[Tanveer_2558]

Originally Posted by Caddy

Hello, I'm driving down to Nasik this week. Request any updates or concerns on road conditions from recent travelers.
Also, since I'm traveling with family members, any inputs on a decent place to stop by for lunch are most welcome.
Thank you

The road all the way till nasik is pretty good, You might find some random potholes here and there but nothing to worry about, Also be extra cautions while your approaching any junction or crossings, Bikers, Cyclist's tend to come out of no where and since the road is 2 lane on each side you need to be cautious. Also several new restaurants have opened which you will find on your left side while going to nasik, I don't remember the names though.

[phoenixash]

Just to update this thread with the road conditions, did this stretch upto Manas Resorts @ Igatpuri, and the road is in sublime condition. Was my first time driving on this road, had only read about it here in this thread and in various reviews.

Was left super impressed with the road design and construction, the ghat section especially is much better than the Mumbai - Pune Expressway, and traffic is also much lighter, meaning you can keep up speeds at 80-100 kph easily. I now understand GTO's fondness for this expressway, can't wait to plan another trip which involves crossing this highway!

[kabir3551]

Hello Friends. I had planned to travel to Aurangabad from Pune on 12th march to 13th March. However, last minute the plan changed. Instead of Aurangabad the trip has changed to Saputara, Gujarat. I am in a fix whether to use Pune-Nashik Highway or to go via Kalyan-Mumbra as mentioned in the thread. Can anybody pl advice on this as I am short of time because the I have to start on 12th March. All suggestions and advise will be welcomed.

[kabir3551]

Hi Friends. I completed my ride from Pune to Saputara. After reading about the conditions of the Pune-Nashik Highway, I planned to take Pune-Kalamboli-Mumbra-Igatpuri-Nashik-Dindori-Vani-Saputara Road. I started from Pune at 6.30am and reached Saputara at 1.45pm approximately. I will give the break up of the Journey.

Pune to Kalamboli-(112kms)
As we all are aware about the awesome Pune-Mumbai Expressway so there is no need for me to give inputs about the road. Stopped at the first Food Plaza for filling diesel. The important thing is about the time taken by me to reach. I reached Kalamboli at 8.10am. I took the exit from the expressway for Kalamboli to Mumbra.

Kalamboli-Mumbra upto Circular Bridge-(27kms)
The road from Kalamboli to Mumbra is decent for few kms. This route has two big problems. First- The long and other type of trucks. As we know trucks are there to ruin your speed and mood. Second- Speed Breakers- It feels as if road is laid on the speed breakers. The size of the speed breakers are huge. My advice to the low GC vehicle driver is to take it very easy on the speed breakers. Fews kms drive on the road leads toward a By Pass. The by pass is not that great because it is occupied by the trucks. The condition of the road is horrific. Even horrific is a under powered word for it. It feels as if we are sitting in Mr. India car which is at Adlabs Imagica. However, good news is that, while coming from Saputara to Pune i saw work going on the said road. I started from Kalamboli at 8.10am and reached NH3 approximately at 9.05am. Paid toll of Rs. 30 for using this road.

NH3-Nashik-(Amrutdham Road)- (145kms)-
Started from NH3 (the circular bridge) at 9.05am. For the first few kms I seriously doubted this is a National Highway. After crossing approximately 10kms with reduction in the regular traffic you feel better and then you get in your top gear (driving top gear, not car's top gear). The road is awesome. But you have to be little careful wherever there is opening in the divider. I did not face any cattle encroachment problem. I stopped at the first Vitthal Kamat's for breakfast. Food was good. I may have spent 25mins at the hotel. There may be 7-8 potholes. The potholes are placed such that you can negotiate them. The freeway of Nashik is too good. Crossed the Nashik City with ease. I reached Nashik's Amrutdham Road by 11.50am. I just cruised on the Nashik Freeway at 110kmph. You do not even realise when you crossed Nashik City. Pl take care of the speed breakers on the NH3. Yes there are some speed breakers on NH3. Very few. The speed breakers are in a lot of 04 speed breakers.

Nashik-Saputara-(80kms)
The road from Nashik to Saputara is ok ok. There is no divider between the roads. You can maintain speed of 60-80kmph. But when traffic is there you have to move according to the condition. Even though it is 80kms you are to assume that you will take 02 hours comfortably for reaching Saputara. I stayed at Aakar Lords Inn at Saputara. I can say that, the food they serve is awesome. If you happen to visit Saputara, then you can stay there and have a wonderful time.

I started for my return journey on the same route next day, i.e. Today. I will give the timings-

Saputara-Nashik (Amrutdham Road)-
Started at 10.15am reached Amrutdham Road at 12pm.

Amrutdham Road-NH3.
I took halt at Igatpuri Gurudwara. They serve 24 hours langar. They don't charge you anything for it. The good thing is that, you have to wash your utensils. Being a Sikh i know the value of the place and it was very satisfying and gave me a beautiful break. Coming back to NH3. Pl note that after Vrindavan Hotel there are few potholes so the person sitting next to the driver can keep a watch for the Vrindavan Hotel on the left side of the road. I was cruising at 110kmph. As i was nearing Circular bridge the traffic started increasing. Also there is flyover work under progress. I reached the circular bridge on NH3 at 3pm.

Circular Bridge-Kalamboli
I reached Circular Bridge at 3pm and took the Mumbra By pass again. At this point of time I saw the workers on the road brushing and cleaning the surface on the road. Pl note the kms after you reach the end of the by pass and that merges onto the regular road. After 17kms there is a left turn which leads towards Pune via Expressway. After taking left turn you may feel that something is wrong. There are large number of trucks parked on the road. Take a left before the signal and there is sign board near Debasish Inn hotel. Take the said road and you are on to the Pune-Mumbai Expressway.

Kalamboli-Pune(Sangvi).
I reached Kalamboli at 3.30pm. Started from Kalamboli towards Pune. Stopped at the first food mall for 15mins. I reached home at 5pm. I took the Sangvi Phata.

Total length of the trip- 718kms.

The drivers using NH3 are lucky as compared to the drivers using the SH50. All in all had a great time on NH3. Even though the length of the trip got extended from 281kms(SH50) to 360kms(NH4+NH3). You can use NH3 without any doubt. Roads are awesome but with caution for the openings on the dividers. We tend to get carried away. But have a cool mind and keep aside the temptation.[ATTACH]1485319[/ATTACH]

[vivek95]

I drove from Mumbai to Nasik a week back and am pleased to report that the highway - NH3 is simply superb, what with the beautiful supersmooth 4 lane roads meandering through Western Ghats with numerous uphill and downhill sections and with Kasara ghat being the ultimate show stopper. I have travelled on this route in Volvo buses about 4-5 times before but it's the first time I drove myself in my Polo. Some of the stretches have been freshly laid while the old ones too are in buttersmooth condition. You do have speedbreakers unfortunately but I just didn't bother when the road was otherwise so scenic and awesome. Let me not forget to mention about the umpteen umpteen excellent eateries all along the way. I had stopped at Hotel Greenland atop Kasara ghat going towards Nasik and the Pav Bhaji there was yummy. I am just eagerly waiting for monsoons to arrive and drive on this road again, it would be surely super scenic, surreal and mindblowing.

[sumeethaldankar]

Contemplating a Igatpuri trip. How are the road conditions via Mumbai Airoli ? Any pointers, suggestions ? How many tolls are expected and if starting from Airoli say at 8 am what is expected time to reach Igatpuri.

Thanks in advance.

[sleepyk]

Originally Posted by sumeethaldankar

How are the road conditions via Mumbai Airoli ? Any pointers, suggestions ? How many tolls are expected and if starting from Airoli say at 8 am what is expected time to reach Igatpuri.

Just did this drive yesterday.
The stretch of road from Airoli to Thane is alright... Some stretches are bumpy and single lane because of construction, but overall it's a great drive.

Do be careful of the trucks on the expressway as most of them don't pay any heed to lane discipline and can make the drive slightly frustrating at times.

I think there is only one toll (105rs) on the Mumbai Nashik expressway if you go through Airoli then Thane.
If you catch the Eastern Express Highway then you would end up paying 2 more tolls of 35rs each. Both of these are extremely close to each other and are operated by MEP roadways


Took me around 3½ hours each way with average speed of 60-70kmph.

[srvm]

Folks, I have to travel Mumbai-Nashik-Mumbai sometime next week.
My itinerary forces me to travel from Nashik to Mumbai in the night time. Is it safe to do this? Should I expect fog?

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by sleepyk

I think there is only one toll (105rs) on the Mumbai Nashik expressway if you go through Airoli then Thane.

There are actually 3 tolls enroute from Thane to Nashik. The first toll immediately after Thane is the Kharegaon toll which has been closed now. After that there is a Padgha toll and Igatpuri toll. Based on your post it seems the Padgha toll is not operational anymore. Can you confirm that please?

Can you also confirm if the flyover at the Kalyan - Bhiwandi junction is complete and operational. The traffic at this junction was a major block in otherwise smooth ride.

Originally Posted by srvm

Folks, I have to travel Mumbai-Nashik-Mumbai sometime next week.
My itinerary forces me to travel from Nashik to Mumbai in the night time. Is it safe to do this? Should I expect fog?

Avoid night trip as mush as possible due top heavy vehicle traffic on the NH3. Haven't done night driving in this stretch but expecting Igatpuri to be ghat section expect some poor visibility.

[srvm]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

There are actually 3 tolls enroute from Thane to Nashik. The first toll immediately after Thane is the Kharegaon toll which has been closed now. After that there is a Padgha toll and Igatpuri toll. Based on your post it seems the Padgha toll is not operational anymore. Can you confirm that please?

Can you also confirm if the flyover at the Kalyan - Bhiwandi junction is complete and operational. The traffic at this junction was a major block in otherwise smooth ride.

Thanks ghodlur. I did the trip last week and here is what I can update.
Did Mumbai-Nashik on 21st Nov. Started from Mumbai Airport Terminal 2 at 11.30am. Reached Ojhar HAL Township around 4.30pm. I was on a taxi and this is my first trip by road on this highway. The flyover with a pipeline road next to it - is it the Kalyan-Bhiwandi junction? If so, then the flyover isn't complete. It was a complete mess there. We took 30-40 minutes to cross it during daytime.
Regarding tolls, we were a group of Govt. officials on a official trip and flashing our ID/badge got us through all tolls for free. Hence I did not count how many tolls were there en route

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Avoid night trip as mush as possible due top heavy vehicle traffic on the NH3. Haven't done night driving in this stretch but expecting Igatpuri to be ghat section expect some poor visibility.

Did the return journey from Nashik to Mumbai on the night of 24th November again by taxi. Started from Nashik around 8.30pm and reached Mumbai airport around 1.30am including a yummy dinner break for an hour at Guru-da-dhaba just before Igatpuri. There was no fog for the complete route and the Kasara ghat was well laid with reflectors. Truck traffic was there but nothing too bothersome. Night driving in this stretch is definitely possible.

[Ithaca]

Did a trip from Vashi to Nashik on 10th Feb 2018. Left Vashi at 0500 Hrs.
An update to members who contemplate this trip - there is no toll at the Thane Bhiwandi Toll Plaza.
The only toll I paid was Rs 105 at Shahapur, this toll receipt is shown at Ghoti and the vehicle is allowed to pass.
The road condition from Thane to Nashik was fantastic.
I was advised to leave early in the morning to avoid being held up by truck traffic at Bhiwandi and I am grateful to my friend for that suggestion.
Breezed through Bhiwandi at 0600 hrs.
The Food Hub - which comes much after Shahapur Toll only opens at 0600 hrs - only one food stall is open at 0600~0700 hrs. We had hot tea at that stall.
I wish I had halted at Palash Food Court instead - at that early hour.

Will be doing another trip to Nashik on 18th Feb. Hope to have a great lunch at Manas Resort at that time.

[ada]

Guys, just wanted to ask, is the Igatpuri/Kasara ghat still one way? Or has both side lanes opened.

[greenoval]

Originally Posted by ada

Guys, just wanted to ask, is the Igatpuri/Kasara ghat still one way? Or has both side lanes opened.

Traveled last Thursday (17th of Oct) to Nasik via Kasara Ghat. Though the ghat from Mumbai towards Nasik was barricaded with no entry sign, cars and bikes continued on the route. Only the trucks and buses took the diversion to the other side. I travel to Nasik every Thursday and every time I have seen cars going via the closed road. Even the cops stationed don't stop. So I think the road is wide enough for cars to pass (not recommending you to enter the blocked road but do analyse the traffic and decide).

[TaurusAl]

Just did Mumbai - Nashik this week. The road condition on Kasara ghat is not so great. I have documented the drive on the ghat in the link below. I was kind of scared to drive due to the oncoming wrong way traffic which seemed to come from any side and on the blind spots. Here is the link

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZggrS1ouXo

[Shreyas_H]

Originally Posted by TaurusAl

Just did Mumbai - Nashik this week.

How was the overall route? I've heard there are lots of huge potholes now thanks to the rains closer to Nashik.

Will low ground clearance be an issue currently? Have done that route earlier with no problems on my Honda City