Driving from Shillong to Jaisalmer - Where to go on the way??

Hi

My cousins and I are driving across Northern India next month. Shillong to Jiasalmur.

We are doing it over 2 weeks and would like to know of anything worth stopping at on the way?? I really dont know much about india and have very little time to plan so would greatly appreciat any suggestions

? That's obviously across the fullest breadth of India. With all due respect, do please do some research, then be back in with something more detailed. It's no one else's problem if you have no time to plan for your holiday. Any decent guidebook would show you the highlights along the way in say a night's reading.

Will you be self-driving? Not at all advised, if one of you (better yet of course, two) is not well-accustomed to traffic conditions there.

See also here for some suggestions on how to get the better answer to your queries: How to get the most out of the Itinerary section. You don't need to follow that exact same format, but it gives a good general outline.

Then two weeks, eh? I guess that would be just about doable (perhaps...), but you'd need to keep your foot on the pedal somewhat, and wouldn't have that much time for significant sightseeing or generally getting out & enjoying along the way. Realize some 50 kms/hr. for road traffic there would be a really decent pace, perhaps 60-80 to the occasional 100 even by good transport and on some good roads, which are not that many. Then night driving gets even hairier than it already tends to be by day, and you're certainly not going to want to have some pooped driver at the wheel, any more than you wouldn't anywhere else.

You'll find people here really most willing to help people out with their plans, if they do so much as come up with something to work on. So: Welcome to IndiaMike.

Correct is is no-one elses problem, but if you asked me the same question about South Africa I would give MY choices.... I can read the highlights but always find better info on forums like this.

WE are driving a Tuk-tuk , 3 of us.

Right. Shillong-Jaisalmer, by autorickshaw (they're not known as tuk-tuks in India), in two weeks' time. But knowing little of India and no time to plan (nor even to spell my placenames right in my queries, which obviously might help others in their searches, either to answer you, or to find their answers later).

Have fun with it, and let us know how you fared, right.

Once upon a time people got their thrills spending 2 weeks riding all round India on trains.

If the roads we travelled were typical make sure that you have a jack and a spare wheel.

Cool, Will send you a post card! Thanks for all the information!

Good thinking ;-) that is a must i reckong

Hi sudraka and welcome to IndiaMike!

So you are in a Rickshaw Run? From Shillong to Jaisalmer?

Don't miss Umiam Lake on the outskirts of Shillong on your way to Guwahati, then the Kamakyha Temple in Guwahati (famous for its rituals involving Tantric Hinduism). After that, speed your way across to the Dooars, avoiding any clashes with wildlife.

Varanasi, Lucknow, Delhi, Jaipur, Bikaner, Jodhpur, are the "usual suspects" on the route I guess. (I am not looking at a map.)

You don't have time to plan it? But what are your interests? Do you fancy a temple devoted to rats? If so, stop at Bikaner. Do a "search" for it here on the Rajasthan forums.

In Delhi, you might stop off in Old Delhi to visit the Red Fort and other tourist attractions, and get lost in the myriad lanes along with other rikshaws!

Good luck.

The challenge Sudraka, is that you have ONLY two weeks. My knowledge is limited to west of Kolkata and on your route, west of Khajuraho. I can certainly think of enough places that would make excellent stop overs.

Apart from what has been suggested above, if you do the Jaipur-Jaisalmer stretch via Nagaur, you may stop over at village Khichan, near Phalodi where thousands (no exaggeration) of demoiselle cranes winter.
If you do via Jodhpur and Pokaran, there's Osiyan, but that's a detour and besides the Jodhpur-Pokaran stretch is excellent. In that case on Jaipur-Jodhpur stretch you may divert for pushkar.
If you do via Bikaner, there's deshnok (already pointed out above as the rat temple).

In UP/MP intersection, there's Khajuraho, Orchha, Jhansi and Gwalior en route to Jaipur from Varanasi.

Between Gwalior and Jaipur, the usual suspects for a stopover are Agra (including Fatehpur sikri) and Bharatpur (for the bird sanctuary).

If you take the Delhi-Jaipur direct route then you do miss out on the above but if the widening is completed, it will be faster. As of today, Jaipur Agra is the better route than Jaipur Delhi

Now, given that you're driving an Autorickshaw, I suspect you'd have to stick to the east west corridor of India? I can only find a map for the golden quadilateral here : http://www.nhai.org/gqmain_english.htm

It would be ideal as TD and others have pointed out above, you could share your interests and better suggestions will surely come forth.

Sudraka, people do do these rickshaw runs there. They tend to come well-prepared.

Have you looked into the technicalities of obtaining a rickshaw? Any permits required, for the vehicle and along the way? Perhaps modifying it for safety and comfort? (Unmodified, that's gonna be one long and NOISY ride. Perhaps the machine could be made a little less bumpy while you're at it, and some extra padding might not hurt, etc. More powerful engine to see you across hills, and so on. You'd be starting in the mountains, right.) It is said these rickshaws easily keel over, I imagine it would take some training to learn how to handle it.

Then in two weeks, what's the average rickshaw's cruising speed, and holding three people + their gear presumably, if that will be one vehicle? I imagine you'd be lucky to make it to Varanasi or thereabouts, if you do get there in one piece. Now of course the more you intend to go off the beaten track along the way, the more time that will eat up.

Some guys here did manage to drive a rickshaw up to Ladakh (!), you could search around for it and contact them through their website. If I'm not mistaken, I think they had indeed pimped their rick quite a bit.

I mean I started out being surprised at someone who I thought wanted to do this by car in two weeks and unprepared. Now by rickshaw in two weeks and unprepared... the word absurd springs to mind. (You don't think that would have been a handy detail to know from the beginning?) Now still take heed of what I cautioned about traffic and self-driving there.

Here is one account from the Rickshaw makes it up Khardung La......

This is when the poster was planning.

Thanks for digging up those links, Aarosh.

So note how that poster had started planning in early 2009, to finally make it there in late 2011. (Note also how apparently they drove from Dharamsala to Kargil & back. While still an incredible feat and up those mountains, at least it strikes one as the more manageable distance.)

Another thought, "next month" so presumably September/perhaps early October'ish, what are the odds of Sudraka still running into the tail end of the monsoon?

Good point mach. Perhaps lifejackets should be added to the packing list.

Fantastic,, I will definatetley look into your suggestions , I have "limited" time. Probably a day or two

YEah i think due to the limited timeframe we will have to stick to the East/West Corridor. Unfortunatley there a re 3 of us with very different interest, so whatever stands out is good .... Any interesting accomdation suggestions along the routes and at the stopovers you suggestedyou suggested?

I will def keep the Jaipur Agra route in mind, and have made a note of it on my GPS

High Five !! Thanks for those links!!

I'm still having trouble believing this thread is for real at all.

Next time, ask me what is there to see between Oslo and Rome in two weeks by moped. Which would be roughly the same distance. Or I guess something like Johannesburg-Lubumbashi and beyond, in your case.