Rush From Hyderabad To Indore and Back!

[The monk]

Hi TAI members, this travelogue will update you of the existing road conditions from hyderabad to Indore. I had to go to Mhow(20 kms short of Indore) for some office related work, so decided to drive down! Checked out the route from various sources including Map my india, google maps, other available forums and shortlisted these two options:-
(a) Hyderabad-Nagpur-Bhopal-ujjain-Indore.
(b) Hyderabad-zaheerabad-Aurangabad-Dhule-Indore.
Option ‘a’ was tried by my colleague a month back and his reaction was-“ Are you crazy? This route is pathetic and don’t you even think driving, its only negotiating patches after Nagpur. However, things would become better after Ujjain but is not worth it at all trying this route”. Accepted and homed on to the second option. My constraint was I was having limited time and had to cover this stretch in a day. After checking multiple posts on internet, finally decided to follow this route-

Hyderabad-zaheerabad-Homnabad-Naldurg-Beed-Aurangabad-Dhule-indore.

I started on 16 Nov 12 at 6 AM(originally planned at 3 AM but kept on sleeping) from Mehadipatnam and took NH 9 to Mumbai. Followed the route as shown by my trustworthy GPS and was soon on the outskirts. Road conditions near Sangareddy are wide and you get a feeling as if 4 lanes are going to welcome you, but this happiness is short lived as you won’t encounter any 4 lanes before Dhule and… Dhule is approximately 700 kms from Hyderabad. The road converges into a narrow 2 lane road which is fairly good and speeds upto 70-80 can be maintained. I won’t be able to give you exact kilometers as to what the road conditions are good or bad because they switch from good to bad to potholes to bad and back to good so many times that its practically impossible to assess a stretch. I mean no single stretch is flawless and bad roads exist everywhere but, the brighter side is more length of good roads then bad till Homnabad.
Somewhere in between, I realised that my car had completed 5000 Kms from my last engine oil change and wanted to go for a change ASAP but moving early morning left me with no option. Secondly, I was out of hyderabad because of some reason and didn’t get enough time to replace oil beforehand. So, approximately after 450 Kms from hyderabad at Beed, oil was changed. This time I changed my brand from castrol to Mobil delvac MX and trust me (for all CRDI engine owners) I felt the difference which was smoothening of engine grunt, and reduced vibration. However, didn’t notice any change in power or pickup but my thumbs up and I am going to stick to delvac now. I always thought that changing brands would be psycological but notions changed recently. Flared up the engine after oil change and reached Aurangabad at 5 pm. Road condition is pretty good and cruising at 3 digits won’t be an issue. Aurangabad was a bit confusing as I thought of enquiring locals rather than obeying my GPS, and took a wrong turn on the wrong directions by a "bhayaji"(I mean he showed me the absolute opposite way). I drove for almost 10 kms and got frustrated as my GPS won’t stop telling me to turn around. Enough I thought and pulled over to enquire one VW polo gentlemen who smiled and said ”buddy, turn around , keep going.” Thanked him, blamed myself for being oversmart and not adhering to GPS goddess. Stopped again in the city for fuel refill, quick bite and moved on. Word of caution here, from Beed to Aurangabad and further for the next 50-60 Kms, the road is good but heavily trafficked especially by trucks and bullock carts so lot of working by the middle pedal. Also, motorcyclists (mostly)are as unreactive to ur car's horn as you would have witnessed in any city.
I had clicked a few pics on ma way, couldn’t have clicked any better as had to do multi tasking-“drive and shoot”, against road safety!
From Dhule you will love the stretch the moment you turn right towards Indore- mumbai NH. Four lanes and cruising at 120 is bliss. I encountered maximum numbers of toll booth on this stretch(Lucky, i don't have to pay). From dhule, Indore is approximately 250 Kms and has enough number of road side hotels and dhabas to keep you rejuvinated with that cup of tea or coffee(as I did from dhule to indore 10 pm to 1 am).

Got a nasty traffic jam while rolling down Ghats and was stucked for almost 40 mins till an indica guy finally agreed to apply reverse. Now lets some photographs do the talking!


While returning back on 3 Feb 13, again followed the same route and some amount of repairs along this route resulted in saving some more precious time as started from indore at 0300 h and reached home at 0915 h, 850(+) Kms in a day and still not very tired- “Kudos to the Mile-muncher Safari!!”, did all these kms with no difficulty posed by the vehicle.

 

[AppU]

Crispy Writeup buddy.

I like all the Pics, Especially the 2nd and last.

In the 2nd pic, those fog lamps looks like thorn on the bull.

and the last pic looks screenshot of the car game.

BTW, why check engine symbol is glowing ?

 

[swiftkolkata]

Crispy Writeup buddy.

I like all the Pics, Especially the 2nd and last.

In the 2nd pic, those fog lamps looks like thorn on the bull.

and the last pic looks screenshot of the car game.

BTW, why check engine symbol is glowing ?

Appu,i think it was seat belt warning light.

 

[AppU]

Appu,i think it was seat belt warning light.

The center red light is seat belt warning light buddy, but that Yellow light at the right is the symbol of check engine

(I've marked in red in the below pic)

 

[The monk]

Crispy Writeup buddy.

I like all the Pics, Especially the 2nd and last.

In the 2nd pic, those fog lamps looks like thorn on the bull.

and the last pic looks screenshot of the car game.

BTW, why check engine symbol is glowing ?

thanks for appreciating, nobody does..

The center red light is seat belt warning light buddy, but that Yellow light at the right is the symbol of check engine

(I've marked in red in the below pic)

View attachment 84189

indeed it is check engine light, i got it checked later at TASC..no big deal, the TASC engineer fixed a palmtop type device and after fiddling for 15 mins declared the car fit. I trust him(no other option either)

 

[visran]

Nice TL,thanks for sharing.

How often do u change Engine oil, i thought Safari can do a 10K kms before asking for replacement.

 

[anshuman8]

Very nice and crisp travelogue. How did the Safari perform all along. How much was the roundtrip distance? How much FE did you get ?

Cheers,
Anshuman

 

[manjoo]

Nice Writeup covering 850 kms in a single day is quite hard with those road conditions which you have mentioned but still you managed.

Expecting some more pics and places.

 

[The monk]

Nice TL,thanks for sharing.

How often do u change Engine oil, i thought Safari can do a 10K kms before asking for replacement.

Thank you Visran, The service booklet mentions normal oil change at 10 k Kms and under hvy traffic, mountainous and dusty conditions to be 7.5 k Kms. However, i read a few forums where safari owners were changing oil at an regular interval of 5 k and reported engines to be performing as good as new after much usage..i became an instant follower!

Very nice and crisp travelogue. How did the Safari perform all along. How much was the roundtrip distance? How much FE did you get ?

Cheers,
Anshuman

Thanks anshuman, I must say safari does exceptionally well as i drive an alto also and had an esteem too. I would feel tired after a couple of 100 Kms in both these cars but safari does longer distances with much ease. Engine at no point will feel gasping for power and tyres for traction(as long as u r on road). Very comfortable on bad roads, potholes, craters..whatever!! Roundtrip distance? sorry buddy, i didn't make a note of that as i was in Mhow for some time and missed on the exact data but roughly around 1700-1800 Kms. Yes, FE surprisingly was 15 with AC throughout. I use normal diesel with no additives and get a FE of 9-10 in city drive of hyderabad. Last time i did Hyderabad to goa and got a FE of 14.3, reduced figures coz i had some extra luggage!

Nice Writeup covering 850 kms in a single day is quite hard with those road conditions which you have mentioned but still you managed.

Expecting some more pics and places.

Sure manjoo, will be adding more destinations. Maybe a Leh trip next year.

 

[pramod13787]

While going to Indore we took
Hyderabad-nirmal-nanded-hingoli-washim-balapur-khamgao-burhanpur-indore Route
It came out somewhere 925km

Road condition as on 2 oct 2014
Hyderabad to nirmal = superb 4 lane road average speed can be more than 100km per hour

nirmal to nanded= decent 2 lane road with bad patches after every 5 to 10km with some potholes average speed can be 40 to 50km per hour

Nanded-to hingoli = very bad road full of potholes you can cross 40km/hr

hingoli to washim = very bad road initially (worst than hingoli road) but for some time you will get good road but then again bad road

washim-burhanpur=average road with sudden big potholes in between so you have to be very careful average speed can be 50kmph

burahapur -indore = very good 2 lane road



while coming back we took diffrent route

Indore -dhule-aurangabad-beed-tuljapur-naldurg-hyderabad
distance-1000km


Indore -dhule superb 4lane road
dhule-naldurg = very good 2 lane road with very less traffice you can touch 100kmph very easily on this streach with very less potholes

naldurg-hyderabad=this is pune hyderabad 2 lane highway very good road but lot of traffic

 

[The monk]

While going to Indore we took

Indore -dhule-aurangabad-beed-tuljapur-naldurg-hyderabad
distance-1000km


Indore -dhule superb 4lane road
dhule-naldurg = very good 2 lane road with very less traffice you can touch 100kmph very easily on this streach with very less potholes

naldurg-hyderabad=this is pune hyderabad 2 lane highway very good road but lot of traffic

Ya, this is the route i travelled again on 22 Sep 14. It is not as good as it was when i wrote the initial review but still better than other options. Also, 4 laning is in progress till short of naldurg. So, another one or two more years waiting and this will be the best option. Infact, today also it is!!

 

[AW1847]

I am planning to Indore from Hyderabad. I wil start from Hyderbad late in the evening around 6PM and try to reach Indore by 9AM. I will be travelling with the family. So which route is the best route option? I am open to take a longer but safe route.

 

[prakashSK]

AW1847, have you made that trip? Can you share your experience.
I am planning a trip to Indore with Family in Dec. Want to know best possible route.

 

[mechvenky1]

Hi Team,
I'm planning to goto Chennai by road tomorrow morning. Hope the route will be via Hyderabad. I enquired a few truck drivers & a few friends of mine. They have said that some stretch on Maharastra state highways will be very bad. otherwise it is OK to goahead. I will be taking my Hyundai XCENT. Can you pl. guide me to take the exact route so that we have a safe & clear trip?

Thanks,
Venkat

 

[mechvenky1]

Indore to Chennai via road

Hi Team,
I'm planning to goto Chennai by road tomorrow morning. Hope the route will be via Hyderabad. I enquired a few truck drivers & a few friends of mine. They have said that some stretch on Maharastra state highways will be very bad. otherwise it is OK to goahead. I will be taking my Hyundai XCENT. Can you pl. guide me to take the exact route so that we have a safe & clear trip?

Thanks,
Venkat