Re: Chandigarh to Chennai

Day 3: Vapi - Thane - Pune - Wai - Mahabaleshwar - Ganapatipule
If Konkan is not a concern for you, then head till Belgaum(on NH4) and take Jamboti Chorla ghats. Will save you quite some time and roads also pretty decent, except for some 2-3 Kms before you head to the toll booth entering Goa.

You mean I should be skipping Ganapatipule?

Day 6: Goa - Bangalore
Which Route?

Which route do you think I should take? Fastest route preferable.

Re: Chandigarh to Chennai

Skipping Ganapatiphule saves you time i meant, since you told you are looking for a faster route this time around.

regarding Blore Goa you can take : Goa(Depending on where you are staying ) you can take.

North Goa: Jamboti-Chola-Belgaum-Bangalore

Panjim/Calngaute area: Mollem-Ramnagar--Hubli By pass-Bangalore.

South Goa: Karwar-Yellapur-Mundgod-Bankapur-Bangalore. The Mundgod-Bankapur stretch can slow you down in terms of speed but not much. In case you have time, you can visit Mundgod Monastery too.

Personal suggestion, definitely not a faster route: Goa-Karwar-Honnavar-Jog Falls-Shimoga-Tarikere-Lingadahalli-Chikmagalur-Hassan-Bangalore. Road conditions are good throughout, may be some small rough patch inside forest areas , apart from that nothing too worry about. you get to ride through the biiiiigg corkscrew after honnavar . Definitely doable in a day ( a 12-13 hour relaxed riding time) the last 200 kms can be done in under 3 hours. or you can take Tarikere-Tumkur stretch itself if you are loosing time. Till you reach NH4 its two lane throughout.

P.S: try to leave Goa early in the morning, before traffic starts, say by max 7.

Re: Chandigarh to Chennai

Thanks! I wanted to do the Jog falls, but someone mentioned that there is no point going there in December, as it would be nothing more than a trickle. Agree?

A little tweak in the itinerary

Day 4: Ganapatipule - Ratnagiri - Devgad - Malvan/Tarkali resort by MTDC (To get a taste of the konkan)
Day 5: Tarkali - Calangute via the NH-66
Day 6: Bangalore via Belgaum and then NH-4
Day 7: Bangalore - Chennai via NH-4

This would give be a relaxed ride through the konkan, so I would not have to rush it. I can then sacrifice a day in Goa. What do you say?

Re: Chandigarh to Chennai

mere bhai, good to see you riding that side. I was in Chennai for two years - lemme know if you need more help. The route plan is slow by your standard. I drove down in 2 days and seven hours. Please combine day 6/7. BLR-CHennai is soul killing boring post krishnagiri. Now it has terrible potholes as well courtesy the recent rains. Check with aargee before you head out finally.

and if you're riding past Gurgaon outside office hours, ping me. Will meet you by the highway with a hot cuppa of tea just to catch up for five min - its been a while!

PS: I'm passing through Chandigarh on 24 Dec morning (pre 8am) and 27 Dec noon time. If you're around, will ping you. Same number as earlier? Will whatsapp

Re: Chandigarh to Chennai


Now that's a surprise! I don't even know after how many years Good to hear from you..

I am in Singapore these days, and coming over, just for this ride, because I don't know when I would be able to do a cross country ride next.

I would be coming on the 28th Nov, and leaving Chennai on the 6th. Moreover, I would not be crossing Delhi. So I would not be able to meet you this time sir..

Coming back to the ride - I have 7 days to kill, so I thought might has well take it slow. Looking forward to the good roads on the GQ that I have heard off so much, plus, kissing Konkan for just that little bit, and doing some "ghat" sections via Mahabaleshwar - I always wondered what ghats are!
[MENTION=26407]aargee[/MENTION] has been kind in giving his suggestions, but will drop a PM for the latest updates.

Re: Chandigarh to Chennai

We're tracking the road conditions here - https://www.facebook.com/groups/hvku...3428634679565/