[Machalu]

Originally Posted by subuiyer

Glad you enjoyed the drive. Looking forwards to a travelogue with pictures soon!

I m not much of a story teller but I can probably upload the videos from my dashcam and share the links to some of those beautiful roads our country have now

I didn't take any pics sadly but enjoyed the drive and the views through out.

A word of advice to anyone looking to take the old Kolkata to Siliguri highway. The first section of the journey for up to 200 km from Kolkata is full of potholes. I had to drive at an average of 30 to 40 km/hr mostly and speed up on the good sections . Took me nearly 5 hours to cover 200 odd km. After that the roads became better towards northern side of WB.

I probably won't be returning via the same route and may take the route from Bihar to Jabalpur to Nagpur. Hopefully it would be faster and equally enjoyable.


The roads I loved :

Aurangabad to Nagpur SMM express way.
The route from Nagpur to Kolkata via Raipur --Sambalpur- Kharagpur -Kolaghat- was excellent and scenic!

The route from Siliguri to Guwahati was good as well but it's still work in progress currently. Once the four lanes are done it would be awesome to drive.

From Kolkata to Siliguri I didn't take Durgapur route as Google was showing route closed, so didn't want to take any chance.

I would like to thank everyone for your suggestions which helped me plan my journey.

Looking forward to return by end of May. Then once I am back to Maharashtra I will try and share some of my experiences

[Machalu]

Hey guys, any idea on the best route to return to pune from Lucknow?

[torque18]

Originally Posted by autoweirdo

Mohania to Muzafarpur - Mohania Ara 4 lane road construction was on nearly 50% work was completed should be better now. You can go towards MZP by 2 routes from Ara
1) Ara - Chapra -Rewa Ghat - MZP
2) Ara - Danapur - Sonpur - Hajipur - MZP

I generally do 2nd route as by the time hit Ara its evening so avoid 1st one as it has less traffic. Hope this helps in route planning.

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

As of now, I'll suggest to avoid the no. 1 route because of overloaded sand trucks blocking both the lanes of Ara-Chhapra stretch as well as one of the lanes of reverse direction. People have got stuck for over 8 hours between Ara and Chhapra due to this and the police is helpless.

The No. 2 route has improved a lot as per someone who travelled from Varanasi to Sitamarhi 10 days back.

Hello,

Seeking suggestions and updates for Varanasi-Darbhanga
Section. I will be traveling to Siliguri next week from Prayagraj.

Google maps suggest taking Varanasi-Arrah-Chhapra--muzzafarpur-Darbhanga.

The other route appears to be via Ballia-chhapra-darbhanga.

Any inputs would be appreciated.

Regards

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by torque18

Hello,

Seeking suggestions and updates for Varanasi-Darbhanga
Section.
Any inputs would be appreciated.

Regards

There are 2 options,

1 - If you take the Arrah-Chhapra route, you can continue to Muzaffarpur directly traveling on the NH 722 that runs from Chhapra to Muzaffarpur via Rewa Ghat. It's a 2 lane NH but road condition is fine. You may face some traffic when entering Muzaffarpur but it should not be an issue. Thereafter you can take the NH 27 to Siliguri. Problem area would be the Arrah-Chhapra bridge over Ganges. But since sand mining is suspended till October due to rains, you may not find much traffic on the bridge. Otherwise it stays gridlocked for over 10-12 hrs at a stretch.

2 - If this bridge has traffic jam, you will have to travel via Patna. Issue on this stretch is Kanwar Yatra if you're traveling on Saturday - Sunday or Monday.

Whatever the case, avoid traveling at night.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

There are 2 options,

1 - If you take the Arrah-Chhapra route, you can continue to Muzaffarpur directly traveling on the NH 722 that runs from Chhapra to Muzaffarpur via Rewa Ghat. It's a 2 lane NH but road condition is fine. You may face some traffic when entering Muzaffarpur but it should not be an issue. Thereafter you can take the NH 27 to Siliguri. Problem area would be the Arrah-Chhapra bridge over Ganges. But since sand mining is suspended till October due to rains, you may not find much traffic on the bridge. Otherwise it stays gridlocked for over 10-12 hrs at a stretch.

2 - If this bridge has traffic jam, you will have to travel via Patna. Issue on this stretch is Kanwar Yatra if you're traveling on Saturday - Sunday or Monday.


Whatever the case, avoid traveling at night.

So I will be traveling on Thursday for my onward journey. In that case is it more advisable to go via Patna? Mohania -sasaram- daudnagar-Hajipur route?
Is this route four lane?

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by torque18

So I will be traveling on Thursday for my onward journey. In that case is it more advisable to go via Patna? Mohania -sasaram- daudnagar-Hajipur route?
Is this route four lane?

Since you'll be travelling on Thursday, take the Varanasi - Buxar - Arrah - Digha(Patna) - Hajipur and Muzaffarpur route. This is longer than direct Chhapra to Muzaffarpur route but better. Once you've crossed the JP Setu (Digha-Sonepur bridge), you can go straight to the Hajipur - Chhapra highway and take a right turn to continue.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Since you'll be travelling on Thursday, take the Varanasi - Buxar - Arrah - Digha(Patna) - Hajipur and Muzaffarpur route. This is longer than direct Chhapra to Muzaffarpur route but better. Once you've crossed the JP Setu (Digha-Sonepur bridge), you can go straight to the Hajipur - Chhapra highway and take a right turn to continue.

Got it.. Thanks

While returning i would be traveling on this route in a Sunday or Monday. So I suppose then I need to take the other route muzaffarpur -chhapra- arrah.

Also, isn't Kanwar Yatra over yet? I thought it's a one month event during monsoons

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by torque18

Got it.. Thanks

While returning i would be traveling on this route in a Sunday or Monday. So I suppose then I need to take the other route muzaffarpur -chhapra- arrah.

If you're returning on Monday, you can take the other route also. But decide once you've travelled one way. You'll be better aware about the route taken earlier by you.

Also, isn't Kanwar Yatra over yet? I thought it's a one month event during monsoons

This time, Sawan is of 2 months. Hence the issue. Muzaffarpur is the place of Baba Garibnath Dham and is very important from Kanwar Yatra point of view.

[torque18]

Originally Posted by BoneCollector

Since you'll be travelling on Thursday, take the Varanasi - Buxar - Arrah - Digha(Patna) - Hajipur and Muzaffarpur route. This is longer than direct Chhapra to Muzaffarpur route but better. Once you've crossed the JP Setu (Digha-Sonepur bridge), you can go straight to the Hajipur - Chhapra highway and take a right turn to continue.

Hello,

Could you suggest a decent place for overnight stay with family at Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga, preferably closer to highway. Depending on the time of the day, we would either halt at Muzaffarpur or Darbhanga.

Regards

[amartya_bhp]

Originally Posted by torque18

Could you suggest a decent place for overnight stay with family at Muzaffarpur and Darbhanga, preferably closer to highway. Depending on the time of the day, we would either halt at Muzaffarpur or Darbhanga.

Hi, I am planning to travel to Darjeeling from Delhi next month and was wondering about the road conditions in Bihar. How was your trip? Could you please advise? Thanks

[autoweirdo]

Let me refresh this thread: Travelled this weekend from Pune To Bakhtiyarpur and then Muzaffarpur.
Route- Pune- Sinnar entry to Samruddhi - Nagpur - Jabalpur - Rewa - Mirzapur Bypass - Chunar - Mohania - Ara - new Patna Bypass (Bihta Sarmera road) - Bakhtiyarpur

Road conditions are excellent throughout except Katni & Rewa bypass which is still in poor condition. Bihta Sarmera is excellent 4 lane road with minimal traffic to avoid Patna city jam.
Stay - Mehkar (need small detour on Samrudhhi, stayed at KV Pride. Good option for overnight stay). Rewa (at friend's house).
For people planning to Muzaffarpur via JP setu take following route (JP Setu - Take Left once you cross Railway Over bridge post Setu towards Bela Wheel factory - Bela Wheel Factory - Parsa - Rewa Ghat - Muzaffarpur) road is good and you avoid tolls jam.

[abhi182]

Have an upcoming trip from Pune -> Patna -> Bettiah and subsequently Pokhara and Mustang valley.
The last leg isnt intended to be done via road and I am quite familar with the Patna - > Pokahara leg

As for Pune -> Patna, looking at this thread, it would appear the best route would be

Pune -> Nagpur (average till Samriddhi xpwy and excellent after that)
Nagpur -> Jabalpur -> Rewa -> Varanasi (Have mixed feedback on this section)
Varanasi -> Patna (No idea about this section but presuming it should be OK )

any updates from anyone who may have done these sections recently would be welcome

[mygodbole]

Originally Posted by abhi182

As for Pune -> Patna, looking at this thread, it would appear the best route would be ... any updates would be welcome

I drove Pune-Guwahati twice in the past two years, both journeys around October. Both times, I did the Pune-Jabalpur non-stop, starting at midnight from Pune (specifically to avoid the bottleneck at Moshi-Chakan ), reaching Nagpur around 9am and Jabalpur around 4pm. Average speed was 90kph on Samruddhi, with a couple of pit stops around for chai and poha.

Jabalpur to Patna is eminently doable if you start early and clear the UP-Bihar border before sunset. Jabalpur>Mirzapur bypass>Bhitti bypass outside Varanasi > UP-Bihar border is an excellent road, but very crowded is some parts, especially the Varanasi-border stretch.

From Mohania, I turned left onto NH 319 to Kochas > Dinara > Jagdishpur > Arrah. The 4-lane, segregated roads were butter smooth in October 2023. Hit traffic only after Arrah and that was mostly headed into Patna.

I stuck to NH 319 from Mohania, ignoring Gmaps suggestion to turn left from Jagdishpur. Last 15-odd kilometers up to Arrah was a two-lane non-segregated road with occasional patches (In Oct 2023, may have changed now). Usual mix of bikers and bullock-carts on this two-lane part.

Going through Arrah town needs patience as the road passes through the town market.

Once clear of Arrah, you are likely to hit traffic on the outskirts of Patna

Last year I drove Jabalpur>Gorakhpur>Siliguri, last week of September 2024. Plenty of rain damage to the highways in Bihar. Don't know if that has been fixed.

Hope this helps.

[abhi182]

So just a quick update on the trip

The onward journey took about 23 hrs while the return trip , being the day after diwali took around 20 (driving time excluding breaks)

The route taken was Pune - Sinner - Nagpur - Jabalpur - Varanasi - Patna

We stopped overnight near Rewa onwards and at Nagpur during return journey.

Barring a couple of stretches (Pune - Sinner and Arrah - Patna) , the rest of the road is by and large fabulous!

The total driving time was a fair bit shorter than Google estimates at around 23 hrs onward and just over 20 during return. Return trip times were helped by the post holiday lull with minimal truck traffic on the roads

For the most part, we did not exceed the speed limit at any place with the car speed limiter set to 120 on the Nagpur highway and 90 (slightly above the 80 limit) for the rest of the road.

I am really glad i did this as a road trip for a change