Cross Country Drive Unlimited

In the month of May 2013, I drove from Bangalore (Karnataka) to Kanpur (Uttar Pradesh). On the way, I crossed major cities like Hyderabad (Andhra Pradesh), Nagpur (Maharashtra), Sagar (Madhya Pradesh) and Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh). My route map would look like something below.

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My ride - Hyundai Santro Xing GL Plus (Berry Red).
Santro has been one of the most amazing on road companions among all the cars I've driven over long hauls. Comfortable seating, good visibility in terms of seat height, windshield angle and dashboard length, and economic on the pocket. The best part about Hyundai cars is the leg rest they provide next to the clutch. It is so convenient compared to keeping the left foot on the floor, especially during a long drive.

The journey took two days of driving. I took a two day halt at Nagpur, however one can plan to drive the entire stretch in two days or else take multiple halts on the way as per their preferences.

Before I detail out the journey sector wise, I would like to give a few overall comments:

• The entire stretch (apart from a few scores of kilometres) is laid out properly in a 2x2 National Highway format
  
  
• One would end up spending about a rupee per kilometre in tolls. Also, keep checking if the previous toll booth's slip would be valid. In some places, they charge you when you enter the tolled section and then check your slip at the exit. Only after I asked, did they tell me this. Otherwise I would have ended up paying double the toll.
  
• As soon as your fuel tank goes half full (or half empty), get a refill at the next filling station, even if it's on the other side of the road
  
• Keep loads of small eats (small biscuit packets, small snack items, low maintenance fruits, etc.) as eating options are very few throughout
• Last, but not least, enjoy the ride!

Bangalore - Hyderabad:
I started from Bangalore at 6 AM, so avoided major traffic snarls except for the vehicles moving toward the Bengaluru International Airport on NH7. The drive is very smooth with occasional marked/unmarked speed breakers and all bypasses to avoid city/town traffic. About midway, there's a decent eating joint next to a reliance petrol pump, though the pump is not functional. After a filling masala dosa, I drove right upto Hyderabad. About 5 kilometres from Hyderabad, the Highway suddenly ends into a two lane busy road, which doesn't last long though. Instead of entering the city, I took the Hyderabad Ring Road. Though it increases the kilometres on your ride, you can bypass the entire city of Hyderabad in a very small time. With speed limits of 100 km/hr, the Ring Road gives you an awesome 5x5 lane drive. I had reached Hyderabad at 1 PM.

I entered Hyderabad to meet a friend and have lunch with him. I would suggest having lunch in Hyderabad as there are NO eating joints on the Ring Road.

Hyderabad - Nagpur:
After crossing Hyderabad, the Ring Road brings you back on NH7. This stretch of the highway has beautiful scenery as there are lot of ghats that are sliced well to make the 4 lane driving smooth like butter without harming the natural beauty of the area.
After Adilabad, you enter Maharashtra. You get to know that you have entered Maharashtra, not just because the language on the signboards change, also because the buttery roads come to an end with Andhra Pradesh coming to an end. The stretch from Adilabad to Nagpur is 'under construction', and small patches of about a kilometre or so are completed with toll booth right in the centre of those patches. Advisable drive is at speeds of less than 50 km/hr with complete concentration for diversions, dug roads, no roads and wrong side driving. The toll booth guys will fool you saying the road will be fine from their booth onwards. Don't believe them. (Once again, this was in May 2013. Depending upon when you read this travelog, things might have improved - I hope). I reached Nagpur at 10 PM. I would have easily reached there at 8 if the highway work in Maharashtra would have been completed.

You can avoid entering Nagpur by taking the Outer Ring Road, which will take you the eastern end, where you take a diversion on a state highway to join NH7 again.

Nagpur - Sagar:
I started from Nagpur at 8 AM. Frankly I wasn't expecting any good roads, based upon my experience from Adilabad to Nagpur. However, the highway brought a pleasant surprise, which was short lived! About 50 kilometres on the NH7, you hit a village called Amadi. (Get your fuel tank refilled here, if you didn't get it done at Nagpur.) This is where you enter Madhya Pradesh. Thereafter, you cross a national reserve and ghat area of about 100 kilometres which has heavy traffic and single lane driving. Once you reach Seoni, the smooth roads start again. Before Lakhnadon, you take a sharp left onto North - South corridor, away from NH7. The signboards here came after the turning, so if you don't know you have to turn left, you will continue towards Jabalpur on NH7.
The road from this point is again spic-n-span. Though the speed limits decrease to 80 kmph, you can easily whiff through at three digit speeds depending upon the car you are driving. I reached Sagar before 2 PM.

Avoid entering Sagar. Roads leading to Sagar from the highway on all sides are very bad. Since I was travelling during the summer, I entered the city to find a decent place for lunch. I wasted about 2 hours.

Sagar - Jhansi

After meandering for about an hour among potholes, I hit the highway at about 3.30 PM. The highway is well built, similar to the Lakhnadon - Sagar belt. About 60 kms, and I entered home state. Bypassing Lalitpur and Talbehat, you reach a diversion before Babina, about 175 kms from Sagar. No signboards. Sudden dump of sand on the road blocking it completely. BEWARE! The 'highway' ends here. You need to cross Babina town, and then drive on single lane roads upto Jhansi.

No escaping Jhansi. You have to enter the city, well some part of it, and then cut right towards NH25 to go towards Kanpur.

Jhansi - Kanpur

After a quick cuppa on the outskirts of Jhansi, I was in the mood to get back home ASAP. It was about 7 PM and the dusk had set in. NH25 is getting old. Maintenance is lacking. Though it is a 2x2 well built highway, getting to speeds over 75 kmph is not advisable. You will suddenly encounter dips in the road which seem to have been formed by heavy machinery being transported. The tyres of these big trucks have, as if, put so much pressure that the entire stretch where they have moved has left their mark. In certain places, where I assume sudden brakes would have been applied by these trucks, the road has developed inconsistent and tall bumps, which can topple your vehicle or leave your gear box broken if not properly tackled. Nevertheless, I was able to hit Kanpur at 10.30 and was home well before midnight.

Whew!