Scenic Drives

praks

I know driving in India can be a harrowing experience but I am sure there are roads which are relatively traffic free and pass through some beautiful and scenic areas. My favourites include driving along the coastal road south of Mumbai from Alibag on to Murud Janjira. Another area is north of Mumbai around Jawahar, Mokhada and Suryamal, between the Western Express Highway and the Eastern Express highway.

So are there any beautiful and scenic drives that you might have done? The road should be relatively traffic free and pass through an area of scenic beauty. Let us know.

capt_mahajan

Uttaranchal, Mukhteshwar to Chaukori (take the "jeep road" from Mukhteshwar to Almora, in a jeep :-) )

Ooty to Kotagiri (tea estates) before the monsoon... told there is some truck traffic here, but we were lucky.

Bombay Goa coastal route... but this was many years ago, don't know now.

Srinigar/Pahalgam/Gulmarg... last in 1995

Parts of himachal are good, but himachal has been spoilt for me... too much 'development' for the most part, and certain areas are a no-no because of the drugs scene.

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amarshah

i second that praks... the drive after passing the steel factory and turning right to kashid is awesome, with the sea in front and the entier 3km stretch is hugging the sea as u go along.

Drive up the Pune expressway from Khandala is good. Also the drive to INS shivaji in Lonavala is nice.

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Amar

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shahronakm

Drive to Munsyari (Uttaranchal) is very scenic. Especially when the winters are coming to an end.

Ronak.

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anandi

the drive around Munnar in Kerala is a really gorgeous one... Munnar to Madurai. Also... Manali to Leh. Capt. Mahajan.. I'm curious why you said you wouldn't drive in Himachel because of the drug scene... what's the problem exactly?

Yogesh Sarkar

Here are my favorites

Manali - Leh

Leh - Pangong Tso

Nubra Valley

Leh - Tso Moriri

Rohru - Baghi

Sarahan - Rangkori and beyond

Rangdum – Penzi La – Padum (Zanskar Valley)

and of course interior roads in Rajasthan

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Bhaswaran

Here are the list of some roads and places that are photographically extremely rewarding:

Manali-Leh Highway (Ladakh)

Nubra Valley - Pangong Tso - Tso Moriri (Ladakh)

Lahaul - Spiti - Kinnaur (Himachal)

North Sikkim (road to Gurudongmar Lake & Yumthang-Yumesemdong)

Munsiyari - Chakouri (Kumaon)

Goaldam (Kumaon)

Harsil (Gangotri)

Chopta - Dogolvita (Bhukh-Hartal route - Kedar-Badri, Garhwal)

Auli (Garhwal)

Netwar-Purola road (Har-ki-Dun trek)

Ghoom-Mirik & Ghoom-Teesta Bazar (Darjeeling area)

Okhray-Hilley road (Varsey) as well as Varsey itself (Sikkim)

Srinagar - Sonmarg road (Kashmir)

Pahalgam - Aru road (Kashmir)

Sonmarg-Drass-Kargil road (Kashmir)

Kargil - Padum road (Zanskar Valley)

Dirag- Sela pass - Tawang road (Arunachal)

These are all himalayan areas.

Dilliwala

Nobody said how long the drive had to be, so here are my favs, short and long. My criteria is not just scenery, but also roads which test a driver's skills. In no particular order:

1. Ramnagar-Ranikhet-Almora
2. Kasar Devi to Binsar
3. Almora to Jageshwar
4. Almora-Bhawali-Nainital/Jeolikot-Kathgodam
5. Nayagaon-Kaladhungi-Nainital (the back road)
6. Nainital-Pangot-Vinayak (one day I hope to carry on to Kunjakharak and look down onto Betalghat - I hear the view's fantastic)
7. Bhawali-Malla Ramgarh-Mukteshwar
8. Ghansali to Ghuttu - along the Bhilangana(UA)
9. Tipri(above Tehri Dam)-Jakhnidhar-Anjanisain-Devprayag
10. Devprayag-Chaka-(HIGH above the Bhagirathi valley!)-Gaja-Khari(near Chamba,UA)
11. Tiuni-Mori-Taluka (UA)
12. Naugaon-Purola-Mori (UA)
13. Yamuna Pul-Barkot-Jankichatti (then walk to Yamunotri)
14. Barkot-Dharasu-Uttarkashi
15. Uttarkashi to Gangotri
16. Aindi-Banchaura-Barethi(near Dharasu,UA) - quiet country road, crossing from the Yamuna to Bhagirathi valley, and the rhododendrons in March/April, oooh!
17. Uttarkashi to Chaurangi Khal (then walk 3 km to Nachiketa Tal)
18. Ghansali-Chirbatiya Khal(only 2170m, but what a view on a clear day!)-Tilwara(UA)
19. Rudraprayag to Gauri Kund
20. Rudraprayag to Rishikesh
21. Joshimath to Vishnuprayag
22. Mussoorie-Yamuna Pul-Lakhwar-Chakrata
23. Dehradun to Mussoorie (at least 6 times a year, and still enjoyable each time!)
24. Kotdwara-Dugadda-Gumkhal-Pauri, and the Dugadda-Lansdowne-Gumkhal circular is good too.
25. Pauri-Adwani-Vyasghat, sangam of the Nayar and the Ganga.
26. Devprayag-Siralakhal(high above the Ganga!)-Pauri
27. Dugadda-Rathuadhab-Mohan, or the Corbett back road.
28. Manali to Rohtang La
29. Manali-Mandi-Swarghat, despite the traffic
30. Dharmsala-Ranital-Hamirpur-Ghagas (great road, and talk about rolling countryside)
31. Renuka/Dadahu-Khairi-Rajgarh(HP), along the Giri (includes a 22-km dirt stretch!)
32. Shimla-Mashobra-Tattapani-Rohanda-Chail Chauk
33. Shimla-Narkanda-Rampur-Jyori-Sarahan
34. Parwanu to Shimla is enjoyable, despite the traffic
35. Sangla to Chhitkul (much better than Karchham to Sangla, the hairiest drive I've ever done!)
36. Rikang Pio-Puh-Khab Bridge, to see the Spiti/Satluj sangam - fantastic!

Can u tell from the list that I'm partial towards the hills?
Haven't driven myself down South, but the Goa North-South coastal road, and Kochi to Tiruvanantapuram along the coast were also fantastic.

Myaheartsyoga

Pondicherry to Chennai along the coastal road.
Periyar to Madurai is also quite scenic. Lots of fascinating rock formations as you head into TN.

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charmtravel2007

I recently happened to drive from pune to mumbai thru the highway The drive was amazing. We started off early in the morning at around 6 so there was not much traffic and the early moning added to the beauty of the scenic drive. U can see beautiful mountains which are sometimes covered in clouds during the entire drive until u r about to reach mumbai. Although by the time we reached mumbai, traffic had started to become heavy.

amarshah

very true charmtravel, unfortunately since the expressway has come up most have forgoten the old NH4 highway. Once it had taken me 8 hours from Pune to bombay due to an accident on the Ghat..

cheers

Amar

charmtravel2007

Right, even i have heard some horror stories of traffic jams between pune and mumbai, especially during rainy season. So i guess this drive should be avoided during rainy season.

Justme

No.. it is most fun during rainy season... looks beautiful... I just did the ride two weeks back and it was wonderful..

amarshah

well most traffic is now diverted onto the expressway.. making the old NH4 less crowded. They also added various Tool plaza all along the way... NO FREE RIDES !!

Sadanand Kamath

My list of the best scenic drive in Mumbai, especially during monsoon season is the road inside Borivali National Park skirting Tulsi Lake and Vihar Lake and later joining Powai. However, the vehicular and pedestrian traffic on this road has been banned by Forest Department for many years.

The second-best scenic road in Mumbai is the road from Goregaon (at the junction of Western Express Highway) to Marol/Powai through Aarey Milk Colony.

Both these roads go through thick forest covers.

Sadanand

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