[Devil on Wheels]

I am planning to go on this road trip some time in February to attend a friends marriage. Most importantly the Monster will get to see the city of Tata's.

I have recently done a 1300 KM run through Rajasthan on my new Safari and it was fantastic. The car performed really well throughout the trip and I am fairly confidant it won't let me down.

As far as my driving abilities are concerned, I have a few thousand plus KM runs under my belt in my good ol' Alto; one of which was the 1700 KM trip to McLeodgunj and Manali last October.

Google Maps has suggested the Delhi-Aligarh-Kanpur-Allahabad-Mirzapur-Renukut-Ranchi-Jamshedpur route. About 1300 Kms with a night halt at Allahabad.

Need inputs from people who have travelled on this route. As I would be travelling with my wife, I want to be sure if this route is safe. Condition of roads is also a big concern.

If anyone can suggest a better alternate route, I would be really thankful.

[black_panther]

I would advise you to continue on GQ till Gobindpur (Dhanbad) and then reach Jamshedpur via Bokaro.

With a Safari , you can target Varanasi on Day 1, this way you might take the Allahabad bypass and avoid getting into the city.

Varanasi is congested and you might find it difficult to drive, stay as close as possible to NH2.

[pkumar]

Stay completely on NH2 till dhanbad.
Dhanbad - Chas (no need to enter bokaro) - Purulia - Tata

Dhanbad to Chas is around 45kms. Chas to Purulia 42 kms. Purulia to Tata(mango) is 80kms. At Chandil, after you have curved automatically on teh road, you need to take a right towards Tata. The left turn will take you to Ranchi.
Dhanbad to Chas has some patchy section, but road is more or less ok.
From Chas to Jamshedpur its a good 2-lane road.

If you enter Dhanbad in lean hours, you would not take more than 3.5-4 hours to reach Tata.

[sbhaduri]

Be careful while travelling to Jamshedpur by road.In order to reach jamshedpur through any which direction you need to cross maoist infested belts.I had a nasty experience yesterday while coming back to Kolkata from Jamshedpur by road.

Golden rule is to avoid travelling at night and don't drive alone stick to a convoy or in groups with other vehicles.

Dhanbad-Chandil-Jamshedpur road is not very good and is broken at many places(4 months old report).

[anujmishra]

There is one more option for Jamshedpur and this is full of good roads. From NH2 reach till Bagodar and turn right towards Hazaribagh. From Hazaribag you take NH 33 to Ranchi and then Jamshedpur.

Delhi - Bagodar - Hazaribagh - Ramgarh - Ranchi - Chandil - Jamshedpur

Bagodar - Hazaribagh = 53 Kms
Hazaribagh - Ranchi = 94 Kms
Ranchi - Jamshedpur = 126 Kms

Most of the buses use this road as road is sufficient wide.

[Devil on Wheels]

Originally Posted by sbhaduri

Be careful while travelling to Jamshedpur by road.In order to reach jamshedpur through any which direction you need to cross maoist infested belts.I had a nasty experience yesterday while coming back to Kolkata from Jamshedpur by road.

Golden rule is to avoid travelling at night and don't drive alone stick to a convoy or in groups with other vehicles.

This is my biggest worry, since I would be travelling with my wife I would like to avoid any kind of trouble with anyone. I think it would be a good idea if I can coax a friend to accompany us. Thanks mate.

Originally Posted by anujmishra

There is one more option for Jamshedpur and this is full of good roads. From NH2 reach till Bagodar and turn right towards Hazaribagh. From Hazaribag you take NH 33 to Ranchi and then Jamshedpur.

Delhi - Bagodar - Hazaribagh - Ramgarh - Ranchi - Chandil - Jamshedpur

Bagodar - Hazaribagh = 53 Kms
Hazaribagh - Ranchi = 94 Kms
Ranchi - Jamshedpur = 126 Kms

Most of the buses use this road as road is sufficient wide.

This looks like a very good option, but the only concern is that the Bagodar to Chandil area is heavly infested by Maoists. Anuj it seems you travel on these roads quite frequently, any inputs could be really valuable.

Originally Posted by pkumar

Stay completely on NH2 till dhanbad.
Dhanbad - Chas (no need to enter bokaro) - Purulia - Tata

Dhanbad to Chas is around 45kms. Chas to Purulia 42 kms. Purulia to Tata(mango) is 80kms. At Chandil, after you have curved automatically on teh road, you need to take a right towards Tata. The left turn will take you to Ranchi.
Dhanbad to Chas has some patchy section, but road is more or less ok.
From Chas to Jamshedpur its a good 2-lane road.

If you enter Dhanbad in lean hours, you would not take more than 3.5-4 hours to reach Tata.

Pkumar, sounds like a fantastic idea, but I have absolutely no idea, how bad is the maoist situation on this route.

Originally Posted by black_panther

I would advise you to continue on GQ till Gobindpur (Dhanbad) and then reach Jamshedpur via Bokaro.

With a Safari , you can target Varanasi on Day 1, this way you might take the Allahabad bypass and avoid getting into the city.

Varanasi is congested and you might find it difficult to drive, stay as close as possible to NH2.

Panther I have been to Varanasi couple of times and would like to avoid entering the city. May be I would stay at Mughal Sarai hardly 50 KMs from Varanasi, smaller town, lesser traffic.

And yes just discovered that we would be passing through Dehri which is just 17 KMs from a village called Tilothu, my ancestral village. No one in my family from my generation has ever been to this place, so its a must visit for me.

So now this trip is very much on, all second thoughts have been done away with.

[black_panther]

Panther I have been to Varanasi couple of times and would like to avoid entering the city. May be I would stay at Mughal Sarai hardly 50 KMs from Varanasi, smaller town, lesser traffic.

And yes just discovered that we would be passing through Dehri which is just 17 KMs from a village called Tilothu, my ancestral village. No one in my family from my generation has ever been to this place, so its a must visit for me.

To enter Mughal Sarai, you need to deviate from the GQ and take the old GT Road.

You'll be able to pull up till Dehri on Day1 provided you start early.

So now this trip is very much on, all second thoughts have been done away with.

I am postponing my drive from Kolkata to Ranchi because of the Maoists issues.

Be careful and drive safe. All the best !

[pkumar]

I would like to believe that Maoist situation is worrisome on the Bahargora-Kolkata route rather than the Purulia-Tata road. Atleast when i travelled between 5am to 8am 3 months back, I could not feel any issue at all. Please note that Lalgarh is situated close to the Bahargora-Kolkata road, which is very far from Tata.
People say Purulia also has some Maoist presence, but i have very frequently travelled between Bokaro-Purulia in early morning and day times, and never faced any issue.

Barhi-Hazaribagh-Ranchi road was broken till few months back. Coal burning inside the earth. I do not know if the strech is now open. Somebody here can guide you about the latest situation.
Personally i would not prefer this route.

[khoj]

@Devil on Wheels

I am planning a trip to Tatanagar/Ranchi for Feb too. What are your tentative dates of travel, maybe we could from a convoy. I just returned from a trip there 10 days back and The stretch from NH2 to Dhanbad-Chas-Purulia-Chandil is very good and from Chandil to TATAnagar the roads are fair with some repair work going on.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by Devil on Wheels

This looks like a very good option, but the only concern is that the Bagodar to Chandil area is heavly infested by Maoists. Anuj it seems you travel on these roads quite frequently, any inputs could be really valuable.

One modification in earlier route suggested. Instead of going to Bagodar you can join NH33 from Barhi itself. I generally comes from Giridih side so it came first in my mind. Many of buses, cars from north Bihar like Patna takes Barhi - Hazaribagh- Ramgarh- Ranchi-Jamshedpur route.

From Barhi to Jamshedpur is 255 Kms all in all. However there is some detour near Kuju before Ramgarh because of coal burning. It will not take much time in that detour.

On Maoist they would not harm common people at all. My home is in Giridih district, I have not heard any such incident. My family members frequently travel in both the routes. Daytime travel is absolutely no problem. Even night time you will find many vehicles in Barhi to Jamshedpur route. But you will not find single vehicle in Dhanbad to Jamshedpur route after 6 PM.

Do not worry about Maoist.

[Devil on Wheels]

Originally Posted by khoj

@Devil on Wheels

I am planning a trip to Tatanagar/Ranchi for Feb too. What are your tentative dates of travel, maybe we could from a convoy. I just returned from a trip there 10 days back and The stretch from NH2 to Dhanbad-Chas-Purulia-Chandil is very good and from Chandil to TATAnagar the roads are fair with some repair work going on.

I will be leaving Delhi on 6th Morning and intend to reach Mughal Sarai by nightfall. And from Mughal Sarai to Jamshedpur the next day.

This route sounds the best as I would be able to spend maximum time on the GQ.

[khoj]

@Devil On Wheels

Thanks buddy. Looks like my trip will materialize only towards the end of February. So I am back to Indian up to Ranchi and a hired cab there on to Tatanagar etc.

All the best for your journey, do post your travelogue.

[mkbksc]

Hi, I am starting from Noida on 3rd June morning in my XUV with my family, reach Patna same day or one day after, leave for Ranchi/Jamshedpur after three days.

My query is about Mohania - Patna - Ranchi – Jamshedpur part of the journey. Looking forward to some valuable tips for road driving in this stretch as I would be driving myself.

# This is the first time I am driving my car in Bihar/Jharkhand al though I belong to that area.
# Places to eat lunch/dinner type food in this stretch
# good fuel stations
# precautions to be taken in this stretch.

My family(wife, 2 kids and mother) also like travelling by car and we have been to most of the hill stations in north in my old Wagon-R. My XUV is five months old and I have driven it to Dehradun and Agra.

I tried searching for this stretch in the forum but recent & meaningful information could not be found. Or maybe, I did not search properly. GoSlow and Predatorwheelz have already provided valuable tips on Noida –Varanasi leg of NH-2.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by mkbksc

Hi, I am starting from Noida on 3rd June morning in my XUV with my family, reach Patna same day or one day after, leave for Ranchi/Jamshedpur after three days.

My query is about Mohania - Patna - Ranchi – Jamshedpur part of the journey. Looking forward to some valuable tips for road driving in this stretch as I would be driving myself.

# This is the first time I am driving my car in Bihar/Jharkhand al though I belong to that area.
# Places to eat lunch/dinner type food in this stretch
# good fuel stations
# precautions to be taken in this stretch.

My family(wife, 2 kids and mother) also like travelling by car and we have been to most of the hill stations in north in my old Wagon-R. My XUV is five months old and I have driven it to Dehradun and Agra.

I tried searching for this stretch in the forum but recent & meaningful information could not be found. Or maybe, I did not search properly. GoSlow and Predatorwheelz have already provided valuable tips on Noida –Varanasi leg of NH-2.

You do not need to worry. The Patna-Ranchi- JSR route is pretty straightforward.

First talking about Patna- Ranchi stretch, there are two ways to reach Ranchi from Patna, both good. One is via Gaya, Dobhi,> NH2 till Barhi. Take a right turn from barhi cross and you will be on NH33 which leads to Hazaribagh, then to Ramgarh and finally Ranchi. All this should be about 330-340 kms.

However, you can chose to go via Koderma. The roads are fine there too, but you need to be lucky not to get stuck among the truckers in Fatua & Bakhtiyarpur. Once you cross these bottleneck, you should be fine with the rest of the route. The route is Patna> Bakhtiyarpur> Nalanda> Koderma>Barhi> Hazaribagh> Ramgarh> Ranchi. This is also around 350 kms, hence, any route could be undertaken. However, you may prefer the first route which is through NH2. Might save you some time as you can clock higher average speed on NH2.

From Ranchi to jamshedpur, the distance is about 130 kms. In case, you want to take a break at Ranchi, there are some good hotels, but mostly inside the city. Let me know, if you want details. In case you want to continue to JSR, then you can by pass Ranchi city by taking the new Khelgaon route which would put you on route to Jamshedpur. Else, the route is Ranchi> Namkum (take left at Kantatoli Chowk)> Bundu> Tamar> Chandil> Jamshedpur.

The roads are mostly fine and you will not face any problem.

Precautions: I would suggest you NOT to travel from Ranchi to JSR at late night. On NH2, watch out for traffic coming from opposite direction in your lane.

Good places to eat: NH2 is surprisingly deprived of good eateries, but NH33 has plenty of them, esp. near Hazaribagh & Ramgarh. R.K. Motel, just after the Ramgarh valley, (also known as Chutupalu ghati) is a famous and good place to eat and has a separate AC restaurant for families. Serves really delicious food. While coming from Patna, its on the left side. If you can control your hunger, then its the best place to eat by far on this route. As the place is after Ramgarh, you will come across it even if you come by NH2.

Good fuel station: Fuel in Jharkhand is cheaper than most of the nearby states. Hence, prefer to fuel in Jharkhand. No idea about specific ones but in case you are going to JSR via Ranchi (kantatoli chowk route), then you can fuel at Gumla Traders which is situated at what they call as booty more.

Should you need more on this, I will be glad to help.

Regards,
Saket

[mkbksc]

Thanks Saket.. Your info is invaluable. I studied at Bokaro up to my 12 th and then engg from Mesra . But never got a chance to drive on roads in that area. Travel was mostly on trekkers., if you understand what I mean. I can conjure up images of that area but realise that things would have changed drastically.