I was just glad that the poor guy on the motorcycle didn't come under my vehicle or get injured in general.

BHPian KryptonMonkey recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Got into a scrape at Spice Garden, Marathahalli, Bangalore.

A careless taxi passenger opened the door into the traffic without looking out for passing vehicles. A motorcycle rider passing by crashed into the car door and fell. I just about braked in time but still got hit by the falling motorcycle. The motorcycle fell and slid forward, causing minor dents on the front right lip and driver-side door.

Fortunately, the biker escaped unhurt. The taxi passenger who caused the havoc was in a bit of a shock as people surrounded him and admonished him. I was angry too, and got out of the car for a minute to assess the damage.

I was heartbroken, but I left the scene as there was no point in arguing. I saw that the biker was safe with some damage to his bike from the fall.

Traffic had piled up behind my stationary car, and they were incessantly honking despite seeing the chaos unfold. I was just glad that the poor biker didn't come under the wheels of my car or get injured in general.

Here's the damage to my car.

Took the car to Detailing Mafia, Hoodi to get it washed. They removed the scuff marks with polish. Here's the look now.

I'm totally peeved, but I guess these heartbreaks are now considered normal in India.

Apart from the usual drive safely sermon, my sincere recommendations to all readers: Please do not drive without a dashcam.

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We left our home in Basavanagudi at 8.30 and were in Shivamogga at 2.10 with a half-hour break.

BHPian Fauji recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Road update - Bangalore - Shimogga via Chitradurga

1. Travelled on Saturday. Left at 8.20 AM
2. Bangalore - Tumkur - Heavy traffic as usual. Add to the road widening and flyover construction mess. It is always a misery, especially when you leave late. We have to live with it.
3. Tumkur—Chitradurga—Smooth as usual. The first few KMs on the Tumkur bypass have at least five depressions, which are deceiving, especially for low GC cars driving fast. Then, a few diversions due to flyovers. After 10 km from Tumkur, it is a breeze. Spoorthy Delicacy is a new restaurant on the Chitradurga bypass, which looks good.
4. Chittadurga - Shivamogga - One KM after Muruga Matha is broken. The rest is fine. Big surprise and relief are the Holehonnur bypass and the new Bhadra bridge. It was a smooth affair, cutting down distance and time. Yes, speed barriers have come up on this road between Channagiri - Shimogga, and it is a pain. Another pain point is the Railway crossing after Holalkere

We left our home in Basavanagudi at 8.30 and were in Shivamogga at 2.10 with a half-hour break.

I mentioned the nice tea point, "My Bakes" in my last post. It is in Holalkere not Channagiri.

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The car that was used for this weekend road trip was a Maruti Ignis.

BHPian mm_shen recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Had been to Mangalore and back over the weekend in a Maruti Ignis. Took the Shiradi route both times.

Route update

Bangalore to Mangalore

• Hassan bypass was blocked for highway construction, and I had to take the roads that took me from inside the city.
• At the Donigal Ghat start point, some work was going on. There were a few bad stretches, but they were not a deal breaker, but monsoon may ruin them further.
• Got stuck in traffic just before the ghats for an hour and a half due to idiotic car drivers who could not follow simple lane discipline and caused a major jam by blocking oncoming traffic.
• Shiradi Ghat is freshly asphalted.
• Roads are almost smooth after the ghats upto Mani.
• Mani to Kalladka is not good, and, again, monsoon may ruin it further.
• Panemangalore is bypassed using a flyover.
• Left at 3 AM from Peenya, Bangalore, crossed Sakleshpur at 5.30 AM. Stuck in a jam for 1.5 hours and reached Mangalore at 10AM. Took no breaks in between.

Mangalore to Bangalore

• While coming back, I encountered a lot of traffic from Hassan. Maps showed the Nelamangala intersection in red. Had a Deja vu of getting stuck for over an hour. On top of this, there were rowdy drivers, speeding and overtaking with close calls.
• Took a deviation after Kunigal towards Magadi and then towards Bangalore through Tavarekere.
• Roads upto Magadi were awesome. After that, there are patches of bad and good roads. But traffic was moving.
• Took the exit at Sunkadakatte to reach home.
• Left at 11.30AM, reached home at 7.15 PM - 45 min lunch break and 15 min bio break included.

If all roads are completed on the Shiradi stretch, Mangalore should be 5 hours away. Maybe 4.5 hours. Hope they do not dig up the Bangalore-Hassan route, once the roads after Sakleshpur are completed.

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While the roads in Tamil Nadu were thoroughly adequate, Kerala's lack of it therein was made up for with splendid views and sceneries.

BHPian torque_bearer recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

The itch to go on a long road trip began when I saw a Ford Figo Duratec Titanium (2014) in Manali, the same model I own. It had the same colour, the same specs and literally the same number plate, minus one lone digit (the last digit on mine is 5 and this was 4). It seemed like these cars were literally purchased at the same time, one after another.

A heavy snowfall during my visit made Old Manali extra chilly and anyone who's been there knows how hard it is to drive a car up that hill, through its narrow roads and especially the dry ice that forms during winters. This got me thinking, if this car was really driven all the way from Bangalore to Manali in such harsh conditions, this car definitely is a beast! I might have been speculative back then but that was exactly the push I needed. I decided it was high time I took Spider (because I like the way it sticks to the road) out for a long drive and stretched it's revv band. I've done multiple trips of 300 to 600 kms with ample breaks in between but never more than 1000 kms at a time. And hence I got down to planning.

Bangalore - Pondicherry - Pichavaram Mangrove Forest - Tanjavur - Madurai - Kanyakumari - Trivandrum - Varkala - Kochi - Coimbatore - Bangalore.

A total of 2200 kms!

After a quick inspection of Spider, we set off towards our sojourn at Pondy, but encountered a minor hiccup right at the beginning. An unexpected flat tyre ensured our loss of precious time. We promptly got it fixed and it was smooth sailing the rest of the way till we reached Pondy. After a chaotic walk through the Promenade and White Town later that evening, we grabbed a quick bite and headed back to our room for some necessary shut eye. We planned a historic walk through Mahabalipuram the next day and we set off as soon as the sun rose. The ride to Mahabalipuram was marred with numerous potholes and diversions, testing our patience and questioning our decisions but Mahabs (as we fondly like to call it) offered us enough to keep the history buffs in us alive and forget the gruesome ordeal on the road.

We made a move towards Madurai the following day via Pichavaram Mangrove Forest and Tanjore. We followed Google Maps and to our surprise, we sailed over some recently laid white topped roads with lush greenery to occupy our peripheral vision. In spite of the road being slightly bouncy, we appreciated this route especially after our ordeal en route to Mahabs.The Pichavaram Mangrove boat trail was pretty standard. One can enjoy the boat rides there, given the gods permit a pleasant weather. Next came the Tanjore Temple and this was one monument I've always wanted to visit. The massive scale of the temple and its beautifully carved intricacies still stands tall today attracting hordes of devotees and tourists. This proves its testament against time.

Our next stop was Meenakshi Amman temple and the Thirumalai Naikar Palace in Madurai. The roads again were proper and we reached our destination without much hassle. Since entering the temple proved to be impossible, we quickly made our way to the palace which offered us a small vision of the grand scale at which it was initially planned and constructed. If you are someone who appreciates grandeur and scale, you will appreciate this palace as much as you do the Mysore Palace. Then came Kanyakumari!

After a day of much needed rest, we were pretty excited to meet the wise sage standing atop an isolated rock in the middle of the sea. The four lane roads were quite scenic with windmills as far as the eyes can see. The roads were well maintained and the heat did little to prevent us from reaching our destination. Although the drive was good, the crowd at Kanyakumari was not! A mile long queue to board the ferry completely capsized our plans of visiting the two beloved monuments. We walked along the coastline, had dinner and called it a night.

While the roads in Tamil Nadu were thoroughly adequate, Kerala's lack of it therein was made up for with splendid views and sceneries, thus ensuring a serene driving experience through lush greenery and beautifully winding roads. We departed from Kanyakumari and headed towards Trivandrum on pretty much non-existent roads. Construction work coupled with ongoing traffic gave the clutch a good workout but halfway through, we merged onto a national highway and it was smooth sailing from thereon. A small pitstop at the Padmanabapuram Palace showed a stark contrast in the vibrant lifestyles led by kings in the late 1600s, just separated by a few hundred kilometres west from Madurai. The Padmanabapuram Palace, while being huge from the outside, looked minimal with tiny rooms and low ceilings inside. It somehow still carried that old time charm of intricate wood carvings and rustic architectural aesthetics we associate Kerala with. We ticked off the Napier museum from our "list of touristy things to do" but we were side tracked again by the sheer number of people at the Padnabaswamy temple. We accepted our defeat and set our sights on Varkala. The drive to Varkala was probably the most peaceful, serene and satisfying experience of my life. Lush greenery, quaint bungalows, narrow yet beautiful roads lined with the sea and backwaters on either sides garnished our eyes with nothing but bliss. Varkala welcomed us with open arms and beautiful sunsets. The captivating view from the cliff, the slow drives through it's numerous narrow streets, the food, the people... Varkala had our hearts, in whole! After cafe hopping, taking in the views and meeting some amazing people, it was time to say good bye.

The road back to Bangalore was standard and as expected. I've covered this route multiple times to know it like the back of my hand. The only exceptions were the Varkala - Kochi route which was still under construction and the 6 minor diversions from Krishnagiri to Attibele in Bangalore. A pitstop at Coimbatore gave our battered bodies some necessary downtime so the last leg of the journey was peaceful.

The entire journey wouldn't have been possible without a car like the Figo. I believe it is an extremely underrated car which flew under the radar. The chassis holds extremely well at triple-digit speeds. Its low slung design helps it glide over well laid asphalt and its solid suspension contains body roll around tricky corners. The steering response and precision keeps the car well planted and inspires confidence while maneuvering. It also eats up minor undulances like a piece of cake. I do yearn for certain features like ventilated seats, navigation controls etc. and I do look forward to these creatures comforts in my next purchase. But I understand well that this little Figo is all about the pleasure of driving and nothing else.

I hope to keep this little beast as fit as I can to add more miles and smiles!

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New flyover bridge in Ambur town helps to avoid traffic signal for sure, but the bridge is quite a bumpy drive.

BHPian ravib recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Bangalore to Madras on via Krishnagiri -Vaniyambadi - Ambur-Vellore

I don't recollect when i took this route last as its been couple of years easily , as i am regular via Chittoor route more than Krishnagiri route.

Left Sarjapur around 11.30 am and reached Pallavaram at 7 pm including 30 minutes lunch break at Arcot A2B. So that makes about 7.30 hours drive plus add another 30 minutes or to an hour extra if you leave from other parts of Bangalore like in North/East or around CBD area !

These are my personal observations and of course it may not go well with others' view point. Sorry about that!

1. Enough discussed about construction diversions between Hosur to Krishnagiri toll. They are indeed an irritation and pain when traffic is more, but manageable if lucky to escape.
2. Once we take left towards Madras, the roads are newly laid and pretty good. But only for limited kms between Bargur to Jolarpet, there are lane markings. Rest all the way till almost Vellore, there are no lane markings!
3. This is only making driving more difficult as people just don't know which lane they drive and there is madness in day time itself.
4. Night time driving is going to be even more difficult without lane markings and more dangerous too.
5. There are enough diversions even in this route too and i honestly felt some are really unnecessary as they were building bridges when there are no major crossings / towns or even villages. There were just paddy fields in both sides of the road, but still bridges were constructed. Its true even for some of the bridges between Chennasamudram to Sriperumbudur section. God knows why they are building those. (You can read between the lines for real meaning )
6. New flyover bridge in Ambur town helps to avoid traffic signal for sure, but the bridge is quite bumpy drive. I recollected the infamous AP bridges in NH4 in chittoor route or the bumpy horse ride type experience in Krishnagiri bridge when coming from Dharmapuri road to Krishnagiri toll intersecting Chennai road underneath.
7. The right curve landing at the end of Ambur flyover is going to be risky and dangerous IMO, especially in the night because when there is less traffic, many will be doing very high speeds in triple digits and can easily crash or lose balance unless they reduce speed.
8. Generally, since the driving speed is above 100 to 120 kmph in most part of the road between Krishnagiri to Vellore, and many doing mad and very dangerous speeds due to empty roads along with frequent/sudden braking, the average FE definitely drops.

Thus personally I was not very happy with overall driving experience via Krishnagiri-Vaniyambadi-Vellore route after long time, except for smooth roads. Of course it may sound like I am biased towards Chittoor route, but yea so be it , because thats more controlled average speed with good FE and lesser pain even in bridge diversions than this route.

On a side note, cross posting the link for other update via Chittoor route.

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We stopped for breakfast at Ramana Inn further towards Kanchipuram.

BHPian galahad recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Did Chennai-OMR- Ranipet Bangarupalem (the recently discussed notorious road work stretch)-Chittoor towards Madanapalle on Apr 29. Reached Ranipet around 730 am after a 445am start from Sholinganallur.

The Sholinganallur Medavakkam stretch is to be avoided anytime of the day due to Metro work and intermittent one-way regulation. Took about 40 mins to cross the Tambaram flyover towards Mudichur.

The good part 

• The Bommasamudram roadworks had free flow of traffic; no oncoming vehicles towards Ranipet. Had breakfast at Nandi Food Plaza around 815 am and proceeded towards Madanapalle.
• After visiting Puttaparthi, Mantralaya, Hospet and finally Bangalore JP Nagar, started from JP Nagar 7th Phase at 445 am on 3 May. Google Maps showed flooded roads on Bommasandra/ Road closures in NH48.
• It took me through RV college road, Residency Road, Old Madras Road and into the NE7 new expressway. Great stretch, hardly any users yet. Could spot some interesting birds on the road.
• Exited via the Hoskote untolled exit.
• Entered NH75 Venkatagirikota, the small ghats, Pernambut Gudiyatham, and entered NH48 at Pallikonda ~ 8am.
• The Ghats were okay to pass at 7am, even Gudiyatham had free flowing movement.

There is a Murugan Idly building-top notification board between Ranipet and Kanchipuram- adjacent to a Jio fuel pump. Please note that this Murugan idly is now closed. We stopped for breakfast at Ramana Inn further towards Kanchipuram. The food and parking are good, but the restrooms are to be avoided.

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Then one day I came across a post in reddit confirming Su-57's participation, and that was the clincher.

BHPian professortarzan recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

I know I am quite late to the party, my apologies, I was extremely busy for past week and I also wanted to pick the best posssible pictures to share here in the forum. I see we already have great shots in the thread, I hope I can bring forward a different perspective with my post. Disclaimer, it is going to be a long read ahead. The juicy bits are a bit further down in the post, please feel free to skip the backstory.

Backstory : I am someone who has been crazy about aircraft at least since I was 5.

Back then, our house was in the approach way of Hyderabad's Begumpet Airport and my father (an ex-Serviceman himself) introduced me to this world. I was always mesmerized seeing them fly over. A decade ago when I was traveling to US for the first time on a business visit, I was most excited about flying in the A380 than anything else. A few years later, I skipped Amsterdam so that I can visit the Air Museum in Brussels. I planned a solo cross-country trip to Krakow for the Polish Aviation Museum. I instinctively look up anytime I hear the sound of a jet. I aimlessly watch flights land and take off at the airport along with my dear friend R. So much so, that she and her sister planned my birthday celebrations overlooking the runway.

And then there's another side of me. When Coldplay came to Mumbai back in 2016, I happened to be out of country. I cursed my stars as I always wanted to attend their concert and cry my heart out singing along to 'Fix You'. When 'Music of the Spheres' was announced, I was quite excited. Turns out I wasn't alone, millions of others were too. My neighbor N, and I sat together, desperately trying to access BookMyShow that day but as fate would have, neither of us were anywhere close to booking in the queue. Same with subsequent shows that were opened. I gave up on it altogether and she ended up booking for CAS in Bangalore eventually (Well, we now know what happened to it. Aren't we a lucky bunch).

As a consolation, I had a plan to visit Pulicat lake along with my senior, life mentor and very close friend, P, from Hyderabad. I got a better lens for my humble D3300, well prepared for our photo shoot. In this period I replaced my previously "highway unworthy" car too, so we were looking forward to another road trip. Unfortunately his visit to Chennai was cancelled, so this plan got shelved too.

The airshow in Chennai on Air Force Day

It was a spectacular display of air power, but I knew crowd management at Marina Beach would be a nightmare. I chose to experience it from another beach, but that meant I missed the best part. However in hindsight, that turned out to be a very good decision. I would anyway be going to Bangalore in a few months.

Then comes the announcement for Aero India '25. This was it. I had to make it no matter what. I made a plan for 5 days in Bangalore, to visit the airshow on both public days and also spend time with my brother from another mother, B and his young family who recently moved there. Trains and hotel were booked, the wait started for tickets to open. I was also going to upgrade to S23 Ultra, so I can capture the best possible shots.

And now enters the dragon. Meet Chikoo, the cute calico kitten. Chikoo herself was born to another stray cat of our neighborhood. Although we did not adopt her, we were caring for Chikoo giving her shelter inside the house during Diwali and heavy rains. Life hasn't been kind to us on the personal front, so having her around lifted all our spirits up. We've started to grow fond of her and so has she. As time went by, I noticed that her stomach was growing disproportional to rest of her body. After certain point, I visited the vet and my fear has come true. Chikoo, the cute baby kitten, is about to be a mother. Of at least 4 children. Although the doctor told me not to worry, my biggest concern was their health, considering how young she was. From that day, we have taken her in completely. Going by the doctor's estimated day of birth (who was bang on, by the way), the kittens would be a little more than a month by mid of February. But that would be too early to give them for adoption. Also there is no way I could ask my elderly parents to take care of them for 5 days at a stretch. So I called up B (who has a lot of experience with cats and kittens himself) and eventually cancelled my plan. My parents insisted that they can manage when I am away but I know how difficult that job is, so I made peace with it. That was it, I would have to wait for another two years for the next iteration of the airshow.

Days passed by and Chikoo gave birth to four tiny and healthy kittens. A routine got established and the kittens were growing well in the safety and comfort of our house. Life was revolving around Whiskas and Me-O, I was putting my online discount scavenging skills in pet supplies instead of electronics. Later in one of our casual conversations, talking about my cancelled plan, N's father mentioned not to give up on my interests due to life responsibilities. This got my gears turning but I was still reluctant. Then one day I came across a post in reddit confirming Su-57's participation, and that was the clincher. I am a big fan of it's design, I was hoping to see it during the previous edition. And luckily this time, my stars aligned. I could catch the first flight to Bangalore and return the same night, and fare was quite reasonable. I instinctively booked the flights and the General Pass after navigating through the cornfield maze of Aero India's website. And here, ladies and gentlemen, is where the show begins.

During the days leading to the event, there have been lots of uncertainties. There were reports initially that US is pulling out. This was further strengthened by the fact that demos for F-35 and F-16 were officially called off. However, there were rumors that F-35 would be in static display but was not confirmed. Participation of Sarang team was also on hold due to grounding of ALH fleet. All these developments were not quite encouraging to be honest, I was also worried if the whole plan would go bust. After all, I consider myself "lucky". But as various aircraft kept reaching Yelahanka, my hopes started building up and was quite stoked for the show.

The Plan for Aero India 2025

My plan was straight forward, on paper at least. I'd drive down to Chennai Airport around 03:00, park my car at AeroHub and take the 05:30 flight from Chennai. After landing at Bangalore, have breakfast at the airport, hydrate, fill up my water bottles and head over to Yelahanka AFB in BMTC's Vayu Vajra buses. Sounds easy, right? Well, execution was even easier. It was a breeze and I was at the gate by 07:45.

Morning twilight while landing at BLR. It's isn't a good shot, I admit. I was asleep and had to capture it quickly.

As I was heading down the subway, I was quite overwhelmed realizing where I was. Born into a modest middle class family in early 90s, a younger me never thought that I would fly round trip on the same day, not out of necessity but in pursuit of a hobby. I would have easily been in more than 100 flights till date, domestic and international. I've once had breakfast in Germany, lunch in Denmark and dinner in Sweden. Another time I've travelled by the holy trinity of Cruise, High Speed Rail, Flight and was chauffeured in an S-Class, all in a single itinerary. But this trip will always remain special, there was a sense of achievement. It felt liberating.

The day started with static display of SAAB's JAS-39 Gripen. They participated in the last iteration as well, but this time they did not open up the cockpit for everyone. Apparently, it is only by invitation. The Swedes were probably aghast looking at the queues last time.

After crossing the hangars, I reached the static display area and started soaking in the spectacle around me. I have a few shots, nothing striking, but I came across this.

And here it is next to the Su-30 MKI of the Indian Air Force.

I don't think there are many fighters that look as menacing as the Flanker. Forget the adversaries, even I feel intimidated looking at it.

The open canopy always reminds me of Darth Vader's helmet. In case anyone isn't aware, the aircraft participating in Aero India is not production ready Su-57, but the T-50 prototype that participates in various airshows. But I'll take the liberty of calling it Su-57 or The Felon.

The show was a Turboprop galore, not to mention various Helis. Apart from static display, there were several Lockheed C-130Js operating from the base. There was also an Airbus C-295, Airbus A-400M, a bunch of Dornier Do-228s, HAL HTT-40 and Hansa NG.

A-400M of the Luftwaffe, there is something about the design that makes it look graceful inspite of it's size.

HAL's HTT-40 caught between vertical stabilizers of the Flanker.

Another shot of HTT-40 taking off, this time in the backdrop of F-16 Falcon.

Mi-17 of the Indian Air Force landing in front of Surya Kirans and Su-30 MKI. Does anyone know what's special about the black livery?

LCA Tejas put up a respectable show. Now with the engine supply sorted out, I sincerely hope that HAL pulls their socks up and roll out more aircraft to IAF.

There was a brief show of Hamsa NG, it was more of a palate cleanser between the big boys.

Here comes the Su-30 MKI, banking left immediately on take-off. Although this maneuver is performed often at air shows, the engine roar never gets old.

https://youtu.be/D8vLXLTNQug

HAL's HJT-36 christened Yashas.

F-16 keeping the nose up after landing. Seems like the Americans like to show this move, I have seen it the last time too.

Both sides were very curious about each others' aircraft, acknowledged their presence and gave off cordial vibes. Here you can see the Russians recording F-16 on landing.

The Chief of Air Staff, ACM Amar Preet Singh, made his presence felt. He was checking out both Su-57 and F-35, and engaged with the crowd in both sessions.

UAV Vicaran on display, with Su-57 and Surya Kiran in the background.

Continue reading BHPian professortarzan's post for more insights and information.

In all practical purposes, I don't think even in 2025 new NE7 will be fully ready.

BHPian ravib recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Drove back from Madras to Bangalore yesterday 2nd May via Chittoor route.

Started at 6 am and reached Bangalore at 1 pm including 1.5 hours break. Thanks to no traffic in entire route.

Few important updates.

1. Don't take Bommasamudram route no matter what. You may see vehicles and cars squeezing in between the stone barricades , but don't get tempeted to follow them. Either take Ranipet-Ponnai-Chittoor route or Chennasamudram-Vellore-Katpadi-Chittoor route towards Bangalore or vice versa towards Madras. Alternatively experiment Gudiyattam-V.Kota-Sundarapalya- NE7 new expressway, depending on who are travelling in the car and your car condition.
2. Only in day time, take Ponnai route or Expressway. Strictly avoid both these routes if you end up being in these roads after dark.
3. Apart from bad roads, primary reason to avoid Bommasamudram gate is, near to Zion hill church in AP-TN border, the space is too narrow for a car to get in and many can easily damage their car doors with scratches unless you are really an expert driver and want to take risk. I took this route, because my last drive in March towards Bangalore was not difficult as there were separate roads near to the gate and not much squeezing in issues. This time it was not the case and still saw many cars trying out especially yellow boards.
4. We can't even take underpass bumpy road below Bommasamudram railway station, because to reach that also we need to squeeze in the cars between stone barricades. Best is to avoid it.
5. Other notable changes are the bridge above Chittoor campus of CMC Vellore is open now without lane marking, and there are no two way traffic in single lane.
6. Both the expressways (Chittoor Thatchoor and BCE NE7) overbridges near Guidpala are almost over, with minor diversions.
7. NE7 expressway crossing near Mogli is just picking up the pace, so in next few months we can see diversions just before the ghat road towards Palamaner.

In all practical purposes, i don't think even in 2025 new NE7 will be fully ready. Our wait will be longer is my gut feel. Let's see and hope i end up being wrong

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Somehow I missed the NH50 turn near Hosalli/Hitnal toll and landed up on NH67 going towards Ginigera/Koppal.

BHPian automachine recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

For my Bengaluru to Gujarat journey, I wanted to explore alternative route so instead of regular NH48 via Pune and Mumbai, I took the Bengaluru-solapur-beed-Aurangabad route. The distance of approx 960 km from Bengaluru to Aurangabad took 13.5 hrs in my Honda city sedan. I started on 26th April morning at 4am from Hennur road and took the STRR near Devanahalli and joined the NH48 at Dobbaspet. After a coffee break at Shell Sira, continued till Chitradurga and then took the NH50 towards Hosapete. I had planned to stop for breakfast at AnandVihar near Hosahalli however it was closed.

Somehow I missed the NH50 turn near Hosalli/Hitnal toll and landed up on NH67 going towards Ginigera/Koppal. After realizing the error took a U turn and came back on NH50. I could not find any decent restaurants for breakfast and restroom. I stopped at Kyriad Prestige, Ilkal for breakfast. From outside it looks like a decent hotel with restaurant. However does not live up with regards to breakfast and cleanliness. NH50 and later NH52 is mostly 4 lanes and the common issues are of speed breakers in some stretch, lack of decent establishment for food or restrooms and because of four lanes you really drop your speed when two trucks occupy both the lanes trying to decide who can get ahead. Once crossing over to MH side the options for food stops are more compared to KA. Stopped for lunch at Food town after Dharshiv (https://maps.app.goo.gl/hEkdh4DNdAbzk6G79).

I would highly recommend it for the food. Reached Aurangabad hotel at 5.30pm for a night halt. From here I have two options to take the Aurangabad-Nashik-Saputara route to enter Gujarat and I have done Nashik-Saputara several times before. However I am trying a different route tomorrow via Dhule-Navapur-Songadh. Overall a good alternative to NH48 if you plan to halt at Aurangabad. If you can pre-plan your break options I think this route is good option as I felt the overall traffic is less compared to NH48 and it completely avoids the Pune and Mumbai/Thane traffic madness.

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Road widening is going on for the first few km on the Bisle ghat road (from Kukke), but not a problem.

BHPian prasad14 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Was in Kukke last week. Thought of an update. Went via Shiradi and returned via Bisle. Few things:

1. Hassana bypass is in a bad shape. Too many deviations and speed breakers. There was a long traffic jam too in one of the junctions. Too many vehicles on the wrong side specifically between Channarayapatna and Hassana (noticed it both ways).

2. Roads continue to be bad after Sakaleshapura for 5-10kms, due to construction. Like really bad. Also got behind a loooong truck carrying some special equipment, which further added to agony. Got stuck behind a couple of slow moving trucks in the ghats. Still a decent time of 5.5hrs from JP Nagar.

3. Road widening is going on for the first few km on the Bisle ghat road (from Kukke), but not a problem. Could get tricky if it rains. Roads pretty good though bumpy all the way till Sakaleshapura. Added about 20more minutes, but worth it both due to the scenery and escaping the highway construction. Lush green forests all along, but no waterfalls anywhere.

Saw this on the Bisle ghat. Appears like a Monitor lizard. Any idea what is this. Didn't get down, nor took the car closer. It quietly moved after a minute or so. Was majestic!

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