I had planned a week-long visit to Nashik (my hometown), to attend a wedding function and also experience the monsoon charm of my wine city
BHPian RedDragon recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
Hi guys, I recently drove to Nashik from Bengaluru in my Taigun GT Plus. I would like to share my experience. I, being the sole driver in my family, felt intimidated by the thought of driving so far, but careful planning made it possible.
The Plan
I checked Google Maps for various routes, and I had the following options
1. Bengaluru – Kolhapur – Pune – Nashik
2. Bengaluru – Solapur – Ahmednagar/Ahilyanagar – Nashik
3. Bengaluru – Solapur – Aurangabad/Sambhajinagar Bypass – Samruddhi Mahamarg – Sinnar – Nashik
I chose the last route as all the highways on this route were in working condition with minimum diversions (although it was the most expensive in terms of toll). This route also had no cumbersome ghat sections, which could have slowed my pace. I rejected the Pune route as it is very busy on weekends and there is massive road works going on from Karad till Belgum. I preferred to take Samruddhi because I had to try it myself after hearing so much hype around it.
Bengaluru – Solapur
I started from Whitefield at around 6 am on Saturday morning. I took the Hoskote – Kolar [NH-75] highway for 7 Kms, and then I jumped onto the newly opened section of STRR, which would save me so much time and stress of crossing Bengaluru. STRR had a speed limit of 100 KMPH, and I used cruise control for most of the section. The road is in perfect condition with no potholes. The STRR ended near Dobbaspet, and I took the Bengaluru – Pune NH-48 till Chitradurga. This section from Dobbaspet to Chitradurga was a mixed bag of good and horrible roads. The road was very crowded and had a lot of diversions with plenty of potholes till I reached Tumkuru. I was getting a mileage of around 17 KMPL, which quickly dropped to around 15 KMPL till Tumkuru.
I picked up some pace after Tumkuru and took my first pit stop at A2B just Chitradurga. Apart from being hungry, I knew I wouldn’t find a decent place to stop until I reached Bijapur/Vijaypur. We savored dosa and filter coffee, knowing we won’t be getting this for the entire next week. I also topped up my fuel tank as I had no plans of stopping until I reached Solapur.
I Entered Chitradurga – Hospet [NH – 50] with my tank and belly both full. The driving experience on this section was quite pleasant, with good rocky views and partly empty roads. I was able to maintain speed in the range of 100 KMPH – 115KMPH. I turned on my seat ventilation, which did an excellent job of keeping me dry. Overtaking the freight traffic was effortless, and I could seethe car going on eco mode on declines, which helped a little with mileage. I got around 16.8KMPL till Hospet. Just before I reached Hospet, I stopped for a few minutes to admire the Tungabhadra reservoir.
The section from Hospet to Solapur is the most disappointing section of this entire journey. There are some extremely deadly speed breakers installed on every intersection; on top of that, there are some diversions that create a few bottlenecks. My pace and mileage both were dwindling rapidly, but I made it to Solapur by 1:30 PM. I took a brief halt at Lassi Day cafe for some snacks and then headed to Akkalkot for a temple run. This detour cost me 3 hours and 120 km extra travel.
Solapur – Nashik
I Left akkalkot around 6 pm and started on the Solapur – Aurangabad/Sambhajinagar Highway [NH-52]. The drive was very smooth as the roads are in good condition. I was satisfied with the performance of stock LED lights. I stopped for refueling and dinner at a place called Hotel Gandharva near Aurangabad/Sambhajinagar. I was completely toast by this time and was not sure if I would be able to drive any longer, but I pushed through to get 1 extra day in Nashik.
I left NH-52 and entered Samruddhi Mahamarg around 10 pm, and those last 117 km were the easiest to drive. The highway was mostly empty and I could use good use of cruise control throughout the highway. These 117 km gave my brain and feet some rest. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the unevenness of the road, which was causing vertical movement in the car. I left Samruddhi Mahamarg at Sinnar exit and covered the last 50-odd Kms to reach my stay. I felt quite accomplished after I saw the odometer reading. This was the longest I had driven in a day till now. I would like to appreciate the car’s performance and sitting comfort, which played an important role in keeping me engaged but not too tired.
Glimpse of Nashik
TRIMBAKESHWAR Temple
Sula vineyards
Cerana taproom
Nashik – Solapur
I started my return journey from Nashik on the subsequent Saturday afternoon. I was quite exhausted and was not willing to pull off the same one-day travel this time. I took the same route and reached Solapur around 9PM. I wanted to capture the odometer, but it glitched and reset on its own near Tuljapur. We took a halt at Kyriad Hotel Solapur by OTHPL in and called it a day. We had our breakfast and started back to Namma Bengaluru by 11 AM.
Solapur – Bengaluru
We had decided not to stop for lunch as we had enough to eat in the breakfast spread. I stopped the car only for refueling and bathroom breaks. The next big halt was near Chitradurga for evening snacks and coffee. The roads after that were crowded, and I found rain welcoming me. The car was surprisingly on the boil (might be because of the gradual incline towards Bengaluru), and I revved it the most till Dobbaspet. I was warmly welcomed by a 30-minute traffic jam just before Dobbaspet. I took the left on Dobbaspet and took the STRR to reach Whitefield. I was at home by 9 PM. I managed to get mileage of only 14.7 KMPL because of my spirited driving and the 30-minute-long traffic jam.
Will I do it again? resounding YES
Total fuel cost: 15000 Rs (approximately)
Total toll cost: 4120 Rs
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