[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by Samba

While returning back we decided to take the Illambazar, Morgram Panagarg route avoiding the route by which we came.

Although this route is longer in length, I decided to take this road while I was returning from Siliguri, after visiting both Gangtok and Darjeeling. I did not have any GPS device in my car and felt that I may not identify the correct route, as it was raining heavily. It was possibly on thirty first of last month.

Originally Posted by Samba

Drive till Panagarg was not very comfortable as the Moregram road is full of potholes.

Yes. I hit one or two potholes before I slowed down in caution. And although I had powerful upgraded headlamps, it did not help much, due to torrential and incessant rains.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by saket77

Great pictures too. Looks like they have been processed for HDR. Which s/w you are using for HDR processing?

Thanks,
Saket

Thanks.
No these are not HDR. For landscapes i generally avoid taking HDR's. I prefer HDR for architectural photography mainly. For processing HDR i use photomatix and these pictures were taken in raw and i edited them in cs6.

Originally Posted by rahul4640

Although this route is longer in length, I decided to take this road while I was returning from Siliguri, after visiting both Gangtok and Darjeeling. I did not have any GPS device in my car and felt that I may not identify the correct route, as it was raining heavily. It was possibly on thirty first of last month.

Yes. I hit one or two potholes before I slowed down in caution. And although I had powerful upgraded headlamps, it did not help much, due to torrential and incessant rains.

While returning from my Darjeeling, Pelling and Holong trip even i preferred the purnea. bhagalpur, suri, panagarh route avoiding the NH34. You can find the details over here.http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...ota-etios.html

Its true in long drives its always less tiresome to stay on a NH rather than entering the small town roads even though they may cut down your distance.

Yes in two ways roads if it rains at night it definitely make things worse and in roads like moregram highway its even more worse. Earlier i have faced the situation of driving in Moregram highway at night when it was raining. So i can very well understand the difficulty you faced.

[saket77]

Originally Posted by Samba

Thanks.
No these are not HDR. For landscapes i generally avoid taking HDR's. I prefer HDR for architectural photography mainly. For processing HDR i use photomatix and these pictures were taken in raw and i edited them in cs6.

That's amazing that they are not HDRs. Good leveled exposures there.
And very true, it can be a driver's nightmare to drive in heavy downpour. I had witnessed this myself about 6-7 months ago while returning to Ranchi from a nearby town. It rained so heavily that both headlights & wipers were of no use.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

Originally Posted by Samba

.At the end near Bolpur we had to cross a culvert below the railway tracks. Oh god its in worst shape. You have to be very cautious. In case you misjudge the road your cars underbelly will be scrapped. I managed carefully without scrapping but the sumo behind me scrapped badly. During rainy season this is a strict no for small cars.

In monsoon, a couple of hundred meters before this stretch under the rail line there is a fork on the road. Take the left one and go through the hamlet of Bhedia. This route is only for small cars though. The road here is raised and the tunnel under the railway line now has become a very low one. Okay for small cars or bikes. Soon after crossing the rail line if you follow the natural bends of the road you will soon hit the main road to Bolpur. I have done this detour as I was going to S'tan on my Bullet last year in monsoon.

[planet_rocker]

Wonderful updates from all of you guys

We did this trip Kolkata-Shantiniketan-Kolkata as part of a Team BHP Meet, well documented on the forum.

Slightly Off-topic: Do care to watch how it was:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lznTV87wMOg

Take care and drive safe.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by planet_rocker

Wonderful updates from all of you guys

We did this trip Kolkata-Shantiniketan-Kolkata as part of a Team BHP Meet, well documented on the forum.

Slightly Off-topic: Do care to watch how it was:

http://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=lznTV87wMOg

Take care and drive safe.

That's a crazy video with some crazy speeds though i liked it to the core.

When will we have another such plan from Kolkata? I would like to join you guys too.

[dj78]

Last weekend I did this route from Kolkata. The Guskura railway underpass was uneventful.
On the return leg I decided to do the jungle drive through Illam Bazar. It was uneventful except for the horrible speed breakers at the toll to enter Panagarh highway.
If you have a fully loaded sedan I suggest that you ask passengers to disembark to avoid hitting the bottom.

[arindambasu13]

Bumping up a very old thread. We are planning a road trip from Kolkata to Shantiniketan the coming week. Wanted to get members' advice on what is the best route in terms of good road conditions and ease of driving, since we will be travelling with senior citizens. Will be leaving by around 6-7 am in the morning from south Kolkata (Southern Avenue).

Kindly provide some pointers on the best route (detailed advice is most welcome). The last time I travelled to Shantiniketan was around ten years back, and I vaguely remember that we had driven through Shaktigarh, Panagarh and then Shantiniketan. Google maps route seems to indicate Shaktigarh - Bardhaman- Shantiniketan. Not at all familiar with the roads to Shantiniketan at all (in fact, have not done road trips from Kolkata for almost a decade), and hence the request for route advice.

[PapaBravo]

Originally Posted by arindambasu13

Kindly provide some pointers on the best route (detailed advice is most welcome).

Hi Arindam,

The best route right now is pretty straightforward. It would be Kolkata-Panagarh Byepass-Ilambazar-Bolpur. Just stay on NH2 (NH19 now) till you get over the Panagarh Byepass. Take the left slip road which says Darjeeling more. Once you get down from the Byepass, take the right from Darjeeling more (second right). Follow the road to Bolpur through Ilambazar.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
Pawan