[satrab]

Originally Posted by ampere

Sorry for the typo. I did mean Bhopal-Sagar-Chattarpur.

Some how I vaguely remember it being quoted that routes around Bhopal were a strict no-no and hence it was seen OK even for a 300km detour.

Oh yes, the roads beyond Bhopal simply don't exist. It is a shame. An alternate route to Kota that I have been trying to find out about is to go there from Indore via Ujjain. The Indore Ujjain road is excellent and I have done that. Am told by people who live in Ujjain and regularly go to Kota, that the Ujjain Kota road is also very good. But no personal experience, though of this stretch

[G Jee]

Originally Posted by G Jee

I'm planning to go to Allahabad from Mumbai for the Kumbh Mela. Can I get views on the current best road route please, along with distance and preferably place I can stay overnight after covering 50% of the journey?

Just returned after a lovely drive to the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad and also to Varanasi. Drove in my Innova.

Route taken: Thane/Nashik/Indore/Bhopal/Sagar/Chattarpur/Banda/Fatehgunj(or is it Fatehpur I dont remember)/Allahabad. Terrific mistake to have taken this route as road after Bhopal was unbearable. Night halt at Bhopal (reached around 7 pm) after leaving Thane at 5.45AM with necessary stops for tea/breakfast/lunch etc. In view of the bad roads after Bhopal could reach Allahabad(Sangam) only around 11PM after starting at 6.30AM.

Return route was from Allahabad/Banda/Nowgong/Jhansi/Ujjain/Indore/Nashik/Thane. (I think this is shortest reasonably good road). Allahabad Starting time 9.30AM reached Ujjain at 7.30PM, left Ujjain at 7AM reached Thane 6.30PM. Shortest reasonably good motorable route.

Total distance covered was 3228 kms., including travel from Allahabad to Varanasi and back to Allahabad.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by G Jee

Just returned after a lovely drive to the Kumbh Mela at Allahabad and also to Varanasi. Drove in my Innova.

Route taken: Thane/Nashik/Indore/Bhopal/Sagar/Chattarpur/Banda/Fatehgunj(or is it Fatehpur I dont remember)/Allahabad. Terrific mistake to have taken this route as road after Bhopal was unbearable. Night halt at Bhopal (reached around 7 pm) after leaving Thane at 5.45AM with necessary stops for tea/breakfast/lunch etc. In view of the bad roads after Bhopal could reach Allahabad(Sangam) only around 11PM after starting at 6.30AM.

Return route was from Allahabad/Banda/Nowgong/Jhansi/Ujjain/Indore/Nashik/Thane. (I think this is shortest reasonably good road). Allahabad Starting time 9.30AM reached Ujjain at 7.30PM, left Ujjain at 7AM reached Thane 6.30PM. Shortest reasonably good motorable route.

Total distance covered was 3228 kms., including travel from Allahabad to Varanasi and back to Allahabad.

I did a similar road journey late last year when I was in India. I and Dad had to see my relatives in Azamgarh, UP. The onward journey from Navi Mumbai was thus:
Navi Mumbai - Thane - Nashik - Indore - Bhopal - Damoh - Sagar - Reva - Allahabad - Jaunpur - Azamgarh. The first day we stopped at Bhopal. It was a breeze most of the day save a few diversions on NH3 near Nashik and Indore. Indore to Bhopal was excellent. The nightmare was on the next day when we ventured on a state highway (can't remember the name) in MP and it took us a good 7-8 hours to cover to a meagre 210 odd kms. Having travelled in many states over the years by road, I have to say the state highways in MP are in absolute shambles! The NH-7 provided no relief either as the roads were really bad from Reva all the way upto Mangawan. After that entering into UP the roads were better. A notable mention has to made of a beautiful stretch of a state highway in UP between Jaunpur and Azamgarh. I hear it was financed by World Bank. It is the best piece of tarmac you will ride, especially if you are riding late in the night. Not a single pothole. The best part is that the stretch has maintained quality over the years (I last used this road back in the summer of 2009). We reached Azamgarh at around midnight.

The return trip was:
Azamgarh - Faizabad - Lucknow - Jhansi - Shivpuri - Guna - Biaora - Dewas - Indore - Nashik - Thane - Navi Mumbai. The return leg had good roads except the NH3 after Shivpuri leading up all the way upto Dewas. It wasn't as bad as the NH-7 stretch but there were many potholes making it difficult to maintain a steady pace. The best stretch for driving was Kanpur - Jhansi - Shivpuri. Traffic was very thin beyond Kanpur, the roads arrow-straight. There were atleast 2-3 non-operational tollways on the highway which meant I saved a fair bit in toll.
This was longer than my onward journey by about 100 odd kms, but it was well worth it.

Total distance I covered was in the region of 3300 kms. Hope this helps people who are planning road trips to UP in the near and distant future.

[BlackBerry]

Originally Posted by G Jee

J
Return route was from Allahabad/Banda/Nowgong/Jhansi/Ujjain/Indore/Nashik/Thane. (I think this is shortest reasonably good road). Allahabad Starting time 9.30AM reached Ujjain at 7.30PM, left Ujjain at 7AM reached Thane 6.30PM. Shortest reasonably good motorable route.

Any reason for you to choose Ujjain over Indore for a stopover. How is the road in this section and how much time it took you approx. to cover this distance about 860km.

[G Jee]

Hi BlackBerry,
Reason for stopping at Ujjain instead of Indore:

Leaving Allahabad around 9.30AM we reached Ujjain around 7/7.30AM same day; did not want to drive further through the night and hence halted at Ujjain. Left Ujjain at 7AM in the morning, reached Thane via Indore at 6.30PM. The roads from Ujjain upto Thane was good.

Just returned after a total of around 3300kms drive from Mumbai/Tirupati/Bangalore/Wayanad/Mumbai. Lovely roads, lovely trip.

[wanderlustindia]

Bumping up this thread again.
Its the holiday season and we are planning a trip to Allahabad (wifey's hometown) in early May. I'll be starting the drive from Mumbai.

I recognise that there are various route options. However, since I'll be driving with wife and a 3-year old, I want to avoid night driving all together. The distance is somewhere in the region of 1500 kms, which means I can do 750 + 750 over two days with a night halt somewhere mid-way.

I don't mind taking a longish route if it means it can be faster. I can even spread the journey over 3-4 days (time is not a constraint) and visit a few places enroute.

I have done Mumbai - Pune - Nagpur - Allahabad route (mainly via NH7) hence, I am ruling that out. It has some horrible patches through MP.

I have also done Mumbai - Nashik - Indore - Shivpuri - Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow (slightly longish route) but better roads although NH3 had some bad patches. Hence, I might rule that out as well if I do not find a third and a better alternative.

I want most of the journey through National Highways. This being election season, I want to avoid state highways as much as I can.

Anyone with knowledge of alternative routes with latest road conditions?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Bumping up this thread again.
Its the holiday season and we are planning a trip to Allahabad (wifey's hometown) in early May. I'll be starting the drive from Mumbai.

I recognise that there are various route options. However, since I'll be driving with wife and a 3-year old, I want to avoid night driving all together. The distance is somewhere in the region of 1500 kms, which means I can do 750 + 750 over two days with a night halt somewhere mid-way.

I don't mind taking a longish route if it means it can be faster. I can even spread the journey over 3-4 days (time is not a constraint) and visit a few places enroute.

I have done Mumbai - Pune - Nagpur - Allahabad route (mainly via NH7) hence, I am ruling that out. It has some horrible patches through MP.

I have also done Mumbai - Nashik - Indore - Shivpuri - Jhansi - Kanpur - Lucknow (slightly longish route) but better roads although NH3 had some bad patches. Hence, I might rule that out as well if I do not find a third and a better alternative.

I want most of the journey through National Highways. This being election season, I want to avoid state highways as much as I can.

Anyone with knowledge of alternative routes with latest road conditions?

The best route for the time being is as follows:

Bombay-Nagpur-Chhindwara-Narasingpur-Sagar-Damoh-Satna-Rewa-Sirmaur (to avoid NH7 via Mangawan)-Katra-UP border (road will be bad from Katra to UP border)-Allahabad

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

The best route for the time being is as follows:

Bombay-Nagpur-Chhindwara-Narasingpur-Sagar-Damoh-Satna-Rewa-Sirmaur (to avoid NH7 via Mangawan)-Katra-UP border (road will be bad from Katra to UP border)-Allahabad

Thanks for the advise. For Bombay to Nagpur, should I go via Pune - Jalna - Washim - Wardha - Nagpur or is there a better alternative? I reckon the route via Pune is going to be longish. I understand that there is another route Mumbai - Nashik - Dhule - Jalgaon - Akola - Amravati - Nagpur. Is this better than the first option?

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Thanks for the advise. For Bombay to Nagpur, should I go via Pune - Jalna - Washim - Wardha - Nagpur or is there a better alternative? I reckon the route via Pune is going to be longish. I understand that there is another route Mumbai - Nashik - Dhule - Jalgaon - Akola - Amravati - Nagpur. Is this better than the first option?

NH3 is superb till Dhule. From there NH6 is quite OK despite the heavy truck traffic & rumble strips & Jalgaon city "bypass" messiness compared with the Pune-Aurangabad route which is also not great. In any case, you do not have to go via Wardha, it is better to go from Karanja to Amravati. From Amravati NH6 is 4-laned.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

NH3 is superb till Dhule. From there NH6 is quite OK despite the heavy truck traffic & rumble strips & Jalgaon city "bypass" messiness compared with the Pune-Aurangabad route which is also not great. In any case, you do not have to go via Wardha, it is better to go from Karanja to Amravati. From Amravati NH6 is 4-laned.

Excellent info! Thanks muchly. I am making two plans (A and B). I'll post them both when I am ready. I have 16 days in total starting 1st May and ending on 16th May by which time I have to be back in Mumbai. Total distance to and fro from rough calculations is coming to about 4000 kms. Nothing that I haven't done in the past, its just that I'll be doing this in summer time and that too with a 3-year old in tow! Still contemplating whether its a good idea to take kiddo along on what's fast looking like an arduous trip!

Plan A is as per your suggestion. Plan B is a whole lot different (going through MP, RJ and into UP and coming back via BR, CG and into MH). I have no clue about road conditions in BR and CG, so I may need your valuable inputs. Appreciate all your help, Sir!

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

Plan A is as per your suggestion. Plan B is a whole lot different (going through MP, RJ and into UP and coming back via BR, CG and into MH). I have no clue about road conditions in BR and CG, so I may need your valuable inputs. Appreciate all your help, Sir!

Slight change in plans mean I will start on the 3rd of May instead of 1st of May. The end date is still 16th May. I have now drafted the two plans with help from Google Maps mainly (and also MapmyIndia to some extent).
In both plans, I am aware of the road conditions on some stretches because I've done them in the past atleast 2-3 times. But there are many stretches that I have not a clue about! This is where I may need inputs from fellow T-BHPians.

Plan A:
Navi Mumbai - Nashik - Dhule - Jalgaon - Akola - Amravati - Nagpur - Chhindwara - Sagar - Damoh - Satna - Rewa - Sirmaur - Allahabad - Varanasi - Azamgarh
Return:
Azamgarh - Faizabad - Lucknow - Kanpur - Jhansi - Shivpuri - Kota - Chittorgarh - Ujjain - Indore - Mhow - Dhule - Nashik - Navi Mumbai

Total Distance: 3978 kms

Plan B:
Navi Mumbai - Nashik - Dhule - Mhow - Indore - Kota - Shivpuri - Jhansi - Kanpur - Allahabad - Jaunpur - Azamgarh
Return:
Azamgarh - Varanasi - Mirzapur - Sirmaur - Rewa - Satna - Damoh - Sagar - Chhindwara - Nagpur - Karanja - Jalna - Ahmednagar - Pune - Navi Mumbai

Total Distance: 3774 kms

As you can see, Plan B looks like a better bet because I shave off a little over 200 kms from the total journey.

I worked out the travel dates as well and it appears that I can accomodate both plans between 3rd May and 16th May. I can manage to reach my hometown in 3-4 days with a week of break in between and the return leg in 3-4 days.

I am particularly interested in knowing the Indore - Ujjain - Chittorgarh - Kota - Shivpuri road condition. Because in both plans, I'll be using this route.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

I am particularly interested in knowing the Indore - Ujjain - Chittorgarh - Kota - Shivpuri road condition. Because in both plans, I'll be using this route.

My take :

- I think you should not use the Nagpur sector.
- When going via Indore:
- Nashik-Mhow-Indore-Devas-Bhopal-Jabalpur-Maihar-Rewa-Allahabad-Varanasi-Azamgarh.

- As regards to Kota sector, nothing to worry. NH8/NH76 route to Kota is 4-lane (Mumbai-Vapi-AMD-Himmatnagar-Udaipur-Chittor-Kota)
- And so is Indore-Ratlam-Chittor-Kota (NH79/NH76!
- So no worries there.

So to summarise:
- Which ever route you take for Kota its 4-lane all the way.
- For the Indore option, please note that the 4-lane towards Chittor starts from Lebad and not Indore.
- If you are not planning to stay Indore, then you can bypass the city via Pithampur to Lebad and there on continue on 4-lane to Chittor via Ratlam on NH79.

Do check with HVK too.

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by ampere

My take :

- I think you should not use the Nagpur sector.
- When going via Indore:
- Nashik-Mhow-Indore-Devas-Bhopal-Jabalpur-Maihar-Rewa-Allahabad-Varanasi-Azamgarh.

-

To be honest, I am not keen on the Nagpur sector either. The trouble with Bhopal - Jabalpur - Maihar - Rewa - Allahabad section is that it goes through NH7 and Maihar to Rewa and beyond can be quite daunting. The roads were real bad in late 2012 when I drove. Not sure if they have improved since then. HVK did mention in one of the earlier posts to avoid parts of this section.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by wanderlustindia

To be honest, I am not keen on the Nagpur sector either. The trouble with Bhopal - Jabalpur - Maihar - Rewa - Allahabad section is that it goes through NH7 and Maihar to Rewa and beyond can be quite daunting. The roads were real bad in late 2012 when I drove. Not sure if they have improved since then. HVK did mention in one of the earlier posts to avoid parts of this section.

I remember reading about that section. See this link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...nh-27-a-2.html


I think a solution can be :

Bhopal-Jabalpur-Shahpura-Umaria-Tala-Jaisingnagar-Beohari-Rewa-Allahabad

See this update by Samarjit on SH9/SH10

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2694274

[wanderlustindia]

Originally Posted by ampere

I remember reading about that section. See this link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...nh-27-a-2.html


I think a solution can be :

Bhopal-Jabalpur-Shahpura-Umaria-Tala-Jaisingnagar-Beohari-Rewa-Allahabad

See this update by Samarjit on SH9/SH10

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...ml#post2694274

Thanks for pointing me to this thread. This is very useful information and is much appreciated.