[jas_mirage]

Me and a couple of friends are planning to do a road trip, from Cochin to Gangtok. I know its long and it sounds really crazy, but thats what we are planning. It is scheduled to be in the 1st /2nd week of Jan 2011. I know that its a long term plan, but a trip such as this, requires a planning such as this.

Well... My question is, what would be the best route to take?

[ranjitp1]

Broadly this is going to be your route.Others who have done the route between Kolkata & Gangtok would be able to advise you better.Road conditions till Kolkata are good,except for some bad stretches near the AOB(Andhra-Orissa Border)

Day 1: Cochin-Salem-Krishnagiri-Kuppam-Palmaner-Chittor-Tirupati
Day 2:Tirupati-Kalahasti-Nayudupeta-NH5-Vijayawada-Rajamundry-Vizag
Day 3:Vizag-Ichchapuram-AOB-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack
Day 4: Cuttack-Kolkata
Day 5:Kolkata-Gangtok

[hvkumar]

Good routing by ranjitp1, but maybe I would stick to the straightforward route via Bangalore, or else go from Krishnagiri to Vellore and go to Chitoor from there to connect with Tirupati.

Maybe you can take a detour at Bhubaneswar and visit Konarak and Puri.

In case you want to avoid Calcutta, you can continue till Malda. Ensure you take the route from Calcutta via Bardhaman (Durgapur e-way), Darjeeling More, Siuri, Morgram to Malda.

Needless to say, we will be happy to work out a detailed route plan for you. Please do not rely on routing by Google Maps or any such online maps, they always get routing wrong.

[himavanth_m]

@jas_mirage: Wow...all the best buddy.

@hvksir: Just out of curiosity. How is the route from Hyd - Nagpur - Kolkata?
I have never driven in this route but google maps always shows me this

[hvkumar]

The NH5 is a lovely route, the NH7-NH6 route is not an easy route.

[Ragul]

Originally Posted by ranjitp1

Broadly this is going to be your route.Others who have done the route between Kolkata & Gangtok would be able to advise you better.Road conditions till Kolkata are good,except for some bad stretches near the AOB(Andhra-Orissa Border)

Day 1: Cochin-Salem-Krishnagiri-Kuppam-Palmaner-Chittor-Tirupati
Day 2:Tirupati-Kalahasti-Nayudupeta-NH5-Vijayawada-Rajamundry-Vizag
Day 3:Vizag-Ichchapuram-AOB-Bhubaneswar-Cuttack
Day 4: Cuttack-Kolkata
Day 5:Kolkata-Gangtok

Hey Ranjit

Curious - Why you suggesting via Kolkata? What purpose will it serve other than encountering heavy traffic?

Wouldn't it better go straight up from Simplipal National Park via Bokaro, Bhagalpur, Bagdogra and Siliguri, rather than turn right to Kharagpur?

Edit: In google maps, try searching for directions from Cuttack to Gangtok.

Cheers

[adeshsurroach]

Hi -

We are thinking for a road trip from Bangalore to Gangtok in a 4 wheeler during January 2018 and would like to know details regarding:

(1) Route information
(2) Dos and Donts
(3) Hotel accommodation
(4) Places to visit
(5) What all things to carry
(6) Any BHPians planning for similar trip to collaborate

Please let me know.

Thanks,
Adesh Surroach

[Bijoy&Indu]

Dear BHPians,

We are planning a drive from Cochin to Sikkim and Bhutan on first week of April. There are 2 drivers and a 5 year old kid. We do not plan to drive in the night, and we hope to cover the distance in 5 days.

Route planning has just started and we are contemplating whether to take:

Option 1
Cochin - Hyderabad - Nagpur - Varanasi - Siliguri - Gangtok

Or

Option 2
Cochin - Vellore - Vizag - Bhubaneswar - Kolkata - Siliguri - Gangtok

We were leaning towards option 1. But few friends warned that this route is not safe and it is naxal area. From few posts it looked like the road conditions are also not good.

Which route would be better?

Thanks in advance guys

[Sheel]

Originally Posted by Bijoy&Indu

Varanasi - Siliguri - Gangtok

Or

Option 2
- Kolkata - Siliguri - Gangtok

I can only comment on these options.

Varanasi to Siliguri would have to be done via Patna. And I will suggest to circumnavigate Patna, try doing it in early morning, you should be fine till ~9 am or so. Earlier the better. You may plan your stops accordingly.

Though a new bridge, JP Setu has eased congestion, I hope any BHPian from Patna will chip and suggest.

Kolkata Siliguri has 2 route options. Please go through the below thread.

Link

I will take the Maldah route if I am driving at night and Dumka route if I am driving in the day, but, a caveat, will suggest to cross Bhagalpur [Vikramshila setu] in the day, say from 9-10 to before 16:00 hrs. So, you may plan stops accordingly.

The precautions are just because of traffic density and there aren't any safety issues per se.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by Bijoy&Indu

Dear BHPians,

We are planning a drive from Cochin to Sikkim and Bhutan on first week of April.

Originally Posted by Sheel

I can only comment on these options.

Varanasi to Siliguri would have to be done via Patna. And I will suggest to circumnavigate Patna, try doing it in early morning, you should be fine till ~9 am or so. Earlier the better. You may plan your stops accordingly.

Though a new bridge, JP Setu has eased congestion, I hope any BHPian from Patna will chip and suggest.

Regarding what Sheel has said, the bridge between Varanasi and Patna, Koilwar Bridge will be closed for traffic on one lane from 26th February to 24th May so it'll cause major traffic issues. And as far as the JP Setu is concerned, trucks have been allowed on it from Patna to Hajipur side from 10pm to 5am and it's led to major chaos with traffic being held up till 11am due to them. So taking this route depends on the timeline you're planning to take. I'm not saying that you should follow any other route but keep ample time for it. Do get in touch for further help as required.

[niteshbids]

Originally Posted by Sheel

Varanasi to Siliguri would have to be done via Patna. And I will suggest to circumnavigate Patna, try doing it in early morning, you should be fine till ~9 am or so. Earlier the better. You may plan your stops accordingly.

You do not need to touch patna from Varanasi to Siliguri. There is a new bridge connecting Arrah to Chhapra. By using this bridge you'd be able to avoid koilwar bridge as well as crossing ganges from Patna. You'll be able to reach muzaffarpur faster from chhapra and save on the time. Check on google maps for route between Varanasi and Siliguri, it will show the route I'm talkong about. It's just that I don't know about the road condition from Chhapra to Muzaffarpur.

[Bijoy&Indu]

Dear Team BHPians,

We are planning to go for the Sikkim drive again after 4 years. In 2020, covid played spoil-sport.

We are a family of 3 including our 9-year-old daughter. We are used to long drives doing 1000+ kms in a day. We have come up with a plan and a rough route map. We are specific about accommodation and has selected the halts based on the availability of good hotels.

Please go through our route plan and give your valuable feedback on:

1. Better routes available or any routes to avoid

2. We prefer to start early and avoid night drives. Does any of these days seem impossible to do in a day?

3. Traffic or road conditions to be careful about


We are yet to figure out the plan within Sikkim.

We are stopping in Pench hoping to do a tiger Safari on 18th April morning. And the stop in Hyderabad is to meet friends.

Thanks in advance !