Chitrakoot - Varanasi - Khaujarhao - Orccha

sachinsoni

Many thanks to all those who posted in my previous thread. After much revision of our plans here is a new and more realistic route and im after the best way to do it and suggestions on timing....
(for those who didnt read my other thread, ill be doing volunteer dental work in chitrakoot as our first stop for ~10days and this cant be changed)

UK -DELHI - TRAIN(booked)- ARRIVE CHITRAKOOT

VARANASI
KHAUJARHAO
ORCCHA

CHENNAI

train, flying we dont mind whatever is most sensible and saves us time! we have ~5days to split between Varanasi, Khaujarhao, Orccha so suggestions on timing in each place would be really helpful.

thanks for reading, your advice is greatly appreciated!!

vonkla

In 2005 Khajuraho - Chitrakoot - Varanasi was a part of our trip.
We had a car with a driver and both legs took about 5 hours.
In my opinion one day in Khajuraho is enough and you should stay some more days in Varanasi.

My choice would be to hire a car + driver in Chitrakoot and take him with you to Khajuraho and then to Orchha. There say goodbye to the driver, of course you must pay also for the ride back to Chitrakoot.
From Jhansi take the night train to Varanasi.

__________________
.
See our travel journal Mumbai-Dehli in three months

sachinsoni

thanks for the reply.

is the chitrakoot - varanasi route not feasible in a reasonable amount of time?? not sure what the best way is to take this route.

ideally that is what we would have preferred as from varansi we could fly to khajurhao for they day and then taxi it up to orccha for 2 more days. this way we would avoid the night train from jhansi to varansi which is a long journey and somewhat backtracking.

would delhi not be more accessible from orccha too, enabling us to fly to chennai?

Jorge Reverter

If you have already booked the ticket from Delhi to Chitrakoot then go to Varanasi either by train, bus or car is around 240 km.
From Varanasi you can lly to Khajuraho or go back by car/train/bus via Chitrakoot again and Satna, in Satna ake a bus or car to Khajuraho and the same to Orchha. From Khajuraho to Orchha you have 210 km of quite bad roads (around 5 hours by car).

The most advisable way from Delhi should be in my opinion:
Delhi - Jhansi (by train) - Orchha (by autorickshaw or taxi) - Khajuraho (car or bus) - Chitrakoot (bus or car) - Varanasi (train/bus/car) - Delhi (night train/airplane)- Chennai

If is still possible change your train ticket from Delhi to Chitrakoot for Delhi - Jhansi.

Jorge

sachinsoni

Thanks for the reply Jorge.

We're actually doing some volunteer work in Chitrakoot at the beginning of our trip and eventhough its in the middle of the ideal route, this cant be changed.

Is there a train from Khajuraho - Orccha if the roads are bad?
A train from Chitrakoot - Varanasi seems the best option, then fly to Khajurhao.

Any idea of the length/timings of the Chitrakoot - Varanasi train journey??

vonkla

We drove from Chitrakoot to Allahabad by rather small roads. From there to Varanasi was a 4-lane road under construction. It shall be ready by now. At that time it took us about 5 hours.

The length of this journey is 6.5 - 7.5 hours. For more info see
http://erail.in/#

zoltan

> VARANASI => KHAUJARHAO => ORCCHA => CHENNAI
> we have ~5 days to split between Varanasi, Khaujarhao, Orccha

I would go for 2 in Varanasi (although it really does deserve 5 in itself); 1 in Khaj. (although it would be a little rushed) and the balance in Orchha.

As for travelling between the areas:
Vns => Khaj - Fly. It's around 50 minutes & will save you a lot of time & terrible roads.

Khaj. => Orchha - If you can afford it, get a taxi. The local buses that ply this route are way over-crowded & it's not an enjoyable journey.

Cheers
Zoltan

__________________
India (and other) photos click here

Jorge Reverter

From Chitrakoot to Varanasi you have one train daily with quite bad timing:
02,39 - 10,15

You can go from Chitrakoot to Allahabad on train 2176 13,31 - 16,55 but only (2,4,6) then from Allahabad you have several trains to Varanasi.

Best take a bus/car

Jorge

steven_ber

If you choose to go to Varanasi first, you're maybe best to get a bus to Manikpur (30kms), then get a train from there, there are loads more trains.

Taking this route, you'd need to get a train from Jhansi to Delhi (6 hours) to get your flight to Chennai.

An alternative way would be slightly more expensive, but may seem more attractive overall.

The Chambal Express departs Chitrakot (M, W, Th & Sa only) at 10.36 and gets to Jhansi at 15.35 (2A, 3A, SL.) then go to Orchha.

then to Khajuraho, then a flight to Varanasi.

From Varanasi get a flight to Chennai, SpiceJet depart Varanasi at 16:15 and get to Chennai (via Delhi) at 21:25 (Rs 8148), but you can also use a SpiceJet/JetLite combination, departing Varanasi at 16:15, getting to Chennai at 21:55 (Rs7748), this is not only cheaper, but allows 105 minutes for the change of flight in Delhi (instead of 90 minutes with the first option), though sticking with the first option will have it's advantages if the first flight is late.

__________________
.
How to get helpful replies to your transport/Itinerary questions.



Train information.

sachinsoni

thanks again for all your input. Here's what i feel would work out best....

CHITRAKOOT - VARANASI - direct train - Chambal express 13.31 - 20.00, it doesnt leave everyday but i think we might get lucky - also, Jorge u said there is only one train daily, is this train ok? (first time getting to grips with the train website and station codes!)

If we cannot get this train for any reason, we'll go from Mankipur.

VARANASI(2DAYS) - KHAJURHAO - fly. Do we need to stay a night here or will one day be adequate?

KHAJURHAO(1DAY) - ORRCHA - drive, hire taxi

ORCCHA(JHANSI) - DELHI - train

DELHI - CHENNAI - fly

Hope this sounds ok and not too much to cover in so little time!

ranjan154

Ideal and cofortably doable itinerary indeed.

__________________
Rakesh Ranjan
--------------
http://www.flickr.com/photos/travinfoindia/

steven_ber

The earliest flight arrives about midday, by the time you get out of the airport and into town, you'll have little time to look around.

Choose your train and connecting flight carefully, the majority of trains are long distance trains and could easily be a couple of hours late, then there's a 90 minute minimum needed to get to the airport, then you need to be there early for check-in, in total, you'll probably need to book a train that departs Jhansi 10.5 to 11 hours before your flight departs from Delhi.

sachinsoni

thanks steven, ill take those things into account and will hopefully have everything sorted and booked from here in the UK before we leave.

many thanks to all who replied, your info has been extremely useful, if any of you are ever travelling to the UK, PM me for any queries!!