[Indizen08]

Driving Down India : from Kashmir to Kanyakumari in One Week Flat!
I got this idea from the current issue of Autobild magazine. They drove a BMW and an Audi from Srinagar to Kanyakumari, in five days, along the north south corridor!
Has anyone here tried or even considered doing this?
They stopped enroute at places like Pathankot, Jhansi, Nizamabad, etc. They tried to bypass major cities like Hyderabad and Bangalore.
Can we discuss the logistics please, of an ambitious venture like this?
Its around 3777 km.
See "Mapping the country from north to south
From the mountains of Kashmir to the southern state of Kerala, Auto Bild Indiaa embarks on an epic drive on the North-South Corridor", in the current issue of the magazine.

[hvkumar]

I did it in 4 days in Dec 2002. That was when the 4-lane roads were not yet in place.
The Autobild drive was too slow, considering that now the roads are fantastic in this sector.

Read the log book and see the photos in the following thread.
H V Kumar - Driving Log Books - KUMAR'S DRIVING LOG BOOKS Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Dec 2002

My drive was as follows:
Day 1: Srinagar-Panipat, 814 kms, was slowed down considerably thanks to heavy winter fog from Pathankot to Panipat
Day 2: Panipat-Sagar, 740 kms, terrible roads in Jhansi-Sagar sector, plus fog in Delhi and Sagar region
Day 3/4 (non-stop): Sagar-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum, 2,277 kms, terrible roads in Sagar-Laknadon, getting delayed in peak hour traffic inside Hyderabad, messy transit through Bangalore

This drive was 3,741 kms from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
My drive was in a humble 800 cc Matiz.

[quickdraw]

We should try something like this on a bike, maybe in 2 days or something considering todays roads.

[muralisk]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

I did it in 4 days in Dec 2002. That was when the 4-lane roads were not yet in place.
The Autobild drive was too slow, considering that now the roads are fantastic in this sector.

Read the log book and see the photos in the following thread.
H V Kumar - Driving Log Books - KUMAR'S DRIVING LOG BOOKS Kashmir to Kanyakumari, Dec 2002

My drive was as follows:
Day 1: Srinagar-Panipat, 814 kms, was slowed down considerably thanks to heavy winter fog from Pathankot to Panipat
Day 2: Panipat-Sagar, 740 kms, terrible roads in Jhansi-Sagar sector, plus fog in Delhi and Sagar region
Day 3/4 (non-stop): Sagar-Kanyakumari-Trivandrum, 2,277 kms, terrible roads in Sagar-Laknadon, getting delayed in peak hour traffic inside Hyderabad, messy transit through Bangalore

This drive was 3,741 kms from Srinagar to Kanyakumari.
My drive was in a humble 800 cc Matiz.

Wow!! 3741 kms from Srinagar to Kanyakumari in Matiz - that's really cool. Sad that Daewoo went bust, else it is one of the best car to own.

[phamilyman]

Indizen, I told you as much na?

Its our HVKumar saab. I'm sure he'll beat that timing as of now hands down

[coolclouds]

We did Delhi-Cochin this March in 56hrs with two breaks.

We took GQ till Hubli then NH17 to reach Kochi (It was a wrong decision as the route is very slow compared to Bangalore/Mettur/Palghat). The whole route we traveled till Hubli was fantastic but Hubli to Karwar was heavily packed with lorries carrying iron ore.

Some bad stretches between Karwar to Mangalore and as usual, heavy traffic in Kerala roads. I think Kashmir to Kanyakumari can be done easily in one week.

[Sarfarazalam]

Hi guys, in the last 2 months, I have travelled Pune - Chennai, Chennai - Mumbai and back.. Now I m planning Kanyakumari to Srinagar, preferably in 3 days. Please advise if the road and weather conditions are conducive at this time of the year, especially in Kashmir.
Also, I have the option of driving a Verna 1.6 sx (diesel) or a Honda Civic, If I discount the fuel cost factor, which among these two is recommended.
Would appreciate if someone could share a recent experience and challenges. Thanks.

[arnabchak]

Originally Posted by Sarfarazalam

Hi guys, in the last 2 months, I have travelled Pune - Chennai, Chennai - Mumbai and back.. Now I m planning Kanyakumari to Srinagar, preferably in 3 days. Please advise if the road and weather conditions are conducive at this time of the year, especially in Kashmir.
Also, I have the option of driving a Verna 1.6 sx (diesel) or a Honda Civic, If I discount the fuel cost factor, which among these two is recommended.
Would appreciate if someone could share a recent experience and challenges. Thanks.

My vote for the low slung, sporty Honda Civic as compared to the wallow boat experience of the Verna.

Civic though a low car should not have much issues as you will encounter best (read as express) highways in most of the parts.

[Ajitsingh208]

Originally Posted by Sarfarazalam

Hi guys, in the last 2 months, I have travelled Pune - Chennai, Chennai - Mumbai and back.. Now I m planning Kanyakumari to Srinagar, preferably in 3 days. Please advise if the road and weather conditions are conducive at this time of the year, especially in Kashmir.
Also, I have the option of driving a Verna 1.6 sx (diesel) or a Honda Civic, If I discount the fuel cost factor, which among these two is recommended.
Would appreciate if someone could share a recent experience and challenges. Thanks.

Kanyakumari to Jammu is fine, the problem will be from Patnitop onwards,
Jawahar Tunnel might be blocked due to snowfall as well. Worst case you might have to spend a day or 2 in the car.
Other than that I see no problems, Take the Verna, it has higher GC.
I have done Delhi - Pune-Kanyakumari but I did that by breaking my journey at Udaipur,Pune,Bangalore. It can be done in 3 days easily if you plan your breaks and don't encounter a very very bad traffic jam somewhere.

[abbey4u]

Originally Posted by Sarfarazalam

Hi guys, in the last 2 months, I have travelled Pune - Chennai, Chennai - Mumbai and back.. Now I m planning Kanyakumari to Srinagar, preferably in 3 days. Please advise if the road and weather conditions are conducive at this time of the year, especially in Kashmir.
Also, I have the option of driving a Verna 1.6 sx (diesel) or a Honda Civic, If I discount the fuel cost factor, which among these two is recommended.
Would appreciate if someone could share a recent experience and challenges. Thanks.

I would discourage such hectic driving even if you wanna prove someone that you can do it in 3 days (considering you will be driving 20 hrs each day i.e. 60 hrs in total) . Yes we all are young and can drive a rocket on road, but it's for your safety and others too and hence request you not to try such adventure.

[Sarfarazalam]

Originally Posted by abbey4u

I would discourage such hectic driving even if you wanna prove someone that you can do it in 3 days (considering you will be driving 20 hrs each day i.e. 60 hrs in total) . Yes we all are young and can drive a rocket on road, but it's for your safety and others too and hence request you not to try such adventure.

Thanks, the plan is to have 3 drivers and do it in 3 days. Hence, looking at possibilities. Thanks for your suggestion though - will put it as part of the equation.

[anupamsinha]

Enjoy the drive!

Don't just jump for the sheer reason of breaking a record because later there can / will be drivers who able to better it.

Enjoying what you do should be what you are looking at.

[humyum]

See, I have done Mumbai to Srinagar and then later to Leh and that circuit in a Swift D.

It took me 3 days to reach Srinagar from Mumbai, it's around 2700 km. By the end of Srinagar, I was DEAD, so was my friend who was a co-passenger.

Just sitting in the car is fatigue enough, driving or not.

1 week is a pretty good time, please stop whenever anyone is tired or feeling sleepy.

We want to see good pictures of the trip, not just the 'Gaadi se mundi bahar nikal ke liya' types

Have fun, be safe !

[Sarfarazalam]

Thanks for the insight - But looks like this has to wait a couple of more months. I am being shipped abroad for assignments :(

Maybe I travel a bit there before coming back and going to Kashmir - Will share pics.