[pjbiju]

I took the Pune->Sangamner->Zagade Phata->Kopargaon->Malegaon->NH3->Indore yesterday (10-Nov-12).

I started from Pune (Aundh) at 5:00 a.m. and reached Indore bypass at 4:15 p.m. and Palasia by 5:00 p.m. Out of 12 hours, 10 hours was the driving time and two hours was rest/break time. Till NH3 I did not exceed 100 kmph and on NH3 I did not exceed 120 kmph even on long straight stretches.

Pune->Sangamner: Good roads till Chakan. After the 4-lane road ends there are a few kilometers of rough road patches (no large potholes) that will keep rattling your car. After that roads were good till Sangamner. There was an accident in the ghats before Sangamner which blocked one of the lanes. This block cost us around 30 minutes. I reached Sangamner by 8:20

From Sangamner follow the route given in the map below. Turn right at Sangamner and after about 6km turn left and keep going straight until you hit SH7. This is a toll road and is in very good shape. At SH7 turn right and go towards the Shirdi-Kopargaon road (SH10) and then turn left towards Kopargaon. On this patch of SH7 we stopped for breakfast.

Roads until Kopargaon has been widened to make it a four lane road. However the work has not been completed. So again the roads until you cross Kopargaon is a little rough, but manageable. Once you cross Kopargaon, the roads till Malegaon is superb. As you see the NH3 bypass, go under it and turn right and then join NH3.

From here onwards NH3 is superb to drive all the way to Indore. I filled up fuel at Dhule at a BPCL outlet.

Irritants:
On NH3 (particularly on the small ghat sections) the trucks keep driving side by side. So one has to be a little patient for find opportunities for overtaking. Many a time, one has to do it from the left side which I personally feel is a little risky. It becomes even more irritating on the ghats and on a couple of occasions I had to overtake from the shoulder of the road since the trucks were moving parellel to each other without overtaking each other.

After you cross Dhule there are not many facilities along NH3 for refuelling. I saw a few places after Dhule too where one could stop for lunch.

There are rumble strips at many places along NH3. You have to keep a lookout for these.

I would not recommend this route while returning to Pune since driving from Sangamner to Pune could be painful and slow. I am still thinking about what route to follow while returning to Pune.

Sangamner->Kopargaon Road map

[naren_gs1]

Thanks! Pune-Nagar-Shirdi-Dhule-Indore seems to be the best bet going by recent threads on this! Will take this during Christmas!

[ampere]

Originally Posted by pjbiju

I would not recommend this route while returning to Pune since driving from Sangamner to Pune could be painful and slow. I am still thinking about what route to follow while returning to Pune.

So what I would suggest in that case is:

Drive all the way back till Kopargaon. Here instead turning towards Sangamner, drive till Nagar and then take the 4-lane back home to Pune.

Is that entry a better one ?

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Thanks! Pune-Nagar-Shirdi-Dhule-Indore seems to be the best bet going by recent threads on this! Will take this during Christmas!

The last 25-30km before shirdi (while going from Pune) has large potholes. So one has to be careful while driving along this stretch. Except for that it would still be the shortest and may be the fastest route to Indore. If one starts quite early, it will also be good to go all the way to Nashik and take the interior roads from Nashik Road and join NH3. As HVK has said 35km from Nashik, the 4-lane road starts, going all the way to Indore. So the average speed will definitely be better, although this route is longer by about 45km.

Originally Posted by ampere

So what I would suggest in that case is:

Drive all the way back till Kopargaon. Here instead turning towards Sangamner, drive till Nagar and then take the 4-lane back home to Pune.

Is that entry a better one ?

Yes, I think I might end up taking this route instead of my normal Indore->Burhanpur->Aurangabad->Pune route.

[pjbiju]

I took the Indore->Dhule->Malegaon->Kopargaon->Shirdi->Ahmadnagar->Pune route on 23-Nov. Started from Indore at 5:10 a.m. Reached Shirdi at 12:00 noon. Had lunch and started from Shirdi at around 1:00 p.m. and reached home at 5:10 p.m.

Road from Kopargaon to Kolhar (~45 km) is quite bad. The rest of the roads are very good.

[naren_gs1]

Hello All,
Is NH3 now safe to drive during night time? I know convoy system used to be enforced till few years back.

Would appreciate if you share definitive information

Thanks

[latentpotential]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Hello All,
Is NH3 now safe to drive during night time? I know convoy system used to be enforced till few years back.

Would appreciate if you share definitive information

Thanks

Very Safe, just did a Mumbai _ Indore return via Nashik, Dhulia.

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

Hello All,
Is NH3 now safe to drive during night time? I know convoy system used to be enforced till few years back.

Would appreciate if you share definitive information

Thanks

Safe 24x7 all the way, through the "bad lands" of Guna, Shivpuri & Morena.
They will tell you that it is unsafe, but not any less safe than any other highway.
Heavy truck traffic throughout. However, overall route is bereft of car traffic & may be difficult for some.

There is no convoy system anywhere on this route. I don't recall any either. I have driven through the night on this route even 15 years ago, never saw any such convoys or unsafe situations. However, I would avoid going on this route by night because of the sparse facilities.

[naren_gs1]

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Safe 24x7 all the way, through the "bad lands" of Guna, Shivpuri & Morena.
They will tell you that it is unsafe, but not any less safe than any other highway.
Heavy truck traffic throughout. However, overall route is bereft of car traffic & may be difficult for some.

There is no convoy system anywhere on this route. I don't recall any either. I have driven through the night on this route even 15 years ago, never saw any such convoys or unsafe situations. However, I would avoid going on this route by night because of the sparse facilities.

Thanks Sir, I will be driving to Indore from Pune

[naren_gs1]

I evetually did this route during Christmas break. As mentioned by biju and HVK sir - the NH3 now is breeze - it is not only 4 laned - but traffic is also less!

[pamishra]

Hey Guys, I plan to do a Pune-Indore-Pune trip later this month. I'll be travelling on this route for the first time.

I plan to take Pune-Sangamner-Kopargaon-Malegaon-Dhule-Indore route. Any info on the latest road condition?

I plan to leave by 5am and reach in about 10 hrs. Also which are the good places to eat (breakfast & lunch) on this route?

Thanks!!

[hvkumar]

Originally Posted by pamishra

Hey Guys, I plan to do a Pune-Indore-Pune trip later this month. I'll be travelling on this route for the first time.

I plan to take Pune-Sangamner-Kopargaon-Malegaon-Dhule-Indore route. Any info on the latest road condition?

I plan to leave by 5am and reach in about 10 hrs. Also which are the good places to eat (breakfast & lunch) on this route?

Thanks!!

Excellent 4-laned roads from Dhule onwards. Poor facilities other than petrol pumps.

[bhavtol]

Originally Posted by pamishra

Hey Guys, I plan to do a Pune-Indore-Pune trip later this month. I'll be travelling on this route for the first time.

I plan to take Pune-Sangamner-Kopargaon-Malegaon-Dhule-Indore route. Any info on the latest road condition?

I plan to leave by 5am and reach in about 10 hrs. Also which are the good places to eat (breakfast & lunch) on this route?

Thanks!!

@pamishra

The Road Condition for Pune to Indore is summarised as follows

a. Pune to Ahemadnagar - Shirdi

The Road is 4 Laned with continous moving traffic. If you plan to leave in the night do so after 10.30 pm from yerwada on Nagar Highway. There are plently of hotels and motels to stop and have food with excellent facilities.

b. Shirdi - Manmad - Malegaon (Charfuli)

From Shirdi to Kopar gaon approx 18 kms is really bad. After Kopargoan to Malegaon Charfuli (Crossing) where you will get the four laned road to Indore, the in between road has heavy traffic but there is rarely a jam.
Advise you to make a non stop journey between manmad to malegaon.

c. Malegaon - Dhule - Sendhwa - Julwani - Indore

Apart from Toll booth jams there would be hardly a issue. You can drive upto 120-130 kmph at comfortable speeds on this road.

Caution : as you reach near to Indore (80kms) there are ghats from at Gujri and Manpur. If you reach between 12.30 AM to 6.00Am there are many trucks/dumpers carrying sand and on the ghat they tend to stall the traffic. Advise you to not be just behind such a vehicle as it may stall or worst, it may get a reverse due to overloading.

Road Condition is good. You can drive through Entire night at any place without any issues.

There is a Sahyog hotel as well as A-1 Sagar Hotel just 18 kms after Malegaon which has excellent parking/restroom and food. You can also take power nap at the place in your car.

There is Hotel FOODIE (closed 11 pm to 5 am) which is in Dhamnod enroute just after you cross Narmada River / Toll gate. Same as Sahyog really nice place.

If you need more help let me know.

[bhavtol]

Originally Posted by latentpotential

Very Safe, just did a Mumbai _ Indore return via Nashik, Dhulia.

Safe. No Convoy. Traffic all night. They are building a huge flyover over Nashik City and its almost complete. People are doing Indore Mumbai in 7-9 Hrs (leavin 3.30 am and reaching by noon or 1 pm)

[pamishra]

Originally Posted by bhavtol

@pamishra

Thanks a lot bhavtol. This information is very very useful. I hope there are many good petrol pumps along the route also