Originally Posted by COUGAR

Is this 4-laned Chittor-Pune?

A 95-km stretch between Malegaon and Shirdi is 2-laned.

[GTO]

Thanks to Ravi Dasgupta for sharing!

I have done the Sagar Hyderabad route a year back when on my way to Ladakh. I returned via Mumbai as l needed to drop a couple who lives there. Having driven on both routes, I would say that I prefer the former. There is much less traffic and so you can probably make better time. The bad patches are the first 200 km after Agra, and a small patch near Nagpur where 4 lane work is still in progress.

Most of MP roads are 4 lane with no traffic. The stretch from Hyderabad to Bangalore is also superb and takes about 7 hours. I had driven in 2 days - the first from Bangalore to Nagpur and the next till Agra. Delhi Agra is again a superb express way which can be covered in two hours.

Don't know what the rain damage is like, but assume it should be similar on both roads. I had driven from Bangalore to Nasik and back last month, but at that time rains had not reached Maharashtra as yet. There is a patch between Satara and Pune where fly overs are being constructed and the road conditions are quite bad. Besides the traffic on this route is much heavier.

[kiranknair]

Thanks GTO for the update.

Guys, my friends are buying an used car from New Delhi and driving it to Bangalore. We can afford a maximum of 2 days travel (probably 15 hours of drive shared between two people per day). Which route do you suggest?

[Sem80-88]

Hi all, have to drive a SUV back from Chennai to Delhi on the 16th . Please could someone update me on the route conditions
I am thinking of Chennai-Hyd-Nagpur- Agra-Dehi

[nilanjanray]

I prefer the Bangalore - Hyd - Nagpur - Lakhnadon - Sagar - Jhansi - Agra - Delhi route. More scenic, less traffic. NH4/NH8 and the Indore - Pune route has a lot more traffic.

A year back, only the Jhansi - Gwalior stretch was bad. Don't know the conditions after this monsoon.

[stormdRider]

Hi,
As per the current road conditions is it possible to cover Bangalore - Agra in two days? We will be taking this route on our Ladakh trip next week and we are planning to cover maximum distance on the initial leg of our journey. It would be really helpful in planning our journey if someone who has recently done this route share some info on this.
Thanks

[RCD]

Originally Posted by stormdRider

Hi,
As per the current road conditions is it possible to cover Bangalore - Agra in two days? We will be taking this route on our Ladakh trip next week and we are planning to cover maximum distance on the initial leg of our journey. It would be really helpful in planning our journey if someone who has recently done this route share some info on this.
Thanks

Hi stormdRider,

I have not driven all the way to Agra since I drove till Ladakh last year, but have driven till MP post that.

On my way to Ladakh this is what I did :

Day 1 : started at 4 am and reached Nagpur by 7 pm. Halts for tea and lunch on the way. Lunch just after the Hyderabad bypass road. Did not go all the way into Nagpur, instead stayed at a hotel just 200 mts off the highway in one of the MIDC areas.

Day 2 : Started at 3 am as I hoped to reach Agra before sunset and catch a glimpse of the Taj. Plan failed because one of my new AT tyres got blown as a result of hitting an unexpected crater @ 120 kmph in the darkness just 20 mts after the Nagpur bypass merged with the regular road. Wasted an hour because of having to unload all luggage from the back and change the tyre in the dark. Still, I think the plan itself was sound. If I did it again, I would drive at max of 90 kmph till the sun rises as this will give you enough time to react to damaged roads.

Regardless of this, we still reached Agra by 6-7 pm so the short answer to your question is yes, Bangalore- Agra is easily doable in 2 days of driving provided you take a very early start on both days.

There was a lot of road widening ( 4 laning ) work going on as we were approaching Nagpur. Hopefully that is all completed now, and you should take still less time.

Similarly lots of road widening ( 4 laning ) work going on as you get towards Agra. The last bit ( Jhansi, Gwalior etc. ) has both road works and huge traffic volumes and we reached around the early evening so may have caught more commuters.

Though you have not asked, day 3 we set out from Agra at 2 am , and reached Jalhandar well in time to catch the daily ceremony at the Atari/Wagah border.

After visiting the Golden Temple and Jalianwala bagh the next morning ( we stayed at a hotel walking distance from these 2 ) , we set out for Patni Top and reached there by late evening.

Next day stopped at Srinagar.

Unfortunately with the troubles in the Kashmir valley, you will probably have to go in and out from the Manali side instead.

[paragsachania]

We drove from Delhi to Bangalore during last weekend taking the central India route only for a reason to try it out as I have usually and always taken the Western India route during my last 4 drives to New Delhi.

The only negative remarks about the North-South corridor was the bad section between Gwalior and Jhansi - ~ 130 kms. Apart from this, mixed opinions about Nagpur – Adilabad section too.

Since we were 3 Drivers and all alone, we didn’t have much to think about good places to stop by to eat or stay and hence we considered taking the North-South Corridor only for the experience and nothing else.

Here is the quick & detailed report on the same:

• Route taken: Delhi (NOIDA) – Agra – Gwalior – Jhansi – Sagar – Narsingpur – Chindwara – Nagpur – Adilabad – Hyderabad – Kurnool – Bangalore
  
  
• Distance Travelled - ~ 2100 Kms
  
  
• Time taken: Started from NOIDA at 0830 PM reached Bangalore at 0430AM (32 Hours)

Route update:

• NOIDA – Greater NOIDA – Yamuna Expressway: Remain good as before but I did see a drastic change in the overall surface quality of YEW since my last drive in 2013
  
  
• Agra Bypass: Since it was almost 11:00 PM while we crossed this city, it wasn’t much of an issue and we were out of the city in around 30 minutes max
  
  
• Gwalior – Jhansi: This was expected to be bad (Had a word with J.Ravi) and it indeed turned out to be. Road works in progress, undone sections, potholes, unmarked diversions, lots and lots of dust all around made things tricky at night but the only saving grace here was that it was night and overtaking was easier compared to day when you have to tail traffic that not only includes Trucks but also local vehicles including cars, Tempos & Buses
  
  
• Gwalior - Jhansi – Latipur – Sagar – Narsignpur: Well, what to say. This entire stretch is a “cattle corridor” even at night. Not only we spotted thousands (yes you read it right) cattle happily sitting on the middle of the road but regularly spotted dead ones too in under 300 kms. While these didn’t pose a huge threat on single carriageway roads between Gwalior and Jhansi as the road conditions itself made one drive at super slow speeds, they were indeed a huge threat all the way till Narsingpur where roads are 4 laned and superfast. Suddenly you are at cruising speeds and you spot a herd standing in the middle of the road while a few are lazily sitting beside the median and shoulder. With so much of driving done, never in my life I have seen cattle in such a huge number on our highways. There were just so many!
  
  
• Narsingpur – Chindwara – Nagpur: What to say, one of the most beautifully done single carriageways with least traffic. In fact from Narsingpur, Googlemaps also suggested this as an alternate to the usual Seoni Road as that was slower by at least an Hour. These pictures should say a lot about the wonderful section
  
  
• Nagpur – Adilabad:– Mostly bad and that was indeed a big surprise that this route remains in such a pathetic condition. I usually stay away from referring to roads as very bad but I would call this really bad. It may have been worse before but what it is today is no good anyway. Badly managed diversions, huge potholes, truck traffic ‘et al. I would call this nothing better than Gwalior – Jhansi which was equally bad
  
  
• Adilabad – Hyderabad – ORR – Kurnool Bangalore: No specific remarks, good roads all the way including the usually wonderfully managed Hyderabad ORR

My preference for Bangalore – Delhi

• Western India route sticking to Pune – Mumbai – Ahmedabad – Jaipur or even Pune – Nashik – Dhule – Ratlam – Ajmer Jaipur
  
  
• The NS Corridor may have less traffic but when it comes to even basic facilities, you are at your own mercy. With family with you, you need to plan each of your breaks very well in advance due to lack of places to stop by on this route
  
  
• The bad sections between Jhansi – Gwalior and Adilabad – Nagpur are indeed bad that It certainly won’t give any advantage over the western India circuit
  
  
• When you are with family and Kids, the bad roads really won’t give the passengers a good/comfortable ride. In fact, am sure they would frequently ask you when will the bad roads get over
  
  
• With good planning each day, Bypassing Pune, Mumbai, Ankleshwar-Bharuch is still easier and comfortable than driving on bad roads on NS Corridor
  
  
• One can totally bypass Udaipur if you take the Ahmedabad – Mehansa – Udaipur option instead of Ahmedabad – Himmatnagar – Udaipur route
  
  
• The Western India circuit is a food highway with aplenty options to stop by and eat & as well halt for the night
  
  
• The Western India circuit has good private traffic & roads are good all throughout that you need not bother about anything here

How fast is the North-South Corridor that is only 200 kms shorter to the Western India Route?

• While the North-South Corridor took us 32 Hours with 1.5 Hours lost due to a block nearing Narsingpur at a village, it may have taken us almost 30 hours of continuous driving with regular breaks otherwise
  
  
• NOIDA – Nagpur which is exactly halfway took us exactly 18 Hours (2030 to 1430 next day)
  
  
• Nagpur – Hyderabad – Bangalore took us another 13.5 Hours (1500 to 0430 Next day)
• If I do Bangalore – Delhi via Mumbai – Jaipur, I would take 20 Hours to Ahmedabad (13+7) and another 15 hours to Delhi from here which adds only 3-4 hours to North-South Corridor and still offer a peaceful drive

Summary: Take the NS Corridor if you want near empty roads and less crowded places to pass by. Its less urban that way. Take it for the experience of driving through the central India and nothing else.

For all other reasons, stick to Western India route for the present conditions.

The beautiful Narsingpur - Chindwara route:

Breaks:

• Tanked up first at BPCL just before YEW
  
• Dinner break after Agra
  
• Refueling after Jhansi
  
• Super light breakfast (Namkeen is all we got) after Narsingpur
  
• Lunch at an authentic Punjabi Dhaba in Nagpur
  
• Refueling at Nagpur
  
• Dinner at one of those many wannabe Bawarchis at Medchal before Hyderabad ORR
  
• Refueling after we joined Hyderabad - Bangalore highway once we exited ORR

[rohanak1]

I will be visiting the Taj Mahal on 26/12 as part of North India trip. I have booked a Meru cab for 6am. Is this a safe time to start considering the fog? How long should it take to reach using the YEW?

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

I will be visiting the Taj Mahal on 26/12 as part of North India trip. I have booked a Meru cab for 6am. Is this a safe time to start considering the fog? How long should it take to reach using the YEW?

You havent mentioned from where you are starting.6am in all probability would be fogged out on the YEW.Should not take you more than 3-4hours from Noida to the Taj.

[rohanak1]

Oops. I am sorry We will be starting from Delhi (Green park).
If the YEW is fogged out would it be extremely unsafe? Should I start a little later? I fear that reaching Taj Mahal too late would result in long queues for the tickets. And we all know how crazy it gets in queues in India.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

Oops. I am sorry We will be starting from Delhi (Green park).
If the YEW is fogged out would it be extremely unsafe? Should I start a little later? I fear that reaching Taj Mahal too late would result in long queues for the tickets. And we all know how crazy it gets in queues in India.

Fog is something that is totally unpredictable,if its your lucky day you just might not have any fog(from experience,this possibility looks remote).If you are not planning to return the same day,a late departure would not harm your cause

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Fog is something that is totally unpredictable,if its your lucky day you just might not have any fog(from experience,this possibility looks remote).If you are not planning to return the same day,a late departure would not harm your cause

We would be returning the same day. I was thinking about the Gatiman express but it starts back from Agra too soon. About 5:50pm I guess.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by rohanak1

We would be returning the same day. I was thinking about the Gatiman express but it starts back from Agra too soon. About 5:50pm I guess.

Convenient.

You can also check for availability on Taj Express or go via one and return via the other.

Leaves HNizamuddin at 0810,Agra at 0950, and leaves Agra at 1750 and back at HNizamuddin at 1930.Gives you a full 6 hours at Agra to see the Taj and Agra Fort which is more than adequate time.Prepaid taxis are avlbl just outside the Agra Cantt and should cost you about 150-200.You can negotiate with them for a 6hr trip and drop you back to the station in time to catch your train back,cabs usually take about 1400 from station-taj-fort-station.Autos take about 500-700 for the same circuit.

[rohanak1]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Convenient.

You can also check for availability on Taj Express or go via one and return via the other.

Leaves HNizamuddin at 0810,Agra at 0950, and leaves Agra at 1750 and back at HNizamuddin at 1930.Gives you a full 6 hours at Agra to see the Taj and Agra Fort which is more than adequate time.Prepaid taxis are avlbl just outside the Agra Cantt and should cost you about 150-200.You can negotiate with them for a 6hr trip and drop you back to the station in time to catch your train back,cabs usually take about 1400 from station-taj-fort-station.Autos take about 500-700 for the same circuit.

Thanks a lot. I am still unable to make up my mind. The taxi gives me the convenience of hotel pickup. But the train definitely is much more safer considering the fog and the way people drive on the YEH. I don't want to be involved in a 20-25 car pileup.