[Vivek Kumar]

Why would anyone come up with this crazy idea of travelling from Mumbai to Darjeeling by car, when a flight is an easier option? I would do it, just for the thrill and experience of covering more than 2400 Km (my first ever) in a car. Good, bad or average, whatever it may be, I knew, it will be a lifetime experience to count on and tell stories about. So here I am sharing my story with fellow TeamBHPians.


Our First Car

We bought our first ever car, Maruti Suzuki S-Cross in November 2021 in Mumbai, where we work. What prompted us to buy this car was to get this car to our native places in Bihar, by covering some of the most interesting places along the route. As expected, everyone advised us not to do this since it meant paying much more than a flight ticket to Patna and spending at least four days in a compact car. I think, the difficulty level, made this idea even more appealing and we decided to go for it, despite the resistance.


Route Selection

We considered two possible routes, one going through Indore-Orchha-Varanasi and another through Mandu-Jabalpur-Varanasi. We found the latter route more interesting, as it not only covered the historical counterpart of Orchha (Mandu) but also had the touchpoint of Bhedaghat (near Jabalpur) where we could witness the mystique waterfall of Dhuandhar and the river Narmada meandering through famed marble rocks seen in the Bollywood movies Asoka (the song, Raat ka Nasha Abhi) and Mohenjo Daro (crocodile fight scenes).

Day 1: Mumbai – Mandu

Distance Covered: 532 Km
Route Taken: Via Nashik – Dhule
Why this route: Shortest and fastest
Where to Eat: The Orchid, Malegaon Road, Dhule, Maharashtra
Where to Stay: MPT Malwa Retreat, Mandu, M.P.
Why stay at Mandu: Jahaz Mahal, Jami Masjid, Rani Roopmati Pavillion and Palace

Day 1 Journey: Thanks to the excellent roads in Maharashtra, this was the smoothest part of our journey which gave us the much-needed confidence to take on a 606 km journey the very next day. The only small hiccup was a shorter route suggested by Google Map, going through uneven roads of a small village in Madhya Pradesh towards the last 40 Km of our journey. We actually felt ‘lost’ for some time, while travelling through the narrow broken roads of this village in the dark. The key takeaway was – never trust Google to tell you the best route. It always suggests the shorter route, no matter what the condition of the roads may be.
The next day we spent around 1.5 hours visiting Jami Masjid and Jahaj Mahal which were nearby before we headed for Jabalpur.


To keep this thread short and crisp, I will share the details of Day 2 in my next thread with pictures!

[Vivek Kumar]

Day 2: Mandu to Jabalpur

Distance Covered: 606 Km
Route Taken: Via Dewas – Vidisha – Sagar
Why NOT this route: Longer and slower due to a busy town (Sagar) and a reserve forest with a speed limit of 20 Km/hour
Where to Stay: MPT Marble Rocks, Bhedaghat
Why Jabalpur: Dhuandhar waterfall, Marble rocks. A video I took of the waterfall is here

https://youtu.be/aH2B6d6j5jE

Our Journey

This was the toughest part of our journey for three reasons. Firstly, given the distance, we started a bit late (11:00 am) from Mandu. Secondly, we chose a longer route to avoid the busy traffic of Bhopal, which was a wrong call. Lastly, a considerable part of the road towards the end goes through a reserve forest with countless speed breakers limiting your speed to 20Km/hour for the entire stretch. By the time, we reached Jabalpur, it was already 11:50 in the night. We spent the rest of the night in a Railway Guest House and headed for Bhedaghat by 7:00 AM.

As I have already been to Bhedaghat once (see the earlier post below), the idea was to take my wife and her family to this beautiful place. This was indeed the best part of the entire journey in terms of natural beauty and tourist attractions.

[Vivek Kumar]

Day 3: Jabalpur to Varanasi

Distance Covered: 491 Km
Route Taken: Via Katni – Mirzapur
Why this route: Surprisingly much better than the roads in Madhya Pradesh.
Where to Stay: Any hotel with private parking.
Why Varanasi: Ganga Ghats, Street Food, Pilgrimage

Our Journey

Our journey to Varanasi was again smooth, though we started quite late around 12:00 in the noon. We were utterly surprised to see the roads in Uttar Pradesh so good and maintained until the last 25 Km from Varanasi where the roads were broken and under construction.

What we did

Unfortunately, we could not explore Varanasi much except for giving its lip-smacking Kachodi-Sabji a try, along with hot Jalebi. While I wanted to experience the boat ride along the ghats of Varanasi, my other family members were keen on visiting the Kashi Vishwanath Temple. With the limited time we had, we could only make a failed attempt to get inside the temple. Failed, because none of us was willing to wait for two hours in a long queue where social distancing was just a mockery.

[Vivek Kumar]

Day 4: Varanasi to Patna

Distance Covered: 252 Km
Route Taken: Via Chandauli – Mohania – Arrah
Why this route: Shorter and faster (with tolls)
Why Patna: Ganga Ghat, Local Food

Our Journey

Although it was the shortest distance of our four days’ long road trip, it did take a considerable time for us to reach Patna. Needless to say, the roads did not support our high expectations set from the past three days.

Day 5, 6 and 7: Patna

I did not travel for three days as the initial idea was only to reach Patna. If you are in Patna for a few days, you can do a lot of things here which I have posted earlier on my travel blog here. In case you wish to see more pictures from the first leg (Mumbai-Patna) of our road trip, it is available here.



In these three days in Patna, I also made an impromptu plan to take my parents to Darjeeling from my hometown, Katihar and thus extend this road trip by another three days. I will share the story of the second leg (Patna-Darjeeling) in the next thread.

[Centodieci]

Hello,

Thanks for sharing your cross country drive experience. It must have been quite fascinating to embark on such a long journey with your new steed and make all those amazing pitstops along the way.

I am also planning to go to my hometown in March and as a fellow SCross owner, I am curious to get any pointers on how did you prepare your car for such a long journey and how did the car hold up? Did you drive solo or was there anyone else to assist you?

[shancz]

You've done what I always intended to do with the S-Cross (our Transformer)

The pics are marvellous, kudos for capturing the best profiles of the S-Cross.

[Vivek Kumar]

MOD NOTE : Please do not promote your social media platform on Team-BHP.

Originally Posted by shancz

You've done what I always intended to do with the S-Cross (our Transformer)

The pics are marvellous, kudos for capturing the best profiles of the S-Cross.

Thank you so much! I have two more such trips in mind to do, one from Mumbai to Kanyakumari and another from Mumbai to Rajasthan.

Thank you again for appreciating my photography skills! That comes naturally, as I am a photographer first and then a travel blogger.

Originally Posted by Centodieci

Hello,

Thanks for sharing your cross country drive experience. It must have been quite fascinating to embark on such a long journey with your new steed and make all those amazing pitstops along the way.

I am also planning to go to my hometown in March and as a fellow SCross owner, I am curious to get any pointers on how did you prepare your car for such a long journey and how did the car hold up? Did you drive solo or was there anyone else to assist you?

Yes, it was indeed a lifetime experience, particularly for a person who had never done a road trip like this before. I will be more than happy to help you plan such trips and decide the right pitstops, given my keen interest in travelling and past travel experiences.

To be honest, as this was a new car, I did not prepare so much for the journey and the trip was almost an impromptu one. However, would like to share a few tips:
1. Don't have blind faith in Google Maps. It may show you a shorter route but the road conditions may be pathetic or sometimes unsafe.
2. Petrol meter rigging at fuel centres is a reality in some parts of India. Go for the full tank refuelling.
3. Even if you may know driving, it is better to either take a professional driver or somebody who can drive along with you, because the purpose of such road trips is also to enjoy the journey and the places (and not just drive all the time) which you can do only when you are not stressed or dead tired.
4. Be prepared to take deviations, as a straight point to point route will not let you touch those interesting pitstops.
5. Don't drive at night. Take a good 7-8 hours of sleep (like we did every day) so that you can start your next day with a fresh mind and full of energy.

[Vivek Kumar]

Continued from where I left off two days back.

Day 8: Patna to Katihar (303 Km)

Day 8 of this trip was just about reaching Katihar. It was probably the hardest part of the entire trip where I had to leave my wife in Patna and travel alone, without hopes of seeing her anytime soon. With a heavy heart and tearful eyes clouding my emotions, I left in the morning only to find myself missing her badly in the car. Later during the journey, I also realised I left my DSLR camera in Patna, which was a major setback in terms of photography results I could have achieved from this upcoming trip.

Day 9: Katihar to Darjeeling (275 Km)

The Routes

If you are travelling to Darjeeling from the west direction, there are two possible routes that you can take; one via Araria and another via Kishanganj and Islampur. We took the latter one, as it was slightly shorter and strongly recommended by one frequent traveller.

Once you are in Bagdogra (just before Siliguri), you have again two options to ride through the mountains. You can choose either a gradual ascent to the mountains taking the Mirik route which is longer, or a shorter route via Kurseong with steep slopes. If you are new to driving in the mountains, I suggest the former which we chose.


Caption: When you take the Mirik route, it is longer but with a gradual ascent.

Caption: When you take the Kurseong route, it is short but full of steep slopes and turns.

We started from home at 6:30 AM and reached Darjeeling at 2:30 PM; good eight hours on the road. The best part was the latter half, roads passing through verdant green tea estates, a small serpentine river, dense forest, towering trees, offering a spectacular view of the colossal mountains. It was indeed the finest part of our entire road trip so far since Day 1.


Caption: On our way to Siliguri


Caption: The journey from Siliguri onwards also offers you a view of fresh green tea gardens. You will start enjoying the journey so much from here onward.


Caption: The route from Mirik to Darjeeling


Caption: And this how the sunset looked when we arrived our hotel.

[Vivek Kumar]

Day 10: Darjeeling to Kalimpong (52 Km)

Day 10 started with a wake-up call from my brother to catch the sunrise view of Kanchenjunga peak from the hotel. I deliberately chose a property that could offer this mesmerizing view, without having to visit the famed Tiger hills of Darjeeling. This was a thrilling experience, as we were witnessing the third highest peak of the world, shimmering with vibrant colours changing every moment with falling rays of the red sun. With a small phone camera in hand, I could barely capture the magic of this moment. Needless to say, I badly missed my DSLR camera and binoculars this time.


Caption: Just before the sunrise - Kanchenjunga as seen from Darjeeling


Caption: Kanchenjunga view from Darjeeling

Kalimpong

People say, the grass on the other side always looks greener. We made our version of this – ‘the mountain on the other side always looks higher. Being in Darjeeling already, we decided to make a small trip to Kalimpong the next day, as we had already seen the best part of Darjeeling in the morning.


Caption: On our way from Darjeeling to Kalimpong, near Teesta River Bridge

Kalimpong is around 2.5 hours ride from Darjeeling. The good parts of this ride can be summed up in the following key attractions:

• Lamahatta Eco Park
• Tukdah Forest
• Crossing the Teesta River and Bridge
• 7th Mile View Point
• Deolo Hill and Park

Caption: View from Deolo Park, Kalimpong


Caption: The Guest House at Deolo Park

The journey was more about the roads and the ride than typical sightseeing. We spent the whole day on the roads with only one major stop at Deolo Park. If you are interested in paragliding, Deolo Park is where you come, if you don’t mind paying a bit extra for this adventure. Overall, it was a nice one day trip worth the time and effort.

[Vivek Kumar]

Day 11: Darjeeling to Katihar (254 Km)

This was the last day of our trip. As we had not explored Darjeeling yet, we used the first half of the day to have a good breakfast at Keventers and collect some bakery delights from Glenarys to have later on the journey. We also bought lots of Darjeeling tea, some woollen clothes and a few magnets.

Caption: December morning in Darjeeling


Caption: The view from our hotel.

While shopping for the tea leaves, I also learnt about their different varieties (first flush and second flush), salient features, and how to prepare them. If you are planning to buy some tea leaves from here, my first brand recommendation is Lopchu tea followed by Golden Tips tea. I also learnt a few things like, Darjeeling tea is not supposed to be boiled with milk, as it loses its aroma and essence on boiling. Most of these tea leaves are better without milk and should be made using a good infuser.



We left for Katihar in the afternoon taking the Kurseong route which is shorter. Taking this route also added many new viewpoints on the way which we had not seen yet. If you want to make the most out of your road trip to Darjeeling, I would suggest taking both the Mirik and Kurseong routes.

[yashg]

Originally Posted by Vivek Kumar

I left my DSLR camera in Patna, which was a major setback in terms of photography results I could have achieved from this upcoming trip.

These sort of things always seem to happen with a major trip/adventure. That also kind of makes them more interesting no?

I really liked your photos BTW. Especially your angles and framing. What tool are you using for post-processing? Some of them are definitely touched up (in a good and tasteful way).

Originally Posted by Vivek Kumar

I deliberately chose a property that could offer this mesmerizing view, without having to visit the famed Tiger hills of Darjeeling.

Mind sharing the name of the property?

This travelogue of yours has left me craving for going on a cross country drive myself.

[Vivek Kumar]

Originally Posted by yashg

These sort of things always seem to happen with a major trip/adventure. That also kind of makes them more interesting no?

Yes, that's very true! I think, these days, a good phone camera is enough to document the story and click some decent post-worthy pictures!

I really liked your photos BTW. Especially your angles and framing. What tool are you using for post-processing? Some of them are definitely touched up (in a good and tasteful way).

Thank you so much, bro! I am also a photographer (other than being a lawyer in my regular life). You can see my photography work and blog at here. I have shared a lot of useful resources to learn photography on the Resources page. I use Adobe Lightroom only. I do not like excessive editing and only do minimal touch-ups.

Mind sharing the name of the property?
Darjeeling Heights Homestay. It is a homestay, and not a typical hotel but gives an amazing view of Kanchenjunga, both at sunrise and sunset. If you want, I can share some pictures too of the homestay. It has a very good Google rating and that's how we discovered this place.

This travelogue of yours has left me craving for going on a cross country drive myself.

Yes, in fact, seeing travelogues posts from other TeamBHPians keep inspiring me to make more of such trips. I want to do one from Mumbai to Kanyakumari once. This would be too amazing covering all the beaches of the western coast of India.

[Vivek Kumar]

Now that the story of this epic road trip has been told. Let me share some pictures I took on this trip, which may inspire you to visit these amazing places in India.

1st Night: Mandu, Madhya Pradesh

JAMI MASJID
This mosque was started by Hushang Shah and finished by Mahmud I in A.D. 1440. The inscriptions on the eastern doorway to the porch indicates that the mosque was modelled on the basis of the Mosque of Damascus.







JAHAZ MAHAL

This palace is so named because it appears like a ship floating in the water. The palace, built by Sultan Ghiyas-ud-din-Khalji, is situated between two artificial lakes. This is The Water Palace shown in Fisher’s Drawing Room Scrap Book, 1832 together with a poetical illustration by Letitia Elizabeth Landon. More information here

[Vivek Kumar]

2nd Night: Bhedaghat, Jabalpur

1. DHUANDHAR FALLS

Aperture: F22.0, Shutter Speed: 1/15s, ISO 100 at focal length 24mm


Aperture: F22.0, Shutter Speed: 1/13s, ISO 100 at focal length 24mm


Aperture: F11.0, Shutter Speed: 1/400s, ISO 100 at focal length 66mm

In all the above shots, I kept the aperture number very high to get a long depth of field for tack sharp pictures. Shutter speed was kept as low as 1/13 and 1/15 seconds to get a milky appearance of the falling water. ISO was at a minimum so that I can reduce shutter speed up as much as I could.

2. THE FAMOUS MARBLE ROCKS OF BHEDAGHAT (JABALPUR)


Aperture: F11.0, Shutter Speed: 1/500s, ISO 250 at focal length 24mm


Aperture: F11.0, Shutter Speed: 1/500s, ISO 250 at focal length 24mm


Aperture: F11.0, Shutter Speed: 1/500s, ISO 250 at focal length 24mm



Aperture: F18.0, Shutter Speed: 1/250s, ISO 250 at focal length 29mm


Aperture: F18.0, Shutter Speed: 1/320s, ISO 250 at focal length 27mm


Aperture: F18.0, Shutter Speed: 1/250s, ISO 250 at focal length 24mm

In all the above images, I paid extra attention to the details of the reflection of the marble rocks on the still water.

All images are shot from Panasonic Lumix S1 with 24-105 mm F4.0 Lens and touched up on Adobe Lightroom for basic adjustments.

That is it, guys! Looking forward to another such trip soon to share stories. For any queries related to the trip, car, or photography techniques I used, please feel free to reach out to me. I will be more than happy to help!

[Centodieci]

Super Awesome pictures. Thanks for sharing this and the tips.