Share your MUST DRIVE roads in India.

[WildWeasel]

Is this the route?

Yep. Exactly the same. Been there recently?

[mclaren1885]

Yep. Exactly the same. Been there recently?

Not entirely, but yes, we were on a part of this route from Sathy.

We went from Sathy-Mettur this Sunday. And yes, the road is still beautiful, atleast the portion we drove on.

[harrie]

Sathy - Dhimbam - Asanur on rainy day. Ghats, lush green forests, pot hole free roads.

Others would be

Palladam - Pollachi - Winding roads through wind mills

Ooty - Masinagudi ( not the one through gudalur, but the direct way )

Bannari - Sirumugai - This road borders the western ghat forests all the way to sirumugai. Nice for spotting wildlife in the night, but very scary.

Thalavady - Thalamalai - Dhimbam - This is strictly a SUV only route. But worth every single KM of it. Need permissions or you have to be a regular.

[sriharsha]

the NH-4 from chitradurga to bangalore without any traffic and interference is the best road to do high speeds and is a must drive road IMO.
hassan-belur road was in a bad shape when i drove there 3-4 years back.

[mclaren1885]

Sathy - Dhimbam - Asanur on rainy day. Ghats, lush green forests, pot hole free roads

I have driven to Dhimbam a long time back and I must admit the roads were indeed brilliant. Must try this sometime again.

Palladam - Pollachi - Winding roads through wind mills

harrie - Are there more windmills than at Udumalpet? I love that route too. Here are some pics I took at Udumalpet on my way back from Munnar.

Infact, its an amazing spot to shoot cars.


Hhhmm, look at the size of that thingy.


I am not kidding when I say this place must have 100s of windmills.


The road, looks beautiful and tempting doesn't it?


Warning: Don't try to cross more than 80kmph in this stretch. The cross winds are so heavy, it will just throw your car away. One of the few places where I have been scared to death to press the throttle.

Bannari - Sirumugai - This road borders the western ghat forests all the way to sirumugai. Nice for spotting wildlife in the night, but very scary

Sounds exciting. More details please. Road is suitable for cars or SUV only? And what kind of wildlife do you usually get to see?

Thalavady - Thalamalai - Dhimbam - This is strictly a SUV only route. But worth every single KM of it. Need permissions or you have to be a regular.

Do you know someone who can get us permission?

[hvkumar]

Looks like only our friends from South have responded, but let me add my selections from the rest of India too:

1. Bombay-Pune expressway, superfast, beautiful ghats, spectacular during rains
2. Bombay-Panvel-Goa NH17, long winding ghat sections, spectacular during rains
3. Himmatnagar-Udaipur NH8, superfast, lovely Aravalli mountain sections
4. Veraval-Porbandar-Dwaraka, Gujarat coast
5. Radhanpur-Adesar-Samakiyali NH15, superfast, Rann of Kutch vistas
6. Udaipur-Pindwara NH76, lovely mountain roads, superfast
7. Sriganganagar-Bikaner-Jaisalmer-Barmer NH15, If you want to drive on the Thar Desert
8. Patnitop-Banihal-Srinagar NH1A, best introduction to the Kashmir Valley, rivers, chinars, views
9. Srinagar-Kargil-Manali, need one say more?
10. Gramphoo-Kaza-Tabo, the best of Lahaul & Spiti Valleys, high passes, impossible landscapes
11. Mandi-Aut-Kulu-Manali NH21, Entering Kulu Valley, valleys of the River Beas, apple orchards
12. Ambala-Chandigarh expressway NH22, superfast
13. Dalhousie-Kala top-Khajjiar-Chamba-Dalhousie, beautiful
14. Agra-Pholpur-Morena-Gwalior NH3, ravines of the Chambal Valley
15. Vizag-Rushikonda-Bhimunipatnam, some of the best sea scapes in India
16. Ziro-Daporigo-Along-Pasighat, the best of Arunachal, the rivers, the waterfalls, the jungles
17. Kharagpur-Calcutta NH6, best way to approach Calcutta, what a superfast road it is
18. Calcutta-Bardhaman NH2, also one of the best roads leading out of Calcutta, superfast
19. Siliguri-Darjeeling, Mere Sapnon ka Rani....slow down to watch the Darjeeling Queen, the mists of Kurseong
20. Siliguri-Gangtok, rushing faster than the River Teesta
21. Guwahati-Shillong-Cherapunjee, lovely landscapes, Umiam Lake
22. Tezpur-Bhalukhpong-Bomdila-Tawang, Green paddy fields, dense jungles, high passes, craggy terrain of the high altitudes
23. Kaliabor-Kaziranga-Dimapur-Kohima-Imphal, along the rhino/tusker jungles, tea estates & low mountains with bamboo trees, of Nagaland
24. Dibrugarh-Tinsukhia-Namsai-Parsuram kund-Hayuliang-Kibithu, incredibly beautiful, rivers, mist, waterfalls, tea estates, tropical jungles
25. Narkhanda-Rampur-Recong peo-Sumdo NH22, the Kinnaur Valley drive

And adding some more from South:

1. Thodupuzha-Moolamattam-Idukki-Kattapana, skirting the Idukki Dam, tusker jungle
2. Chalakudy-Athirapalli-Sholayar-Valparai-POllachi, magnificent waterfall, narrow wildlife roads, tea estates
3. Bandipur-Mudumalai-Masinagudi-Kalhatti-Ooty, spotting elephants & bison, steep road up to Ooty
4. Kolhapur-Belgaum NH4, definitely one of the fastest roads of the GQ
5. Madras-Nellore-Guntur-Vijaywada NH5, very fast, greenery of Nellore, brownery of Ongole, bluery of River Krishna, tobacco & chill fields of Guntur

I do have photos of all these roads, but it is a long search in my albums!

[mclaren1885]

9. Srinagar-Kargil-Manali, need one say more?

Got to do this soon.

15. Vizag-Rushikonda-Bhimunipatnam, some of the best sea scapes in India

Sounds very interesting, is it similar to ECR?

1. Thodupuzha-Moolamattam-Idukki-Kattapana, skirting the Idukki Dam, tusker jungle

I think we did this route at the last Kuttikanam drive.

Bandipur-Mudumalai-Masinagudi-Kalhatti-Ooty, spotting elephants & bison, steep road up to Ooty

Did this last Sunday, I don't think there is any wildlife spotting happening anymore.

4. Kolhapur-Belgaum NH4, definitely one of the fastest roads of the GQ

Definitely is. The only faster section I have driven in the last 1 year in South India is the Bangalore-Hyd stretch.

5. Madras-Nellore-Guntur-Vijaywada NH5, very fast, greenery of Nellore, brownery of Ongole, bluery of River Krishna, tobacco & chill fields of Guntur

Don't remember seeing too much scenery, because we did this route at night while coming back from Baripada. Only gripe is the heavy truck traffic in this route at all times of the day.

[hvkumar]

mclaren1885, the Vizag-Bhimunipatnam is a total coastal road running along the sea, much better than ECR.

[harrie]

I have driven to Dhimbam a long time back and I must admit the roads were indeed brilliant. Must try this sometime again.

Let me know, I am game anytime. We could maybe do a cbe - dhimbam - thalavady sometime

Warning: Don't try to cross more than 80kmph in this stretch. The cross winds are so heavy, it will just throw your car away. One of the few places where I have been scared to death to press the throttle.

Also the roads have very deep shoulders. If the cross winds push you off the road and you try getting back on at speeds, you are sure to spin out. Have seen a close friend's car do 2 spins XY plane and 3 spins on the YZ plane

Sounds exciting. More details please. Road is suitable for cars or SUV only? And what kind of wildlife do you usually get to see?

Very smooth roads. You can have a blast. Wildlife is mostly elephants and bisons. Deer dont fall into the category of wild life because there is just so much of them in these forests.

Do you know someone who can get us permission?

Let me know. A friend runs a adventure company. Can get him to drive about 10 of us around in his jeep and gypsy.

[Adithya R]

mclaren1885, the Vizag-Bhimunipatnam is a total coastal road running along the sea, much better than ECR.

Then why can't that be called ECR because its off the east coast?