[himakar]

It all started when media started potraying 31st Dec 2010 as a dreadful day, predicting nothing much happenning at Hyderabad. So, we decide to drive out of HYD. The Question is Where?? After lots of eliminations finally had to decide on Goa or Mahabaleshwar. 3 out of 6 voted for Mahabaleshwar. 2 for Goa and 1 didn't vote. So Mahabaleshwar it is!!

3 of us will drive from Hyd. the other 3 from Bangalore. As a friend had to drop out at the last minute, I am going to drive the entire stretch. Yippee!!

Our Machine - Maruthi Esteem

31st Dec 2010 - 5.30 AM

From Hyderabad - Zaheerabad- Solapur -Mohal-Pandharpur -Satara - Medha - Mahabaleshwar.

Absolutely loved this route. Early start gave traffic free roads from Hyderabad to Solapur. The road is good and can cruise effortlessly. Solarpur to Mohal had heavy truck traffic. A Left turn at Mohal lead us to Pandharpur/Satara and off NH9. The road here is not great but decent with less traffic. People on TBHP mentioned this as a lonely stretch but I just loved the drive on this route. Can cover good distance in less time.

Reached Pandharpur and drove straight to Satara. Parts of the drive felt, like am driving through an African safari( bit over the top), dry grass, semi dry trees, minus the animal herds. From Satara drove up to Medha, slightly hilly terrain with good roads and visuals around. Medha to Mahabaleshwar, is a nice ghat road with excellent view points and a photographer's delight. Think, will love it more, during monsoons and after monsoons.

Reached at around 5 pm in the evening after a few breaks on the way. The traffic in Mahabaleshwar was pretty bad and with too many one ways. It took some time to understand the place.

Gate crashed 2011 with Marathi, Hindi & Eng tunes on the roads of Mahabaleshwar.

1st Jan 2011 - 9: 30 AM

Fresh, Juicy strawberries gave us a fantastic start for the New year.

After some calls and wishes in the morning, started exploring and drove down to old Mahabaleshwar where the famous temples and some very good view points are located. Ask for and do visit Krishna Mandir there. Just 2 minute walk from the other temples. Excelllent views here
and an old temple in its ruins. This temple is small but magnificient. After visiting Venna lake and other view points started driving towards Panchgani and a few more view points.

Reached Panchgani and went to Table top Mountain. This is one good place where you can go for a thrilling horse ride. Make sure the guy comes along with you on a cycle. He will make the horse run. Other guys, just make it walk. Make sure you walk to the fag end of the mountain to have a 270 Degree view of the surrounding places.

From here started towards Rajpura Caves. These caves date back to Vishnu Purana times. The place is serene with a waterfall right infront of the caves, during monsoons( courtesy, local pandit). Definitely worth visiting and the drive to them is super good. Small twisty roads with good locales and the road here is just for you. Love roads, Drive here.

Driving back to Panchgani, stopped in between, danced to a few tunes enjoyed the sunset. After dinner, a friend came up with a wacky idea, "How does table top mountain look now?". Hmm, Why guess, when you can BE THERE . Ten minutes and we were there on top of it. A complete contrast to the evening, Not even a single soul and it was Pitch dark. Thinking twice, got down and switched off the engines and lights. It took a couple of seconds to get used to darkness and there we were, standing on the second longest plateau of Asia, all alone, beneath a starry sky. Damn!! This is it!!, the Moment of the trip !!! It was chilling cold and only 2 things can help now. First, you know what and the second, dance your heart out. As only 2nd option is vaible and practical now, Pumped up the volume and danced till our legs hurt. Uneven surface, minimal light, doubled the fun. Moved out from there after a good 2 hours.( Disclaimer : would not really suggest this place during night, as 1) we are not supposed to be there and 2) NOT exactly safe, but surely is fun)

2nd Jan 10 - 9.30 AM

How can it be only fun and no pain? This is the day when things go wrong!!. Woke up with an upset stomach and slight fever. Took some pills, brought some strawberries to carry back home and started from Panchgani.

Panchgani - Wai - Lonand - Nira - Baramathi -Indapur - Mohul - Solapur - Zaheerabad - Hyderabad

The road from Panchgani to Wai is good. Drive and the scenery is too good. From Wai to Pargoan Khandala, its good again. On the way to Pune we have to take a small right towards Baramathi. Its here, things went terribly wrong. The road is under construction and is a nightmare. Max speed you could do here is 30-40, with the vehicle making patented Maruthi noises. I was already not well and this stretch took me to the limits. Nightmare stage 1. Reached Baramathi and the roads here are good. From Baramathi started driving towards Indapur and though this being a NH, is small and as expected full of trucks. To top, as this is the sugarcase cutting season, full of tractors and bullockcarts carrying cane. Imagine the plight of moving behind a BIG container truck, which is behind a bullock cart and driving uphill. Nightmare stage 2. Started realising my mistake, should have taken the earlier route. The drive remained the same till Sholapur and a little afterwards. The roads are ok, but the traffic makes it unbearable.

By now, after a coupe of pills again in the afternnon, was feeling ok but with severe body aches. Driving towards Hyderabad from Sholapur, left a sigh of relief once I saw the 'Welcome to Karnataka' Board. The roads from here are better and wider. With traffic, but can easily overtake with out much fuss. Drive from here to Hyderabad was good.

Reached HYD by 11.00 PM after overcoming the late night traffic.
It was the pleasure of sleeping on my bed, relaxing after 3 taxing days, that kept me driven, throught out the day. As they say, 'the pursuit of happiness', is what matters.

Pretty long write up, hope it's helpful

[hvkumar]

Looks like the bad roads on NH9 near Zahirabad and HOmnabad, as well as in Maharastra have been repaired at last. When I went that way last month, road was in bad condition in some places.

Is the Mohol-Pandharpur-Satara road also in good condition? Which route did you take from Pandharpur to Satara?

[himakar]

Zaheerabad to Homnabad is ok now. No work was going on. The road was broken here and there, but good.

The roads in Maharashtra, esp between Pargoan Khandara and Baramathi is pretty bad because of the work.

Mohal to Satara is decent with broken patches and as the traffic is less, can do good speeds. Are there different routes to Satara? Asked around and just remained on the same road with out any detours.

For now, would suggest Pandharpur route.

[enragz]

This last weekend I made a trip to Mahabaleshwar from Hyderabad. On the way to Mahabaleshwar we took a detour and spent a day at an Agri Tourism facility in Palshi (near Baramati). But the return trip was directly from Mahabaleshwar to Hyderabad.

The route to Palshi:
Hyderabad - Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Palshi



- The road for most part is good
- There is a bad stretch about 120 km from Gachibowli and it lasts for about 15 kms or so
- Solapur to Indapur is being 4 laned. Above average truck traffic at the hours i passed by. But on return I encountered really heavy truck traffic.
- The state highway to Baramati is also good.
- Last 1 km stretch from Palshi to Agri Tourism center is dirt track

Palshi to Mahabaleshwar:
Palshi - Nira - Lonand - Khandala - Wai - Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar



- Again the Road is good for most part.
- The stretch from Palshi to the Baramati - Nira is bad
- The stretch from Lonand to Khandala is bad in patches, but mostly good. It is narrow, but manageable.

Mahabaleshwar to Hyderabad:
Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani - Wai - Khandala - Lonand - Nira - Baramati - Indapur - Solapur - Hyderabad



- Similar comments as above
- V Heavy truck traffic from Indapur to Solapur.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Man,
you came to Baramati,i am in Baramati, we could have met if you pm me earlier.

There is another fantastic spot for agro tourism near Baramati.
I hope, if you had read my travelogue about agro tourism, you could have come to know more about it.

Which route you had taken from Palashi to Nira?

[enragz]

Surely, next time. I am sure i will be coming that way again soon.

Route from Palshi to Nira:
From Palshi we went towards the Waki Road. Took a left at the T junction. This road is really broken, but its a short distance. It joins the Baramati - Nira Road. Take Right towards Nira.

The Agro tourism place in Palshi is a let down. Just a small complex of rooms and that too is not completely done.
I guess the other place is at Malegaon. I am told it is better. I will surely read your post on it, wish i had found it before taking up the trip.

[kannan666]

Nice and detailed log of the trip with updated road conditions Raghav, how about some pictures to go with it ?

[enragz]

Originally Posted by kannan666

Nice and detailed log of the trip with updated road conditions Raghav, how about some pictures to go with it ?

Kannan, we didnt get around to clicking many pictures. Let me see if I can do a travelogue with a few pics.
appreciate the kind words

[ramkan]

Just returned from HYD - MAHABALESHWAR - HYD round trip in three days ~ 1300KMS

DATE & TIME: Oct 25, 2012 10.30 PM to Oct 28, 2012 7.00PM
DISTANCE: 1400KMS
CAR: i20 CRDI
PASSENGERS: 2 ADULTS + 1 KID
MILEAGE: 18KMPL+
AVERAGE SPEED: 80-100KM on highways, 20-40 on Ghat Roads
HIGHWAYS: Dual carriage two lane roads - NH9 and MH State Highways
ORIGIN: GACHIBOWLI, HYDERABAD
DESTINATION: MAHABALESHWAR

Route#1 (Onward route: 590KMS)
HYD to BHEL - Outer Ring Road
BHEL to SOLAPUR via ZAHEERABAD - NH9
SOLAPUR to INDAPUR - NH9
INDAPUR to BARAMATI
BARAMATI to WAI
WAI to PANCHANGANI
PANCHAGANI to MAHABALESHWAR (15 Hours including 3 hour nap, 30 min break)

Route#2 (Return journey: 570KMS)
MAHABALESHWAR to SATARA ~ 30KMS
SATARA to KOREGAON
KOREGAON to MHASWAD
MHASWAD to PANDHARPUR
PANDHARPUR to MOHAL (enter NH9 towards Hyderabad here)
MOHOL to SOLAPUR
SOLAPUR to HYDERABAD (11.5 hours including 30 min break)

Route#1 was a big mistake. Most of the route from Solapur to Pune (NH9) is under heavy construction for four laning. Tired of detours. From Indapur to Baramati was even a bigger nightmare. Had to drive around 40-50 KMS on rough gravel due to heavy road construction activity throughout. DO NOT RECOMMEND THIS ROUTE UNTIL 2014, hopefully the road construction would be complete by then.

Route#2 was a breeze. Quite surprised how easy it was on Mahrastra State highway 58 and SH 74 it is. The road is as good as NH9 with no or little traffic. Except around MHASWAD for about 10KM, the road is really nice, through fields and mountains. Relax driving on top gear at about 80KMPH possible until you enter NH9 near MOHOL.

Overall a very happy trip. Uploaded the recommended route map for clarity..

[ashishy]

Got back from Mahabaleshwar yesterday and took ramkan's Route#2 both way. Good roads except for Zaheerabad - Humnabad and bad traffic after Solapur.

Thanks ramkan!

[rvattipalli]

BHPians,

Got back from a Hyderabad-Mahabaleshwar-Hyderabad trip last night. Here's my experience:

Car: Volkswagen Polo TDI
Passengers: 2

Took the following route both ways. Good road and not painful!



Hyderabad-Mahabaleshwar:
LB Nagar - 5:15 AM
Zaheerabad - 7:10 AM
Solapur - 11:05 AM (317 KM from Hyderabad)
Satara - 3:45 PM
Mahabaleshwar - 4:45 PM (592 KM covered).

Total Time Taken: 11.5 Hours (With 30 minutes break for breakfast, 5 tea breaks of 10 minutes each). Average speed of 51.5 KMPH.
Mileage (Diesel) : 19.63 KMPL

Traffic & Road Condition:
- Traffic has been minimal till Zaheerabad
- Moderate truck traffic till Humnabad.
- Very less traffic till Solapur.
- Almost no opposite traffic between Solapur and Satara.
- Road condition is good throughout except the 35 KM stretch between Solapur and Mohol where construction work is going on.
- Driving through Pandharpur town is a little painful. Roads are narrow and there was traffic. This stretch is for about 5 KM.
- Road in Mhaswad town isn't good for about 2 KM. Took about 15 minutes in this place.
- Ghat section starts 20 KM before Mahabaleshwar and that stretch may take 45-75 minutes depending on the traffic.

Mahabaleshwar-Hyderabad:

Mahabaleshwar - 5:30 AM
Satara - 7:00 AM (51 KM)
Solapur - 11:15 AM (270 KM)
Umarga - 2:10 PM
Zaheerabad - 3:50 PM
LB Nagar (Hyd) - 6:30 PM (592 KM)

Total Time Taken - Exactly 13 Hours with 20 minute break for breakfast, 45 minute break for lunch, 6 tea breaks of 10 minutes each.
Mileage (Diesel): 20.71 KMPL.

Traffic & Road Condition:
- Heavy truck traffic between Solapur and BasavaKalyan.
- Rest all comments same as above.


Cheers,
Rohit.

[contactme27]

Thanks a lot folks. this is very helpful. I am traveling to mahabhaleshwar and pachgani tomorrow from Hyderabad. I will post the road condition. I am preferring Hyd - Sholapur - Pandarpur - Satara - Wai - Panchagani

[paharino1]

Is the route Hyd - Sholapur - Pandarpur - Satara-Medha -Mahabaleshwar still the best - given some improvements in the road conditions in the Hyd - Sholapur route ?
Any other alternatives ?

[rvattipalli]

Hi Ashish,

Planning my second drive to Mahabaleshwar from Hyderabad on 17th May (Details of my April-2013 trip are posted on this thread. ).

Would like to know, which route is better to reach Mahabaleshwar from Solapur?

1. Solapur - Pandharpur - Mhaswad - Koregaon - Satara - Mahabaleshwar
2. Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Wai - Mahabaleshwar

Google Maps shows distance as 274 KM and 288 KM for options 1 and 2 respectively.

Please suggest.

Rohit.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

Man,
you came to Baramati,i am in Baramati, we could have met if you pm me earlier.

There is another fantastic spot for agro tourism near Baramati.
I hope, if you had read my travelogue about agro tourism, you could have come to know more about it.

Which route you had taken from Palashi to Nira?

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by rvattipalli

Would like to know, which route is better to reach Mahabaleshwar from Solapur?

1. Solapur - Pandharpur - Mhaswad - Koregaon - Satara - Mahabaleshwar
2. Solapur - Indapur - Baramati - Wai - Mahabaleshwar

Right now, option 1 is better than option 2.