Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back

SumitB · 17th March 2011, 13:46

I am planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi in the 2nd week of May and need suggestions and advice for the routes to be taken.

As of now, there are supposed to be 4 adults (me, wife, father-in-law and mother-in-law) and with my infant child. We are proposing to take the 2010 Safari 4x4 for this purpose. There are going to be 2 drivers, me and father-in-law, who will take the wheel. We have a few things to attend to in Delhi and from there, we plan to drive to a few places in Rajasthan where we are supposed to perform a few religious duties which we perform upon the birth of a child in our custom.

I wanted to know what are the routes one should take to get to Delhi from Shillong. I am counting on the adventurers on the forum, especially Sir HVKumar to help me with this. I also need details about which cities/towns should be our bases for the nights.

After the Shillong to Delhi route is settled, I will post here again for the directions to the places we need to visit in Rajasthan.

We also plan to do the Delhi-Shillong route which again will be posted here.

Thanks for the help in advance.

hvkumar · 17th March 2011, 16:26

There are 2 options, one to drive through Bihar and the other is avoiding Bihar. Although there has been a significant improvement in the law and order situation in Bihar, and roads are great, my personal experiences have been bad so I hesitate to recommend going via Bihar despite it being shorter.

Route #1: avoid BIhar:
Shillong-Guwahati/Jalukhbari-Goalpara-Ghauripur-Boxirhat-Cooch Behar-Drupuguri-Falakata-Siliguri-Kishanganj-Dalkola-Raiganj-Malda-Farakka-Morgram-Rampurhat-Siuri-Dubrajpur-Raniganj-Asansol-Gobindpur/Dhanbad-Dumri-Aurangabad-Sasaram-Mohaniya-Varanasi-Allahabad-Kanpur-Etawah-Agra-Mathura-Delhi.

Route #2: Through Bihar:
from Siliguri-Dalkola-Purnea-Kagariya-Begusarai-Barauni-Patna-Arrah-Mohaniya-Varanasi

On Route #1, I would suggest the following schedule:
Day 1 halt: Malda
Day 2 halt: Varanasi
Day 3 reach Delhi

On Route #2, I would suggest halts at Purnea/Barauni and Allahabad/Kanpur.

I made a drive plan for someone form Delhi to Bhutan/Shillong, maybe you will find it useful to check out the detailed route. The file is attached.
Being such a long drive, expect bad roads, traffic jams in several places, some of them I am aware of and can elaborate.

SumitB · 17th March 2011, 16:42

Thank you Kumar Sir. Am checking out the via Malda route. Will discuss it and post here for clarifications.

However, this route it seems passes through some Maoist heartland. Will this be safe? Also, if possible and at hand, can you give details for some accomodation at Malda and Varanasi. We need clean rooms with clean bathrooms with European pans. Our budget for each room would be 1500-2000 per night.

hvkumar · 17th March 2011, 20:49

There is no safety issue in West Bengal. You have to careful about the frequent bandhs in the south bank of Brahmaputra between Jalukhbari & Goalpara, but there are no other safety issues.

In Malda, you have lots of hotel choices depending on your budget. You can try Hotel Golden Park (expensive, but outside town) or some of the other hotels inside town.

Varanasi is a problem though, lots of hotels (no specific recommendations) but you have to go inside city.

SumitB · 21st March 2011, 10:49

Kumar Sir, thank you for the recommendations. I have spoken to a few people and they say that the route through Bengal would be safer but I am still skeptical about crossing the Maoist heartlands. Is it safe driving through these area after sunset?

About the frequent bandhs in the NDFB dominated areas, I will keep a close eye on the developments there and plan accordingly.

About the hotels, what is the approximate tariff for Hotel Golden Park?

Also, I need recommendations about what I should carry with me on the road trip? There will be 4 adults, including me and an infant of under 3 months!

Edit: Sir, also I am not getting the actual via Malda route using google maps. It throws up different result every time. Can you please give me a link for it?

hvkumar · 21st March 2011, 11:23

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumitB

Kumar Sir, thank you for the recommendations. I have spoken to a few people and they say that the route through Bengal would be safer but I am still skeptical about crossing the Maoist heartlands. Is it safe driving through these area after sunset?

About the frequent bandhs in the NDFB dominated areas, I will keep a close eye on the developments there and plan accordingly.

About the hotels, what is the approximate tariff for Hotel Golden Park?

Also, I need recommendations about what I should carry with me on the road trip? There will be 4 adults, including me and an infant of under 3 months!

Edit: Sir, also I am not getting the actual via Malda route using google maps. It throws up different result every time. Can you please give me a link for it?

There is no safety issue on the Assam border-Siliguri-Malda-Durgapur/ Raniganj-Asansol-Jharkand border. Night driving is OK, in fact a better option since there is no traffic and you can be spared all the dislocation thanks to election campaign which has started in WB.

AFAIK, the only unsafe portions are around Bishnupur-Kharagpur-Lodasuli sector, which is on NH60 (Durgapur-Purulia-BIshnupur-Midnapur-Kharagpur) and NH3 (Kharagpur-Jashpur).

Many maps mark Malda as English Bazaar or Ingraj Bazaar. It is a pretty straightforward route. NH31 from Siliguri till Dalkola (it goes off to Purnea). From Dalkola it is NH34 towards Calcutrta via Malda & Farakka till Morgram. FRom Morgram, it is NH60 to Raniganj via Nalhatti, Rampurhat, Siuri & Dubrajpur.

Hotel Golden Park: Welcome to Golden Park Hotel & Restaurant :: Enjoy Bengal's Hospitality :: Malda, West Bengal, India

SumitB · 23rd March 2011, 10:08

Kumar Sir, I have studied the excel sheet you attached above and have decided to go the Shillong-Siliguri-Malda-Varanasi-Delhi way. I have been to Dhubri using this same route (via Goalpara) and from there I can use the directions provided by you which I must say, are way better than any map could provide.

I am attaching the modified file and would request you to please have a look and make corrections if necessary. I propose to halt at Malda & Varanasi as suggested by you.

We are planning to drive from 6AM to 9PM everyday and hopefully, will be able to meet the schedule.

Any other pointers will be highly appreciated.

hvkumar · 23rd March 2011, 12:38

To give you some benchmarks, last week, a friend of mine drove from Delhi to Bhutan. He did Deli-Bodh Gaya (1100 kms) on Day 1, Malda on Day 2 and Jaldapara on Day 3.

Election campaigning is in full swing in WB, expect dislocations due to election rallies, meetings, etc in the entire stretch. If you fancy night driving, that is the best thing to do from Cooch behar to Raniganj.

With summer having started, days are getting longer, hence plan your starts at 4 am or so so that you can maximise your day's coverage.

SumitB · 23rd March 2011, 17:30

Okay Sir. I will coax my family to wake up early and get on the road early.

About the elections, I will anyways undertake the drive in the 2nd week of May and by then the elections will be over.

About your friend doing 1100 kms. in one day, which vehicle was this on and which route did he take?

hvkumar · 23rd March 2011, 17:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumitB

About your friend doing 1100 kms. in one day, which vehicle was this on and which route did he take?

He is driving a Innova - along with his family - and took the following route to reach Bhutan:
Delhi-Agra-Etawah-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi-Dobhi-Bodh Gaya-Dobhi-Aurangabad-Asansol-Raniganj-Siuri-Rampurhat-Farakka-Malda-Dalkola-Kishanganj-Siliguri-Birpara-Jaldapara-Hasimara-Phuntsoling-Thimphu

SumitB · 23rd March 2011, 17:58

Thank you Sir. I will put in more queries and doubts here. Now to do the planning.

SumitB · 4th July 2011, 12:31

I am reviving this thread as the drive/journey was postponed and will now happen, in all probability, starting the 1st of August, 2011.

The vehicle still remains the same. The 4x4 Safari. Though the occupants will now include only me and my father-in-law for the Shillong-Delhi route and on the return trip, will include my wife, mother-in-law and 5 month old son.

I am planning on leaving Shillong on the 1st August at 0300 and reach Malda by late evening. Will depart from Malda at 0300 and reach Varanasi and again depart from Varanasi at 0300 and reach Delhi. My wife along with my child and mother-in-law will take a flight to Delhi from Guwahati on the 4th August and we will receive them at Delhi Airport. We will spend 4th evening and whole day on the 5th in Delhi and depart from Delhi on the 6th morning to arrive at Fatehpur. I am including Jaipur as we propose to make Jaipur our hub for the next couple of days.

We were going to undertake this drive as in our custom, we need to go for mundan to our kul devi in Fatehpur Shekawati, Rajasthan and includes 5 other places which are listed below:
1. Delhi - Jaipur
2. Jaipur - Fatehpur (Chaturbhuj Mataji Temple - Our Kul Devi)
3. Fatehpur - Salasar (via Lachmangarh - Our ancestral haveli temple)
4. Salasar - Ajitsar & Malasi
5. Jhunjhunu
6. Khatu
7. Ajmer & Pushkar

We are required to be present in Fatehpur on the evening of 6th August (Saptmi as per Hindu Calendar) and the morning of 7th August (Asthmi as per the Hindu Calendar) where there first mundan will be performed. We are then required to visit Lachmangarh. Salasar, Ajitsar, Malasi, Jhunjhunu and Khatu need to be visited too but in no particular order. Ajmer and Pushkar will be done to thank the Almighty for wishes granted.

I understand from my cousin who did this Rajasthan route last year that it would only be possible to do the Fatehpur-Lachmangarh-Salasar-Ajitsar-Malasi route in one day (6th & 7th) and the next day (8th) for Jhunjhunu and Khatu and return to Jaipur on 8th evening. While on the 9th, we can undertake the Ajmer and Pushkar route.

From Jaipur, we plan to drive to Amritsar and then return to Delhi. We then leave the vehicle in Delhi and fly to Jammu for a visit to Vaishno Devi and from Jammu, we fly to Srinagar for two days and return back to Delhi.

Thereafter, we will do the Delhi-Shillong route.

So now, I would leave it to the experts to suggest the routes that I should take to undertake this journey.

As mentioned before, I will be doing most of the driving and would be assisted by my father-in-law if required.

Edit:
I was just checking Google Maps and as per this, the Delhi-Fatehpur route is 261 kms via the SH 20 and this goes via Jhajjar.

amrisharm · 4th July 2011, 12:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by hvkumar

There are 2 options, one to drive through Bihar and the other is avoiding Bihar. Although there has been a significant improvement in the law and order situation in Bihar, and roads are great, my personal experiences have been bad so I hesitate to recommend going via Bihar despite it being shorter.

Route #1: avoid BIhar:
Shillong-Guwahati/Jalukhbari-Goalpara-Ghauripur-Boxirhat-Cooch Behar-Drupuguri-Falakata-Siliguri-Kishanganj-Dalkola-Raiganj-Malda-Farakka-Morgram-Rampurhat-Siuri-Dubrajpur-Raniganj-Asansol-Gobindpur/Dhanbad-Dumri-Aurangabad-Sasaram-Mohaniya-Varanasi-Allahabad-Kanpur-Etawah-Agra-Mathura-Delhi.

Route #2: Through Bihar:
from Siliguri-Dalkola-Purnea-Kagariya-Begusarai-Barauni-Patna-Arrah-Mohaniya-Varanasi

On Route #1, I would suggest the following schedule:
Day 1 halt: Malda
Day 2 halt: Varanasi
Day 3 reach Delhi

On Route #2, I would suggest halts at Purnea/Barauni and Allahabad/Kanpur.

I made a drive plan for someone form Delhi to Bhutan/Shillong, maybe you will find it useful to check out the detailed route. The file is attached.
Being such a long drive, expect bad roads, traffic jams in several places, some of them I am aware of and can elaborate.

Dear HVkumar Sir, I have a question regarding the route that passes through bihar and the one that does not. When one is travelling from Shillong to delhi, what would be the difference in travel time as well as kms between the two routes that you have mentioned above?

you have mentioned the route through bihar is faster, but by how much?

SumitB · 1st September 2011, 14:02

Am at Delhi after a grueling 2300 kms drive done over 3 days. The Guwahati-Siliguri road via Goalpara-Chapar-Gauripur-Cooch Behar is a torture. After Gauripur, we come across craters as deep and wide as the surface of the moon in and around Cooch Behar. After crossing Jalpaiguri, and before entering Siliguri, these craters become wells, large and deep enough for storage of water! Here, I managed only 8 kms. in 90 minutes, on a Safari! Post thSiliguri, roads were good up to Begusarai with a few small stretches of bad roads, due to flooding, post Nowgachia, Bihar. I lost my enthusiasm between Barauni and Gaya as the roads are lonely and one starts feeling exhausted. However, once you get on G. T. Road from Dobhi, the roads are butter smooth and you start enjoying the drive.

A special mention of Sheel here. Thank you man! I am indebted for life.

I am to make the return trip in about 10 days and am now wondering which route to take for the Siliguri to Guwahati stretch. I am not going via Cooch Behar.

I took this route:
Shillong-Jhalukbari-Krishnai-Dudhnai-Goalpara-Chapar-Gauripur-Cooch Behar-Jalpaiguri-Dhupguri-Mainaguri-Siliguri-Dhalkhola-Purnia-Begusarai-Gaya-Dobhi-Varanasi-Allahabad-Kanpur-Agra-Faridabad-Delhi

Of this, the Mainaguri-Siliguri stretch was the worst and it took me 90 minutes to do 8 kms. at one point.

About 2300 kms. done in 42 hours (16+13+13) on the road. This could be done in 35 hours provided the bad roads were avoidable.

I will post the details of the Delhi-Shillong return leg once I am in Shillong.

Suggestions for the Siliguri-Guwahati stretch will be appreciated.

suman · 1st September 2011, 14:13

Welcome to the NCR! How long are you here & which part of Delhi are you staying in?

17th March 2011, 13:46	#1
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back I am planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi in the 2nd week of May and need suggestions and advice for the routes to be taken. As of now, there are supposed to be 4 adults (me, wife, father-in-law and mother-in-law) and with my infant child. We are proposing to take the 2010 Safari 4x4 for this purpose. There are going to be 2 drivers, me and father-in-law, who will take the wheel. We have a few things to attend to in Delhi and from there, we plan to drive to a few places in Rajasthan where we are supposed to perform a few religious duties which we perform upon the birth of a child in our custom. I wanted to know what are the routes one should take to get to Delhi from Shillong. I am counting on the adventurers on the forum, especially Sir HVKumar to help me with this. I also need details about which cities/towns should be our bases for the nights. After the Shillong to Delhi route is settled, I will post here again for the directions to the places we need to visit in Rajasthan. We also plan to do the Delhi-Shillong route which again will be posted here. Thanks for the help in advance.
	() Thanks

17th March 2011, 16:42	#3
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Thank you Kumar Sir. Am checking out the via Malda route. Will discuss it and post here for clarifications. However, this route it seems passes through some Maoist heartland. Will this be safe? Also, if possible and at hand, can you give details for some accomodation at Malda and Varanasi. We need clean rooms with clean bathrooms with European pans. Our budget for each room would be 1500-2000 per night.
	() Thanks

17th March 2011, 20:49	#4
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,466 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back There is no safety issue in West Bengal. You have to careful about the frequent bandhs in the south bank of Brahmaputra between Jalukhbari & Goalpara, but there are no other safety issues. In Malda, you have lots of hotel choices depending on your budget. You can try Hotel Golden Park (expensive, but outside town) or some of the other hotels inside town. Varanasi is a problem though, lots of hotels (no specific recommendations) but you have to go inside city.
	() Thanks

21st March 2011, 10:49	#5
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Kumar Sir, thank you for the recommendations. I have spoken to a few people and they say that the route through Bengal would be safer but I am still skeptical about crossing the Maoist heartlands. Is it safe driving through these area after sunset? About the frequent bandhs in the NDFB dominated areas, I will keep a close eye on the developments there and plan accordingly. About the hotels, what is the approximate tariff for Hotel Golden Park? Also, I need recommendations about what I should carry with me on the road trip? There will be 4 adults, including me and an infant of under 3 months! Edit: Sir, also I am not getting the actual via Malda route using google maps. It throws up different result every time. Can you please give me a link for it? Last edited by SumitB : 21st March 2011 at 10:54.
	() Thanks

23rd March 2011, 12:38	#8
hvkumar Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mumbai Posts: 7,369 Thanked: 3,466 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back To give you some benchmarks, last week, a friend of mine drove from Delhi to Bhutan. He did Deli-Bodh Gaya (1100 kms) on Day 1, Malda on Day 2 and Jaldapara on Day 3. Election campaigning is in full swing in WB, expect dislocations due to election rallies, meetings, etc in the entire stretch. If you fancy night driving, that is the best thing to do from Cooch behar to Raniganj. With summer having started, days are getting longer, hence plan your starts at 4 am or so so that you can maximise your day's coverage.
	() Thanks

23rd March 2011, 17:30	#9
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Okay Sir. I will coax my family to wake up early and get on the road early. About the elections, I will anyways undertake the drive in the 2nd week of May and by then the elections will be over. About your friend doing 1100 kms. in one day, which vehicle was this on and which route did he take?
	() Thanks

23rd March 2011, 17:58	#11
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Thank you Sir. I will put in more queries and doubts here. Now to do the planning.
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4th July 2011, 12:31	#12
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back I am reviving this thread as the drive/journey was postponed and will now happen, in all probability, starting the 1st of August, 2011. The vehicle still remains the same. The 4x4 Safari. Though the occupants will now include only me and my father-in-law for the Shillong-Delhi route and on the return trip, will include my wife, mother-in-law and 5 month old son. I am planning on leaving Shillong on the 1st August at 0300 and reach Malda by late evening. Will depart from Malda at 0300 and reach Varanasi and again depart from Varanasi at 0300 and reach Delhi. My wife along with my child and mother-in-law will take a flight to Delhi from Guwahati on the 4th August and we will receive them at Delhi Airport. We will spend 4th evening and whole day on the 5th in Delhi and depart from Delhi on the 6th morning to arrive at Fatehpur. I am including Jaipur as we propose to make Jaipur our hub for the next couple of days. We were going to undertake this drive as in our custom, we need to go for mundan to our kul devi in Fatehpur Shekawati, Rajasthan and includes 5 other places which are listed below: 1. Delhi - Jaipur 2. Jaipur - Fatehpur (Chaturbhuj Mataji Temple - Our Kul Devi) 3. Fatehpur - Salasar (via Lachmangarh - Our ancestral haveli temple) 4. Salasar - Ajitsar & Malasi 5. Jhunjhunu 6. Khatu 7. Ajmer & Pushkar We are required to be present in Fatehpur on the evening of 6th August (Saptmi as per Hindu Calendar) and the morning of 7th August (Asthmi as per the Hindu Calendar) where there first mundan will be performed. We are then required to visit Lachmangarh. Salasar, Ajitsar, Malasi, Jhunjhunu and Khatu need to be visited too but in no particular order. Ajmer and Pushkar will be done to thank the Almighty for wishes granted. I understand from my cousin who did this Rajasthan route last year that it would only be possible to do the Fatehpur-Lachmangarh-Salasar-Ajitsar-Malasi route in one day (6th & 7th) and the next day (8th) for Jhunjhunu and Khatu and return to Jaipur on 8th evening. While on the 9th, we can undertake the Ajmer and Pushkar route. From Jaipur, we plan to drive to Amritsar and then return to Delhi. We then leave the vehicle in Delhi and fly to Jammu for a visit to Vaishno Devi and from Jammu, we fly to Srinagar for two days and return back to Delhi. Thereafter, we will do the Delhi-Shillong route. So now, I would leave it to the experts to suggest the routes that I should take to undertake this journey. As mentioned before, I will be doing most of the driving and would be assisted by my father-in-law if required. Edit: I was just checking Google Maps and as per this, the Delhi-Fatehpur route is 261 kms via the SH 20 and this goes via Jhajjar. Last edited by SumitB : 4th July 2011 at 12:42.
	() Thanks

1st September 2011, 14:02	#14
SumitB BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Shillong Posts: 989 Thanked: 265 Times	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Am at Delhi after a grueling 2300 kms drive done over 3 days. The Guwahati-Siliguri road via Goalpara-Chapar-Gauripur-Cooch Behar is a torture. After Gauripur, we come across craters as deep and wide as the surface of the moon in and around Cooch Behar. After crossing Jalpaiguri, and before entering Siliguri, these craters become wells, large and deep enough for storage of water! Here, I managed only 8 kms. in 90 minutes, on a Safari! Post thSiliguri, roads were good up to Begusarai with a few small stretches of bad roads, due to flooding, post Nowgachia, Bihar. I lost my enthusiasm between Barauni and Gaya as the roads are lonely and one starts feeling exhausted. However, once you get on G. T. Road from Dobhi, the roads are butter smooth and you start enjoying the drive. A special mention of Sheel here. Thank you man! I am indebted for life. I am to make the return trip in about 10 days and am now wondering which route to take for the Siliguri to Guwahati stretch. I am not going via Cooch Behar. I took this route: Shillong-Jhalukbari-Krishnai-Dudhnai-Goalpara-Chapar-Gauripur-Cooch Behar-Jalpaiguri-Dhupguri-Mainaguri-Siliguri-Dhalkhola-Purnia-Begusarai-Gaya-Dobhi-Varanasi-Allahabad-Kanpur-Agra-Faridabad-Delhi Of this, the Mainaguri-Siliguri stretch was the worst and it took me 90 minutes to do 8 kms. at one point. About 2300 kms. done in 42 hours (16+13+13) on the road. This could be done in 35 hours provided the bad roads were avoidable. I will post the details of the Delhi-Shillong return leg once I am in Shillong. Suggestions for the Siliguri-Guwahati stretch will be appreciated.
	() Thanks

1st September 2011, 14:13	#15
suman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Kolkata Posts: 4,586 Thanked: 281 Times View My Garage	Re: Planning to drive from Shillong to Delhi and back Welcome to the NCR! How long are you here & which part of Delhi are you staying in?
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