[columbus]

Originally Posted by ADI_77

Dear All

Just back from my M.P trip, as suggested by Columbus I had taken the Vadodara-Halol-Dahod-Petlawad-Badnawar-Barnagar-Ujjain-Dewas Rd-Bhopal.
As of now this remains the best road from Ahmedabad to Indore/Bhopal

Yes "as of now this remains the best route from Ahmedabad to Bhopal."

Originally Posted by rkhare

1. can you share exact lat long of the 1km road in Ujjain? Is that 4 lane road that passes near Ujjain Engineering College?

2. Meghnagar to Petlawad, do we take right turn 1 kms before Meghnagar. The yellow state highway as in GMaps?

3. Also, any Information on Jhabua Dhar road? as per my info its almost complete now and can be taken to come till Pithampur. From There Indore Bypass - Dewas (Normally I avoid taking Dewas Bypass while coming from / going to Indore)- Bhopal

rkhare

1. Yes its the road which passes near Ujjain Engg college. Google snap shot of the road attached. On the left is the ujjain - Indore road where you take a left turn for this road when you come from gujarat side. At the other end of the road is Alcohol shop where you take a right turn for dewas bypass Bhopal etc.



2. The right turn will take you directly to Petlawad. I am not sure about the road condition. At that right turn i enquired about the road condition and was told that it was a newly built road. But it passes "through" petlawad town. I took the route through Thandla for petlawad where you do not have to enter petlawad town. Google snap shot attached.



3. The Dhar road is still not complete. Perhaps ADI_77 can throw more light on this.

[ADI_77]

Originally Posted by columbus

2. The right turn will take you directly to Petlawad. I am not sure about the road condition. At that right turn i enquired about the road condition and was told that it was a newly built road. But it passes "through" petlawad town. I took the route through Thandla for petlawad where you do not have to enter petlawad town. Google snap shot attached.

Yes the road from Meghnagar-Thandla-Petlawad is the precise route, where you avoid getting into Petlawad town. Once you exit the road from Ujjain after the toll you come to a cross road, take a left, keep going straight and then take a right from reliance pump, this road will get you straight towards Jhabua/ Gujarat without getting into Petlawad.

Originally Posted by rkhare

3. Also, any Information on Jhabua Dhar road? as per my info its almost complete now and can be taken to come till Pithampur. From There Indore Bypass - Dewas (Normally I avoid taking Dewas Bypass while coming from / going to Indore)- Bhopal

The NH from Jhabua is still incomplete. There are some really bad stretches. Work on the flyovers seems to be halted. It is best to avoid this route by all means.

[BowMan]

Just back from a weekend trip - Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad - Indore - Bhopal and back.

On the way to Indore we took the Baroda Expressway - Chotaudaipur - Alirajpur - Kukshi...Indore route. Started at 9 am in morning and reached Indore at 8 p.m. - 11 hours including lunch, tea brakes etc.

On the way back we picked the Bhopal - Indore by pass - Pithampur - Dhar - Jhabua - Dahod bypass - Godhra bypass - ahmedabad ring road - Gandhinagar route. 10 hrs 30 mins, again including all sundry breaks.

The first route is much discussed so not much to add about that.

Regarding the second route few pointers

1. This route is now by and large peaceful. Travel during day time is no problem at all. I am also convinced looking at the standing cash crops in the fields (lots of cotton apart from wheat etc.) that that should not be a problem during the night as well. A lot of criminal activity in these areas is related to scanty rains, prevalence of drought conditions etc.

2 The road has some beautiful stretches, especially on the Gujarat side, but interspersed with some bad patches. But even despite these bad patches for the folks traveling in the direction of Indore from north part of Gujarat this route may involve a faster travel.

And last but not the least. During the 1000 Km or so of my drive I observed the most chaotic traffic conditions in Ahmedabad. Don't know why...

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by BowMan

Just back from a weekend trip - Gandhinagar/Ahmedabad - Indore - Bhopal and back.

Hi BowMan, request your assistance to help me chalk out a route from Indore to Sasan Gir (National Park). Safety remains a concern since I would begin my journey at 4 PM and drive overnight. Your thoughts and advise?

[BowMan]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

Hi BowMan, request your assistance to help me chalk out a route from Indore to Sasan Gir (National Park). Safety remains a concern since I would begin my journey at 4 PM and drive overnight. Your thoughts and advise?

Judging by your post I would believe you only need to decide on which route within MP you decide to take - Alirajpur or Jhabua.

Once you are ithin the borders of GUjarat if you have entered via Alirajpur you will travel to Chota Udepur upon entering Gujarat and from thence to Vadodara, Vadodara.

There onward you can take either the Dholera - Vallabhipur highway or the Dhandhuka highway which will be a bit busier and a slightly longer route.

Or if you have entered Gujarat at Dahod then you will travel to Godhra, Nadiad, Dholka.

Both these routes merge before Amreli which is easters edge of Gir. Since you want to stop at Sasan which is the western part you will need to trael to Bagasra, Visavadar on to Sasan.

For you I will suggest to avoid the Cotila, Rajkot highway which though a better highway is much longer. ALso the Amreli route will take you through the hinterland of Saurashtra.

All roads in Gujarat are safe. The only thing to worry is traffic and finding good food. I will recommend you eat at Hotel Ambar at Bagodara if you opt for the Dhandhuka highway. The Dholera Vallabhipur highway has food stops too but not much to recommend.

Hope this helps

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by BowMan

Judging by your post I would believe you only need to decide on which route within MP you decide to take - Alirajpur or Jhabua.

Hope this helps

Absolutely! The only concern is safety while traveling in MP. I spoke to a couple of local guys who suggested this route to enter Guj:

Indore - Ratlam (turn towards Petlawad before Ratlam) - Petlawad - Thandla - Meghnagar - Dahod - Nadiad - Limbdi - Rajkot - Junagadh - Gir

I'm pretty confident about the conditions in Guj since I've spent half of my life in this state (Gandhidham) but things may have changed a lot since I'm visiting after 14 years. Do you think the above route makes sense considering safety and road conditions? Would be great if confirm.

[BowMan]

The Jhabua route is slightly better than the Alirajpur one but I would still enter Gujarat well before sunset. With this currency issues people might be troubled and old habits may reappear.

The Rajkot highway is good but a slightly longer and busier trip.

[TaureanBull]

I am planning to drive down from Ahmedabad to Indore in December second week. Is there any progress on the Jhabua route? Google maps give three options:-
(a) Godhra-Petlawad
(b) Godhra-Jhabua
(c) Vadodara-Alirajpur

Which one of the above is best option? Recommended halts enroute for meals would be welcome.

[k.sumit]

Originally Posted by TaureanBull

I am planning to drive down from Ahmedabad to Indore in December second week. Is there any progress on the Jhabua route? Google maps give three options:-
(a) Godhra-Petlawad
(b) Godhra-Jhabua
(c) Vadodara-Alirajpur

Which one of the above is best option? Recommended halts enroute for meals would be welcome.

I just came back from my SasanGir trip following this rote: Ahmedabad - Godhra - Dahod- Just before you enter Jhabua, take the road to Meghnagar- Petlawad- Ghatabillod -Indore. The roads are in good condition and you will run into a single lane road after you cross Dahod till you reach Badnawar. DO NOT travel on this route during the night and make sure to carry along some home cooked snacks. This route doesn't have decent hotels or Dhabas.

[TaureanBull]

Originally Posted by k.sumit

I just came back from my SasanGir trip following this rote: Ahmedabad - Godhra - Dahod- Just before you enter Jhabua, take the road to Meghnagar- Petlawad- Ghatabillod -Indore. The roads are in good condition and you will run into a single lane road after you cross Dahod till you reach Badnawar. DO NOT travel on this route during the night and make sure to carry along some home cooked snacks. This route doesn't have decent hotels or Dhabas.

Thanks for the information. However, it was late by a day. I completed the route on 10 Dec. Inspite of many recommendations about not taking the Ahmedabad-Dahod-Jhabua-Indore route, I went ahead with the route. My inputs about the route are under:-

1. Indore to Khangela upto MP border is an awesome four lane road.

2. The road is under upgradation from MP border at Khangela, at various stages of completion. Road from Dhulet to Indore has been completed and a four lane road.

3. The under upgradation road is primarily slow due to culvert and bridge work.

4. Although I noticed one board warning about "loot area" near Jhabua, but personally I could not see any reason to worry at least during the day time. The route could be as desolate as any other route in hinterland. I can not comment about the night driving.

5. The route is doable. I completed it in 8 hrs at a max speed of 70kmph as I was driving a new vehicle. It included two short halts.

6. The eating options exist. Although only a few can be termed as family locations.

Photos of various stretches are as below:-

[mm403]

Just did Indore Ahmedabad trip. Didnt want to take the Dhar - Jhabua - Dahod route as was told that road condition between Jhabua -Dhar was horrible. Hence took the Indore - GhatBillod - Badnawar - Petlawad - Tandla - Meghnagar -Godhra - Ahemdabad

Road from Indore till Badnawar is 4 lane road. Road from Badnawar till Meghnagar is 2 lane, surface quality is good but have to be careful for oncoming traffic. As soon as one crosses the MP border after Meghnagar - road is 4 lane road all the way till Ahmedabad. Started around 2 PM from Indore and reached Ahmedabad around 9 PM. No eating joints on the way

[kotirajendra]

Doing Pune-Bhopal-Baroda-Pune during Diwali week.
So is this the route suggested for Bhopal - Baroda? https://goo.gl/maps/ZQoH8L3sxUo . Request to please share google link to route if there are alternate suggestions.

[mm403]

Route is OK

Only thing to be concerned about is Road from Badnawar till Megh Nagar is a 2 lane road with no amenities, so try to cover it in day time

Took this route from Indore to Ahmedabad last year Dec

[kotirajendra]

Thank you. Other than lack of amenities, the road is safe right? I always travel during day time. Any COCO petrol bunks on the route?

[jesrani]

I reside near Vapi and thinking of going by road to Mandu for 4 nights, with wife and 2 children. Had a few queries regarding this.
1) Anyone has idea of the route from Vapi to Mandu. Google map shows via Vadodara and Godhra. Is that the correct and safe route? Or is there any other route?
2) How is the road condition?
3) The first day would be spent in traveling. Are 3 full days too much or too less?
4) Is the Jhura Baug Palace in Dhar a nice place to stay? Was thinking to stay here and do trips to Mandu and Maheshwar. Anywhere else to go nearby?
5) Is the weather good in mid-October?