Scenic Road Journeys

torryquine · Jul 30th, 2005, 00:10

Shillong to Cherrapunjee.

Anywhere in Sikkim.

rangss · Jul 30th, 2005, 00:21

South India:

Beach
Mangalore to Udupi (Beach road)
My fav beach road: Vizag to bhimili

Hills:
Udupi to Sringeri through Agumbe...
Mysore to Ooty

vinayverma · Jul 30th, 2005, 00:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by lonelyaztec

Hi people,

5. Delhi - Manali - beautiful and scary..not to be undertaken by those weak at heart. Cloves wil help you to avoid puking.
.

Delhi-Manali.....Scary!!!! comon....you don't hit the hills till swarghat..and even after that its smooth like any low lying hill's road.
Have you even been on this road???? must be with a driver from uttranchal or punjab...they are very aggressive drivers.

IMHO Manali- Tabo-Kaza road is good.
The road etween Jodhpur-Jaiselmer is good(especially in winters) but from a different view.
The road between Nagpur and Jabalpur is also good for a good drive while crossing hills and dense jungles.
Chennai- Pune may not be 'scenic' but is a good drive.
I also like the west coast drive from Goa (Infact from Belgaum and Londa) to Mangalore and beyond.

kaushiks · Jul 30th, 2005, 01:10

Yeah, c'mon Aztec. Delhi-manali ain't scary. Infact, that old road from ooty down to Masinagudi is probably more scary but as you said absolutely beautiful.

SHIMLA · Jul 30th, 2005, 08:05

A scary but simply beautiful road journey is the one from Jammu to Srinagar on the National Highway. I have undertaken this only twice; and this was 25 years ago when I was a teenager, but the journey remains etched in memory!

Other scenic road journeys:

1. Manali to Patli Kuhl via Jagatsukh and Naggar along Beas left bank.

2. Pandoh to Manali along Beas right bank.

3. Dalhousie to Chamba via Khajjiar.

4. Dharamsala to Mcleodganj - short but incredibly beautiful.

Auntyji · Jul 30th, 2005, 09:36

Nice thread. I was wondering about two road journeys:
Mysore-Coimbatore, and Coimbatore to Cochin.
They won't be very long journeys I guess, but has anyone done these routes? Hoping that some parts of these two routes are scenic...

Etin, you mentioned the national highways in Kerala are clogged with buildings..so I guess Coimbatore to Cochin isn't going to be too pretty?

Thanks, all.

Bigzero · Jul 30th, 2005, 11:27

auntijy, coimbatore to trichur should be comparatively ok, but trichur to alwaye/aluva (at least when i traveled last year ) gets a little crowded with the traffic and the towns on the way.

some other scenic trips i have done & liked:

- mumbai - goa - mangalore - calicut. Here too, the cannanore-calicut stretch gets a little crowded.

coimbatore - pollachi - udumalpettai - marayur - munnar ( typical TN plains up to a little beyond udumailpettai, climb thro semi-arid forest on the TN side, lush greenery on the rain side of the mountain, and finally tea estates. )

mysore - gundulpet - bandipur -mudumalai - masinagudi - ooty - coonoor - coimbatore ( forest stretch from bandipur all the way to masinagudi, and steep climb from there to ooty - quite a lot of hairpins and 1st-2nd gear climbs. the view is quite nice )

ooty - pykara - gudalur - nadugani - nilambur - calicut ( nice descent from ooty, typical temperate zone vegetation and tea/coffee till you reach gudalur, and further descent through thick rainforest . Touch nilambur and on to calicut through very scenic kerala midlands - rubber plantations, teak plantations on the way)

calicut - vythiri - kalpetta - sultan bathery - gundulpet ( have mentioned this earlier )

hyderabad - srisailam ( long drive thro AP plains and a pleasant climb through srisailam reserve forest, and a very interesting gorge and dam to cross on the way )

kottayam - thekkadi(periyar)

cochin - munnar ( already mentioned elsewhere in this thread )

calicut- peruvannamuzhi - kakkayam ( not very well known, but has an interesting route and a fairly good climb to reach the kakkayam dam. )

mumbai - lonavala - pune

so many more to add...

dhananjay · Jul 30th, 2005, 12:23

Hi,
Guwahati to Bomdila and then from Bomdila over the Sela pass to Tawang ... a great journey ... You cross rolling hills covered in Fog, the small village of Darang before you rech the Sela pass ... Sela pass is surrounded by 110 lakes. after the pass a descent begins to four bridge and Lhou bridge ... the shooting for a SRK movie was done here .. then begins the uphill to Tawang ... some of the best meadowland I have ever seen .... I am forgetting the name of the Military post and a dedication which we visited on the way ... They say this brave soldier kept the chinese at bay for over 24 hours singlehandedly ... and he still mans the area ... if a soldier is found sleeping he gets a tight slap from the man ... Its a great place nevertheless ... and the stories about him are abound ... The whole area is covered with bunkers a reminder of the Indo China war of 63 ... A great trip ..

Then the trip from Hamirpur via sujanpur to lambagaon to andretta to palampur to nagrota to chamunda to yol to mcleodganj is great as well ... all backcountry roads and you see kangra in its essence ....

There are more as and when they come come up .... easy rider

Cheers,
dhananjay

Callous · Jul 30th, 2005, 12:55

I think parts of the Jammu to Srinigar road are pretty nice what I saw of it.I must admit my eyes were squeezed shut to avoid looking at the drop in places.The closer we came to Srinigar the prettier the surrounds became.Srinigar to Gulmarg would take some beating also.I must admit,driving alongside some of the farming area in Punjab is also a great memory.

Martinasia · Jul 30th, 2005, 13:34

I love the drive up to Darjeeling from Baghdogra - you get that rush of anticipation as you cover those last few miles of the plains and can see the mountains shimmering ahead of you through the heat-haze. You then start to climb up through the tea plantations getting ever cooler as you go before you are surrounded by swirling mists and then the ultimate kick is when you finally get to Darjeeling, the clouds break, and if you're lucky you get that first stunning view of Kanchenjunga....

M

-m2- · Jul 31st, 2005, 01:22

There are several possible routes on less-driven roads through the ghats -- best appreciated by motorcycle, of course, but taxi would work as well. One of the beauties of these roads is the lack of bus and truck traffic. In February, I took the longer route up from NH17 (via Sirsi) and returned on the shorter route via Honevar as I was looking forward to the ghat driving. The route via Kumte and Honevar is the nicer road -- more scenic, mostly in excellent condition and with very light traffic. A round trip from Palolem or Golkarn could be done in a day, but Jog Falls is a pleasant place to spend the night as well. There is a reasonable government-run guest house and the restaurant now has a pretty complete menu, a vast improvement from a few years ago.

I've attached a photo from a viewpoint near Gersopa on the Honevar route.

Motoring magazine has a section devoted to great motorcycle roads and has a lot of reports from their readers -- worth a look for prospective motorcycle tourers.

http://www.bsmotoring.com/roads/index.htm

virajverma · Jul 31st, 2005, 13:08

Nainitaal to Almora. One takes the detour before hiting nainitaal to Almora. the route along the river is wonderful.

lonelyaztec · Aug 1st, 2005, 11:38

BigZero,

Chennai - Kanyakumar East Coast Road is about 737 Kms.

Pls. read my ECR travelogue for more details..
http://www.indiamike.com/india/article.php?a=57

Bigzero · Aug 1st, 2005, 13:11

thanks lonelyaztec! i had a look at your article - very useful and very well written!

somnath · Aug 1st, 2005, 17:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by torryquine

Anywhere in Sikkim.

No.1 - Gangtok to Nathu la.

Jul 30th, 2005, 00:10	#16
torryquine Oilfield Trash! Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Aberdeen Posts: 700	Shillong to Cherrapunjee. Anywhere in Sikkim. __________________ http://werenotafraid.com/

Jul 30th, 2005, 00:21	#17
rangss Bulk Carrier Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Chennai Posts: 1,834	South India: Beach Mangalore to Udupi (Beach road) My fav beach road: Vizag to bhimili Hills: Udupi to Sringeri through Agumbe... Mysore to Ooty __________________ ...and I took the road less travelled.

Jul 30th, 2005, 08:05	#20
SHIMLA Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Yangon, MYANMAR Posts: 4,129	A scary but simply beautiful road journey is the one from Jammu to Srinagar on the National Highway. I have undertaken this only twice; and this was 25 years ago when I was a teenager, but the journey remains etched in memory! Other scenic road journeys: 1. Manali to Patli Kuhl via Jagatsukh and Naggar along Beas left bank. 2. Pandoh to Manali along Beas right bank. 3. Dalhousie to Chamba via Khajjiar. 4. Dharamsala to Mcleodganj - short but incredibly beautiful. __________________ Whoever said money can't buy happiness didn't know where to shop !

Jul 30th, 2005, 11:27	#22
Bigzero back to my old ways Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,444	auntijy, coimbatore to trichur should be comparatively ok, but trichur to alwaye/aluva (at least when i traveled last year ) gets a little crowded with the traffic and the towns on the way. some other scenic trips i have done & liked: - mumbai - goa - mangalore - calicut. Here too, the cannanore-calicut stretch gets a little crowded. coimbatore - pollachi - udumalpettai - marayur - munnar ( typical TN plains up to a little beyond udumailpettai, climb thro semi-arid forest on the TN side, lush greenery on the rain side of the mountain, and finally tea estates. ) mysore - gundulpet - bandipur -mudumalai - masinagudi - ooty - coonoor - coimbatore ( forest stretch from bandipur all the way to masinagudi, and steep climb from there to ooty - quite a lot of hairpins and 1st-2nd gear climbs. the view is quite nice ) ooty - pykara - gudalur - nadugani - nilambur - calicut ( nice descent from ooty, typical temperate zone vegetation and tea/coffee till you reach gudalur, and further descent through thick rainforest . Touch nilambur and on to calicut through very scenic kerala midlands - rubber plantations, teak plantations on the way) calicut - vythiri - kalpetta - sultan bathery - gundulpet ( have mentioned this earlier ) hyderabad - srisailam ( long drive thro AP plains and a pleasant climb through srisailam reserve forest, and a very interesting gorge and dam to cross on the way ) kottayam - thekkadi(periyar) cochin - munnar ( already mentioned elsewhere in this thread ) calicut- peruvannamuzhi - kakkayam ( not very well known, but has an interesting route and a fairly good climb to reach the kakkayam dam. ) mumbai - lonavala - pune so many more to add... __________________ miles to go.... Bigzero's Photo Gallery

Jul 30th, 2005, 12:23	#23
dhananjay Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Park Cafe, Shimla Posts: 305	Hi Hi, Guwahati to Bomdila and then from Bomdila over the Sela pass to Tawang ... a great journey ... You cross rolling hills covered in Fog, the small village of Darang before you rech the Sela pass ... Sela pass is surrounded by 110 lakes. after the pass a descent begins to four bridge and Lhou bridge ... the shooting for a SRK movie was done here .. then begins the uphill to Tawang ... some of the best meadowland I have ever seen .... I am forgetting the name of the Military post and a dedication which we visited on the way ... They say this brave soldier kept the chinese at bay for over 24 hours singlehandedly ... and he still mans the area ... if a soldier is found sleeping he gets a tight slap from the man ... Its a great place nevertheless ... and the stories about him are abound ... The whole area is covered with bunkers a reminder of the Indo China war of 63 ... A great trip .. Then the trip from Hamirpur via sujanpur to lambagaon to andretta to palampur to nagrota to chamunda to yol to mcleodganj is great as well ... all backcountry roads and you see kangra in its essence .... There are more as and when they come come up .... easy rider Cheers, dhananjay

Jul 30th, 2005, 01:10	#19
kaushiks Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: don't live anymore Posts: 446	Yeah, c'mon Aztec. Delhi-manali ain't scary. Infact, that old road from ooty down to Masinagudi is probably more scary but as you said absolutely beautiful.

Jul 30th, 2005, 09:36	#21
Auntyji One tight slap! Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: New York Posts: 323	Nice thread. I was wondering about two road journeys: Mysore-Coimbatore, and Coimbatore to Cochin. They won't be very long journeys I guess, but has anyone done these routes? Hoping that some parts of these two routes are scenic... Etin, you mentioned the national highways in Kerala are clogged with buildings..so I guess Coimbatore to Cochin isn't going to be too pretty? Thanks, all.

Jul 30th, 2005, 12:55	#24
Callous Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Australia Posts: 113	I think parts of the Jammu to Srinigar road are pretty nice what I saw of it.I must admit my eyes were squeezed shut to avoid looking at the drop in places.The closer we came to Srinigar the prettier the surrounds became.Srinigar to Gulmarg would take some beating also.I must admit,driving alongside some of the farming area in Punjab is also a great memory.

Jul 30th, 2005, 13:34	#25
Martinasia Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tokyo Posts: 30	I love the drive up to Darjeeling from Baghdogra - you get that rush of anticipation as you cover those last few miles of the plains and can see the mountains shimmering ahead of you through the heat-haze. You then start to climb up through the tea plantations getting ever cooler as you go before you are surrounded by swirling mists and then the ultimate kick is when you finally get to Darjeeling, the clouds break, and if you're lucky you get that first stunning view of Kanchenjunga.... M

Jul 31st, 2005, 01:22	#26
-m2- . Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: . Posts: 1,578	Jog Falls from Goa or Golkarn There are several possible routes on less-driven roads through the ghats -- best appreciated by motorcycle, of course, but taxi would work as well. One of the beauties of these roads is the lack of bus and truck traffic. In February, I took the longer route up from NH17 (via Sirsi) and returned on the shorter route via Honevar as I was looking forward to the ghat driving. The route via Kumte and Honevar is the nicer road -- more scenic, mostly in excellent condition and with very light traffic. A round trip from Palolem or Golkarn could be done in a day, but Jog Falls is a pleasant place to spend the night as well. There is a reasonable government-run guest house and the restaurant now has a pretty complete menu, a vast improvement from a few years ago. I've attached a photo from a viewpoint near Gersopa on the Honevar route. Motoring magazine has a section devoted to great motorcycle roads and has a lot of reports from their readers -- worth a look for prospective motorcycle tourers. http://www.bsmotoring.com/roads/index.htm Attached Thumbnails

Jul 31st, 2005, 13:08	#27
virajverma Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Delhi / Lucknow Posts: 76	Nainitaal to Almora. One takes the detour before hiting nainitaal to Almora. the route along the river is wonderful. __________________ Keep Walking............

Aug 1st, 2005, 11:38	#28
lonelyaztec Maha Guru Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 1,408	BigZero, Chennai - Kanyakumar East Coast Road is about 737 Kms. Pls. read my ECR travelogue for more details.. http://www.indiamike.com/india/article.php?a=57 __________________ Aztec My photoblog

Aug 1st, 2005, 13:11	#29
Bigzero back to my old ways Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 1,444	thanks lonelyaztec! i had a look at your article - very useful and very well written!

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