[mentalmaxout]

Hi,

Am new to the forum. But have been a big fan of the posts and help
I and my family would be driving down from Delhi Airport on 25th October.
Our itinerary is as under
Our tickets are booked and hence dates are not flexible. Will be landing in Delhi and would be taking a friends XUV for a 10 day drive

25th October - Land in Delhi airport at 9.05 AM and head towards Amritsar
26th October - Amritsar - Wagah border -Amritsar
27th oct - Amritsar to Dalhousie
28th - Dalhousie
29th Dalhousie
30th Dalhousie to Dharamshala
31st - Dharamshala
1st Nov - Dharamshala to Gushaini (Raju Guest House)
2nd November - Gushaini
3rd November - optinal day
4th November - Evening flight at 19..05 hrs from Delhi to Mumbai

My queries are
Delhi to Amritsar
- recommended route & driving conditions
- recommended eating spot for Lunch (we would be skipping breakfast), as need to minimise halts to reach Amritsar asap
- time taken?
- any hidden gems in Amritsar (apart from the usual Jalianwala/Wagah/Golden Temple sights)
- any ideas on how to get VIP pass fr Wagah?

Amritsar to Dalhousie
- recommended route
- driving conditions
- have 3 days in Dalhousie - recommended sights & sounds/itinerary

Dalhousie to Dhaaramsala
- recommended route & driving conditions

Dharamshala to Gushaini
- recommended route & driving conditions
-Time taken to reach

Gushaini to Delhi
- Can this be done in a day ? considering our evening flight is at 19.05 hrs
- recommended route & overnight halt place if required

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

My queries are

Will try and answer some of these...

Delhi to Amritsar
- recommended route & driving conditions

Delhi-Panipat-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar

- recommended eating spot for Lunch (we would be skipping breakfast), as need to minimise halts to reach Amritsar asap

Target lunch at Jhilmil dhaba at Karnal on NH 1

- time taken?

Plan for 10-12 hours, with breaks considering you are starting from DEL @ 9 AM

- any hidden gems in Amritsar (apart from the usual Jalianwala/Wagah/Golden Temple sights)

Food. Lots of it and for every palate.
Brothers Dhaba
Ahuja Lassi
Bhairon Dhaba
the list is endless and limited only by ones appetite

- any ideas on how to get VIP pass fr Wagah?

Make friends with an army man stationed there. Or figure out someone in the Army , who knows someone in the Army - who's stationed there.

Amritsar to Dalhousie
- recommended route
- driving conditions
- have 3 days in Dalhousie - recommended sights & sounds/itinerary

Only 1 way-> Amritsar-Batala-Pathankot-Dalhousie.
Driving conditions : It's a state road, expect it not to be in great condition.

Plenty of sightseeing in Dalhousie - if you are a history buff. Plenty to be avoided if you are a serious traveller to the hills. Personally Dalhousie never really appealed to me. And so I preferred to give this rather congested shell of yesteryear a miss, in favour of staying at Khajjiar.
Around Dalhousie - there's the scenic meadow of Khajjiar, the bustling town of Chamba and further the temple town of Bharmour. There are day trips to Kalatop sanctuary also.

Dalhousie to Dhaaramsala
- recommended route & driving conditions

State route 33 to State route 28 to State route 43 to route 154. Driving conditions are iffy at best in the ghat sections. In the plains its better. Plan 5 hours

Dharamshala to Gushaini
- recommended route & driving conditions
-Time taken to reach

Via Palampur-Mandi-Aut-Gushaini. Plan for at least 12 hours. In fact I recommend you overnight at Mandi and don't try this in 1 day.

Gushaini to Delhi
- Can this be done in a day ? considering our evening flight is at 19.05 hrs
- recommended route & overnight halt place if required

No cannot be done in a day. IIRC, we started from Shimla at 8AM ,and managed to reach Raju Guest House, Gushaini only at 4 PM. The road from Theog to Gushaini is extremely narrow, and makes for slow going due to its bad shape. And this was on a Force Traveller, driven by a local.

Plus you would need another 8-9 hours to reach Delhi airport from Shimla. So all in all - plan for 18+ hours of driving - hence not worth it. It's better to overnight in Shimla. And rearrange the itinerary

[sudev]

Two things:

First. On approaching Pathankot you can take outer byepasses ( using plural here) and avoid lots of traffic.

Two Gushaini Delhi airport is doable in a slightly stretched day. Start early - 4 AM - and target to enter Delhi by 3 PM and airport by 4PM. Lesser traffic all the way to airport at that time. But if you are late you are in for nice traffic jams.

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by sudev

Two Gushaini Delhi airport is doable in a slightly stretched day. Start early - 4 AM

@Sudev
Not sure if the Raju guest house would even operate the river crossing bucket that early in the morning.
Secondly you mention about 11-12 hours .. how much are you thinking for Gushaini-Theog, Theog-Shimla (even if one bypass it), and Shimla Delhi? Are you factoring in breaks?

[mentalmaxout]

Wow...Thanks a ton guys for replying. Needed your views

Delhi -Amritsar
Delhi-Panipat-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar... Am confused reading past posts albeit which were of a few years back. Do i have to take the Jalandhar bypass or enter city? had read somewhere lots of flyover work was on a couple of years ago. whats the state of those roads now ?

- Speed gun areas to be wary of ?

Amritsar to Dalhousie
Planning to do a day excursion to Khajjiar & Chamba. is this possible in a day or should i do them on separate days ?

Dalhousie to Dharamshala
Driving conditions are iffy at best in the ghat sections? can you please elaborate. ? am driving for the first time in the Himalayas.... have driven all life in and around Mumbai in the sahyadri hills

Dharamshala to Gushaini
Would it take 10-12 hours ? any way to beat this ?Raju guest house had informed it would take about 7 hours and hence had included this inthe itinerary.. an overnight halt at Mandi wont be possible since am on a tight schedule

Gushaini to Delhi
Considering the distanc and variables, planning to do this in 2 days with an overnight halt.
What would be the route for this? Recommendation for overnight halt location ?

Thanks

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

Wow...Thanks a ton guys for replying. Needed your views

Delhi -Amritsar
Delhi-Panipat-Ambala-Ludhiana-Jalandhar-Amritsar... Am confused reading past posts albeit which were of a few years back. Do i have to take the Jalandhar bypass or enter city? had read somewhere lots of flyover work was on a couple of years ago. whats the state of those roads now ?

- Speed gun areas to be wary of ?

Road works still on. Though the surface is more or less done and there are only a few diversions, the rest of the infrastructure isn't ready - lane markings, sign boards etc. As you approach Amritsar, the highway reduces to a single lane undivided one.

Jalandhar - Take the bypass, though the road surface isn't much good and traffic is also high, it will still save you some time compared to going through the city.


Speed guns - while getting out of Delhi, limit yourself to 90 uptil Murthal. Sometimes these are stationed at Sonipat. Ditto on return leg.

[mandyrana]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Road works still on. Though the surface is more or less done and there are only a few diversions, the rest of the infrastructure isn't ready - lane markings, sign boards etc. As you approach Amritsar, the highway reduces to a single lane undivided one.

Jalandhar - Take the bypass, though the road surface isn't much good and traffic is also high, it will still save you some time compared to going through the city.


Speed guns - while getting out of Delhi, limit yourself to 90 uptil Murthal. Sometimes these are stationed at Sonipat. Ditto on return leg.

I did Delhi-Amritsar last week, No speed guns in Punjab for sure as my cousin is frequent traveler. Jalandhar bypass is in great condition but road from Jalandhar till Beas is single lane so drive carefully there, then uptil Amritsar road is 4 lane.

[mandyrana]

Originally Posted by mandyrana

I did Delhi-Amritsar last week, No speed guns in Punjab for sure as my cousin is frequent traveler. Jalandhar bypass is in great condition but road from Jalandhar till Beas is single lane so drive carefully there, then uptil Amritsar road is 4 lane.

One more thing Ludhiana do not take bypass just go straight and take flyover to cross ludhiana. This will save time...

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

Needed your views
Amritsar to Dalhousie
Planning to do a day excursion to Khajjiar & Chamba. is this possible in a day or should i do them on separate days ?

Khajjiar has wonderful walks. Spend a night here. Worth it.
Chamba is really a town in a valley. Not much scenic beauty there. It's a hub. I would say move on to Bharmour. The scenic drive to Bharmour is worth the time it takes. You can stop at Chamba on the way back for evening snacks, and visit the local temple while you are at it. Chamba to Khajjiar/Dalhousie is not too far.

Dalhousie to Dharamshala
Driving conditions are iffy at best in the ghat sections? can you please elaborate. ? am driving for the first time in the Himalayas.... have driven all life in and around Mumbai in the sahyadri hills

Just be mindful of your surroundings, and follow people - you will be safe. And no sahyadri does not come close to driving in the upper himalayas. Not even in the same league.

Dharamshala to Gushaini
Would it take 10-12 hours ? any way to beat this ?Raju guest house had informed it would take about 7 hours and hence had included this inthe itinerary.. an overnight halt at Mandi wont be possible since am on a tight schedule

7 hours is optimistic. Route is 200 km or so. @ 25 km/hour average thats 8 hours. Plus 2-3 hours for halts. Thats 10-11. 1 hour extra for contingency. If you can do it quicker, great.

Gushaini to Delhi
Considering the distanc and variables, planning to do this in 2 days with an overnight halt.
What would be the route for this? Recommendation for overnight halt location ?

Shimla if you want the options of a bigger city. Else overnight at Kufri and on the next day avoid Shimla by taking the bypass.

[mentalmaxout]

Thanks a ton guys....This is so helpful.

Now coming to the favourite part - FOOD. We are vegetarians, and based on the posts in the forum, had shortlisted the following. (Ideally pure veg eating joints would be preferred since the mom is fussy. However if an awesome recommendation figures which serves great veg food (even if its not an only veg place), would definitely check it out

Lunch halt on the way from Delhi to Amritsar (starting from Delhi airport around 10 AM) - Jhilmil dhaba - Karnal

Amritsar
Kesar dhaba
Bhrawan dhaba
Brothers dhaba



Need good eating joint recommendations for
- the route Amritsar - Dalhousie
- in Dalhousie
the route Dalhousie to Dharamshala
in Dharamshala
Dharamshala to Gushaini..

Also Gushaini to Delhi - whats the route here. will definitely take advice and do overnight at Kufri

[mentalmaxout]

Hi Guys,

had a small query. I hadn't factored in the long drive from Dharamshala to Gushaini which I believe would take me about 10 hours which is too long. Considering the same, wanted to spend time at gushaini..

Is it recommended to skip Dharamshala and move directly from Dalhousie to Gushaini? With halt? What would be the route?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by mentalmaxout

Is it recommended to skip Dharamshala and move directly from Dalhousie to Gushaini? With halt? What would be the route?

If you love being a foodie don't skip Dharamshala.
Else , better to overnight at Mandi. Route is same as before - only that you dont enter Mcleodganj/Dharamshala.
All these places are nice. So, here's what I suggest:

Day 1: New Delhi- Amritsar
Day 2: Amritsar in and around.
Day 3: Check out and leave for Khajjiar in the morning.
Day 4: Day trip to Bharmour. Back to Khajjiar in the evening
Day 5: Trip to Kalatop in the morning. Drive by Dalhousie. Check in at Dharamshala - late evening
Day 6: Standard tour of Dharamshala
Day 7: Leave after breakfast. Overnight at Mandi
Day 8: Leave Mandi. Arrive Raju Guest House
Day 9: At Raju Guest House
Day 10: Leave Raju Guest House, arrive Kufri. Overnight at hotel
Day 11: Kufri to New Delhi.

Also Gushaini to Delhi - whats the route here. will definitely take advice and do overnight at Kufri

Gushaini-Theog-Kufri. Next morning Kufri to Delhi Straight (with breaks)

[mentalmaxout]

Hi guys thanks for the awesome heads up. We are off for the trip on Saturday and as the date comes closer...the excitement is pumping higher.

A quick question...we would be starting the journey by car from delhi airport T3. By around 10.15 in the morning....which would be a good place to halt for lunch around 1.30-2? Was earlier targeting jhilmil dhaba...but I think it would be a bit earlier than lunch time....and Jalandhar haveli seems to be too far....

Any recommendations? Vegetarian food preferred....

[mentalmaxout]

Hi guys, can anyone help put with the query ? am leavin tomorrow

[sudev]

T3 at 1015hrs means Karnal around 1400hrs. Before Karnal on right of highway Neelkamal. After Karnal Zhilmil on left or Havelli on right side.

If that is early then Chaupal (I think renamed Havelli) about 15km short of Ambala on right side.

Some good dhabas also Rajpura onward.