[Milind]

Guys,
Plan to travel to Jaisalmer, Jodhpur and Udaipur from Pune with family including 2 kids

Need advise on following -
1. How is Ahmedabad - Palanpur- Deesa - Tharad - Sanchore - Barmer - Jaisalmer road conditions?

2. Where do i apply for BP609 visit permission ?

3. Advise on where to spend a day in quiet solitude in Sand Dunes.... Sam or Khuri ?

3. would have my relative joining via Jodhpur Airport .... anyone aware of Pre-paid Taxi from Jodhpur Airport to Jaisalmer.



BTW .... nice suggestion to carry goodies for local kids while on visit to Tanot !!!

[SaneOp]

Hello Everyone, I am driving to Udaipur from Delhi, which is the best route after Jaipur.
Jaipur-kishangarh -beawer- nathdwara- udaipur.
Or the favorite.
Jaipur-kishangarh-bhilwara-chittorgarh- udaipur.


Really confused, need help from someone who did this recently. I'll be starting 5 in the morning from Delhi. Plan to do this on same day.
Thanks in Advance

[Wanderers]

Originally Posted by SaneOp

Hello Everyone, I am driving to Udaipur from Delhi, which is the best route after Jaipur.
Jaipur-kishangarh -beawer- nathdwara- udaipur.
Or the favorite.
Jaipur-kishangarh-bhilwara-chittorgarh- udaipur.

Hi,

Please consider the second or the favorite option. I always use the same on my trips to Baroda.
Please note that there are two routes from Chittorgarh to Udaipur. Please choose the NH 27 on GQ instead of state highway.

[naman]

Originally Posted by SaneOp

Hello Everyone, I am driving to Udaipur from Delhi, which is the best route after Jaipur.
Jaipur-kishangarh -beawer- nathdwara- udaipur.
Or the favorite.
Jaipur-kishangarh-bhilwara-chittorgarh- udaipur.


Really confused, need help from someone who did this recently. I'll be starting 5 in the morning from Delhi. Plan to do this on same day.
Thanks in Advance

I did Delhi -> Udaipur during the Dashera weekend.

We took the Jaipur-kishangarh -beawer- nathdwara- udaipur as Google suggested a this route being 45 mins faster vs the other route. First time Google didn't mess up while suggesting a road unknown to me.

It turned out be a blessing in disguise. Excellent 6 lanes until Beawar. After that awesome 2 lanes toll road for 110 kms until 30 odd Kms short of Rajsamand. After that excellent 4 lanes all the way until Udaipur. Besides being shorter, this route has significantly less traffic and is more scenic. Just watch out for cattle around towns on the 2 laned section.

I also did the Chittorgarh to Kishangarh section of the conventional route while coming back from Indore in January. The road surface is no longer smooth and has patch work at many places. I also faced long queues both the toll plazas and heavy traffic between nasirabad and kishangarh. Overall traffic on this section has increased a lot in the last 2-3 years. Before that, it used to be oh so great.

Other pointers: You may already know this
- We made the mistake of leaving around 6-630 AM. Faced huge jams on Gurgaon toll near Manesar, while crossing Manesar and after crossing Dharuhera until the Rewari turnoff. I believe it's a common affair, so don't get late and make sure you are beyond Dharuhera by 545 or latest by 6 AM.
- Expect long queues at tolls until you cross Jaipur.

Google also suggests taking Bhilwara to Rajasamand while going to Udaipur from Japiur. This route is faster than Chittorgarh but slower than Beawar. If you are in a mood to experiment or if someone else has done this route, try it out. FYI, I haven't done this route.

[SinghBHP]

Every time a Travel (for Holidaying) was discussed at home, it was either about travelling to Hills or about my dream of a long drive ……… Driving to Mumbai from Delhi via Rajasthan route and Driving back to Delhi via MP route (Indore,Jhansi, Gwalior etc). Thanks to my reluctance of driving to Hills during winters and my mother’s push-back for my plans to drive to Mumbai that I decided for Rajasthan.

"Rajasthan"…. what a beautiful state. I never thought that I should explore Rajasthan, for me since I saw Jaipur twice & I thought I have seen Rajasthan. How beautifully this has been proved a fallacy during my 8 days of Travel to this state. I think this is one state which has all the flavors which a traveler yearns for. You find high mountains, beautiful forts, lavish palaces, serene lakes, adventurous desert, rich food culture, villages, old city heritage and a lot more.

Now since I was driving such long hours & distance for the first time we decided to book only Udaipur in Advance and planned for next destinations as per our energy and motivation during the travel. You can say that this was my way to reduce pressure of reaching a destination rather enjoy the journey for it. So it was planned that we Drive to Udaipur and stay for 2 nights and then based on my motivation and energy we would visit Jaisalmer for desert camping , then Jodhpur on the way for a day’s stop , then Ajmer / Pushkar, Jaipur and finally back to my parental home in Agra.

To prepare for this trip I read quite a few beautiful travelogues of Rajasthan and gained lot of knowledge from them. However one has to read long reports and focus too if you want to make some helpful notes for your travel. Hence I decided to write an article dedicated to some important Learning of my Sojourn in Rajasthan

Friends during these 8 days, 3000 plus kilometers of driving I visited many places, booked hotels for stay , interacted with locals for routes , crossed various unknown roads, villages. Hence for the benefit of my TEAM BHP brethren I would like to share some important Lessons which I learned during this trip.

1)ROUTE: From the point of view of people who live in Delhi / GZB / Noida or some other towns down the road and have to take Delhi - Jaipur Route. While researching for the route I found that 'Jaipur – Delhi' is the worst road in terms of traffic and a time consuming stretch. You cannot miss it if you want to go any farther down to road beyond Jaipur. Also based on my personal experience, in the winter season you cannot easily drive in early Morning Hours as well due to FOG. Hence a decision was made to leave a day early for Agra and then drive to Udaipur (follow Agra-Jaipur-Jodhpur-Udaipur road ) the next day. Agra being my home town with my parents / Grand Parent staying there so it did not felt like a detour to me. Next day I left for Udaipur at 5 AM from Agra and I did not face even a single KM of Traffic during complete 630 plus KMs of road. I reached Udaipur at 4:30 PM after taking lavish breaks of 2 hours plus atleast 30 mins of waiting time spent on toll gates on the way. This meant that we could travel with the avg speed of 630/9hrs = 70 KMs/Hr.

Obviously I had an advantage of Agra being my home town. So apart from some extra spend on diesel it did not hurt my budget and did not even looked like a detour. However even if you have to spend a little to stay in Agra it is worth the stay as Agra itself is an important tourist destination.

In case you are coming from Punjab or some place in Haryana : I met a group of bikers while camping in Khuri and upon discussing about the Delhi – Jaipur route I learned that people from Haryana & Punjab cities can come via REWARI . This will save them from the Delhi-Gurgaon-Manesar traffic and connect them to better side of the Delhi – Jaipur Highway. I have never personally travelled on that route however based on discussion with them I found that it is a nice stretch free from traffic. So can be worth a try.

2) Choosing Mountains (Udapur-MountAbu) and Desert ( Jaisalmer) in same trip : Rajasthan being known for its Desert has equally beautiful Mountain Areas. Cities like Udaipur and Mount-Abu are on hills and are jewels in the beautiful Crown of Rajasthan. However if you check the Map you will find that after Jodhpur route to Hills (Udaipur) and Desert (Jaisalmer) makes a V on the MAP . So if you travel to Udaipur after Jodhpur then you are going away from Jaisalmer side and vice versa. So when you are in Udaipur or Mount-Abu and wants to go to Jaisalmer next then you will have to travel for 500 plus KMs. After discussing with local taxi drivers I realized that it is do-able however may not be so easy for a single driver visiting first time (like me). There are villages on the shortest route with single lane roads and some long stretches of under repair roads as well (as of Dec’16). Hence being a single driver I decided to drive back to Jodhpur took a day’s break to explore city and Mehrangarh fort and then leave for Jaisalmer next day. This made my drive easy and comfortable.

So do check map in advance and be very sure about the road conditions and distance when you plan such a route.

3) Some Tips for Udaipur City : Udaipur city at macro level can be visualized in 2 parts; Old City near and around Lake Pichola and new City near and around Fateh Saagar Lake. The area in and around old city and most of the hotels in it does not have good parking. You may have to park on public parking or open roads which is not manned by guards. Hence do esquire in Detail with your hotel about parking. Also while traveling locally avoid to travel on your own car. You can easily hire some local autos or taxi for city sightseeing. This will save you from parking headaches.

4) While Booking a Hotel & its Reviews / Ratings on Internet: Based on my experience while making 5 different booking on Rajasthan trip I learnt to not depend on the reviews which are written by foreigners. Upon booking 2 places based on very good reviews on Trip Advisor (which I later realized were all written by Foreigners) I understood that until they are cheated directly in terms of money or assets most of them would consider missing facilities as an ADVENTURE and part of Indian culture. Let me give you an example……

For Example: The hotel I booked in Udaipur and in Jaisalmer (I chose not to name it) were in old city and a Heritage property with some really nice reviews on Trip Advisor. However upon staying there for 2 days as an Indian citizen this is what I think about it ………

(a) It being in old city means no parking, car had to park in open public area and Hotel Management did not have any guard in it. (We face it every day in India so surely not an Adventure for us)
(b) Common sight of cows, cow dung and dirty roads, open drains (Naali) around the area. (We can see it every day in our localities so surely not an Adventure for us)
(c) Most of the local people I talked to were with mouthful of paan masala spitting it on almost all the walls and also attending to nature’s calls on any accessible walls around them. Swachh Bharat on the Toss
(d) The Hotel was beautifully built as it was 300 years old Haveli however No Lift in it. Hence it was strict NO NO for kids, PWD and elderlies.
(e) Long walk outside old city to the taxi or auto stands again not an easy task for Kids, PWDs and Elderlies. ( Most of our childhood is spent in such areas , so not an adventure for me)
(f) In Jaisalmer while interacting with one of the English Couple I learnt that all the filth , smell , and dirty lanes is something they consider as part of their India Adventure.

Now most of us as an Indian citizen would have grown in the old parts of city in such locations so for us it is surely not an ADVENTURE (like most foreigners would consider it) rather a MIS-ADVENTURE. Hence for a holiday I would like to choose some place with better facilities.
So if you are booking a mid-budget or budget property which may not be a big brand do research nicely and check Indian traveler reviews before you book it.

5)Booking Desert Camps in Rajasthan: If you are visiting Rajasthan then minimum a day of DESERT SAFAARI is must. Now most of these camps are expensive than what I imagined (in range of decent mid budget hotel) and are managed by local village people. They are using old methods of doing business and dealing in Cash and not much in written receipts. So while booking a Camp Do …………
(a) Check in advance if they take payment by Card. If possible take assurance in written or atleast via SMS / WHATSAPP . I am saying this because I say many people arguing during check out with the Camp Management next day as they assumed that they would accept payment via cash.
(b) Get the package details written on paper or on SMS / WHATSAPP from them. For example not all the Camps would have Lunch included, Desert Safari may only be one camel ride and does not mean Jeep ride or sunrise view by default. Hence in order to save yourself from any surprises and travel with right expectation get deal in black & white.

6) Highways, Road condition & Tolls: Most of the roads in Rajasthan are good and you can easily travel at high speeds (say 100 plus) for long stretches. There are lot of Tolls at almost equal distances. For my drive of around 2000 KMs within the Rajasthan state I paid approximately 80 paise per KM.

There are some long stretches on route to Jaisalmer from Jodhpur where you will not find any Dhaaba / Restaurants or even Petrol Pumps. So ensure that you keep enough water, things to eat and fill tank of your car in the main cities.

7) Mobile and Internet Connection in Rajasthan: Airtel is the KING of Mobile Connectivity in Rajasthan Mobile and Internet network. I was using IDEA connection and it worked just as far as Jaipur. After Jaipur it was ON & OFF. On road to Jaisalmer and in and & around that area It did not worked for a minute. Thankfully my wife had an AIRTEL Connection which saved our life during these 8 days. Its 3G speed was awesome throughout the state we were using it for every minute for Google MAPS when on road. It works in remotest of areas like Khuri to my surprise it was even working on the Sand Dunes. So get an AIRTEL connection when you are traveling to Rajasthan.

Some Small but Important Points :

1) Research the Route well before you leave from your destination. Google Maps is 100 percent accurate for highways but for inner city roads. There you can use the local auto / taxi driver’s knowledge.
2) Use Bypass while crossing cities on the way, inner city traffic may put you behind by an hour in your plan.
3) Do not drive at night as none of the roads have HIGHWAY lights. There is heavy traffic of multi-axle trucks driving in HIGH BEAMS blinding you on the way.
4) As a single driver driving on long stretches I learned that one should eat light with lot of fiber. So don’t gorge on junk and soda as they make your body lethargic and you feel tired and sleepy.
5) Keep Soft Copies of you important documents (license, RC, Pollution Certificate, Insurance , ID Proof etc.) handy and within easy access.
6) Road Side Assistance : It is always good to buy a good RSA service plan covering long distance support (atleast 50 KM plus). It will surely reduce some Risk factors or traveling on unknown roads.

[nishantbhatia84]

I'm planning a road trip from Mumbai to Jaisalmer and Udaipur next month and wanted some information from those who have recently visited those places:
1. Has anyone noticed cng pumps in and around Jaisalmer? There's hardly any information available online and all I could find out that Udaipur has a few cng pumps. I know for sure that Gujarat has plenty of cng pumps but not sure about Rajasthan - will have to accordingly plan our budget as running my Ecosport AT on petrol will cost a substantial amount of money.
2. Best route for Jaisalmer - Udaipur?
- Jaisalmer -- Barmer -- Sirohi -- Udaipur OR
- Jaisalmer -- Pokhran -- Jodhpur -- Udaipur

Thanks in advance!

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

I'm planning a road trip from Mumbai to Jaisalmer and Udaipur next month and wanted some information from those who have recently visited those places:
1. Has anyone noticed cng pumps in and around Jaisalmer? There's hardly any information available online and all I could find out that Udaipur has a few cng pumps. I know for sure that Gujarat has plenty of cng pumps but not sure about Rajasthan - will have to accordingly plan our budget as running my Ecosport AT on petrol will cost a substantial amount of money.
2. Best route for Jaisalmer - Udaipur?
- Jaisalmer -- Barmer -- Sirohi -- Udaipur OR
- Jaisalmer -- Pokhran -- Jodhpur -- Udaipur

Thanks in advance!

There are no CNG pumps between AMD and Jaisalmer afaik.

Somebody recently told me that the Barmer-Jalore-Sirohi is also good,maybe someone else here can comment on that.This would be the shortest route in terms of distance

Else do Jaisalmer-Jodhpur-Pali-Sirohi-Udaipur.There are road works happening between Jaisalmer and Pokharan,so expect slightly slow progress in that section,otherwise all other stretches are good.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

There are no CNG pumps between AMD and Jaisalmer afaik.
Somebody recently told me that the Barmer-Jalore-Sirohi is also good

Thanks for your inputs.
I did some digging online and found that cng pumps are only at Udaipur, Jaipur and Kota as of now.
Regarding the route, I guess we shall stick to the shortest one i.e. via Barmer-Jalore-Sirohi (because running my car on petrol is )

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by nishantbhatia84

Thanks for your inputs.

I did some digging online and found that cng pumps are only at Udaipur, Jaipur and Kota

Went to Udaipur recently. Can confirm CNG is available there. Your most travel in RJ will be covered on petrol, but the roads are super smooth and you can average good speeds and get good mileage. My abarth gave 14+ on that trip. A little sedately driven would have got more - but there's no fun in that. We were 4 on board.

Also, can you share how big is your tank? Will need to calculate if going via Udaipur makes sense or not.

Also don't forget to pay entry tax at borders.

[ranjitp1]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Also don't forget to pay entry tax at borders.

Hi,which entry tax is this?Could you pls elaborate.TIA

[blackwasp]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Hi,which entry tax is this?Could you pls elaborate.TIA

For commercial cars only.

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Also, can you share how big is your tank? Will need to calculate if going via Udaipur makes sense or not.

Also don't forget to pay entry tax at borders.

Thanks for ur inputs.
My cng tank is 16kg and holds around 10-11kg of gas - good for 175-189kms.
Mumbai to Jaisalmer will be done via the standard route via Barmer - the last cng pump is at Mehsana which means I'll have enough cng till Barmer. The drive post that till Udaipur will have to be on petrol - which is around 1000kms.

[issigonis]

>>>

I am doing a Bombay-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Barmer-Ahmedabad/Vadodara -Bombay drive in the latter half of February.

My itinerary is as follows :

17th Feb : Bombay to Mehsana; overnight halt
18th Feb : Mehsana to Bikaner
19th, 20th Feb: Sightseeing in Bikaner
21st Feb : Bikaner to Jaisalmer via Gajner, Ramdevra
22nd, 23rd Feb : Sightseeing in Jaisalmer
24th Feb : Jaisalmer-Devaka-Barmer
25th Feb: Sightseeing in Barmer (to Kiradu & Munabao)
26th Feb: Barmer to Vadodara, overnight halt
27th Feb: Vadodara to Bombay

------------
These are my queries:

1. For Munabao, does one require any permit from the armed forces/ BSF?
If so, can anyone enlighten on the process?

2. What sights should one see in Barmer?

3. Any information on the sun temple at Devaka on the Jaisalmer - Barmer highway?

4. Any recommendations on acco in Barmer?

I have two : Hotel Kailash International & Hotel Sanchal Fort. Anyone with comments on these two properties?

5. Any information on BPCL COCOs on the
i. Bikaner-Jaisalmer highway
ii. Jaisalmer -Barmer highway
iii. Barmer - Sanchore - Deesa highway

Thank you!

P.S. :Anyone wishing to join me in a convoy - kindly message me.


😊

[nishantbhatia84]

Originally Posted by issigonis

>>>

I am doing a Bombay-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Barmer-Ahmedabad/Vadodara -Bombay drive in the latter half of February.

😊

Instead of going to Bikaner first, I would suggest the following:
- Mumbai -- Mehsana (stay) (can also consider Palanpur if you can manage)
- Mehsana -- Jaisalmer
- Jaisalmer -- Bikaner
- Bikaner -- Udaipur
- Udaipur -- Mumbai

Doing the above will let you explore a new route and destination.

[issigonis]

I am not doing Udaipur, nor Palanpur.
My itinerary is fixed.