Hi Guys,
I know this is late but I made my trip from Jamshedpur to Pune during the summers May, bad time to travel central India. Overall journey was around 1480 odd Kilometers.
We were 3 passengers, a Dog and loads of luggage.
We started from Jamshedpur by 8 AM and took the Chaibasa Road (The road that goes adjacent the Jamshedpur Railway Station). People coming from Adityapur can take the Outer Ring road,if needed. 90% of road is Good, guess its newly laid. (@Avin- Be careful with your Honda City as this route has some real Big Humps).
At Rairangpur, we reached a T Junction. People in Rairangpur could confuse a bit as both these roads leads to the AH 46. Turn Left!
We enter a small Ghat section after crossing Rairangpur. Petrol Pumps are limited in this area, so ensure to keep your tank full and tire pressure checked.
Throughout the way till Sambalpur, we never knew when we entered the National Highway (AH 46) as its a 2 lane road throughout. On the way we crossed a town called Kendhujar. After Crossing Kendhujar there is another Ghat section. The Ghat section is about 130 kms and average road conditions. We avoided stopping at the Ghat as it is a Maoist prone zone.
The other side of the Ghat is Deogarh (try taking a break here). Sambalpur is around 100 odd kilometer from Deogarh. Keep following the AH 46 (NH 51).
We stayed back in Sambalpur as I had urgent Client meeting that evening. We halted at Hotel Konark, as they were the only 1's who allowed Dogs. The owner of the hotel hospitable. The food was good. Room Conditions were above average.
Halting at Sambalpur turned out to be a good decision, as 60% of the road from Sambalpur to Raipur was in a horrible condition, 20% was still under construction and remaining 20% was good.
My advise- If one reaches Sambalpur after 4 pm, try to avoid continuing to Raipur, until you like taking risk.
Next Day morning, we started from Sambalpur around 5 am. We reached Raipur around 12 noon. Though Sambalpur to Raipur is only 250 kms, it takes more that 6 hours due to bad roads. The Orissa-Chhattisgarh border (around 100 kms from Sambalpur), after crossing Luhurachatti, is heavily crowded by trucks. Luckily we did not get stuck there. The Road after crossing border is good. Highway construction was still in progress in many places. We took a quick pit stop at Raipur and headed towards Bhilai. Though Raipur- Bhilai road is a four lane, it was still crowded. So it took us around an hour to reach Bhilai.
Bhilai and Durg are twin cities. So we decided to take a break after Durg.
Probably about 10 to 15 kms from Durg, there is a lovely Dhaba (I suppose its called 'Khalsa Dhaba') towards the other side of the road, beside a small lake, a perfect place to relax. The food out there was excellent. We ended up spending around two & half hours out there, relaxing. We started from there around 5:30 pm. First 100 kms of the road from the Dhaba was excellent, however when we entered Maharashtra the road narrowed and the traffic increased. We reached Nagpur around 10 pm.
The sad part starts here. As it was already late, we packed some food from one of the local restaurants in Nagpur. We could not find a place to halt in Nagpur that allowed Dogs. We could not leave the Dog in the Car all alone. So we decided to continue our journey until Amravati and try for some hotels around that place. So we went ahead of Nagpur. All of us were so exhausted of heat & the traveling, that we parked the car near the 1st Toll Plaza after Nagpur and slept inside the car that night. (@Avin: do not do the same mistake. There are a lot of Hotels in and around Nagpur )
Next day morning around 5 am we freshened up, had tea at the nearby tea stall in the plaza and resumed our journey. The dawn was beautiful and the weather was pleasant. After Amravati we took the Sate Highway. As the National Highway to Aurangabad was still under construction in many places, the National Highway Authority suggested us to take the Sate Highway. Though the roads were narrow 2 lane, they were in good condition all the way through. We took a pit stop at Dhaba in between Mehkar & Jalna.
From Jalna to Aurangabad is around 1 Hour. We reached Aurangabad around 1 pm. We stopped at Aurangabad for lunch at the Highway Gardens. Food was good and the hotel was clean. We left Aurangabad at 2 pm and reached Pune around 8 pm. We halted couple of times between Aurangabad to Pune as we were completely exhausted due to the heat and lack of proper sleep the previous night.
Overall Summary:
Jamshedpur to Sambalpur
Total Hours: 8 Hours
Road Condition: Good 80% | Average 20%
Pit Stop 1- Random Dhaba/ Tapri after crossing Rairangpur
Pit Stop 2- Hotel Konark, Sambalpur | Accommodation Rates: Rs.1500/- (for an A/c Double bedroom with Extra Bed & Dogs allowed)
Food at the Hotel: Good
Diesel Fueling Point: Filled the tank while starting from Jamshedpur
Sambalpur to Nagpur
Total Hours: 16 Hours
Road Condition: Good 20% | Average 20% | Horrible 20%
Pit Stop 3: Random Dhaba/ Tapri
Pit Stop 4: Random Dhaba/ Tapri after Luhurachatti Interstate Toll Plaza
Pit Stop 5: Khalsa Dhaba, Durg | Food Quality: Excellent
Accommodation in Nagpur: Take a list of Hotels from trip Advisor.
Diesel Fueling Point: Filled the tank at Luhurachatti, Rajnandgaon
Nagpur to Pune
Total Hours: 14 Hours
Road Condition: Good 80% | Average 20%
Pit Stop 6: Random Tapri after crossing Amravati
Pit Stop 7: Random Tapri after between Mehkar & Jalna
Pit Stop 8: Highway Gardern, Aurangabad | Food Quality: Good
Pit Stop 9: Smile Stone Cafe Coffee Day, before Ahmednagar
Pit Stop 10: Random Tapri before Shirur
Diesel Fueling Point: Filled the tank at Nagpur, Aurangabad, Ranjangaon
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