[jimnylife]

Post the trip to Uttarakhand https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...m-glacier.html (Maruti Jimny to remote Uttarakhand | Milam Glacier) this trip was lined up starting Jan 1, 2025.

Had to visit Ranchi for a day for some work, turned it into a 7 day road trip because that’s what travelheads like to do

Day 1 - Ghaziabad to Varanasi - 850 kms 11 hours

Started at 3am because google was showing a journey time of around 13 hours and I had booked a cruise at 6pm so didn’t want to risk missing it. Took the Gzb-Greater Noida-Yamuna Expy-Agra LKO Expy-Etawah-Kanpur-Prayagraj-Varanasi route. Alternate was to drive via the Purvanchal expy but that route was left for the return journey.
Yamuna Expy has reduced the speed limit to 75kmph for the winters due to fog so it was a slow and boring journey there. 80% of the Yamuna expy was fog free, 10% with moderate fog and 10% with very dense fog. For non visible reason, the Agra ring road was closed on our side and had to drive on the wrong side for 7 odd kms to climb onto the Agra-LKO expy. Did not encounter any fog on the Agra-LKO expy though which has a comfortable speed limit of 100 kph.

First brunch break at Kanpur-



Reached Varanasi at 2pm sharp and checked into the Railway officers guest house bang opposite Varanasi Junction. Took rest for an hour and set out for the cruise. Cruise was 1000 INR per person for a duration of 1.5 hours including 20 mins stop at Dashashwamedh Ghat for the Ganga Aarti. It departs from Haridas Ghat and it’s not advisable to drive by own vehicle there due to traffic. Tea/Coffee and cookies were served complimentary. The cruise passes by all the ghats and info is also given about important ghats. Though the Aarti is not visible from close, it’s recommended for people who would not like to bargain and be among a sea of people and sit and enjoy the cruise.

Link to book - https://alaknandacruise.com/Home/index

Images from the cruise -
Assi Ghat Aarti-


The more popular Dashashwamedh Ghat Aarti-


Kashi Vishwanath corridor-




NAMO Ghat-




The ship-


Post the cruise went for Kashi Vishwanath darshan. Entered at 8pm and out by 9-15pm. During the day was told that it took 4-5 hours.

Street food for dinner- Didn’t visit the now famous Kashi Chaat Bhandar (after Ambani wedding) due to the extreme crowd and waiting.

Lassi-


Tamatar chaat, Dahi puri and Aloo tikki


Paan banaras wala-


Day 2 - Varanasi to Sarnath to Ranchi - 430 kms 8 hours

Left at 7-30am to be at Sarnath in 25 mins. Were among the first ones to enter the Archaeological site on that day. I’ll let the photos do the talking for Sarnath-

Base of the Ashoka pillar-


Lion pillar- National Emblem of India


Dhamek Stupa-


Photos from the time of discovery-




The complex


Some info


Wat Thai temple-




Chaukhandi Stupa


Some monasteries nearby- An annual debate of monks from all over the world was in progress at one of the monasteries and it was a new experience to see the debate in Tibetan language.









Took 3 hours to cover all nearby archaeological sites and Buddhist temples. Left for Ranchi at 11am. Reached Ranchi at 7pm, checked in and went for a stroll and dinner.

Day 3 - Ranchi to Netarhat via Lodh Falls

Ranchi to Lodh falls took around 5 hours with some great countryside views. I observed that people in Jharkhand like to picnic and enjoy being outdoors. Everywhere I could find people having picnics on the riverside, lakeside, damside, highway side etc the roads were great all along and I was excited to drive on mountain roads other than the Himalayas.

Some views of the countryside in JH



Kind of mountains we see in hampi.

[jimnylife]

Quirky names of villages-



Lodh Falls- It is the highest waterfall in JH







Beautiful open roads from Netarhat to Lodh.








Sunset from Magnolia Point. It was very very overcrowded and I have seen much better sunsets elsewhere.







Day 4 - Netarhat to Patratu Valley to Rajrappa Temple to Hundru Falls to Getalsud Dam to Ranchi

Foggy departure from Netarhat-


Sunrise-


MS Dhoni’s farmhouse on Ranchi Ring Road


Breakfast for the GOAT-


Patratu Lake- again a picnic spot for the locals, loud music, lots of litter all around. Sad state of affairs.


Patratu Dam




Rajrappa Temple-




Hundru Falls-


Sunset from Getalsud Dam before heading to Ranchi-









Reached Ranchi in around 1 Hr from Getalsud and retired for the day. Explored lot of new places, fruitful day.

Day 5 - Ranchi to Dassam falls to Tata Zoo Jamshedpur to Chandil Dam to Ranchi

Ranchi to Dassam falls is a short 1 hr drive and the last 5 kms is through winding village roads. Everyone was amused to see a red Jimny which probably they hadn’t seen before. Again same story at Dassam falls, everyone playing loud music, litter all over, people bathing, etc etc.

Dasam falls -




On the way-


Dasam to Jamshedpur was an under 2hr drive, very smooth 4 lane roads. Being a Sunday, the zoo parking was full and had to park on the roadside.

[jimnylife]

Some glimpses of Tata Zoo. The zoo appeared very well maintained and better than other Zoos that I have visited in the past. Most of the animals were adopted by some or the other conglomerate as display outside the enclosure.

Sunset on the way back


Chandil Dam reservoir


Funky buses of picnic goers


Chandil dam


Zoo photos-






















Day 6 - Ranchi to Bodh Gaya to Lucknow

A very very long day. We had expected a driving time of 12 hours plus the sightseeing time at Bodh Gaya. Got caught into extreme fog after crossing Barhi on the NH2. Never saw this dense fog. The fog accompanied us until Bodh Gaya. Took us 4 hours to reach Bodh Gaya from Ranchi.

The dense fog-


In Bodh Gaya main temple, mobiles and smartwatches are not allowed so no photos from inside. Free lockers are available to store your belongings. Saw the majestic Mahabodhi tree, various temples inside, such a calming feeling hearing the chanting going on all around. Hundreds of monks from all over the world are living inside the compound. I had never seen so many monks together at a single place.

Outside the Mahabodhi temple


Different Buddhist temples around the main complex-















Jagannath mandir


Post visiting all the temples in Bodh Gaya we started towards Lucknow at around 11am. Google was showing a drive time of 9.5 hours.
Between Gaya and Buxar, there were 3 road blockages for which we had to take village roads. First one was for no reason-trucks were standing for 3kms on the highway for no reason blocking all the lanes.
Imagine!!
Next one was due to truck traffic and bad and broken roads, again followed a local mini truck to get out using village route. This is where the Jimny shined. Foot wide uncovered nallahs, no problem. Tight lanes, no problems. Speed breakers made out of fallen concrete poles, no problem.

Third one was due to an accident where a person unfortunately died and the villagers had blocked the highway. Again had to bypass the highway via the fields. Too much time lost in Bihar.

Finally was able to climb onto Purvanchal expy at 3-15 pm. It was my first time driving on suck a long access controlled expy. (340kms) Set the cruise control at 98kph and sat back. Tiredness had already setin due to the diversions in Bihar so decided to take a Power Nap of 30 mins at 4pm. Restarted at 4-30pm at reached Lucknow at 8 pm

Ordered Galouti kababs from Tunday Kababi and retired for the night. No energy to drive to Aminabad, the main outlet.

Purvanchal expy

[jimnylife]

Day 7 - Lucknow local sights and back to Ghaziabad.

Visited the usual Lucknow sites- Bada Imambara, Rumi Darwaza, chowk market for clothes shopping.

Sights from Lucknow-

Chowk Market-Synonymous to Chandni Chowk in Delhi


Step well -Baoli




Bhool bhulaiya-






Bada Imambara-






Rumi Darwaza







The return journey from Lucknow to Ghaziabad took 7 hours which included 1 hour for last 15 kms

End of trip


Some stats=

Total distance = 3564km
Average mileage = around 14kmpl
At 80kph speed on meter and GPS speed 74 kph, mileage is 17 kmpl
At 110kph speed on meter and GPS speed 98 kph, mileage is 12.5 kmpl
Lowest fuel cost- UP 94Rs
Highest fuel cost - Bihar 108 Rs (only refueled once, mistake)
Toll cost- 5025Rs

Random observations-
- People in Ranchi don’t know the concept of low beams. Everyone is on high beams. Many people have very bright LEDs fitted into reflectors !! Very annoying to drive post sunset in Ranchi.
- UP expressways are top notch and you don’t feel you’ve covered such long distances. You also pay high toll rates.
- Jharkhand state highways are in very good shape.
- Very happy to see solar energy being tapped to its full potential in rural Jharkhand.
- Not a single shopkeeper overcharges in any of the tourist spots in and around Ranchi. You get Maggi for 30 Rs and everything is on MRP even in places where the daily footfall is north of 1000 people. Here in the north, everything becomes 2X of usual price at any crowded place. Hope it remains the same in JH.

The ODO now reads 10,000 plus in 5.5 months, didn’t expect to be driving this much when I got it.
Photo taken by co passenger


That’s all folks, thank you if you’ve managed to reach until the end

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Vinod_nair]

Excellent travelogue, you've captured everything in perfect detail.

Your Jimny looks lovely in Red.

Varanasi has changed so much, nostalgic I did my schooling, father was posted during the '71 war.

Next time you're in Lucknow do visit The Presidency, it's on the way to chowk, and La Marts Collage on the banks of Gomti after the Zoo/Golf Course.

[sinharishi]

Originally Posted by jimnylife

At 80kph speed on meter and GPS speed 74 kph, mileage is 17 kmpl
At 110kph speed on meter and GPS speed 98 kph, mileage is 12.5 kmpl

I see you’re on stock tyres, the error in meter vs GPS speed should be consistent across speeds, no? While 6 kmph seems reasonable, 12 kmph seems to be on a higher side.

[Kkumar]

Nice travelogue with beautiful photos. Good to see that you are using the Jimny to its fullest. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.

[Axe77]

Sounds like a wonderful trip and thanks for such a detailed narrative with the beautiful pictures to almost transport us there.

Wonderful to see the versatility that this little mountain goat that is the Jimny brings. Good for calm highway driving I suppose, great companion if you were to be traveling to the hills and of course compact enough footprint for numerous destinations where you dont want to pilot larger cars.

Sorry if I missed it but is yours a manual or an automatic Jimny? That’s pretty decent FE I suppose considering I’d heard that the automatic Jimny is a little low on the efficiency front.

[Tigguan]

Read a couple of travelogues with Jimny today, one from shankar balan and one from you. Both excellent! Apart from greatly detailed information, one thing is common in both, Jimny seems to be very capable and comfortable ride for road trips. Might try one with a self drive rental on one of my future trips.

[jimnylife]

Originally Posted by Vinod_nair

Excellent travelogue, you've captured everything in perfect detail.

Next time you're in Lucknow do visit The Presidency, it's on the way to chowk, and La Marts Collage on the banks of Gomti after the Zoo/Golf Course.

Thanks, sure thing noted.

Originally Posted by sinharishi

I see you’re on stock tyres, the error in meter vs GPS speed should be consistent across speeds, no? While 6 kmph seems reasonable, 12 kmph seems to be on a higher side.

I thought it was a % of the meter speed? Not sure but that’s how it is.

Originally Posted by Kkumar

Nice travelogue with beautiful photos. Good to see that you are using the Jimny to its fullest. Thank you for sharing and keep on munching miles.

Thanks, surely.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Sorry if I missed it but is yours a manual or an automatic Jimny? That’s pretty decent FE I suppose considering I’d heard that the automatic Jimny is a little low on the efficiency front.

Mine is a manual. It’s best driven at 90kph where you can get 15-16 kmpl

[minzanurag]

Lovely write up with beautifully captured pictures. Hope you had a good time in JH.

Being from Ranchi, I find it interesting to see the city and JH state from a visitors’ perspective as well as some of the locations which even we have not visited even though it’s only a stone throw away or talk about the daily lifestyle.

I did a similar trip during 22-28 Dec 2024 Noida-Benaras-Ranchi-Ghazipur-Lucknow-Noida in my SCross. We stopped at Benaras and Lucknow on our onward and return trip, respectively.

Cheers!

[Chinmay5391]

Damn the Jimny looks good. Kudos