Team-BHP - Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries
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I know there are loads of info about this and I am going through them, however I have some specific queries for my Oct trip Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai:

1. We dont like retracing the onward path on our return.
2. We want our onward to be shortest and fastest but wont might spending an hour on the way if a short detour is need to connect to some beautiful places.
3. On the return journey we are open to spending some longer stoppages - detours of 2 hours or so and stoppages of 2-3 hours.


We plan to start on a Saturday morning 3 am from Ambernath. Should I split at Panvel and take the NH17 as NH4 is what we would be taking north-bound on my onward trip? On my return maybe we could cover some coastal Maharashtra. I need to reach Chennai Sunday night. We dont want to just go thru Goa. We will do that in an individual Bangalore-Shimoga-Goa-Coastal-Karnataka-Bangalore trip later. I know we will have to retrace on NH4 but is there a detour on the NH4. Can we avoid Bangalore completely by taking the NH63/205?

I will start Chennai on a Friday 3 AM and I can start next Friday from Ambernath as well if its the return has some fascinating places to stop by.

Thanks.

Well, I think the Pune-Bangalore-Chennai and Pune-Hyderabad-Chennai distances are approximately the same, so you could try coming via Hyderabad. Apart from Lonavala/Khandala, you could try Pandharpur, Nagarjuna Sagar etc. on this route (not to mention Tirupati).

NH4 to Pune, NH9 to Hyderabad, NH5 from Ongole to Chennai. Hyderabad to Ongole there are multiple options. Alternatively, NH7 from Hyderabad to Kurnool and then again, multiple options to Chennai.

Thanks Binand. Looked at the map and mapped your route. Going via Hyderabad would take me away from the west coast to the east coast. I would like to stick to the west coast which is more drenched during the sw monsoon and would be more beautiful.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeevmenon (Post 1975645)
Chennai-Mumbai-Chennai:



Quote:

We plan to start on a Saturday morning 3 am from Ambernath. Should I split at Panvel and take the NH17 as NH4 is what we would be taking north-bound on my onward trip? On my return maybe we could cover some coastal Maharashtra.
From Ambernath, come via Dombivli, Shilphata, Taloja to Kalamboli, where you take NH17 (through the Panvel bypass).

Quote:

I need to reach Chennai Sunday night. We dont want to just go thru Goa. We will do that in an individual Bangalore-Shimoga-Goa-Coastal-Karnataka-Bangalore trip later. I know we will have to retrace on NH4 but is there a detour on the NH4. Can we avoid Bangalore completely by taking the NH63/205?
Coastal Maharashtra - I would suggest you drive on NH17 (a beauty), stop over in Ganapatipule, a pretty beach with a Ganpati temple, which is around 350 kms from Ambernath. If you are in the mood for it, you can take a 35-km detour off NH17 after Mahad (at Pholadpur) to visit the hill station of Mahabaleswar.

Since you do not want to go into Goa, you have the choice of taking the ghat road to Kolhapur via either Kanakavali-Dajipur-Radhanagari or via Savantwai-Amboli-Belgaum. NH63 from Hubli to Hospet is OK, but after that what? Via Bellary to NH7 at Gooty - only problem is that traditionally the Bellary-Guntakal-Gooty road is terrible.

Thanks HVK. That sounds a good plan. Is Hospet/Chitradurg NH13 ok? I can take the Chitradurg/Haveri/Hubli up-bound, on my way I can take the Hubli/Hospet/Chitradurg. But all just for the Tunga-Bhadra Dam.

Once at Radhagiri it looks like from the map that going to Kolhapur would mean some amount of North travel. Is this the only way to get to the NH4? Amboli way to Belgaum looks like not deviating much.

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeevmenon (Post 1976866)
Thanks HVK. That sounds a good plan. Is Hospet/Chitradurg NH13 ok? I can take the Chitradurg/Haveri/Hubli up-bound, on my way I can take the Hubli/Hospet/Chitradurg. But all just for the Tunga-Bhadra Dam.

NH13 has never been a great road, but 15 days ago was in decent condition except that heavy truck traffic and nasty bumps slow you down. May deteriorate further into the monsoons though.

Is TB Dam really worth the detour?

Quote:

Once at Radhagiri it looks like from the map that going to Kolhapur would mean some amount of North travel. Is this the only way to get to the NH4? Amboli way to Belgaum looks like not deviating much.
Yes, I agree, I suggested the Radhanagari route simply for the landscapes. The Amboli-belgaum is more logical. If you go to Ganapatipule, the shortest from there to NH4 is via Pali, Malkapur, Sakarpa and Panhala to Kolhapur

So, coming from Hosur and wanting to reach Tumkur Road to go NH4 north-bound towards Neelamangala, I have to take the NICE Rd. I would like not to get confused and waste time as its going to be a long drive. Help needed. Here are some pictures with my doubts.
Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries-hosurnice.jpg

The Red area above is enlarged below:

Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries-betl.jpg

The red arrow on the NH7 is where I will be coming in from Hosur (not taking the BETL, but keeping the left lane) In the above picture I see a "Service Rd". How do I get on to it from where I am? Anyone has a snap of it?

Once I am on that Service Rd, I take the left as shown below. Is there an overhead board mentioning NICE Rd (?) or (Tumkur?) Anyone has a snap of that?
Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries-diversiontoniceroadtoneelamangala.jpg

Once I am on the NICE road it should be straight-forward at the other end. Its a left to get on to Neelamangala. No circle driving on the loop-fly-over.

All this because I want to get out asap with "zero" confusion.

Btw, my last trip from ORR-SarjapurRd-HosaRd-Hosur gave wifey a feeling of step-brotherly treatment to TN folks. Pathetic. No indicators anywhere. e.g If I need to go from Chennai to Hyderabad I need to reach KR Puram Railway station via the ORR, I mean this is not a good connection at all. In other words, why is the NICE Rd not a circle but just a semi-circle? It would have been really nice! (no pun intended)

Hi,

If your criteria is just two different routes then you can go via the Chennai - Bangalore - Mumbai and return Mumbai - Hyderabad - Chennai.

The Chennai - Bangalore - Mumbai route is a good drive as far as the road conditions go (based on the latest that i have heard). The route would be Chennai - Bangalore(via Krishnagiri - Hosur) - Tumkur - Harihar - Davanagere - Hubli - Dharwad - Belgaum - Kolhapur - Pune - Mumbai.

The return would be Mumbai - Pune - Solapur - Bidar - Zaheerabad - Hyerabad - Chennai. The road upto Hyderabad is pretty ok. Hyderabad to Chennai i am not sure.

Safe trip!

Cheers.
Peets.

i have confirmation from two riders (boht done over the last weekend) that the Hyderabad - Solapur - Pune road is in a total mess. The road from Hyderbad is good only till Zaheerabad. So its advisable to avoid the Pune - Solapur - Hyderabad stretch.

See the topic http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...hyderabad.html


Quote:

Just did the route 2 days back and the entire NH9 is in shambles.Drive only if you must drive else take a train.

Pune-Indapur: 4 laning in progress,no road shoulder,existing road heavily potholed.

Indapur-Solapur:The only good stretch,not excellent,but good.

Solapur-Zaheerabad:Heavily potholed,especially between Solapur & Homnabad.

Zaheerabad-Hyd: Good roads and excellent road after Sangareddy all the way till Hyderabad.

Pune to Hyd should take you around 11hours of drive due to existing road conditions.Do not drive this stretch in the dark.Try and do a 6am departure from Hyd which would let you see the potholes in daylight!

To avoid the traffic and potholes from Indapur,go via Baramati,its slightly better but far less traffic as compared to NH9
cheers

*NH17 has been reported to be in not a very good condition at the moment,so it would be worthwhile to reconsider your option of driving back via NH17.
*Do not drive back via Hyd,NH9 is in tatters at the moment.

1. Chennai-Satara = 16 hrs? Morning 3 am to Night 9 PM. Do-able? Is there a good place in Satara to halt? Or should I stop a little earlier at Karad? Any good place in Karad? Dont want to shut shop as early as Kolhapur.

2a. Next day morning: Is the Satara-Medha-Mahabaleshwar-Poladpur(NH-17) ok to take? Is the whole NH17 bad? Do you have info about Poladpur-Panvel on the NH17? 147 km - should be ok, I guess. I can manage, but only if its worth it. Should be worth it. ?

OR

2b. Satara-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-Back to NH4-Pune-Ambarnath.

3. On my return how do I touch Ganpatipule? NH17 and then SH106 and then MDR37. Panvel-Hathkumbe is 300 km. To travel 300 km on the NH17 again within 7 days might be unwanted driving stress.

Maybe I could do (2b) above and do (3)

OR

(2a) and do the usual all-thru-NH4 when we are returning.

Getting confused. The usual NH4 might be too boring. Wanted to add a hill-station and/or beach in the mix by criss-crossing into NH17. Not sure. We cant be doing Chennai Mumbai every month. Want to make the most of it. Leaving next Thursday morning.

P.S - How do I EDIT Titles of posts? My query via the contact link has fell on deaf ears. Help!

Chennai-Satara = 16 hrs is quite challenging but possible with some superfast driving, ensuring that you get beyond Bangalore in under 5 hours.

Satara - Mahendra Executive Hotel Mahendra Executive, Satara, Maharashtra, Hotel in Satara, Satara Hotel, NH4, Pune- Banglore Road
On the bypass itself, good car parking, decent rooms, not very expensive, that has become my top recommendation there, and many of our friends have stayed there. In fact, they should start giving team-bhp guys a discount!!

Mahabaleswar-Pholadpur is bad now, should improve after rains.
NH17 between Pholadpur and Panvel is in good condition. Traffic between Pen and Panvel is frustrating, high, messy.

The NH4 option is lovely, fast and maybe the best way to reach. NH17 from Pholadpur onwards is not anything great.

You could ideally do NH17 to get to Ganapatipule. Currently, NH17 is bad from after Chiplun. Lovely drive. You do not have to reach Hathkamba. 5 kms before Hathkamba, at Nivali, you turn off NH17, and again at Chafe you turn left to get to G'Pule. All these SH and MDR numbers do not make sense, they read well only in Google Maps! I can give you detailed route guide for this sector.

FRom Ganapatipule, you can return to teh Plateau by taking the Pali-Malkapur-Kolhapur route to rejoin NH4, or continue further down the coast to Goa or Amboli - but currently, the roads are terrible.

If you want one more beach, then you can choose Tarkarli near Malvan almost at the Goa border, off NH17. Check out MTDC web-site for details.

Editing - you can do it only in the first 20 minutes after posting. You will see an Edit Button at the bottom of your message. After the 20 minutes, no more edits possible.

peets, changaez, ranjitp1: Thanks and I am not taking Hyderabad. I am thinking more NH17 on the return - in some sections (atleast get a glimpse of the famous highway) if not the entire one.

Thanks, HVK (the NH17 expert/patron! - On that note: HVK, Is it Himalayas or Western Ghats for you?)

So 2b upwards shoule be ok? I mean hows Satara-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-BackToNH4? I will drop Mahabs-Pholadpur.

Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries-sataramahabspanchnh4.jpg

South Bound:
a) Panvel-Pen - I will be there say - by 4 or 5 a.m. Will there be traffic then? The road condition is ok?

b) Pen-Chiplun - OK.

c) Chiplun-Ganpatipule - Bad as I understand from your post. So, tolerate?

d) Ganapatipule-Pali-Malvan - again Bad? How will I reach Tarkarli? Or in other words how good is that section. Manageable?

e) Hows Malvan-Amboli-Belgaum? Bad?

If c/d/e are all bad? - Around 450 km? How much of this (approx in km) is bad? All put together if its less than or equal to 50 km (max) I will take a chance else I re-trace.

Chennai - Mumbai - Chennai : Route Queries-chiplunbelgaumnh17.jpg

Avoid leaving Bombay too early. The Panvel-Pen stretch is a death-trap with lots of buses with maniac of drivers, coming into the city. Therefore, plan to cross Panvel after 6 am.

Nh17 is bad all the way from beyond hCiplun till Sawantwadi. Therefore, expect a battering to go to both Ganapatipule and Tarkarli.

Amboli route is fine. Always expect some bad sections between Ajra and Nippani.

Currently, the bad sections in NH17 will be nearly 200 kms, but hopefully the road will be repaired in the next 2-4 weeks.

BTW, I have driven Nh17 so many times, but GM always surprises with new names for places en route - I can't recognise places like Koklsare, Kotwade, Savarde and so on. Maybe they are there, but these are not marked on any of the milestones and hence, of little relevance.

You can check out the following log book for the detailed route map for NH17 from Bombay to Goa:
http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...GoaMay2006.xls

You can also use the following for tracing the Ganapatipule-Bombay route on NH17 (onward was on coastal roads, not Nh17)

http://groups.google.com/group/hvkum...napatipule.xls

Great Info! I am skipping NH17 completely. Life's easier.

One unknown answer: Satara-Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani-NH4 route as shown in the first snap-shot of my last post. Is that ok?

Might go to Shirdi-Nasik-Aurangabad if I just take NH4 and the above Mahabaleshwar is also not possible. So, the further question is how's the route there?

NH3/NH50/SH39 or SH7 or SH45 to Shirdi. GM shows these. These SHs are the suspects.


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