Shortest Road directions to Chikaldhara

moonraker

Can anyone pls post directions for the shortest route from Mumbai to Chikaldhara? I shall be driving and also need to know time taken to plan it well, at a speed of around 110-120 kms/hour...thanks in advance

moonraker

Hi,

I have 3 days to chill out. I shall be driving. I want to visit Lonar and Chikaldhara. Can anyone pls suggest an itinerary; shortest possible itinerary with road directions.

praks

I presume you are referring to the hill station. Take the Eastern Express highway straight through to Chikaldhara via Nasik, Ozar, Dhule, Jalgaon, Bhusaval and Shahpur. The distance is about 675 kms.

moonraker

Thanks, Praks.

yes i am referring to the hill station. JUst wanted to confirm is this the shortest route? I shall be driving to and fro and hence want to save on travel time as much as possible. also should i drive to lonar first and then to chikaldhara or vice versa?

praks

You could go to Chikaldhara first, then visit Lonar and return to Mumbai via Aurangabad.
Mumbai - Chikaldhara = 675 kms.
Chikaldhara - Lonar = 230 kms.
Lonar - Mumbai(via Aurangabad) = 545 kms.

moonraker

Many Thanks Praks...any idea how much time the drive to chikaldhara would take...have never driven that side and wondering if roads are gud for speeding at 110-120 kms/hr

snonymous

Hello Moonraker

Did you do the trip? It must have been quite a drive.

Please post for all our benefit. Thanks

moonraker

Yes...it was quite a trip...
I drove non stop for 22 hours, in a maruti zen at an avg speed of 80...i was driving at night so coudnt really step on it..A lot of work is going on on our highways so its dug up, the four lane highways end suddenly without any signs or curve suddenly into bad roads without any warnings...imagine driving at a 110 miles per hour and suddenly your headlights see barricades and machinery right across the road and you have to take a sharp right or left onto a bad road. that scared me and i dint keep speeding on four laners...i also got misdirected which increased my drive time...for the benefit of everybody, the best route is to follow the highway to dhule and then shegaon and then take the Akot road..this is the shortest route...going via bhusawal or amravati is longer...

Chikaldhara is a very pleasant place with nice winding roads and points. The wind howls like hell and you could have trouble sleeping at night...Bears prowl the night and its not safe to take midnight walks..The time i reached there was a tiger/animal count exercise (census) being conducted by the wildlife guys and everybody was invited..you would have to spend the night on a "machan" in the depths of the jungle and wait for animals and tick them off in a sheet of paper...But i was so tired of all the driving and had to leave the next day so i dint participate..driving 22 hours and then spending a sleepless night in a machan in absolute stillness (so as to not scare the animals) was too much of a challenge. It would have also meant saying goodbye to seeing the other spots..

Food in the restaurants is not good at all...better to stick to the food in the resorts where you stay..a word of advice.. While ordering CHHAAS make sure to tell them it should be salty...these guys want everthing sweet...

But its a lovely place...i'll be going there again...unmissable.

snonymous

Hats off for driving 22 hrs! I would not like to do a night drive.
After all that effort, you did not even spend much time there.