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**Bhishma Choudhary** · 10-31-2015, 04:44 PM

Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

Hi all, we are leaving in the north east direction tomorrow & will need a lot of help in deciding our route.
I have done some research on the web but the insights shared from xbhpians experience here are always a gold mine, and I don't want to miss on that.

As of now, we have only decided to pass through Maharashtra - Telangana - Andhra - Orissa - Bengal - from bengal, we take a small detour in jharakhand, because that is where one of our bike is - then we go to upper bengal - sikkim - bhutan (if possible) - arunachal - assam - meghalaya - and then wherever it is safe to go.

No time constrains as of now.

Please share anything that you think will make our journey interesting.
Will start posting updates from tomorrow.

**The Monk** · 10-31-2015, 06:15 PM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

Topic Approved

**Bhishma Choudhary** · 10-31-2015, 07:15 PM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

Few more details, we have finalized just the first 3 stops of the trip, that is, Nasik, Shirdi & Aurangabad. After that we can either take MP-UP route or go via Andhra - Telangana - Orissa route depending which one sounds more appealing & is also safe.

PS - I have a small bias for witnessing Diwali in Varanasi or Allahabad or any other major North / Central Indian center.

**Bhishma Choudhary** · 11-16-2015, 08:15 PM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

A late update. We left Mumbai on Nov 1 and reached Visakhapatnam yesterday.

Here is a brief log of our first few days of Mumbai - Trimbak - Nasik - Shirdi

Day 1 to 4
Trimbakeshwar
Mumbai to Trimbakeshwar -

the first 70-80km of the ride are boring.
The real ride starts with the Ghats of Igatpuri, and keeps on getting better till you reach Trimbak.
On any given day (monsoon or not), I will choose to ride to Trimbak over Lonavala).

In & Around Trimbak

Trimbak is nestled in the foot of beautiful Brahmgiri hills. Unlike the usual hills, these hills are very steep & form a 2000ft high wall around the town. The landscape is mesmerizing.
The town draws its primary significance from a) It has the point of origin of Godavari river b) Trimbakeshwar temple, one of the 12 Jyotirlings. Both of these are quite awesome.
There are a couple of dams & huge lakes formed by them nearby which are seldom visited by people. Sunset is magical on these waters.
Personally, I place this town above Pushkar & even Hampi as it has a strong, unadulterated air of religion endowed with many breathtaking views, sans the foreign tourists & weed.

Accommodation & Food

Lots of budget accommodation options available. We stayed in Maheshwari Dharamshala for 300 per night. Decent room (by our standards). There are a lot of ashrams on the outskirts of the town which might be interesting too.
Food is not good here. Keep your expectations low.

Must Dos

Brahmgiri trek. Leave at 4 o clock to witness a splendid sunrise.
Dip in Kushavarta - The pond where Godavari appears after Brahmagiri & disappears again thereafter.
Spend peaceful time in trimbakeshwar temple
Ride around. Roads to Ghoti or Jawhar are in very good condition & offer great views.

Interesting things

The pedas. They are amazing. And are available in 3 different sweet levels. Genius.
The special shiv tika near kushavarta kund.

Trip to Jawhar

Jawhar is known for its tribal paintings & waterfalls (monsoon). We had less time for Jwahar but decided to go anyway.
The road, again, is absolutely mind blowing. During monsoons, it seemed, this place must be absolute heaven. Comparison - This road beats the approach to coorg, lonavala satara any given day.
Couldn't do much as we reached at sunset time here.

Nasik
Trimbak to Nasik

A quick 30 km ride. Good roads.

In & Around

First impression - Clean broad roads with very few people. What a relief for someone coming from the troubled roads of Mumbai.
As we reached the heart of the city, the Panchvati area, where we were to find our dharamshala, we saw the religious side of Nasik - narrow roads, huge ghats, temples everywhere. Lot of poverty.
Explore the panchwati area on foot. The ghats, Ram kund, Kalaram Temple temple, Sita Gupha are worth a visit.
Tapovan & MuktiDham, if short on time, may be avoided.
Overall, I quite liked Nasik. It has everything one needs from a city: from peaceful & modern urban areas to ancient caves dating back to Ramayna period. From the sophisticated vineyards to Kumbh Ghats.

Sula Vineyards

15 km ride from Panchwati, again, a pleasant one.
Its not a huge facility, as I had imagined, but the sweet wine smell keeps you engaged nevertheless.
The 15 minute wine tour + tasting session is not boring at all & is highly recommended. Overall cost 250 bucks for tasting 5 wines per person.
The restaurant has a beautiful view of the vineyard & gangapur sagar. Some peaceful time must be spent here.

Accommodation & Food

We preferred to stay in the heart of city in Panchvati, and decided to stay in Kaka lodge. 100 per night per bed in a 10 bed dorm.
Food. Nothing special here, but everyone (including us) in Panchvati loves about Annapurna mess in Navratna bhavan that offers unlimited home style food for 100 bucks.
We also had super good breakfast of Misal Pav & Sev Ras at Mukti Dham.

Must Dos

Sula wine tasting.
Walk around panchvati & ghats.

Shirdi
Nasik to Shirdi

Lots of Dhabas on the Nasik side.

In & Around

The main attraction, Samadhi temple, is perennially thronged with devotees. Long queues await you here. Honestly, apart from devotees' deep reverence for Baba, nothing moved me here.
Peaceful & equally interesting attractions include, Chawdi & Dwarkamayi, where Baba used to spend most of him time. I liked these places better.
The prasdalaya, where free food is distributed, is the biggest dining hall that I have seen (or might ever see). It can easily accommodate 7000-8000 people at a time. Clean & highly organized. Food costs 10 bucks per person. On our day, some generous soul had donated a petty sum of 8,00,000 to the trust, thus making the whole day free.

Accommodation & Food

Though there are hotels everywhere, most of them are quite expensive (you will find room-for-500 boards everywhere, but that is a fraud. this 500 is for 4-6 hours only. if you want to stay overnight the charges are 1200).
Budget hotels can be found in the main market area.
Food is generally inexpensive and delicious here.

**jack_daniels** · 11-17-2015, 12:32 AM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

My god! One hell of a ride there mate. I live in Guwahati & go to all the seven capitals for visits. I'd suggest u to go to Shillong, Cherrapunjee, Dawki (Meghalaya), Halflong, Kaziranga (Assam), Kohima (Nagaland), Tawang (Arunachal), Aizawl (Mizoram), Imphal (Manipur).
Also, the weather is great out here. U'll enjoy here now. But, mind you some of the hillstations are very cold at this time of the year. & with a bike it's difficult. Many ppl have experienced difficult times in Tawang, etc on rides in the month of Dec-Jan.
Some of the states like Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland, etc need Inner Line Permits to enter (U hv to show at the border) which is easily available on the net. It's like doing online shopping with ur credit card. 10 min process. Just today I took out a 5-day ILP online for Rs.100/- as I'm going to Itanagar day after tomorrow.
U'll definitely enjoy here. Hope u have a great time in the North east!

**Bhishma Choudhary** · 11-17-2015, 12:06 PM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning & travelogue

Originally posted by jack_daniels View Post

My god! One hell of a ride there mate. I live in Guwahati & go to all the seven capitals for visits. I'd suggest u to go to Shillong, Cherrapunjee, Dawki (Meghalaya), Halflong, Kaziranga (Assam), Kohima (Nagaland), Tawang (Arunachal), Aizawl (Mizoram), Imphal (Manipur).
Also, the weather is great out here. U'll enjoy here now. But, mind you some of the hillstations are very cold at this time of the year. & with a bike it's difficult. Many ppl have experienced difficult times in Tawang, etc on rides in the month of Dec-Jan.
Some of the states like Arunachal, Manipur, Nagaland, etc need Inner Line Permits to enter (U hv to show at the border) which is easily available on the net. It's like doing online shopping with ur credit card. 10 min process. Just today I took out a 5-day ILP online for Rs.100/- as I'm going to Itanagar day after tomorrow.
U'll definitely enjoy here. Hope u have a great time in the North east!

Thanks a lot brother. This info will be very helpful. Will ask more questions when I enter north east.

**Bhishma Choudhary** · 11-18-2015, 04:33 PM

Re: Mumbai to Mizoram: Itinerary planning &amp; travelogue

Shirdi To Aurangabad.

Started off late, at around 8 am. Road is just average, with several very bad patches.
Stopped for breakfast near Vaijapur. Browsed internet to see what to do at Aurangabad. Figured out there's plenty to do at Ellora. So plan to stay at Ellora.

Ellora

Very small town. 4-5 lodges. Prices vary 300 to 1200 per night.

Ellora Caves (they are rock cut temples. i wonder why they are called caves)

There are 34 caves in total. Main entry at cave no. 16 which is by far the best cave and dedicated to lord Shiva.
Cave 1-12 are Buddhist temples. 13 - 29 are devoted to Hindu deities. And the last 30 - 34 are Jain caves.
It takes around 3-4 hours if you spend good time in each cave. But for me, 34 caves were a little too much. Got bored quickly.
The best parts are - waterfall near cave group 1-5, cave 10 or chandrashala, cave 16 or kailasnath, cave 32.

Grishneshwar Temple

One of the 12 Jyotirling. Perhaps the last one too (was made in 19th century).
Also, perhaps the quietest jyotirling too. We visited the temple around 7.30 in evening (not a great time, I know) and there were 5 visitors & 5 pujairs overall.
One of those temples, where men have to take their shirt off while entering the Gopuram or main shrine.
Peaceful. I liked it.

Bhadra Maruti Temple

Temple dedicated to Hanuman ji. Interesting folklore associated with it. Read more here
They have a pretty big Bhatnivas. Good rooms (with balcony) available for 200 bucks per night. Also Prasad bhojan (meals) for 25 bucks per person.

Mhaismal

This was an accidental finding on google maps, and later became the only reason to extend our stay here.
This is 15 km from ellora caves, 12 km from Khuldabad & around 35km from Aurangabad. But the road is very bad (level Leh in a couple of patches)
Its a plateau with a very small village on the end of the road. But the plateau is beautiful. The views, both, of plateau & of the endless fields in the valley can keep you captivated for hours.
Sunset & sunrise are both spectacular.

Darghas

This place has 3 important Darghas. Couldn't visit them though.

Aurangzeb's Tomb

Aurangzeb really liked this place. So much so that he changed the name of the town Ratnapur to Khuldabad which means Paradise (I am not sure about this though as wiki & local stories diverge on this topic), and wished to be buried here after death.
But the tomb is not very impressive, something you won't expect from a ruler of his stature.

Aurangabad
Bibi ka Makbara

Visited during noon. Was much less crowded than I expected.
It's big, beautiful & impressive. But its a copy. And copies are never great. If you have seen Taj Mahal, you won't know what to appreciate here.
I liked the fact that I could see the main tomb here. Visitors had thrown loads of coins, notes & even tickets on the tomb even though the board outside prohibits to do so. What can I say, people just like to throw stuff here.
The overall experience was beautiful & peaceful. I was earlier thinking to skip this monument. But glad I didn't.

Aurangabad Caves

4 caves. Nothing better than Ellora caves. I could be bad at appreciating things, but I just didn't like visiting this place. It was a sort of rewind.
You get a good view of Aurangabad from here.

Budy Lane

City with rich history always has good food to offer. I had done some research and decided to try out Naan khaliya at Bury Lane.
Budy lane is mini Md Ali Road or Jama Masjid. Foodies know what that means. And the Naan khaliya is delicious there.

Daulatabad Fort

Couldn't visit (poor time management)
Looked great from the road. Got whatever pics I could manage from there.

----consecutive posts auto-merged-----

Aurangabad to Nanded

Around 300km. Road full of bad patches. Bumpy ride.

Around Nanded

We visited Nanded because of Sachkhand Sahib, considered as Sikhs' second most important holy site after Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple, Amritsar)
Sikhs' 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, died here & declared Guru Granth Sahib as his successor till eternity.
The main Gurudwara, Sachkhand Sahib (also known as Hazur Sahib Gurudwara), is huge, clean & peaceful. We sat there for hours doing nothing.
There are a lot of Gurudwaras around. Lots of Sarais (Sikh Dharamshalas) & baazaars. All run for the millions of Sikhs that arrive there every week. The whole area is like a mini punjab.
Just after the Langar Sahib Gurudwara (which is the last one in that area), is the Godavari Ghat. It is by far one the most peaceful ghats we had seen. Spend some time there.

Food & Accommodation

Stayed at one of the Yatri Niwas by Gurudawara. 100 bucks for decent room. But keep your Odomos ready if you are going for this.
Had food mostly in the Guruji ka Langar. Its always a special experience. The scale at which langars work never fail to impress you.
Make sure you do some seva.
You get amazing Punjabi parathe, chole tikki, garam doodh & other punjabi dishes in the bazaars, a rarity in this part of India.

Light & Sound Show

Don't mistake this for your usual light & sound show that you see at Red Fort. This one is in a different league. To give you an idea, the narration voice is that of legendary Jagjit Singh. A 40ft x 40ft water spray is used as a projector screen.
Its an hour long history about Sikhs & Sachkhand Sahib Gurudwara. And it will keep you glued to your seat.
I have limited knowledge, yet I would like to claim that this could be the best light & sound show in India. One can go to Nanded just to see this.

Nanded to Hyderabad

Again around 300km. But this route has great route. Highly enjoyable.

Around Hyderabad

We were lucky to be hosted by a Hyderabadi friend. Not only were we shown around but also treated with delicious home style Andhra food (that is, when we were not hogging over the biryanis, kebabs, meethas, payas, haleems, paans, ice creams & what not)
Hyderabad has a long list of places to visit. And I think we missed most of them. We were so mesmerized with Golconda Fort & the views that it has to offer, that each day we would find a new spot and sit over there till 9pm. And then go for our food hunt.
The Charminar is nice. But the markets around Charminar stole the show for me. Especially the Choodi Bazaar. I haven't seen anything as colorful as that.

Food

This city is crazy about food. There are eateries everywhere.
For me, a city's love for food is not defined by what you get at its popular joints. Its defined by what you get at a randomly picked spot. And Hyderabad didn't disappoint us anywhere. That's how great their food is.
PS - Paradise is overhyped. It's good, but very conventional. Try out other places & you will surprised to see how many great Biryanis this city has to offer.

Overall, I liked Hyderabad a lot (i think it was also because of the great weather during our visit). It's pretty much like Bangalore, but only with more culture, more modernity, lesser traffic, better roads & amazing food. What else do you need.

**Divya Sharan** · 12-24-2015, 08:26 AM

re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km completed

Merged threads as requested by @Bhishma Choudhary!

The thread has been renamed accordingly.

**chaosaddict** · 12-28-2015, 07:29 PM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

Man, this is epic. I am from the northeast. Though I have not used the roads there as much as I do here in South but I will try to fetch info for you wherever possible.

I am not sure if Tawang is advisable at this time of the year - snow, landslides, bad roads
You can enter Arunachal via two famous exits - sonitpur & tinsukia, a few travelogues are already in xBhp with details about ILP et al; tezpur/sonitpur is supposedly better
Shillong, Meghalaya is accessible anytime and it'll be extremely cold like any other hilly regions - Dawki, Cherra, Mawsynram are popular
Route to Mizoram is via Meghalaya, and from what I hear they're (authorities) still building the road beyond Meghalaya
Tripura has a similar route via Meghalaya, and has plenty of historic monuments to see
Entire Assam is easily doable - NH 37 is a straight highway and there's nothing much to explain
Nagaland - Dimapur is easy but that's mainstream; remote areas are literally remote and the roads are tougher than you can imagine
Manipur - Imphal is doable

Capital cities in both, Nagaland & Manipur can be done via central Assam (via Diphu) - but you might have to revisit your itinerary though. The major problem is making a circuit, but since you've time you might be able to do it. Please do share your experiences and planning here. All the best, mate! Keep in touch.

Another word of advise - follow a simple code of conduct/approach with locales, the extremities are really not worth experimenting.

**rajpal** · 12-31-2015, 08:41 AM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

I've no words to describe my feelings at the moment. I've been mesmerised by all the photos and the stories behind them.

I feel that I too have travelled all those kilometres and joined in your adventures.

You're doing what a lot of us can only dream about.

Good work guys and I think you should ask Royal Enfield India to publish a coffee table book. Maybe even a few volumes to incorporate all the different parts of India.

If they don't do it - do it yourself. Keep the name 'Bullet Points' with the tagline : A Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km's. I would buy one instantly.

You guys ROCK and xBHP rocks as well....

**sajalsheth** · 01-04-2016, 12:01 PM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

good going

**krishna77** · 01-04-2016, 12:10 PM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

Great going!
Sometimes, this log reminds me of 'The Motorcycle Diaries'! This is a journey which you will cherish throughout your lifetime and also narrate to your grandchildren.

**musafir13** · 01-05-2016, 08:18 PM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

The details provided by you are mind boggling, the pictures, the stories, the distance, the time everything looks so unreal but one likes to relive it thru you. Thanx so much for sharing. If you consolidate what you have written here that itself can turn out to be a best seller and I m sure what we see here is only the tip of the iceberg. I looked out for more details about you two guys on net and there is a long list of sites who are featuring your trips. It looked like you are throwing away crumbs for everybody and smiling. Well, all one can say about your adventure is respect and its all the more respect considering its still going on.

**bobisbacktorock** · 01-07-2016, 01:50 PM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

2 crazy friends, A bike , and music (yes I noticed the guitar) ... One of the bestest tlogs ever written.

RESPECT Brother.

O.T : You talked about Kota & Bansal classes, are you an IITian ?

**Sharrrrrrad** · 01-13-2016, 02:56 AM

Re: A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km compl

Glued to this one.
What a travelogue...
This is going to be one mega travel guide for most of the places in India.

Cheers!

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A White Bullet. 2 Guys. 60 Days & 8300km in South India. Now Mumbai to Mizoram - 30,000 km completed

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