[Skyline GT-R]

Hi All,

I am planning for a drive to Odisha (Orissa) in a month's time.

Can TBHPians in AP/Odisha comment on the road conditions.
I particularly want to avoid the Maoist affected areas.

Proposed route is Ottapalam(KL)-Mysore(KA)-Bangalore(KA)-Kadapa(AP)-Rajahmundry(AP)-Bhubaneswar(OR)-Puri(OR) about 1800 Kms (Google maps)

Thank you.

[jaysmokesleaves]

No worries at all about the Odisha section. The route you plan to take is extremely safe. You will be driving to Puri via South Orissa, entering thru berhampur and then heading towards Bhubaneswar & then Puri.
Roads are 4 laned till Bhubaneswar(i think a small section somewhere near Balugaon is not completed yet) but otherwise wonderful roads.
From Bhubaneswar to Puri - 2 laned roads- with high traffic and lots of rash drivers and riders to watch out for, especially near villages.
The stretch you are doing is not naxal affected.
Goodluck.

[greenhorn]

My friends drove here via the chennai -vizag route ( from tvm). ap side folks said AP side was safe, watch out in orissa, and orissa folks told them the reverse

either way, the drove only in the mornings, and non stop. watch out for villagers on the roads ( they treat it like a fairground), or at least the day they came, and the last several hundred miles are kinda cramped.
Ping me when you're coming over

[hvkumar]

No safety issues anywhere, but why are you going from Bangalore to Rajahmundry via Kadapa?
The optimal route is via Tirpati, Nellore & Vijaywada.

[ssjr0498]

@HV Sir,

what would be the best route to take when driving down from Kol-Blr. Im doing this the coming weekend with my wife. Could you please help choose me a safe route? I have just 2 days to do it and its a puny zen that I will be doing it in!

Cheers
Shrey

[hvkumar]

Route is as follows:

Kolkata-Ulberiya-Kolaghat-Kharagpur-Jaleswar-Baleswar-Bhadrak-Cuttack-Bhubaneswar-Bhalugaon-Berhampur-Ichchapuram-Srikakulam-Vizag-Rajahmundry-Vijaywada-Guntur-Nellore-Nayudupet-Srikalahasti-Tirupati-Chittoor-Palmaner-Mulbagal-Kolar-Hoskote-Bangalore.

Take Kona Expressway (NH6) till before Kharahpur.
From there, take NH60 till Baleswar.
At Baleswar, merge into NH5, which you take all the way till Nayudupet.
From there, go via Tirupati to Chittoor where you get onto NH4 for the rest of the way to Bangalore.

I have attached 2 files for detailed route info:
- The file titled GQ-6D has Kolkata-Nayudupet route
- The file MN-North East has (in reverse order) the route from Chittoor to KOlkata.

You can plan the drive as follows:
Day 1: Kolkata-Vizag
Day 2: Vizag-Bangalore

Both days will be very aggressive, starting very early mornings (say, 4 am) till late night, in order to do it in 2 days.
4-laned road till Naudupet, after which it is 2-laned.

[KALINGA]

Just returned from orissa trip last night.
No safety issues anywhere in orissa.
Road is excellent from BALASORE to BHUBANESWAR.
Except in SORO(my home town ) 1-2 KM bad patch. GQ work is going on in full speed.
They will complete it with in 15-20 days.
SORO (After soro college) to BBSR excellent 4 lane road.

[ssjr0498]

Im feeling a 100kgs lighter!! Thankyou for such a prompt and an awesome response.

Cheers
Shrey

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Route is as follows:

Kolkata-Ulberiya-Kolaghat-Kharagpur-Jaleswar-Baleswar-Bhadrak-Cuttack-Bhubaneswar-Bhalugaon-Berhampur-Ichchapuram-Srikakulam-Vizag-Rajahmundry-Vijaywada-Guntur-Nellore-Nayudupet-Srikalahasti-Tirupati-Chittoor-Palmaner-Mulbagal-Kolar-Hoskote-Bangalore.

Take Kona Expressway (NH6) till before Kharahpur.
From there, take NH60 till Baleswar.
At Baleswar, merge into NH5, which you take all the way till Nayudupet.
From there, go via Tirupati to Chittoor where you get onto NH4 for the rest of the way to Bangalore.

I have attached 2 files for detailed route info:
- The file titled GQ-6D has Kolkata-Nayudupet route
- The file MN-North East has (in reverse order) the route from Chittoor to KOlkata.

You can plan the drive as follows:
Day 1: Kolkata-Vizag
Day 2: Vizag-Bangalore

Both days will be very aggressive, starting very early mornings (say, 4 am) till late night, in order to do it in 2 days.
4-laned road till Naudupet, after which it is 2-laned.

[ssjr0498]

Wow! that's really a good news. I am planning to do it the coming week. Hoping to see some good road.

Cheers
Shrey

Originally Posted by KALINGA

Just returned from orissa trip last night.
No safety issues anywhere in orissa.
Road is excellent from BALASORE to BHUBANESWAR.
Except in SORO(my home town ) 1-2 KM bad patch. GQ work is going on in full speed.
They will complete it with in 15-20 days.
SORO (After soro college) to BBSR excellent 4 lane road.

[Skyline GT-R]

Thanks to All for your responses.

HVK ji. I was going to PM you later regarding places to see en route. Please throw some light on this as well.



Cheers.

[greenhorn]

do check your headlights. for lack of decent headlights, my indica fell into a *lot* of gutters , had two damaged rims ( one permanently), and all sorts of broken stuff under the hood (9k worth of repairs and still counting).

But then again, it wasnt me driving, and my friends apparently drove it like they stole it - they were kinda short on time. They left tvm at about 8 PM on a friday, and reached bhubaneswar on 12:00 sunday afternoon

[Skyline GT-R]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

do check your headlights. for lack of decent headlights, my indica fell into a *lot* of gutters , had two damaged rims ( one permanently), and all sorts of broken stuff under the hood (9k worth of repairs and still counting).

But then again, it wasnt me driving, and my friends apparently drove it like they stole it - they were kinda short on time. They left tvm at about 8 PM on a friday, and reached bhubaneswar on 12:00 sunday afternoon

You know what? Roads here are generally so bad (for my 800) that bulb upgrade + aux driving lights are inevitable for night driving. I have 100/90 Osram + 2 Hella lamps with Philips 100W bulbs. It is the max an 800 can take.

The bad roads were in Kerala Right?

Anyways i try to drive within 6AM -6PM whenever possible.

[julupani]

First of all, dispel all your fears from the naxal point of view. Unless you really go deep into Naxal country, it is completely and utterly safe. This is coming from a guy who has travelled deep in Naxal country, considering that I actually hail from such an area.

As for your route, between Vizag and Bhubaneswar, its superb roads all the way. 4laned for all but about 60kms between Berhampur and Balugaon, where construction is still on in stretches. A few deadly railway crossings still exist which have not been bridged over yet in the 2lane section. Traffic jams tend to occur here a lot if your luck is bad. Have done the 160 odd kms between Berhampur to Bhubaneswar in as less as 1hr 20mins to as high as 5hrs.

The road between Bhubaneswar and Puri is 2lane, but in pretty decent condition. Traffic is generally pretty heavy on this stretch at all times of the day and there are some villages on the highway with the doors of the houses opening straight onto the road, so a bit of care needs to be taken on this road.

Also if you are driving straight to Puri, it would be advisable to avoid Bhubaneswar town all together. You can get stuck for a long time inside the city, especially if you hit town during peak traffic hours. There are no-bypass highways for Bhubaneswar town, leading to very heavy congestion on the highway inside the city, as the NH5 pretty much divides the city in half.

To avoid the city, you can turn off the NH5 just after the turn for Khurda, pass through Jatni and come straight out at Pipli on the NH203 between Bhubaneswar and Puri.

Here are some links to help you out. The first one will take you right through the city following only the NHs, ie NH5 and then on to NH203 between Bhubaneswar and Puri. The second one is the way I suggested, which will not only save you about 25kms distance, but around 2hours of time as well.

NH 5 to Jagannath Sadak/Lewis Rd/NH 203 - Google Maps

NH 5 to Jagannath Sadak/Lewis Rd/NH 203 - Google Maps

[Skyline GT-R]

Thanks Julupani

Will keep your points in mind .

[iridium]

If you are going from Bangalore, good route to take is
BLR - Tirupathi - Kalahasti - Naidupet

There you enter the Golden Quadrilateral (GQ).

GQ is fully done through AP, till you reach Icchapuram (AP - Odisha border).
Thats the best route to take.

If you are leaving Bangalore early morning, you can halt in the evening at
Vijayawada/Elluru.

Second day, you can arrive at Vizag for an early lunch and by evening
touch Odisha border.

Regards
Ravi.