[Sudipto-S-Team]

Very nice photographs. Thanks for the trip report. Keep revving.

[black_panther]

Nice travelouge.
When I drove to Puri and back from Kolkata in April 09, I could ignore the Orissa road tax both ways.
I thought they had stopped collecting those taxes.

[arin2323]

Planning for a Kolkata-Puri-Gopalpur-Barkul-Rambha tour in the month of October-2013. It is going to be a week long tour. Searched for the older threads and found the current one to be the latest.

Any input from the BHPians on the shortest route and current condition of the roads? I would also like to know about the stretch between puri and gopalpur got the input from someone that there is an alternate route which reduces the travel time a lot.

Please also let me know about the road tax rules of Odisha Govt. for the vehicles registered in WB.

Two families would form a team and our chariots would be a 2009 Maruti A star Vxi and a 2010 Maruti Ritz Vxi.

The eldest member would be 76 years young and the youngest would be 9 months old ;hence there is no question of slogging.

Would be interested in knowing about the good eateries (dhabas) all along the route.

Regards,

Arin

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by arin2323

Planning for a Kolkata-Puri-Gopalpur-Barkul-Rambha tour in the month of October-2013. It is going to be a week long tour. Searched for the older threads and found the current one to be the latest.

I did this trip last year. You can find some details here in my travelogue http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...sha-coast.html. Since you are going to do this in October there is still some time and monsoons can affect the roads. It would be better to validate the conditions of the route and roads you want to take just before your trip.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Any input from the BHPians on the shortest route and current condition of the roads? I would also like to know about the stretch between puri and gopalpur got the input from someone that there is an alternate route which reduces the travel time a lot.

Please check the GPS tracks I shared in my travelogue. For reaching Gopalpur from Puri there is an alternate route where you can travel on NH203A also known as Brahmagiri Road and go till Satapada. From Satapada you can take the ferry which can take about 8/9 cars and cross Chilika lake to go to Krishnaprasad island. The road from Krishnaprasad island is extremely scenic and in 1.5 hours you will reach NH5 from where you can either turn right to go to Rambha or Barkul. A left turn will take you towards Gopalpur. You might not save a lot of time using this route but at the max 1 hour. The plus point of this route is like I said it is very scenic and crossing the Chilika on a ferry is a different experience.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Please also let me know about the road tax rules of Odisha Govt. for the vehicles registered in WB.

Umm. This is a bit tricky. WB registered cars in general are never bothered and you can always tell them that you are visiting Puri. None of the folks having WB registered cars I think have been ever bothered with this illegal road tax. But cars from other states specially KA or MH do face this harassment.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Two families would form a team and our chariots would be a 2009 Maruti A star Vxi and a 2010 Maruti Ritz Vxi.

The eldest member would be 76 years young and the youngest would be 9 months old ;hence there is no question of slogging.

You shouldn't be slogging unless you are planning to go up to Gopalpur on the first day. If you can start early you should be able to reach Puri in maximum 8/9 hours with breaks.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Would be interested in knowing about the good eateries (dhabas) all along the route.

Not much options here till you enter Odisha unless you want to break at Sher E Punjab Dhaba at Kolaghat. Just after crossing Jaleswar in Odisha after about 10 kms there is an eatery on the left by the name Hotel Ahaar on the highway (NH60) which is decent and relatively clean facilities. All the other ones come up at major towns like Balasore, Bhadrak, etc.

There are quite a lot of travelogues (some of them even more recent than mine) here which should be very helpful in planning your trip. All the best.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by arin2323

Planning for a Kolkata-Puri-Gopalpur-Barkul-Rambha tour in the month of October-2013. It is going to be a week long tour. Searched for the older threads and found the current one to be the latest.

Any input from the BHPians on the shortest route and current condition of the roads?

Please also let me know about the road tax rules of Odisha Govt. for the vehicles registered in WB.


Arin

For the Kolkata Puri Stretch you can probably refer to this one, its not in the travelogue section but in the one for route queries.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...s-detours.html

See if it helps form some judgement!

Regarding the rules of that state government, the rules do not restrict vehicles from other states as long as you have proof that you have driven in recently (within 6 months) from the home state.

However read on!!

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Umm. This is a bit tricky. WB registered cars in general are never bothered and you can always tell them that you are visiting Puri. None of the folks having WB registered cars I think have been ever bothered with this illegal road tax. But cars from other states specially KA or MH do face this harassment.

.

They do. This is first hand experience, my own, At the Jaleshwar Border 2008. I think I had posted it in one post by another Kolkata BHPian who too experienced the same fate. Rules or no rules, we had to pay up or the gates would not be opened on us, drivers from long line of vehicles behind us were getting impatient with the debate we were having with the quite educated looking elderly officer at the gate. His message was simple, "pay up or the gates wont open" despite having pointed that the rules only applied for long-stay vehicles in the state and the payment upfront was only a voluntary one.

This was one of the prime reasons, why I was asking for the Jaleshwar byepass. But I guess lot of complaints flowed in and hopefully this is a thing of the past now.

But I was asked once more in 2010 in Chandipur area, that too was a long debate, but this time, I was prepared with evidences of having left WB the day earlier, and demanded that he gives me a case to take to court!!

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by 1100D

They do. This is first hand experience, my own, At the Jaleshwar Border 2008. I think I had posted it in one post by another Kolkata BHPian who too experienced the same fate. Rules or no rules, we had to pay up or the gates would not be opened on us, drivers from long line of vehicles behind us were getting impatient with the debate we were having with the quite educated looking elderly officer at the gate. His message was simple, "pay up or the gates wont open" despite having pointed that the rules only applied for long-stay vehicles in the state and the payment upfront was only a voluntary one.

This was one of the prime reasons, why I was asking for the Jaleshwar byepass. But I guess lot of complaints flowed in and hopefully this is a thing of the past now.

But I was asked once more in 2010 in Chandipur area, that too was a long debate, but this time, I was prepared with evidences of having left WB the day earlier, and demanded that he gives me a case to take to court!!

I stand corrected then. In the recent past I have not heard of any such incidents except for cars registered from far off states. This harassment still continues for all the cars registered in some state not bordering Odisha. As a thumb rule I go through Jaleswar town when entering Odisha and use the bypass while returning.

[arin2323]

Thank you very much Samarjit and 1100 D. Both of the threads are quite informative. I wwould like to have a few more inputs from both of you regarding the route as follows:

1. How to reach Jaleshwar from Kolkata ? Does one have to take a left turn after debra toll plaza or it has to through Kharagpur Town?

2. How many extra KM's one has to cover if it is through the Jamsola Checkpost?

3. Which one among these two have a better motorability?

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

For reaching Gopalpur from Puri there is an alternate route where you can travel on NH203A also known as Brahmagiri Road and go till Satapada. From Satapada you can take the ferry which can take about 8/9 cars and cross Chilika lake to go to Krishnaprasad island. The road from Krishnaprasad island is extremely scenic and in 1.5 hours you will reach NH5 from where you can either turn right to go to Rambha or Barkul. A left turn will take you towards Gopalpur. You might not save a lot of time using this route but at the max 1 hour. The plus point of this route is like I said it is very scenic and crossing the Chilika on a ferry is a different experience.

There is no question of taking any other route, we are going to follow your footprint.

Not much options here till you enter Odisha unless you want to break at Sher E Punjab Dhaba at Kolaghat. Just after crossing Jaleswar in Odisha after about 10 kms there is an eatery on the left by the name Hotel Ahaar on the highway (NH60) which is decent and relatively clean facilities. All the other ones come up at major towns like Balasore, Bhadrak, etc.

Planning to carry packed breakfast to save time in the morning, would have lunch somewhere near Cuttack. You may advise some good line hotels if any. I can remember a line hotel called 'Chilika Dhaba' near Rambha, (reserving for the second day) which i used to frequent during my office tours, way back in 2007-2008. It used to serve delicious food.

Originally Posted by 1100D

For the Kolkata Puri Stretch you can probably refer to this one, its not in the travelogue section but in the one for route queries.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-...s-detours.html

See if it helps form some judgement!

Would definitely be interested in reaching Puri through Pipli-Konark route if the time permits.

Regarding the rules of that state government, the rules do not restrict vehicles from other states as long as you have proof that you have driven in recently (within 6 months) from the home state.

Would the toll slips suffice?

[/quote]They do. This is first hand experience, my own, At the Jaleshwar Border 2008. I think I had posted it in one post by another Kolkata BHPian who too experienced the same fate. Rules or no rules, we had to pay up or the gates would not be opened on us, drivers from long line of vehicles behind us were getting impatient with the debate we were having with the quite educated looking elderly officer at the gate. His message was simple, "pay up or the gates wont open" despite having pointed that the rules only applied for long-stay vehicles in the state and the payment upfront was only a voluntary one.

This was one of the prime reasons, why I was asking for the Jaleshwar byepass. But I guess lot of complaints flowed in and hopefully this is a thing of the past now.
[/quote]

How much are they charging?

Trying to build up the tempo well in advance, lets see how long it can be sustained. .

Regards

Arin

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by arin2323

1. How to reach Jaleshwar from Kolkata ? Does one have to take a left turn after debra toll plaza or it has to through Kharagpur Town?

2. How many extra KM's one has to cover if it is through the Jamsola Checkpost?

3. Which one among these two have a better motorability?

A quick combined answer to all the above is as you approach Kharagpur on NH6 you will find a branch off where you can join NH60 from NH6. NH60 is the road you take towards Jaleswar and is part of GQ. Now the exit to NH60 is tricky as somehow NHAI has no clue on how to put up signs. So you need to stick to the right ramp so that you can continue on NH60 from NH6 instead of going into Kharagpur town or going towards Jamshola. Actually Jamshola is quite far off and shouldn't be in the picture even. So once you have taken that exit ramp on the right on NH6 for some moments you will feel that you have lost bearings but do not worry. After a moment you will hit a concrete highway which means you have hit NH60 and you sill see the signs for Balasore, Cuttack & Chennai which means you are on the correct route. Check the image below. The red line marks the way towards NH60 which will take you towards your destination. The purple line keeps you on NH6 going towards Kharagpur which you don't want.



Please go through the travelogues about the quirks of NH60. Overall its great since it is part of the GQ.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Planning to carry packed breakfast to save time in the morning, would have lunch somewhere near Cuttack. You may advise some good line hotels if any. I can remember a line hotel called 'Chilika Dhaba' near Rambha, (reserving for the second day) which i used to frequent during my office tours, way back in 2007-2008. It used to serve delicious food.

Yes it still exists. Actually it is near Barkul and not Rambha. You need to take a left immediately after you cross the Balugaon bypass on NH5 if you are coming from Bhubaneswar on NH5 or turn right and enter Barkul just before Balugaon bypass on NH5 if you are coming northbound. Check the image below. The purple line is the route when you are coming from Bhubaneswar and the red line is for when you are going towards Bhubaneswar coming from Rambha/Gopalpur/Vizag. The green X marks the spot for Chilika dhaba. Bon apetit .

Originally Posted by arin2323

Would the toll slips suffice?
How much are they charging?

They should technically. I have heard sometimes they demand around Rs 2000 which is just daylight robbery. But given the recent situation, with your WB registered cars, you should not face any issues and even if you are stopped, keep the toll receipts handy. I have traversed the length and breadth of Odisha and they have not bothered me yet, touchwood.

[arin2323]

Thank you once again. Much appreciate. These maps along with 1100 D's non conventional route maps are surely going to be clipped in my route book.

I would be coming back to you over and over again with bagful of questions in months to come and some of them might sound very silly to you.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Please go through the travelogues about the quirks of NH60. Overall its great since it is part of the GQ.

Would definitely do so.

Yes it still exists.

The green X marks the spot for Chilika dhaba. Bon apetit .

You are bang on target. I did actually mixed up the locations.Did you try out this eatery? isn't the food delicious?

I have heard sometimes they demand around Rs 2000 which is just daylight robbery.

Can't agree more.

But given the recent situation, with your WB registered cars, you should not face any issues and even if you are stopped, keep the toll receipts handy. I have traversed the length and breadth of Odisha and they have not bothered me yet, touchwood.

Let's keep the fingers crossed.

Your Bagheera really looks majestic.

Regards,

Arin

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

From Satapada you can take the ferry which can take about 8/9 cars and cross Chilika lake to go to Krishnaprasad island.

I confess that it was actually your posting at this forum which inspired me to cross the Chilka lake with a ferry, in the month of May this year. And many thanks, it was a really an enjoyable drive. I did not even go to Gopalpur. I made it a Puri-Chilka-Bhuwaneswar (only Udaygiri and Khandagiri)-Konark-Puri trip, starting from Puri.

Here is a picture of the ferry when it arrived at the jetty. Hidden behind the large bus were two motor cars, two Tata ace vehicles and three auto-rickshaws, beside inumerable motorbikes (must be at least over forty).

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

The road from Krishnaprasad island is extremely scenic and in 1.5 hours you will reach NH5 from where you can either turn right to go to Rambha or Barkul.

Please allow me to show some pictures I took. These are taken at the other (Krishnaprasad) side of the lake, before I reached NH-5.




Regards,
Rahul Biswas

[arin2323]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I confess that it was actually your posting at this forum which inspired me to cross the Chilka lake with a ferry, in the month of May this year. And many thanks, it was a really an enjoyable drive.

Truly speaking ,yes ! never knew existence of such a route, and I am also going to follow this route in coming October. Even planning to cover the Pipli - Konark- Puri route as suggested by 1100 D; if there is no time crunch.

Here is a picture of the ferry when it arrived at the jetty. Hidden behind the large bus were two motor cars, two Tata ace vehicles and three auto-rickshaws, beside innumerable motorbikes (must be at least over forty).

Nice snaps indeed, it is evident from your snaps traffic is really less in this road. It is really amazing that so many vehicles are crossing the lake in this ferry. The placement of vehicles on the ferry must be a tough job.

How much are they charging?

Which vehicle you took for this trip?


Regards

Arin

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by rahul4640

I confess that it was actually your posting at this forum which inspired me to cross the Chilka lake with a ferry, in the month of May this year.

Sorry for the back to back post but the edit option was no more available. I been to this Chilka-Krishnaprasad route on the month of March this year (15/03/2013) and it was not in May.

[rahul4640]

Originally Posted by arin2323

It is really amazing that so many vehicles are crossing the lake in this ferry. The placement of vehicles on the ferry must be a tough job.

It is not very difficult. The ferry people also help you to park your car in such a tight spot, over the deck of the ferry.

Originally Posted by arin2323

How much are they charging?

This is a picture of the tariff board, also showing the timings. For private vehicles it is Rs 300/- per car.

Although winter had passed, the timings did not change. And the rates remains unaltered from last three years or so, since I first came to know about this route from the writing of Mr. H. V. Kumar, who is undoubtedly one of the most esteemed and knowledgeable member of this forum.

Originally Posted by arin2323

Which vehicle you took for this trip?

I took my only car, an almost nine year old Tata Indigo (Petrol/MPFI, 95000+ KM) car. Please allow me to show you a photo of me, my daughter and my car. This picture was taken on the very same day of this trip. It was taken on the very beautiful Konark-Puri road.

Warm regards,
Rahul

[arin2323]

Sorry for replying late as got stuck up in some office work. Wish to thank Anirban da, Samarjit and Rahul da for the guidance extended so far wish to get much more in the days to come.

So here goes my itinerary as follows:

Day1: 19.10.2013 starting at 6:00 AM:

Kolkata-Kona Expressway -NH6 - Kolaghat - NH60 - Jaleswar Bypass - NH5 - Balasore - Cuttack - BBSR - Pipli - Konark - Puri. (Night Halt at Puri)

Day 2: 20.10.2013 starting at 9:30 AM:

Puri - Udaigiri - Khandagiri - Puri (Night Halt at Puri)

Day 3: 21.10.2013 starting at 8:30 AM :

Puri - NH203A - Satpada - Ferry - Krishnaprasad Island -Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 4: 22.10.2013 - Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 5: 23.10.2013 - Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 6: 24.10.2013 - Gopalpur - Barkul (Night Halt at Barkul)

Day 7: 25.10.2013 starting at 6:00 AM:

Barkul - NH5 - BBSR Bypass - Cuttack Bypass - Balasore - NH60 - Jaleswar Bypass - NH6 - Kolaghat - Kona Expressway - Kolkata.

For day 1 and day 7 what are the suggested lunch stops?

Please let me know whether we are overstaying at Gopalpur, if yes how we can make effective use of 23.10.2013.

1. The difference is petrol price is a whooping Rs 8.00 per lit between WB & Odisha, Odisha being in the cheaper side. Can the BHPians suggest a good petrol bunk near Odisha border en route?

2. My Blue Blaze Ritzy has done 28K Kms with it's factory fitted bridgestone 165/80/r14 tyres. Unfortunately a mad rickshaw had stabbed one of the tyres with it's side nut and the same was busted instantly. The tyre repair guy had put a tube inside it and resoled the same. I am currently using the damaged tyre as stepeny. I am planning to buy a new tyre before the trip. Plz let me know which one I should go for, Bridgestone or Appolo?


Regards


Arin

[julupani]

Originally Posted by arin2323

So here goes my itinerary as follows:

Day1: 19.10.2013 starting at 6:00 AM:

Kolkata-Kona Expressway -NH6 - Kolaghat - NH60 - Jaleswar Bypass - NH5 - Balasore - Cuttack - BBSR - Pipli - Konark - Puri. (Night Halt at Puri)

Day 2: 20.10.2013 starting at 9:30 AM:

Puri - Udaigiri - Khandagiri - Puri (Night Halt at Puri)

Day 3: 21.10.2013 starting at 8:30 AM :

Puri - NH203A - Satpada - Ferry - Krishnaprasad Island -Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 4: 22.10.2013 - Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 5: 23.10.2013 - Gopalpur (Night Halt at Gopalpur)

Day 6: 24.10.2013 - Gopalpur - Barkul (Night Halt at Barkul)

Day 7: 25.10.2013 starting at 6:00 AM:

Barkul - NH5 - BBSR Bypass - Cuttack Bypass - Balasore - NH60 - Jaleswar Bypass - NH6 - Kolaghat - Kona Expressway - Kolkata.

For day 1 and day 7 what are the suggested lunch stops?

Please let me know whether we are overstaying at Gopalpur, if yes how we can make effective use of 23.10.2013.

Gopalpur is a place to relax, so overspending of time depends on you. The only worth while place nearby is the Taptapani hot springs about 60-70kms away.

If you do spend only one day in Gopalpur, you can use the extra day to visit Konark and take time on the Chandrabhaga beach. Or you can spend a night in Bhubaneswar and take in its sights. Do not spend any extra time in Barkul, as the time of your travel is too early for any bird spotting in Chilika anyway.

Also, you have mentioned Cuttack by-pass on your return leg. What route are you talking about here??

There are numerous ways to by-pass Cuttack town, but none which are worth while. By-passing Bhubaneswar using the Pitapaill-Chandaka-Baranga-Gopalpur route is worth it.