[Urban_Nomad]

^^ Have a safe trip fine & LOG.

[akshay]

Originally Posted by fine69

Looks like 3 cars would be starting off of Delhi on 22nd. I and LOG are going to Kinnaur and plan to start at 4am.

@fine69 make that four cars, we're off too at 0430am for Narkanda.
Any idea about the roads to Shimla and beyond?

[fine69]

Originally Posted by akshay

@fine69 make that four cars, we're off too at 0430am for Narkanda.
Any idea about the roads to Shimla and beyond?

Cool!

I spoke to a few drivers in Mohali (I was there for last 3 days) and as per them the roads till Narkanda are ok. However, the latest that one of them had gone there was around 2 months back and 2 months can bring about a lot of change so I don't think we could rely on that information.

EDIT: Just remembered, another bhpian (rkbharat) said that roads till Narkanda are ok but after Narkanda there's about 25 kms of pretty bad roads. In case you plan to go beyond the alternate route is via Naldehra-Chaba. The route is allegedly more scenic but the roads are half the width of NH-22 (Narkanda road).

EDIT 2: I thought I'd share this too. The traffic cops with speedguns (around Karnal/Sonipat and then Zirakpur also) are usually out by 9ish (as per the Mohali cab drivers) so in case anybody's late please be careful about the speed limit. You may also expect some traffic cops at the toll plazas (in case someone leaves too early, night time you know) checking cars for inebriated drivers.

[lordofgondor]

Guys, Friday's almost here.

Originally Posted by Urban_Nomad

^^ Have a safe trip fine & LOG.

Thanks mate! Wish you a great, foodalicious trip.

Originally Posted by akshay

@fine69 make that four cars, we're off too at 0430am for Narkanda.
Any idea about the roads to Shimla and beyond?

The more the merrier I say.

[shankar.balan]

what a first class foodie you seem to be Janjua!
must contact you next time visiting C'garh side!
Amazing!

Originally Posted by Janjua

Hello Urban_Nomad.

Please do visit these joints if you are a foodie -

1) Beera Chicken on Majitha Road - Fantastic coal grilled chicken and Keema naan. Best in the business.
2) Amritsari Kulcha Opposite Hindu Sabha College (Old City)
3) Lemonade at Crystal Chowk
4) Bharawan Da Dhaba
5) Kesar Da Dhaba
6) Gyani Di Lassi (Near Hathi Gate)
7) Puri-Chana breakfast at Kanha Sweets or Bansal Sweets, Lawrence Road
8) Paneer Pakora's near Novelty
9) Brijwasi Chat - Crystal Chowk
10) Friends Dhaba - Queens Road
11) Parkash Meat - Maqbool Road

There are so many others. I will post as and when they come to my mind.
Have a fabulous trip. Don't forget to be in the Golden Temple Complex early in the morning (3-4 am) when the proceedings start in the Sanctum Sanctorum. It is a devine experience. Also please do partake the 'Langar' at Darbar Sahib to get a first hand experience of a Community Kitchen in the true sense of the word.

Happy Journey.

PS - En route, breakfast at Sukhdev Dhaba, Murthal is a must, if not then you can halt at Savoy Greens, Karnal (Opp Jhil Mil). It has a great food court and super-clean washrooms.

Lunching at Haveli, Phagwara-Jalandhar road is recommended. Good food and again, super-clean washrooms.

[v&v]

All the best guys for your trip. Drive safe.
Regarding road condition after shimla - Shimla - Narkhanda is in bad shape. it will slow you considerably, but very scenic. Will take around 2+ hrs from shimla. Hope you guys find snow at Hatu peak.

[lordofgondor]

Originally Posted by v&v

All the best guys for your trip. Drive safe.
Regarding road condition after shimla - Shimla - Narkhanda is in bad shape. it will slow you considerably, but very scenic. Will take around 2+ hrs from shimla. Hope you guys find snow at Hatu peak.

Hey thanks mate.

I guess Hatu peak's only applicable for Akshay. fine69 & I plan to take the Naldehra route and continue towards Sarahan/Kinnaur.

But what surprises me is, what's the HP PWD doing (rather not doing) about the state of NH22 post Shimla. I went to Narkanda in Aug last year and the roads were pathetic and I guess nothing's been done about that so far. Sorry for my rants and going OT but it's kinda frustrating.

[mandyrana]

I forgot to mention one place near amritsar is Ramtirth where lov-kush were born.Search for route on google. Visit Durgyana temple also

Road widening work is going on from Jalandhar to amritsar which used to be 2 lane, now being converted to 6 lanes

[breezydrive]

To all those guys heading beyond Shimla :

2 km strech before Kufri is in bad shape, Theog to Narkanda is in real Bad condition - at times you'll drive< 15 km/hr. Narkanda to Rampur is Ok. If you are heading further towards Recong peo, the road from Karcham to 5 km before Powari is almost non -existent.

To avoid Theog - Narkanda strech, I'll suggest to follow Basantpur - Kingal road.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by breezydrive

To all those guys heading beyond Shimla :

2 km strech before Kufri is in bad shape, Theog to Narkanda is in real Bad condition - at times you'll drive< 15 km/hr. Narkanda to Rampur is Ok. If you are heading further towards Recong peo, the road from Karcham to 5 km before Powari is almost non -existent.

To avoid Theog - Narkanda strech, I'll suggest to follow Basantpur - Kingal road.

Have you been on this road recently?

And by Basantpur-Kingal route do you mean the one which has places like Banahar, Bara Gaon, Kanda, Barori etc?
This route is when you get off the main road if I'm not wrong.

How about Basantpur-Lunsu-Jaishi-Parlog-Dingi Dhar-Luhri. This seems to be a wider road.

Is it the yellow one or blue one?

[breezydrive]

It is Blue one!

Definitely dont take Sunni - Luhri road, it is completely broken.

Kingal - Dhami is a nice, trafficless 122 km long road built & maintained by BRO. Kingal is stuated at NH-22 & just 30 km short of Rampur. Dhami is 22 Km from Shimla on Shimla - Mandi Road.

While going from Shimla, follow Mashobra route & you'll join this road after about 25 km.
I'll suggest you to follow normal Narkanda route (NH 22) while going & try this route while coming back, so you'll get a feel about the road situation.

The route is here : India Driving Directions, Maps of India and Local Business Search : MapmyIndia Maps, himachal&via=basantpur,himachal

I came back from Recong Peo few days ago, took a detour from Kingal to travel via Bara gaon - Basantpur -Dhami - Shalaghat - Arki - Subathu and joined back NH-22 at Dharampur. It is smooth tarmac.
30 km before Dhami, you have a option to join Shimla via Mashobra . At Dhami, you have a choice to rejoin NH-22 at Taradevi, take a left & it is 22 Km away.

[fine69]

Originally Posted by breezydrive

While going from Shimla, follow Mashobra route & you'll join this road after about 25 km.

Ok, let me know if I figured it right this time.



I've highlighted Naldehra and Basantpur. And this basantpur route that I have highlighted half-way touches Kingal at NH-22. I'm guessing it should be this one only.

[nkapoor777]

This is exactly what I was looking for! Feels good when you get everything served perfectly without doing much legwork on your own!

I'm doing Delhi-Amritsar this weekend. Plan to leave around midnight on saturday morning and coming back by sunday night. Is the highway safe enough to venture out at that time of the night or should I change my timings? Also at that odd hour, which places I can look for a stop early morning, I mean very early morning around 5 AM or so? Is Savoy a 24-hr place?

@Janjua: I still remember the food at Kesar da Dhaba from last year. Its a bit of toughie to find them but boy does the food make up for it!

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by nkapoor777

This is exactly what I was looking for! Feels good when you get everything served perfectly without doing much legwork on your own!

I'm doing Delhi-Amritsar this weekend. Plan to leave around midnight on saturday morning and coming back by sunday night. Is the highway safe enough to venture out at that time of the night or should I change my timings? Also at that odd hour, which places I can look for a stop early morning, I mean very early morning around 5 AM or so? Is Savoy a 24-hr place?

@Janjua: I still remember the food at Kesar da Dhaba from last year. Its a bit of toughie to find them but boy does the food make up for it!

I don't remember of any incident that would cast a doubt on the "safety" of the highway at night.

But you'd have to be very careful as there are a lot of diversions from before Karnal to all the way beyond Panipat.

Why start at midnight? Isn't that an unnecessarily taxing thing to do? Have a good night's sleep and start by 5am. Nevertheless, to each his own.

I think the McDonalds on Jalandhar bypass is open 24x7.

[LongDrive lover]

Just went through this thread and noted down all the relevant info for our upcoming trip to Amritsar, without even putting up a query!!..Cool! That's the power of T-BHP! Thanks to all for contributing........