Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!

asethi · 1st January 2010, 15:31

Hi Guys, I'm just back from the 6 days, 2500km Maharashtra trip. The route was Bangalore - Pune - Lonavala/Khandala - Mumbai - Alibaug (by mistake) - Ganpatipule - Bangalore. Alibaug was by mistake because I missed a turn on NH-17 and ended up in Alibaug!

On this trip I experienced some of the finest (NH-4, Mumbai-Pune Expressway) and scenic (NH-17 and some roads across the Konkan) roads in India.

This was my longest drive till date, and even longest in a day, almost 880kms from Bangalore to Pune within 15hrs. My Swift behaved perfectly awesome, and the recently fitted Michelin XM1+ tyres and Bosch brake pads performed amazing. I took curves at 120+kmph which I earlier was afraid to do even at 80+, so you can expect what the tyre grip levels would be, and the braking distance has improved greatly and I experienced it first hand when I had to do panic braking a couple of times and the car was completely under control. I got an average mileage of around 20kmpl (ranging 17 to 22+), which included quite a lot of city driving in Mumbai and Pune. The max I got was 22.7kmpl on NH17, Mumbai to Ganpatipule, and reason coule be that the speed is always limited to sub-100 kmph on this road! And one happy news for diesel car travellers, Reliance fuel stations have openned up again, but currently selling only diesel. So one can be sure of the fuel quality even on the highways!

Now I'll let the pics do the talking. So here's the snapshot/summary of the whole trip.

Mumbai-Pune Expressway:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0051.jpg

Lonavala:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0077.jpg

Khandala:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0119.jpg

Gateway of India:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0183.jpg

Marine Drive:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0248.jpg

Bandra-Worli Sea Link:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0272.jpg

Scenery along the NH-17:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0344.jpg

Ganpatipule:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0446.jpg

unoczar · 2nd January 2010, 22:51

nice pics ankush,

some more pictures would be good.
what model is your swift? please share details about the prices of the extra modifications to your car.

thankyou.

asethi · 3rd January 2010, 02:15

Quote:

Originally Posted by unoczar

nice pics ankush,

some more pictures would be good.
what model is your swift? please share details about the prices of the extra modifications to your car.

thankyou.

Thanks! Mine is Sep 2007 Swift VDi, and there are no extra modifications except the new tyres and wheel caps, and that too because the OE ones had lived their life

.

dreamdiesel · 3rd January 2010, 02:38

Wow!! A Maharastra travelogue. Always wanted to do a road trip to Maharastra from Bangalore. Please post details of route and places you visited. 880kms in a day is indeed an achivement. What tyre profile is the XM1+ ??

harishnayak · 3rd January 2010, 04:14

Nice t-logue so far . More pictures would definetely do some justice to the thread.

khoj · 3rd January 2010, 04:37

Hi Ankush,

Great snaps and we could do with some more. What camera did you use? The 7th photo 'scenery along the NH17' is it taken on the ghats just before Chiplun?

SX4LOVER · 3rd January 2010, 14:32

Amazing pics there. im sure you must have enjoyed every moment of this trip. Maharashtra is a phenomenal place to travel.

for the info of others planning such a trip do not miss the following:

1. Kashid beach near murud

2. Murud janjira - an island couple of KMs inside the sea

3. bhandardhara near nashik - with some scope of trekking thrown in

4. Lavasa near pune - a modern day city built on hills

5. Tarkarli beach near Goa (in fact the entire ratnagri!!)

6. dapoli near murud, NDA (pune),

asethi · 3rd January 2010, 14:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by dreamdiesel

Wow!! A Maharastra travelogue. Always wanted to do a road trip to Maharastra from Bangalore. Please post details of route and places you visited. 880kms in a day is indeed an achivement. What tyre profile is the XM1+ ??

Thanks! The route was Bangalore - Pune - Lonavala - Mumbai - Ganpatipule - Kohlapur - Bangalore, and I covered all these places. Pune was just a night halt, and quick meeting with friends. Lonavala and Khandala were good, and I really enjoyed the 2 day stay at Mumbai! After that Ganpatipule was a refreshing experience away from all the hustle and bustle.
And regarding the tyre profile, my Swift's running on 185/70 R14.

Quote:

Originally Posted by harishnayak

Nice t-logue so far . More pictures would definetely do some justice to the thread.

Quote:

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi Ankush,

Great snaps and we could do with some more. What camera did you use? The 7th photo 'scenery along the NH17' is it taken on the ghats just before Chiplun?

More pictures definitely coming your way! My camera is Canon Digital IXUS 55, and yes you are bang on, this place along NH17 is just before Chilpun and is an awesome sight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SX4LOVER

Amazing pics there. im sure you must have enjoyed every moment of this trip. Maharashtra is a phenomenal place to travel.

for the info of others planning such a trip do not miss the following:

1. Kashid beach near murud

2. Murud janjira - an island couple of KMs inside the sea

3. bhandardhara near nashik - with some scope of trekking thrown in

4. Lavasa near pune - a modern day city built on hills

5. Tarkarli beach near Goa (in fact the entire ratnagri!!)

6. dapoli near murud, NDA (pune),

I was tight on schedule, and had to cover Mumbai mainly as this was first priority for my wife

, else I would have loved to cover the entire Konkan. May be some other time!

SX4LOVER · 3rd January 2010, 14:46

Well! Home Ministry is in fact the most important part of any government

and needs to be taken utmost care of.

where did you put up in ganpatipule? MTDC konkan huts are right on the beach alongwith a massage spa and some really good food that gets served in your rooms.

asethi · 3rd January 2010, 14:53

Few more while enroute to Pune and around Lonavala.

Windmills at Chitradurga:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0002.jpg

A tunnel just before Pune:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0028.jpg

Pauna Dam, Lonavala:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0080.jpg

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0095.jpg

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0096.jpg

Monkey playing with the piece of cloth:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0114.jpg

View of the expressway from the Sunset point, Khandala:

Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms!-img_0131.jpg

asethi · 3rd January 2010, 14:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by SX4LOVER

Well! Home Ministry is in fact the most important part of any government

and needs to be taken utmost care of.

where did you put up in ganpatipule? MTDC konkan huts are right on the beach alongwith a massage spa and some really good food that gets served in your rooms.

I could not get reservation in MTDC, so got a room in a lodge after reaching there which was pretty decent, and 5 mins walk from the beach. But I had my meals at the MTDC restaurant and the food was really great!

SX4LOVER · 3rd January 2010, 15:04

you are right. its very difficult to get reservations at MTDC. in fact i remembered i had to go to their office at Pune Rly station to get my reservations done.

the food as you rightly said is out of the world, although MTDC could do with some improvements in the ambience and quality of utensils etc,.

asethi · 3rd January 2010, 15:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by SX4LOVER

you are right. its very difficult to get reservations at MTDC. in fact i remembered i had to go to their office at Pune Rly station to get my reservations done.

the food as you rightly said is out of the world, although MTDC could do with some improvements in the ambience and quality of utensils etc,.

Yeah rightly said, the quality of utensils needs improvement and so does the ambience.

1st January 2010, 15:31	#1
asethi BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 449 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	Maharashtra Trip - 6 Days, 2500kms! Hi Guys, I'm just back from the 6 days, 2500km Maharashtra trip. The route was Bangalore - Pune - Lonavala/Khandala - Mumbai - Alibaug (by mistake) - Ganpatipule - Bangalore. Alibaug was by mistake because I missed a turn on NH-17 and ended up in Alibaug! On this trip I experienced some of the finest (NH-4, Mumbai-Pune Expressway) and scenic (NH-17 and some roads across the Konkan) roads in India. This was my longest drive till date, and even longest in a day, almost 880kms from Bangalore to Pune within 15hrs. My Swift behaved perfectly awesome, and the recently fitted Michelin XM1+ tyres and Bosch brake pads performed amazing. I took curves at 120+kmph which I earlier was afraid to do even at 80+, so you can expect what the tyre grip levels would be, and the braking distance has improved greatly and I experienced it first hand when I had to do panic braking a couple of times and the car was completely under control. I got an average mileage of around 20kmpl (ranging 17 to 22+), which included quite a lot of city driving in Mumbai and Pune. The max I got was 22.7kmpl on NH17, Mumbai to Ganpatipule, and reason coule be that the speed is always limited to sub-100 kmph on this road! And one happy news for diesel car travellers, Reliance fuel stations have openned up again, but currently selling only diesel. So one can be sure of the fuel quality even on the highways! Now I'll let the pics do the talking. So here's the snapshot/summary of the whole trip. Mumbai-Pune Expressway: Lonavala: Khandala: Gateway of India: Marine Drive: Bandra-Worli Sea Link: Scenery along the NH-17: Ganpatipule:
	() Thanks

2nd January 2010, 22:51	#2
unoczar BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 536 Thanked: 224 Times	nice pics ankush, some more pictures would be good. what model is your swift? please share details about the prices of the extra modifications to your car. thankyou.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 02:38	#4
dreamdiesel BHPian Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 420 Thanked: 61 Times	Wow!! A Maharastra travelogue. Always wanted to do a road trip to Maharastra from Bangalore. Please post details of route and places you visited. 880kms in a day is indeed an achivement. What tyre profile is the XM1+ ??
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 04:14	#5
harishnayak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: DELHI Posts: 1,396 Thanked: 125 Times	Nice t-logue so far . More pictures would definetely do some justice to the thread.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 04:37	#6
khoj Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Dilli Posts: 2,718 Thanked: 1,287 Times View My Garage	Hi Ankush, Great snaps and we could do with some more. What camera did you use? The 7th photo 'scenery along the NH17' is it taken on the ghats just before Chiplun?
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 14:32	#7
SX4LOVER BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Highway Posts: 304 Thanked: 173 Times	Great!! Amazing pics there. im sure you must have enjoyed every moment of this trip. Maharashtra is a phenomenal place to travel. for the info of others planning such a trip do not miss the following: 1. Kashid beach near murud 2. Murud janjira - an island couple of KMs inside the sea 3. bhandardhara near nashik - with some scope of trekking thrown in 4. Lavasa near pune - a modern day city built on hills 5. Tarkarli beach near Goa (in fact the entire ratnagri!!) 6. dapoli near murud, NDA (pune),
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 14:46	#9
SX4LOVER BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Highway Posts: 304 Thanked: 173 Times	Well! Home Ministry is in fact the most important part of any government and needs to be taken utmost care of. where did you put up in ganpatipule? MTDC konkan huts are right on the beach alongwith a massage spa and some really good food that gets served in your rooms.
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 14:53	#10
asethi BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 449 Thanked: 219 Times View My Garage	Few more while enroute to Pune and around Lonavala. Windmills at Chitradurga: A tunnel just before Pune: Pauna Dam, Lonavala: Monkey playing with the piece of cloth: View of the expressway from the Sunset point, Khandala:
	() Thanks

3rd January 2010, 15:04	#12
SX4LOVER BHPian Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Highway Posts: 304 Thanked: 173 Times	you are right. its very difficult to get reservations at MTDC. in fact i remembered i had to go to their office at Pune Rly station to get my reservations done. the food as you rightly said is out of the world, although MTDC could do with some improvements in the ambience and quality of utensils etc,.
	() Thanks