14 days, 10 states, 4 major rivers and 5000 kms of pure bliss !!!!
Bangalore to Delhi and further to Jim Corbett and Back-Part 2 In Delhi
10th to 12th
Delhi was beautiful –We visited Akshardham Temple, Connaught Place and Nearby markets, Kingdom of Dreams in Gurgaon and a few other places in Ghaziabad.
The roof is artificial lighting-KOD
Artistes @ the entrance to the Auditorium –Zangoora Musical @ KOD.The Bollywood musical was brilliant
13th and 14th Nov
Jim Corbett National park @ Mapple resort
This was planned in September with two safari bookings @ Bijrani Zone.As many of you know This park has five zones-Dhikala,Bijrani,Durgadevi,Jirna and Sitabani buffer zone
Dhikala is considered the best for Game sighting but opens only on 15th Nov and we chose the next best Bijrani.One safari in AN and one early morning one
These days the authorities allow only 30 approved Jeeps with a guide per zone per time.Hence advance booking is necessary.
We left RB Ghaziabad on 13th morning at 6 am and hit the NH24 in no time.
This route is largely on well paved NH 24 for about 160 kms and then on a state high way for 80 kms.The road condition was excellent throughout.
There is a CCD/McD complex enroute @ 100th KM from Ghaziabad that we reached by 830 after a leisurely drive
And reached the resort by 1045 AM
NH24 from Ghaziabad at 7 am
Ganges River bridge enroute Jim Corbett
Pokemon !
Monsoon Rivers inside the park
Spot me !(inside the park)
We were not lucky with the big cat. Though we waited for about an hour in a spot where could hear repeated roars in the vicinity. But the park itself is so beautiful and both safari trips were fantastic, well worth the money.
Returned to base on the 14th AN around 2 pm leaving at 830 am (a mistake)
14th AN and 15th whole in general relaxed and did nothing except buying fruits and washing the car
The Return
16th Nov
Left Ghaziabad at 430 am and crossed Agra before 7 am via YEW.
People cheering Hot air balloons along the banks of River Yamuna @ Agra
Don’t miss this gas station somewhere near Sagar on NH26 a great pitstop
This time wanted to split the distance into equal halves and hence drove to a small town called Narsingpur via NH 26 and stayed in a basic hotel by name Atithi.This was just about OK for a night’s stay but I would recommend another 100kms drive to Chhindwara and stay at Hotel The Karan that had good reviews on Trip advisor and had signage’s all over the town.
This time did not encounter much traffic in the dreaded Gwalior to Jhansi section.
We were stopped by traffic cops just before Jhansi and checked all documents. And at the end complemented us for having all documents updated !!
Reached there by 530 after about 800 kms .Enroute we had packed lunch by a road side dhaba
Summary: Distance 810 kms ;On road time 13 hours-Driving time 12 hours
Pitstops: YEW Agra end ;@ Deepali Sagar for convenience and coffee.
17th November
From Narsingpur you can drive westwards towards Pench via laknadaon or take right and drive towards Chhindwara via NH 26 B.We decided to try the NH26 B as the earlier drive via Pench through NH 7 was not that great
Left Narsinghpur at 615 am (a mistake) and drove via NH 26 B via Chhindwara ,Savner to reach Nagpur by 10 am –a distance of 250 kms.
NH26 B is the best single carriageway I have driven so far.Amazingly well marked and with zero traffic through a series of small hills all of which were very pretty.
All towns small and big had by passes and well-marked with signage’s that were intuitive for a change
I strongly recommend this route over Pench route any day.The only disadvantage was to drive through Nagpur which surprising had very smooth traffic at 930 in the morning time. g Maps all the way and it did not let us down.
Drove further to Butiborri and stopped at Royal regency Buti borri for a brunch.These people here are amazing.They recognised us from the earlier trip and took special care .Had south Indian food and packed paratha’s for lunch all for 600 Rs.
Left from that place around 11 30 or so and hoped to reach Hyderabad by 5 just intime to beat rush hour
However we were stuck for 45 min in Hinganghat level crossing.That was opened after 30 mins with no train passing
This resulted in we entering Hyderabad by 545 or so.From Medchal and then further from Kompally the legendary Hyderabad traffic hit us and we reached home by 715 pm.
Summary : Distance 750 kms ;Time on the road 13.5 hrs; Driving time 12 hours
Pitstops : Butiborri Royal regency ; Adilabad BPCL Petrol pump on the right side
In conclusion ,this was a fantastic family holiday a different one at that. My 2c is always start early 4 to 5 am is a great time to start as that helps beat the destination rush hour and makes the whole journey enjoyable. However if you are driving in December/January during peak winter your driving time may drastically reduce due to foggy conditions. So drive safe !
Ypu end up paying a toll of 1860 Rs including 360 rs for YEW alone
The home run : 19th November :Hyderabad to Bangalore
This stretch by now is like a neighbouring town drive and hence does not need major information.
However some photo’s enroute ,where we encountered the rain for the first time and in retrospect this time from 7th Nov to 20th Nov was a great time to have been out of Bangalore as I learnt
So left Hyderabad at 430 am and reached home at 230 after a detour to Puttaparthy to drop my in law’s. A distance of 600 odd km’s
So here we are safe and sound!
This trip could just not have been possible without many Team Bhpians' inputs. So a big shout out to Team BHP and the community.
Subbu