Hyderabad to Rourkela Trip by Road

[Gourav]

Hello Friends,

   I am planning for a road trip from Hyderabad to Rourkela via Nagpur in the month of Nov'20 ( approx 1200 kms). I shall be the solo driver for the journey with family accompanying ( small kid along). Need help with few points:

 

1> Can i make the journey in one day... provided i start very early morning like 3-4 AM.. understand the initial stretch from Hyd is smooth till Adilabad, so early morning drive shud be fine.

2> Have a 5 year old i20 with 36K on it... any checks or pointers to be taken care of for the vehicle for this long run.

3> what will be approx duration for below streches based on road conditions, breaks and other external factors: ( please provide feedback even if you have covered 1 or 2 stretchs of the mentioned routes below )

                      a> Hyd to Nagpur - 500 kms - Approx time ?? Average speed ??

                      b> Nagpur to Raipur - 290 kms - Approx time ?? Average speed ??

                      c> Raipur to Rourkela - 450 kms - Approx time ?? Average speed ??

 4> If i need to take a night halt in/around Raipur, what area could be a better option to stay.. want to avoid bigger cities due to ongoing COVID situation. Is it safe to stay overnight at a hotel considering i have a 4 YO kid with me travelling.

 

Kindly help with these pointers . Appreciate your help.

 

Thanks

 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Gourav

[Gowtham]

6 hours ago, Gourav said:

Can i make the journey in one day

 

Not possible in a single day. 
I would suggest you to take halt.

Are you a single driver for the entire trip?

[Gourav]

Yes Gowtham... solo driver for the trip... planned to hire a driver to tag along and drive for atleast 50% of the journey but with ongoing situation, ruled out that option. 

[Gowtham]

Avoid driver, not a practical solution. They expose a lot to the unknown people.

 

Taking a halt is the safest option. 
I have stayed in couple of hotels without any issues, though no one can predict about COVID.
 

Raipur has good hotels, most of the branded hotels like Hyatt and Marriot should be safe.

 

[karthik]

Since your car is around 40k, Make sure your tyres and brake pads are in good shape.  i20 is a pretty reliable car, no need to worry much.  All the best for your drive and drive safe.

[Gourav]

Thanks Gowtham and Karthik.... from the vehicle perspective, whats the ideal distance range i should consider to take a break for vehicle i.e. engine and tyres to cool down a bit ? and for what duration the break shud be for the vehcle...15 -20 mins enough ?

[Gowtham]

There is no need to take a break for car. 
Cars are designed to travel more than 1500+ kilometers non stop

But drivers need to take breaks regularly.
Carry lot of water and energy bars, Keep yourself hydrated.

 Make sure you recharge your fast-tag. 

Reliance petrol pumps are good on highways, for washroom breaks. 
 

[Gourav]

Thanks Mr. Gowtham. I was also told by an acquaintance to carry emergency tyre repair kit and more importantly topups for engine oil and coolant... recommended ??

[karthik]

23 hours ago, Gourav said:

recommended

 

Modern cars too complex to repair by people like us. Get your car serviced. 
Just carry an air pump. Verify your spare tyre health. 

[Gourav]

Friends,

    Please help and provide guidance with point#3 for the original post...

 

Thanks

[sagar]

Hey @Gourav, Be sure to start from Hyderabad by 4 AM on Day 1 and you can stop at Nagpur for Lunch between 1 to 2 PM .. 

Road Conditions are not great between Nagpur and Raipur.. You will reach Raipur by 9 PM.. 

 

On Day 2 You can start late around 9 AM form Raipur after breakfast via Sambalpur and you will reach Rourkela by 7 PM...

 

Do update us back on the current road status after you finish your trip.. Drive safe!

[Gourav]

hey Sagar...

 

  thanks for the info.... from your reply it looks like you mean i will have an average speed of 50-55 kmph max for the whole distance and all stretches covering from Hyderabad till Rourkela....

 

Are the road conditions so bad that one can only make this average speed throughout ??

[sagar]

Totally depends on the car you drive.. 

[Gourav]

Hi All,

   Any recent updates to NH44 road conditions between Hyd and nagpur after the heavy rainfall in Telenagana in mid-Oct ?? Any roads being closed/diverted ?

[Gowtham]

On 10/21/2020 at 1:28 PM, Gourav said:

Hi All,

   Any recent updates to NH44 road conditions between Hyd and nagpur after the heavy rainfall in Telenagana in mid-Oct ?? Any roads being closed/diverted ?

 

All routes are open. 

[Gourav]

Friends,

   My Trip log attached for the onward Journey from Hyderbad to Rourkela. Looking forward to share my experience and details as needed. Thanks to all of you for your valuable suggestions.

 

Edited November 2, 2020 by Gourav

[sagar]

On 11/2/2020 at 5:58 PM, Gourav said:

Friends,

   My Trip log attached for the onward Journey from Hyderbad to Rourkela. Looking forward to share my experience and details as needed. Thanks to all of you for your valuable suggestions.

 

Thanks a lot for sharing the update.. Waiting to know the road conditions of the route you will be taking once you finish your trip. Wish you a safe drive!

[Gourav]

Onward Journey road details:

 

1> Hyderbad to Nagpur - would rate it 9/10... 2-3 spots post Adilabad it had some constructions going on, rest of the road is excellent.

2> Nagpur Bypass - the traffic is a bit slow, road conditions are good but the traffic distribution across that stretch is what that brings down the drive to a below average speed. Rating- 7/10

3> Nagpur to Raipur - This is where is closed my Day-1 trip . Again road conditions are excellent till Rajnandgaon. Post that lot of constructions work and road conditions are bad, especially aroudn the residential places and cities on the path. Will try to download my speed graph for this trip across the route. From Durg till Raipur, lot of bad roads and city/highway traffic. Took me almost 1.5-2 hours to cover a 50KM stretch. From Durg till Raipur, cant travel beyond 50kmph. i entered Durg strecth around 6 PM which is a very busy time, avoid early evening hours if possible. Overall rating 8/10 , Post Durg till Raipur stretch : 4/10

4> Day 2 - Raipur to Sambalpur - started at 10 AM and reached by 2 PM, excellent roads, no constrcutions, lots of rural areas on the chattisgrh side, so need to be careful with public and cattle on the highways, else it was great drive. Overall rating : 9/10

5> Sambalpur to Rourkela - Once again, excellent roads, L&T Express highway, was a smooth ride till Rourkela outskirts. Once we reached near to Rourkela and the industrial areas, lots of trucks parked over road and limited driving conditions, else all looks good.Overall rating : 9/10

 

Overall the whole onward journey i would say had covered approx 95% of the route over 3 highways, NH44, NH53 and SH10 and it was a great drive excpet for the Day-1 final 2 hours between Durg to Raipur.

 

Would plan to download my GPS data and post my trip log speed graph and trip pathway so as to get an idea of the overall stretch and drive. SInce i was with family and a small kid, i was kind of down by 15-20 KMPH on an average atthe good streches over the highways. One with a better car and good driving skills, can add 15-20 KMPH average speed to the whole trip log data i had posted earlier.

 

Thanks again to all of you for the guidance and suggestions. Return journey will take a while, but would surely come back with that as well.

 

[BORNDRIVER]

40 minutes ago, Gourav said:

Onward Journey road details:

 

1> Hyderbad to Nagpur - would rate it 9/10... 2-3 spots post Adilabad it had some constructions going on, rest of the road is excellent.

2> Nagpur Bypass - the traffic is a bit slow, road conditions are good but the traffic distribution across that stretch is what that brings down the drive to a below average speed. Rating- 7/10

3> Nagpur to Raipur - This is where is closed my Day-1 trip . Again road conditions are excellent till Rajnandgaon. Post that lot of constructions work and road conditions are bad, especially aroudn the residential places and cities on the path. Will try to download my speed graph for this trip across the route. From Durg till Raipur, lot of bad roads and city/highway traffic. Took me almost 1.5-2 hours to cover a 50KM stretch. From Durg till Raipur, cant travel beyond 50kmph. i entered Durg strecth around 6 PM which is a very busy time, avoid early evening hours if possible. Overall rating 8/10 , Post Durg till Raipur stretch : 4/10

4> Day 2 - Raipur to Sambalpur - started at 10 AM and reached by 2 PM, excellent roads, no constrcutions, lots of rural areas on the chattisgrh side, so need to be careful with public and cattle on the highways, else it was great drive. Overall rating : 9/10

5> Sambalpur to Rourkela - Once again, excellent roads, L&T Express highway, was a smooth ride till Rourkela outskirts. Once we reached near to Rourkela and the industrial areas, lots of trucks parked over road and limited driving conditions, else all looks good.Overall rating : 9/10

 

Overall the whole onward journey i would say had covered approx 95% of the route over 3 highways, NH44, NH53 and SH10 and it was a great drive excpet for the Day-1 final 2 hours between Durg to Raipur.

 

Would plan to download my GPS data and post my trip log speed graph and trip pathway so as to get an idea of the overall stretch and drive. SInce i was with family and a small kid, i was kind of down by 15-20 KMPH on an average atthe good streches over the highways. One with a better car and good driving skills, can add 15-20 KMPH average speed to the whole trip log data i had posted earlier.

 

Thanks again to all of you for the guidance and suggestions. Return journey will take a while, but would surely come back with that as well.

 

 

Thanks Gourav a nice brief summary ...It gives a good idea on recent Hyd to Nagpur road condition and onwards till  Rourkela.....Though I am native of Odisha but never been to SAMBALPUR ,ROURKELA those areas.....😀😀

 

The road condition between DURG & RAIPUR is full of pot holes or it is just patchy stretches......?

 

 

[Gourav]

Patchy stretches mostly all along, between Durg and Raipur..... 

[sagar]

Thanks a lot @Gouravfor sharing your valuable feedback on the road conditions between Hyderabad and Rourkela.. Your post is very informative and helpful for the fellow travellers.. Any signified restaurants in this route to stop by which has got decent washrooms..? Could be helpful when we would be travelling with our families.. ? 

[Gourav]

We didnt stop at any restaurant or food joints as we were carrying our food with us... Had a night halt at Raipur only at Hotel Marriott, which i felt had taken adequate COVID precautions and sanitization measures.

[Gourav]

Hello Friends....

  Hope you all doing good. Time for the return trip and needed your guidance ....

 

1> Are there any travel restrictions while entering Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana via road as of today..

2> for transit traveler or anyone planning a night halt in Chhattisgarhi or Maharashtra, are RT-PCR test results asked for, even for fully vaccinated folks ?

 

Kindly help with latest info as of Jan 2022 and ongoing Omicron crisis.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

[sagar]

18 hours ago, Gourav said:

 

1> Are there any travel restrictions while entering Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Telangana via road as of today..

2> for transit traveler or anyone planning a night halt in Chhattisgarhi or Maharashtra, are RT-PCR test results asked for, even for fully vaccinated folks ?

 

 

Hi 

As per the current status, there are no restrictions so far, but it is always suggested to carry the soft copy of the final vaccination certificate.

But sometimes, you may be asked for it at the borders by the police. Not that you will be restricted from entering but a bribe in the form of fine is expected.