week, a lot of stretches could be opened by April.

[rahul1407]

Hi Guys,

I am travelling back from Mumbai tomorrow to Gurgaon. This time I am going to cover my journey in 3 days with a stopover at Udaipur with a 1-day sightseeing.

The route I am planning to take Till Udaipur: Mumbai-Virar-Valsad-Surat-Bharuch-Vadodara-Godhra-Madosa-Udaipur.

From Udaipur to Gurgaon: Udaipur-Nathdwara-Bhilwara-Kishangarh-Jaipur bypass-Dausa-NE4-Gurgaon

We plan to leave by 5 AM tomorrow and cover the distance in about 16 hours considering extended breaks with the kid.

Are there any better recommendations at this point?

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by rahul1407

The route I am planning to take Till Udaipur: Mumbai-Virar-Valsad-Surat-Bharuch-Vadodara-Godhra-Madosa-Udaipur.

Yes. Did it last week. Best route.

Why through Godhra bypass? And not via Ahmedabad RR-Himmatnagar? Any reason? The latter has much more facilities enroute, especially when you have kids.

[CaptAM]

Hi guys, I'm planning on driving from Delhi - Nashik - Delhi in the last week of Feb.

Gmaps suggests routing via Indore. However, most of the travelogues I've read shows people prefer the Udaipur - Ahmedabad route.

I am planning to do the drive with just one night stop in either Indore or Udaipur depending on the route, both ways.

Request suggestions and recommendations from fellow members regarding routing, refueling points etc.

Thanks.

P.s. @Mods, couldn't find a better thread for delhi-nashik query. Please correct me if required.

[mauryan]

Originally Posted by Totoro11

I have heard about the stretch beyond Lalsot being open from multiple people. Has anyone tried using this till Sawai Madhopur?

I recently completed my Gr. Noida-Vadodara (29 Dec-6 Jan) via Kota - Thandala-Dahod - Godhra trip and I used both open legs of NE4. It was a dream driving on them; on the second leg, I could hardly count ten vehicles. I enjoyed some countryside driving, and except for a few potholed stretches, I was able to sustain 80 km/Hr. I took a day stop at Kota and went sightseeing around (nice places). But avoid going onto the second leg after the late afternoon as there are no facilities and driving on the single lane could be dangerous.

Regarding your query, you may be tempted to continue on NE4 (on the maps Satellite view, one can also see that most, except for the fee plaza before Sawai Madhopur, is already constructed) but there is no way to get onto the highway once the NE4 ends at Lalsot Fee Plaza, as they have put the blockages, so you can't go beyond that point.

[sinharishi]

Beyond Lalsot exit the NE-4 is operational till NH-23, the place is called Chimanpura.

This is where I have entered NE-4 couple of times in last 6 months.

[Rahkehs]

Originally Posted by CaptAM

Hi guys, I'm planning on driving from Delhi - Nashik - Delhi in the last week of Feb.

Gmaps suggests routing via Indore. However, most of the travelogues I've read shows people prefer the Udaipur - Ahmedabad route.

Hi, I travelled from Pune to Dehradun recently, and I took Pune- Nashik- Dhule -Manpur (NH-52 stretch). Left NH-52 at Manpur towards Ratlam and stayed there. The next morning, I took the open section of NE-4 to connect again to NH-52 till Kothun for the Delhi-Jaipur NE-4 stretch. This route is very fast and will save you at least a few hours!

I hope this helps!

[CaptAM]

Originally Posted by Rahkehs

Hi, I travelled from Pune to Dehradun recently, and I took Pune- Nashik- Dhule -Manpur (NH-52 stretch). Left NH-52 at Manpur towards Ratlam and stayed there. The next morning, I took the open section of NE-4 to connect again to NH-52 till Kothun for the Delhi-Jaipur NE-4 stretch. This route is very fast and will save you at least a few hours!

I hope this helps!

Hi, Thanks for your input. Just some follow up:

A) Is the NE-4 stretch after Ratlam fully open? Satellite view might not be updated as it still show's the stretch under construction.

B) Also, were there any really rough stretches on the route? I'm planning to do the drive in a sedan.

Thanks once again

[Rahkehs]

Originally Posted by CaptAM

Hi, Thanks for your input. Just some follow up:


Thanks once again

A) The MP section of NE-4 from Bhanpura (near Jhalawar) to Thandla (near Jhabua) is fully operational.

B) Road from Exit at Bhanpura till NH-52 at Jhalarpatan is single with few rough patches but nothing that can’t be done on a Sedan!
Take this route without worrying too much, will definitely save you time.

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Yes. Did it last week. Best route.

Why through Godhra bypass? And not via Ahmedabad RR-Himmatnagar? Any reason? The latter has much more facilities en route, especially when you have kids.

I first thought of using this route to save time but ended up going via NE1 (Ahmedabad-Vadodara), Himmat Nagar route.

However, On the route after crossing Himmat Nagar, I was subjected to a plausible theft attempt near Samalaji (~8:30 PM) where there was a diversion on NH to a broken service road and I was obstructed by a transgender who deliberately blocked my path and there was a person on a bike constantly looking into the car. I tried reversing but the transgender kept blocking me. I waited for a few minutes and asked them to move away but they didn't. Eventually, I turned diagonally and blocked both lanes of the service road and when they started marching towards my door, I sped away. Mentioning here so that others can stay alert when taking detours for fuel or road closures, especially at night.

Now Talking about the return journey from Udaipur, we took a 2-day break at Udaipur instead of 1 and started for Gurgaon on Tuesday 16-Jan. Took Udaipur, Nathdwara, Bhilwara, Kisangarh, Jaipur, Dausa, NE4, Gurgaon Route.

Overall the route was uneventful other than the scarcity of good rest/eatouts after exiting from Nathdwara till reaching Kisangarh with Burger King and Starbucks and local North/South Indian Restaurants. So anyone planning to take a similar route, please have your breakfast or manage your kid/toddler's breakfast in Nathdwara before you leave enroute to avoid surprises.

Also worth mentioning about the route from Nathdwara to Bhilwara is the scarcity of traffic along the restaurants. Good sunny day, nice and wide 2 lanes roads, but with wrong-side driving idiots, but overall a smooth experience (second to the NE4).



Upon reaching Jaipur, I missed taking the bypass road and had to cross the city during office hours which was a pain. Finally managed to take NE4 from the Dausa toll. The roads were sparse with truckers still occupying the overtaking lane.

Eventually after covering roughly half the distance, the fog started playing a spoil sport but we were able to sustain 80-100kmph while keeping our eyes wide open and looking out for unexpected outcomes. The plain open unending roads and fog may have a toll on your mind leaving you in an optical illusion sometimes so be watchful of your surroundings.



Overall as I mentioned in my previous post, it was a good experience but I wouldn't reattempt this route until the connectivity on the new route is completed from both ends and travel time is reduced.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by rahul1407

However, On the route after crossing Himmat Nagar, I was subjected to a plausible theft attempt near Samalaji (~8:30 PM) where there was a diversion on NH to a broken service road and I was obstructed by a transgender who deliberately blocked my path and there was a person on a bike constantly looking into the car. I tried reversing but the transgender kept blocking me. I waited for a few minutes and asked them to move away but they didn't. Eventually, I turned diagonally and blocked both lanes of the service road and when they started marching towards my door, I sped away. Mentioning here so that others can stay alert when taking detours for fuel or road closures, especially at night.

[

Oh man! That is scary. We have also escaped in 2017 near Rishabdev! Nothing has changed! Hope you all are doing ok.

Edit: Is this the diversion/railway crossing just before Shamlaji?

[rahul1407]

Originally Posted by sinharishi

Oh man! That is scary. We have also escaped in 2017 near Rishabdev! Nothing has changed! Hope you all are doing ok.

Edit: Is this the diversion/railway crossing just before Shamlaji?

Thanks, yeah we were fine, we were 4+1 occupants in the car and some traffic started to build up so that helped me keep my confidence.

In the future, I might keep this thermometer on my driver's side to keep their temperatures in check. (Just Kidding, will get a dashcam first)

Regarding location, I don't exactly remember but it was a diversion from NH to a service road (300-400 meters) to again join on NH.

[Biker_Ajax]

Planning drive on 3rd Feb.

Solo drive.
Day 1: Noida to Ahmedabad
Day 2: Ahmedabad to Pune (through mumbai bypass)

Any suggestions on route pls.

As of now planning
Day 1: Noida-DME- Dausa- Jaipur bypass- Ajmer-Udaipur- Himatnagar- Ahmedabad
Day 2: Ahmedabad- Vadodara- Mumbai- Lonavla- Pune.

Noida-Ahmedabad in 14hrs as shown by google and then to Pune (mumbai bypass) is 14hrs.