[Sawyer]

On a bike, do the mumbai goa stretch on nh17 to the maximum extent. nh4 is boring and easier in a car, but for a bike the overtaking challenges on roads with no median strip are much less than in a car. nh17 is a lot more scenic and interesting to make up for that.
Avoid night riding, as on any other Indian highway.

To get an experience of biking in the hills, I would suggest going up to Mahabaleshwar from nh17, where you go from sea level to a hill station in one long ghat and come down back to the coast via many options - Tilari is one that would be very interesting, although it will call for a long boring drive on nh4 from just before Satara to Belgaum.

[avingodb]

SDP, your monsoon travelogues are always wonderful and the pictures are a huge treat for a monsoon fan like me.
Thanks for sharing!

[ar.abc]

Originally Posted by SDP

29-30th June 2016 - Went to Ratnagiri to pick up my parents.

Instead of the regular NH17 375KM route, took Mumbai -> Pune -> Satara -> Umbraj -> Kumbharli Ghat -> Chiplun -> Ratnagiri -> Kasheli route. This is a much longer route and adds 2-3 hours easily to the journey. BUT, in the monsoon its worth it.

Nice travelogue with good details of the places, points of interest and roads. I am planning to go to Guhagar towards the end of this month from Mumbai. Any update about the recent road condition on Mumbai -> Pune -> Satara -> Umbraj -> Kumbharli Ghat -> Chiplun route? Or is it better to stick to NH17 old highway? Look forward for your inputs. Thanks.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by ar.abc

Any update about the recent road condition on Mumbai -> Pune -> Satara -> Umbraj -> Kumbharli Ghat -> Chiplun route? Or is it better to stick to NH17 old highway? Look forward for your inputs. Thanks.

I drove on 28th Dec. Roads are mostly in good condition in the Umbraj-Chiplun section. There are some miniscule number of potholes in the plains ahead of Kumbharli. But nothing to be worried about.

I started at 830am from Panchagani and reached Tavasal Jetty at 140pm with a 10 minute refuel stop in between.

[SDP]

Originally Posted by ar.abc

Nice travelogue with good details of the places, points of interest and roads. I am planning to go to Guhagar towards the end of this month from Mumbai. Any update about the recent road condition on Mumbai -> Pune -> Satara -> Umbraj -> Kumbharli Ghat -> Chiplun route? Or is it better to stick to NH17 old highway? Look forward for your inputs. Thanks.

From what I heard, NH17 is being widened. The Wadkhal to Roha section was already under widening work for years. Now widening work for remaining sections till Ratnagiri has also started. Tree cover is gone. NH17 is going to be significantly less scenic going forward. Work is not complete, so no positives.. at least currently.

If time is not a constraint, I would take the Kumbharli route.

[narayans80]

Originally Posted by SDP

From what I heard, NH17 is being widened.

What I saw in the Rajapur-Kankavali-Kudal sector was that NH17 was being 4-laned, no widening work on the existing lane. A separate 2-lane road alongisde the existing one in small sections. These are still in preliminary state. But yes, its going slowly lose its tree cover.

I took the NH4 as opposed to NH17 since I didn't hear positive news on the Poladpur-Chiplun section of NH17.