What to see on our Grand India Road Tour (GIRT) ?

ks_bluechip

Two friends and I have planned a car-drive tour (Grand India Road Tour - GIRT) to the four corners of India ... Mumbai, Jaisalmer, Amritsar, Kolkata, KanyaKumari, Mumbai. (We dropped Srinagar in North, as it may be snow bound in winter).

We all graduated from college in 1970 and now on Retirment (after 35+ years of working) we plan to celebrate our new "freedom from work" with this Grand Car Tour

We have planned a 40-day overall travel plan as follows:

Sr Date Day From-To & KMs
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1 14-Dec-07 Fri Thane to Vadorara 405
2 15-Dec-07 Sat Vadorara to Udaipur 365
3 16-Dec-07 Sun Sight-seeing / rest at Udaipur
4 17-Dec-07 Mon Udaipur to Mt Abu 185
5 18-Dec-07 Tue Sight-seeing / rest day at Mt Abu
6 19-Dec-07 Wed Mt Abu to Jodhpur 267
7 20-Dec-07 Thu Sight-seeing / rest day at Jodhpur
8 21-Dec-07 Fri Jodhpur to Jaisalmer 308
9 22-Dec-07 Sat Sight-seeing / rest day at Jaisalmer
10 23-Dec-07 Sun Jaisalmer to Bikaner 333
11 24-Dec-07 Mon Sight-seeing / rest day at Bikaner
12 25-Dec-07 Tue Bikaner to Amritsar 536
13 26-Dec-07 Wed Sight-seeing / rest day at Amritsar
14 27-Dec-07 Thu Amritsar to Delhi 447
15 28-Dec-07 Fri Delhi to Agra 203
16 29-Dec-07 Sat Sight-seeing / rest day at Agra
17 30-Dec-07 Sun Agra Kanpur 286
18 31-Dec-07 Mon Kanpur to Varanasi 320
19 01-Jan-08 Tue Sight-seeing / rest day at Varanasi
20 02-Jan-08 Wed Varanasi to Dhanbad 408
21 03-Jan-08 Thu Dhanbad to Calcutta 281
22 04-Jan-08 Fri Rest day / Car servicing at Calcutta
23 05-Jan-08 Sat Calcutta to Bhubneshwar 441
24 06-Jan-08 Sun Bhubneshwar to Vizag 425
25 07-Jan-08 Mon Sight-seeing / rest day at Vizag
26 08-Jan-08 Tue Vizag to Guntur 414
27 09-Jan-08 Wed Guntur to Chennai 396
28 10-Jan-08 Thu Sight-seeing / rest day at Chennai
29 11-Jan-08 Fri Chennai to Tiruchy 316
30 12-Jan-08 Sat To Tanjore & back 110
31 13-Jan-08 Sun Tiruchy Ram'waram 235
32 14-Jan-08 Mon Sight-seeing / rest day at Rameshwaram
33 15-Jan-08 Tue Rameshwar to K'kumari 280
34 16-Jan-08 Wed Sight-seeing / rest day at Kanyakumari
35 17-Jan-08 Thu Kanyakumari to Kochi 307
36 18-Jan-08 Fri ?
37 19-Jan-08 Sat Kochi to Mangalore 447
38 20-Jan-08 Sun Mangalore to Panjim 395
39 21-Jan-08 Mon Sight-seeing / rest day at Panjim (Goa)
40 22-Jan-08 Tue Panjim(Goa) to Ratnagiri 324
41 23-Jan-08 Wed Ratnagiri to Thane 295
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** Total distance (approx) = 8729 Kms
*** Av run per day (on driving 27 days) = 323 KM
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Our plan is:
Each day we start at about 6:00AM and drive for about 300Kms and reach our next stop in about 6 Hours. There we check-in to a Hotel. Rest of that day (and sometimes the next day too) we sight-see all places worth seeing, in that area. Then leave for next location.

While we have decided broadly on the above route plan, we are now looking at Travel Guide Books to see what are the important sightseeing places to visit on this route and in the towns we stop or pass on the way.

Any help and suggestions from the IM forum experts and other travellers is most welcome. Please do keep in mind that overall route and schedule, is more or less, decided. So we cannot alter that in a major way.

Thanks in advance,

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shashank.aggarwal

What a great plan..something I have been dreaming of for a while !!

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Aishah

ks bluechip - what a marvellous trip you fellows are going to have! The only thing I would add is factor in a few extra days for tiredness, and any mechanical work needing on your car. If you can extend your 40 days at any time then no problem - just now and again you might like to have an extended R & R on the way
although 2 nights stopping is pretty good. Also will you all be sharing the driving? Pretty tiring on one man to do the lot maybe? You have kept your distances reasonable - I find Jodhpur - Jaisalmer is the maximum I would like to do in one day and that is just under 300 km. I'm in the retired age-group - find I seize up sitting in the driver's position for too long! We have a midway stop at Manvar for the refreshments and chai and that keeps me going for the next stretch!

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dhans

Oops, 323 KM a day is a lot. We had days where we averaged less than 25 KM an hour.

As you're now free from work, why would you hurry?

Do the same tour in 60, 70 or 80 days nd you'll enjoy it much more.

Still nvious though ,

Have Fun,

Hans

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ks_bluechip

Yes, we made sure all three of us are drivers! .... and all 3 of us enjoy driving!! .... if we rotate every hour should be OK each person gets, two 1-hr sessions per day. Actually, we will have to keep careful watch, so no one tries to cheat and grab extra driving time! .... Yes, we are going to "really enjoy" this trip ... remember we were once together as 18-23 year-old dorm-mates for 5 years, in an Engg. College campus ... so we will grow a lot younger during this trip and btw. "no wives" .... Wow! It will be actually "freedom-from-work+wife" kinda of trip ..... KS

amyl

This fact will add a lot of fun and story sharing during the trip!

That trip sounds cool! All the Best! I were doing this trip in a car I would have loved to distribute books and stuff to some of the remote villages on the way.

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capt_mahajan

Ksb, excellent idea!

And the distance per day is ideal, with 3 guys who enjoy driving it should be a breeze. Even if 1 enjoys driving it is easily doable.

Not even for an alternative suggestion of (after Goa) Hampi/Bijapur/Mumbai via Sholapur (night at Bijapur)?

And probably unneccessary advice on the driving rotation.... one guy driving, one guy awake (preferably in the front passenger seat) to keep driver company/awake, and one guy resting.


Enjoy. Should be a great trip.

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ks_bluechip

Hi Capt,
Thanks for the encouragement! I think your Goa-Hampi-Sholapur-Mumbai divertion is an excellent idea (in fact, I did do that as a car trip by myself, in Dec-06 .... I went down from Mumbai to Goa along coastal konkan, and then to Hampi and return via Sholapur).

I will put up the idea with other guys (Hampi was awesome) and if they like it we will do it that way.

Thanks, KS

capt_mahajan

If you do that, Bijapur is definitely worth a few hours.. specially the Gol Gombuz, but a couple of others, too.

Actually Sholapur is a more appropriate stop for Hampi/Thane rather than Bijapur, but Bijapur is far more interesting. If you finish early, you can reach Sholapur after Bijapur the same day and stop overnight. IIRC, its about a hundred kilometers, two hours.

Sadanand Kamath

Sholapur-Mumbai Road (NH.9) is in better condition than the Goa-Mumbai Road (NH.17).

Sadanand

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ks_bluechip

Capt, Thanks again ... I missed Bijapur last time ... so will try and do this change. Any other suggestion on route also welcome ... KS

ks_bluechip

You are right on that .... and worse than NH-17 is the Goa to Dharwad via Ponda on NH-4A .... that was totally pot-holed & un-drivable .... made so by thousands, of Iron-Ore loaded Dumpers going to port for exports to China! .... KS

capt_mahajan

http://bijapur.nic.in/, click Tourism

The Gol Gumbaz, Ibrahim Roza (alleged inspiration for the Taj) are the two places worth seeing, though the latter was a little disappointing. Not maintained too well.

I have, at different times, stayed at Bijapur and Sholapur both.

Sholapur has a few hotels just off the highway (where the Bijapur/Sholapur road meets the NH), which is also the Hyderabad Mumbai highway and is usually in very good shape.

Nothing much to do in Sholapur, small town with an interesting political history, Nanaj sanctuary, famous for the Great Indian Bustard is nearby. (Nothing much. Didn't see a single one.)

Spent a couple of hours in the crowded market, typical small town place, good local food.

gautam

Very nice plan Bluechip. Are any of you guys into photography ?

If i was you, i would atleast carry a DSLR to capture those moments, worth a lifetime.

What car are you driving ?

Forgot to ask, why are you not driving towards himachal. I know you have dropped srinagar due to obvious reasons but lower parts of himachal would be worth it.

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Sadanand Kamath

I was also debating myself on the same point for the reason that it would have been good if the driving tour included a part of a lower himalayan range. In fact, I was going through Himachal road map.

I agree, Amritsar-Pathankot-Mandi-Bilaspur-Chandigarh-Delhi route is worth doing if time is not a constraint.

Sadanand