[sayakc]

What a stupendous drive, Niladri-da! And the plan to go from 4000 ft of Gurudongmar to 17000 ft at Gurudongmar was the icing of trip - that was made only possible because of the 400 Nm torque available at disposal.

The Hexa remains one of my favourite vehicles and you are putting it to excellent use with trips like these. Heres hoping we get to see you in Ladakh pretty soon enough

Cheers,
Sayak

[barista]

Excellent Travelogue - very well written and nice to hear about the performance of your Beast on such a challenging road. I also own a Hexa and it is pity that Tata discontinued such an excellent machine.

[Mile_Breaker]

Originally Posted by sayakc

What a stupendous drive, Niladri-da! And the plan to go from 4000 ft of Gurudongmar to 17000 ft at Gurudongmar was the icing of trip - that was made only possible because of the 400 Nm torque available at disposal.

The Hexa remains one of my favourite vehicles and you are putting it to excellent use with trips like these. Heres hoping we get to see you in Ladakh pretty soon enough

Cheers,
Sayak

Thank you sayakc! Tata Hexa is such a good product. So sad that it got discontinued. My ownership till now has only been positive and I feel so strongly connected to the car. Ladakh definitely is in the list and am waiting for the last two years to get that window to run to it. Lets hope that I make it soon.

Originally Posted by barista

Excellent Travelogue - very well written and nice to hear about the performance of your Beast on such a challenging road. I also own a Hexa and it is pity that Tata discontinued such an excellent machine.

Thank you barista ! Glad to hear from fellow Beast master. I am sure you are also enjoying your car and have put it to good use. Mine is 2.5 yrs old and till date it has been a fuss free ownership. I had that dilemma of whether to buy such a big car but now I cannot go any place without it. It is easy to maneuver and I feel at home when I get up to the driver's seat. Wishing to hear your side of adventures with your Beast.

[barista]

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

Thank you sayakc! Tata Hexa is such a good product. So sad that it got discontinued. My ownership till now has only been positive and I feel so strongly connected to the car. Ladakh definitely is in the list and am waiting for the last two years to get that window to run to it. Lets hope that I make it soon.



Thank you barista ! Glad to hear from fellow Beast master. I am sure you are also enjoying your car and have put it to good use. Mine is 2.5 yrs old and till date it has been a fuss free ownership. I had that dilemma of whether to buy such a big car but now I cannot go any place without it. It is easy to maneuver and I feel at home when I get up to the driver's seat. Wishing to hear your side of adventures with your Beast.

Hi Mile_Breaker - mine is also 2.5 yrs old XT 4x4 beast and no doubt is an excellent machine... the longest I have done so far was Noida to Goa besides small trips to Kumaon Himalayas... driving the beast is such effortless and tireless

[AjitSen6333]

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

At around 11:15 am, travelling for 6 hours straight, we reached that famous right turn marked by the sign board of Gurudongmar Lake. Here the road ends and one has to climb the hill to reach the lake. This last climb is literally a free way. There is no proper road or even path. Number of tracks are made by the cars going up and down over the stones, mud and slushes. One must be very careful and always keep a watch for any sharp stone that may damage the tyre. Avoid using clutch and avoid losing momentum.

Hi,
Am going to Kalimpong next week, would be doing a night drive during pujas with just me and my wife. Could you please suggest me the route which has probably the least traffic considering I would be traveling during pujas?
I don't mind a longer route but I do have problems with congestion. Some cases I can't avoid them but as this would be my first road trip from Kolkata to Kalimpong would like your inputs. I would be leaving next Saturday night around 7pm or so and reach by morning and planning to stay in Siliguri for a day and the leave the next morning to Kalimpong. What kind of road conditions do i expect from the trip?
Sorry a lot of questions but this would be my first long/hill drive for me. I own a 22 Thar diesel HT MT.

Thanks.

[Mile_Breaker]

Originally Posted by AjitSen6333

Hi,
Am going to Kalimpong next week, would be doing a night drive during pujas with just me and my wife. Could you please suggest me the route which has probably the least traffic considering I would be traveling during pujas?

The road to Siliguri has improved to a large extent. I just went in the first week of September. The main pain area is from Kolkata to Krishnanagar. Beyond Krishnanagar, a small stretch in Berhampore, then crossing of Farakka barrage (congestion depends) and lastly Raiganj is where one will slow down because of single lane. Apart from these it is a straight run on highway all through with no need to leave the highway.

The only preferred route these days to reach Krishnanagar is to take Old Delhi Road from Dankuni and then STKK road. Old Delhi road will be empty by the time you will cross. STKK road will also be empty but it is single lane and has bumpers and railway crossings. Be aware of the bumpers.

You can feed in the following in GMAP and that will give your route.
Kolkata-> Kitchen Sutra -> Nabadwip Gourango Setu -> BPCL COCO petrol pump, Murshidabad-> Farakka Barrage-> Golden Park Hotel Malda-> Raiganj Tourist lodge-> Dalkhola Bypass Road -> Ghoshpukur-> Siliguri
As you are going during Puja days you may face road blocks for collection of chanda. Keep changes handy.

As you are planning to stay a day in Siliguri I would suggest that you take the Gorubathan -> Lava route to Kalimpong. It is very scenic and less congested from the usual Sevoke - Teesta Bazar route but will take slightly more time. I took this route in Aug while coming down from Kalimpong and made a video. You can see and decide.

Wish you a happy journey!

https://youtu.be/mpEUkn_yxD8

[AjitSen6333]

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

As you are planning to stay a day in Siliguri I would suggest that you take the Gorubathan -> Lava route to Kalimpong. It is very scenic and less congested from the usual Sevoke - Teesta Bazar route but will take slightly more time. I took this route in Aug while coming down from Kalimpong and made a video. You can see and decide.

Wish you a happy journey!

https://Youtu.be/mpEUkn_yxD8

Thanks a ton for the info, i got all the answers i was looking for on your reply. Am still in two minds about staying in Siliguri because if i am not exhausted and still have some juice left i think i would be pushing it straight to Kalimpong like others have done, but i guess driving experience depends from person to person and i dont want to push my body beyond my limits.

I have always wanted to take the Gorubathan -> Lava route to Kalimpong but would prefer to do that if am well rested as i want to enjoy driving that stretch. So i am still kind of confused about the stopover at Siliguri.

Thanks again for your valuable inputs.

[AjitSen6333]

Originally Posted by Mile_Breaker

You can feed in the following in GMAP and that will give your route.
Kolkata-> Kitchen Sutra -> Nabadwip Gourango Setu -> BPCL COCO petrol pump, Murshidabad-> Farakka Barrage-> Golden Park Hotel Malda-> Raiganj Tourist lodge-> Dalkhola Bypass Road -> Ghoshpukur-> Siliguri
As you are going during Puja days you may face road blocks for collection of chanda. Keep changes handy.

As you are planning to stay a day in Siliguri I would suggest that you take the Gorubathan -> Lava route to Kalimpong. It is very scenic and less congested from the usual Sevoke - Teesta Bazar route but will take slightly more time. I took this route in Aug while coming down from Kalimpong and made a video. You can see and decide.

Wish you a happy journey!

https://Youtu.be/mpEUkn_yxD8

Thanks again for the route map as the entire road was more or less butter smooth more importantly zero congestion whatsoever, and on the way back i did cover the Lava - Gorubthan route which was 40+ kms or more than the usual route but oh boy the roads were scenic, smooth and completely empty and takes the same time to reach Siliguri. In fact this would be the only route i would take going forward for my trip to the hills. It was an amazing coincidence that we met in kitchen sutra while on our way. It was nice meeting you and boom boom both

[Mile_Breaker]

Originally Posted by AjitSen6333

It was an amazing coincidence that we met in kitchen sutra while on our way. It was nice meeting you and boom boom both

Yes, it was very nice meeting you and your Thar. Glad to be of some help. Looking forward to read a travelogue of your Kalimpong tour.