I just got back from Goa,it was one hell of a ride,driving in between police battalions and uncertainty in the routes etc(but a horde of thanks goes out to T-Bhpians:
Akadian,HV Kumar & Ashish Pallod,without whom I would still have been contemplating which route to take to get back home).More details on that on the travelogue coming up.
We took the Mumbai-Pune NE1 and from Pune refuelled at Shell on NH-4.We took the Shindewadi Tunnel thereby bypassing Katraj and the mess at Katraj.NH-4 is a dream run,reached Kolhapur in 3hrs 45mins.After that continued on NH-4 till Belgaum.At Belgaum got went under the Belgaum Bypass flyover and entered the town and drove past KLE Medical College and at Rani Chennamma Circle took a right and entered NH-4A.We stopped at a shop to refuel for samosas & cold drinks and the shop keeper told us that its an excellent road except for a stretch of 20-25kms.We did not bother much about the 20-25km and continued.The road is a beauty till you reach Londa.At Londa when one takes the right,one immediately senses something is not going to be right.On both sides of the road you see mining and mining trucks parked.After 3 kms,one is in for the biggest shock of their life.
Holes as big as wells and there is no road.We just did not know what to do and to compound things we were in our Maruti 8 Class
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(800) and with a little one on board.On one craeter we almost thought we lost our our axle or something,but luckily we came out and continued.The depressing factor is that you expect the bad stretch to end and it never ends,you just dont see any semblance of a road for kilometers,just pure slush and dirt and huge holes.We had a Tata Marina family,driving along,but after sometime we saw them stopping for tea,not sure if they turned and went back or they came later.
The road improves only after Molem.Until Molem words would do injustice to the condition of the road,thats how bad it is.The only vehicles that you see on the road are the iron ore trucks driving like mad and scorpios carryng the mine owners and yes you would get to see a Kadamba bus once in a while.This was the scariest drive of my driving life.
So folks I would really recommend people not to be fool-hardy.Please dont consider this route until the entire stretch has been relaid.It tooks us 5hours to cover 140kms from Belgaum to Panjim.
Pune-Kolhapur:292kms
Kolhapu-Belgaum NH4A:115kms
Rani Chennamma Circle:Panjim:160kms
Coming back we came back via Nipani,yes absolutely agree roads are not exactly great,but once you see the Londa-Molem stretch anything would impress you.For people coming in from Belgaum side,the sensible thing would be to take the Belgaum-Amboli road and reach Goa via Sawantwadi.Belgaum-Amboli is around 80kms.Amboli-Sawantwadi:35kms.Sawantwadi-Panjim:60kms.For a difference of a few kilometers more,I defi would say take the Amboli route.
Sawantwadi-Amboli:Excellent Condition:Arnd 80-100kmph
Amboli-Ajra:Chipped tarmac,couldnt go beyond 40-50 with my 155/70R12 size tyres
Ajra-Uttur:Tarmac is again excellent,80-100kmph
Uttur-Nipani:Good in patches.60-80kmph
Distance from Leela,Mobor(South Goa) to Nipani is 200kms and we covered that in 3hrs 20mins. (including a stop for a photoshoot & kekada(onion) bhajiyas at Amboli).Yes the waterfalls are in full flow now & much like the Bushy Dam.
Mobor-Nipani:200kms:3hrs 20mins
Nipani-Kolhapur:40kms:45mins
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From Kolhapur,we had to come back to Hyd so took the Miraj-Go on Pandharpur Road till Sangole Circle(32kms before P'pur)-Mangalwedha-Solapur-NH9-HYD route.
Just for interest sakes:
Kolhapur-Miraj:Excellent roads.Upto 80kmph.Dense traffic though
Miraj-Sangole:Excellent to Good.No bad patches,but some areas with rough tarmac,80kmph
Sangole-Solapur:Excellent:100-110KMph
Kolhapur-Solapur:220kms:4hrs.Break @ Solapur.
Solapur-Hyd:NH9:300KMS:4hrs 20mins