[julupani]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

Thank you Julupani. The Calcutta Bhubaneswar Vizag route , could be a possibility. The roads will certainly be better. Do you think it is possible to do the Calcutta Vizag stretch in one day? 4 am start from kolkata and reach vizag by 10p.m. with maybe one half hour break in Bhubaneswar? If you have access to some recent threads , who have done these legs, it iwould be useful. Because if it the GQ route, I would prefer my SUV, ford endeavor and if it is single lanes, where speed is likely to be around 80 -90 kmph, I would prefer my maruti 800.

Kolkata-Vizag does not need a 4am-10pm drive. You could do it in about 14hrs, ie 6am-8pm.

If you are willing to drive for that long in a single day, you could even do the entire drive in 2 days, ie New Delhi-Durgapur on day 1 and Durgapur-Vizag on day 2. But both days will involve long drives.

[coolclouds]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

I would prefer my SUV, ford endeavor and if it is single lanes, where speed is likely to be around 80 -90 kmph, I would prefer my maruti 800.

Why not SUV for single lanes? Even though M800 can do this long drive, I think you should take Endeavor if its in good condition. You will get more space, comfort and less running time.

[Babuda]

Originally Posted by julupani

Kolkata-Vizag does not need a 4am-10pm drive. You could do it in about 14hrs, ie 6am-8pm.

This stretch is very much possible in the time frame mentioned by you.

If you are willing to drive for that long in a single day, you could even do the entire drive in 2 days, ie New Delhi-Durgapur on day 1 and Durgapur-Vizag on day 2. But both days will involve long drives.

Not so sure about the latter half, i.e. Durgapur to Vizag. Durgapur to the beginning of Kharagpur By pass through NH 60 is about 140 km and a large part of it is not in very good condition where progress can be expected to be slow. Vizag is another 750 odd kms from there.

On the other hand, taking a detour via Kolkata without actually entering the city (Durgapur - Dankuni: NH-2 and then continue on NH-6 upto Kharagpur By pass) involves a distance of around 260 kms - 120 km more than the direct route from Durgapur, but the roads would be much better.

Another point to keep in mind is the heavy fog in late December / early January in North India which sets in by evening and lifts late in the morning, making early starts and night driving difficult. Of course, this would be less of a factor in the south.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by Babuda

Not so sure about the latter half, i.e. Durgapur to Vizag. Durgapur to the beginning of Kharagpur By pass through NH 60 is about 140 km and a large part of it is not in very good condition where progress can be expected to be slow. Vizag is another 750 odd kms from there.

On the other hand, taking a detour via Kolkata without actually entering the city (Durgapur - Dankuni: NH-2 and then continue on NH-6 upto Kharagpur By pass) involves a distance of around 260 kms - 120 km more than the direct route from Durgapur, but the roads would be much better.

Of course I meant going via Dankuni and not taking the NH60 between Kharagpur and Durgapur.

On the other hand, I think the Delhi-Durgapur stretch will be the longer drive. Durgapur-Vizag is should take about 15-16hours. Durgapur-Dankuni 2hrs, Dankuni-Bhubaneswar about 7 hours, and then Bhubaneswar-Vizag about 6 more hours.

New Delhi-Durgapur on the other hand is a couple hundred kms longer stretch. I imagine it would need a very early morning, or rather late night start for what will be a 18 hour journey at least.

[Babuda]

Originally Posted by julupani

Of course I meant going via Dankuni and not taking the NH60 between Kharagpur and Durgapur.

On the other hand, I think the Delhi-Durgapur stretch will be the longer drive. Durgapur-Vizag is should take about 15-16hours. Durgapur-Dankuni 2hrs, Dankuni-Bhubaneswar about 7 hours, and then Bhubaneswar-Vizag about 6 more hours.

New Delhi-Durgapur on the other hand is a couple hundred kms longer stretch. I imagine it would need a very early morning, or rather late night start for what will be a 18 hour journey at least.

Correct. The only factor which may be a spoiler is the fog. During our trip to UP & MP last December / this January, fog made it impossible to drive beyond 6:30 PM and start out before 9:00 AM.

[srinathv7861]

Thank you, Coolclouds and Babu Da, and my good guide Julupani, Your advice to take the GQ has been valuable. I am following it this advice and avoiding the Gwalior, Jhansi,Vizag route. I intend starting early morning on 25th Dec and completing the delhi- durgapur stretch on day 1. I am beginning to prefer the durgapur -dankuni-kharagpur stretch over asansol- bankura-medinipur stretch. Babu Da, do you think that is a better and quicker route? Can I avoid the Pannagarh congestion, if I start early morning on way to Dankuni. This thread is probably getting merged with another thread of Sudev, but Sudev's was a different route plus luxury of more time. . Also please suggest some decent night stay halts, for quick bite and a short rest, before onward journey via Dankuni. Julupani, I need your inputs, return journey, from Vizag, I will need to do through Bhubaneswar and Joda in Orissa. Any idea how one reaches Joda in Orissa ? thank you all once again

[julupani]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

I need your inputs, return journey, from Vizag, I will need to do through Bhubaneswar and Joda in Orissa. Any idea how one reaches Joda in Orissa ? thank you all once again

The way to reach Joda is to take NH215 from Panikoili, which is on NH5. It should take about 6-7 hours from Bhubaneswar. NH215 is two lane, but is in pretty decent condition.

[Babuda]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

Thank you, Coolclouds and Babu Da, and my good guide Julupani, Your advice to take the GQ has been valuable. I am following it this advice and avoiding the Gwalior, Jhansi,Vizag route. I intend starting early morning on 25th Dec and completing the delhi- durgapur stretch on day 1. I am beginning to prefer the durgapur -dankuni-kharagpur stretch over asansol- bankura-medinipur stretch. Babu Da, do you think that is a better and quicker route? Can I avoid the Pannagarh congestion, if I start early morning on way to Dankuni. This thread is probably getting merged with another thread of Sudev, but Sudev's was a different route plus luxury of more time. . Also please suggest some decent night stay halts, for quick bite and a short rest, before onward journey via Dankuni. Julupani, I need your inputs, return journey, from Vizag, I will need to do through Bhubaneswar and Joda in Orissa. Any idea how one reaches Joda in Orissa ? thank you all once again

Not much chance of congestion in Panagarh early in the morning. For decent accommodation at Durgapur, you can try the Pathik Motel run by West Bengal Tourism. It's just off NH 2 opposite the maidan. For more upscale digs, you can opt for Peerless Inn - both have online booking facility.

[srinathv7861]

Thank you Babu Da and Julu Pani. Babu Da, I will be following your advice: Day 1- Delhi -Durgapur (rest at Durgapur Peerless inn) .

Day -2 Durgapur - Dankuni - Bhuabaneswar (lunch) and onward to Vizag for dinner

[srinathv7861]

Have to meet a frined at Joda Odisha, so my return trip from Vizag to delhi will be via Jajpur , (Panikoili)-Joda(Odisha) NH 215, as suggested by Julupani. From Joda to Delhi will be via Jamshedpur- Dhanbad- Delhi. If any one has any better ideas, and can give me some tips, it would be useful. If any one can give the road condition from Jamshedpur to Dhanabad, that too would be useful.

[sudev]

JFYI I did a Vizag revisit in June this year with my wife in i20 again.

The route Delhi - Agra - Gwalior - Jhansi - Sagar-Nagpur - Rajnandangaon (Raipur) - Bastar - Jagdalpur - Koraput - Vizag.

Started from Faridabad at 3am and was in Nagpur at 4pm. Started net day from there at 4am and was in Vizag by 9pm. Delay of four hours thanks to a huge detour I had to take from Jagdalpur to Jeypore on account of heavy downpour flooding a two kilometer stretch of road. Did not use Noida-Agra expressway as it would have meant first going to Delhi and then to Greater Noida. Early morning start avoided road traffic till Jhansi.

On return started from Vizag at 5am and stopped overnight at Sagar at 9pm. Sagar to Faridabad next day was from 9am to 4pm. Too much local traffic between Jhansi to Faridabad and all towns and villages were a pain to crawl through.

To me this is the best route and except for two stretches between Gwalior Jhansi + Nagpur + 100km are under construction

[julupani]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

From Joda to Delhi will be via Jamshedpur- Dhanbad- Delhi. If any one has any better ideas, and can give me some tips, it would be useful. If any one can give the road condition from Jamshedpur to Dhanabad, that too would be useful.

The best route from Joda to New Delhi will be the following.

Joda-Rimuli-Chaibasa-Ranchi-Ramgarh-Hazaribag-Barhi-New Delhi

You intersect the GQ at Barhi. And can take an overnight break at Varanasi.

The NH75 between Rimuli and Ranchi is probably not in great condition. From another person who is looking to use the Ranchi-Chaibasa-Keonjhar-Panikoili route to Bhubaneswar reported Chaibasa-Ranchi to be in OK condition.

Ranchi-Barhi 4-laning work is going on, but is complete to quite an extent. So expect decent roads with diversions.

The Jamshedpur-Dhanbad route via Purulia is not in good condition last I heard. Also it is not known to be the safest of roads from what I hear from friends in Jamshedpur.

[srinathv7861]

Sudev, did you take Faridabad-Agra-Gwalior-Bhopal-Nagpur route ? I did this route last year. Left Nagpur around 12 noon. Reached Bhopal around 8 pm. Halted. Started from Bhopal at 4 am . Reached Gurgaon at 7 pm. So it is a 23 hour stretch. Any suggestions on how this was condensed to about 13 hours. The roads were mostly double lane. Also I am preferring GQ because Google Maps suggests that the difference between Nagpur and GQ options is just about 4 hours. The fatigue for 27 hour drive on poor roads could be higher than the comfort that a 32 hour drive can give on GQ , both for driver and vehicle. The reason I chose the route via MP last time, was I had more time in hand, and my brother too, who is a good driver. Also, it was a one way drive. I did not have pressure of return leg. Total drive was about 2200 km , taking our Bangalore Hyderabad leg which we did before we reached Nagpur. Our idea was also see the scenery which GQ does not offer on Bangalore -Mumbai -Delhi stretch. This time I have to do about 4000 km total from Delhi Vizag - Joda- Delhi leg. And mostly I will be driving. Against this backdrop, any suggestions? Thanks every body in anticipation.

[sudev]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

Sudev, did you take Faridabad-Agra-Gwalior-Bhopal-Nagpur route ? I did this route last year. Left Nagpur around 12 noon. Reached Bhopal around 8 pm.

Why Bhopal? Nagpur Lakhadnon Narsighpura Sagar Jahnsi Gwalior Agra Delhi

This is almost all divided highway. Some construction between Babina Jhansi and again around Narsighpura / Narmada. Single highway of about 30km between Seoni and Magpie.

[julupani]

Originally Posted by srinathv7861

Sudev, did you take Faridabad-Agra-Gwalior-Bhopal-Nagpur route ? I did this route last year. Left Nagpur around 12 noon. Reached Bhopal around 8 pm. Halted. Started from Bhopal at 4 am . Reached Gurgaon at 7 pm. So it is a 23 hour stretch. Any suggestions on how this was condensed to about 13 hours. The roads were mostly double lane. Also I am preferring GQ because Google Maps suggests that the difference between Nagpur and GQ options is just about 4 hours. The fatigue for 27 hour drive on poor roads could be higher than the comfort that a 32 hour drive can give on GQ , both for driver and vehicle. The reason I chose the route via MP last time, was I had more time in hand, and my brother too, who is a good driver. Also, it was a one way drive. I did not have pressure of return leg. Total drive was about 2200 km , taking our Bangalore Hyderabad leg which we did before we reached Nagpur. Our idea was also see the scenery which GQ does not offer on Bangalore -Mumbai -Delhi stretch. This time I have to do about 4000 km total from Delhi Vizag - Joda- Delhi leg. And mostly I will be driving. Against this backdrop, any suggestions? Thanks every body in anticipation.

Originally Posted by sudev

Why Bhopal? Nagpur Lakhadnon Narsighpura Sagar Jahnsi Gwalior Agra Delhi

This is almost all divided highway. Some construction between Babina Jhansi and again around Narsighpura / Narmada. Single highway of about 30km between Seoni and Magpie.

As sudev said there is no need to go to Bhopal.

But the problem stretch is not so much upto Nagpur, but more after Nagpur. Even upto Raipur roads will be very good.

But after Raipur, and even more so after Jagdalpur roads are not good. And worse of all, a heavy monsoon heavy rains in October, cyclones and floods have left roads in south Odisha and north Andhra in a mess. And not much repair work would have been under taken either.

Not to mention, the GQ avoids the ghat section at the Odisha-Andhra border between Koraput and Vizianagaram. This ghat section is also likely to have the worst roads post rains.

So overall in my view, taking the GQ will be much less stressful for both man and machine, despite the extra distance.