Dehra Dun - Delhi trip

Hi guys,

I was out to Dehra Dun for about two weeks. I drove in the Punto. On the way back I took the suggestion of a 'well wisher(???)', and after Chutmalpur, instead of turning left for Roorkee, I went straight towards Saharanpur. At a place called Gagalehdi, I turned left towards Muzafarnagar as suggested. I want to advise all Fiateers, that this is a route that must be avoided at all costs.

For about 25 kms, there were only deep potholes. It was a nightmare drive, and I think we got through thanks to the grace of God and perhaps the build quality of the Punto.

So, if anyone ever suggests this route to you, without hesitation punch him in the face. I plan to do so when I meet my 'well wisher' next.

Johnny

Man .. that was real bad time ... well you meet all sorts of people with expert advice ....

Hi,

Always choose National Highway. Some people suggest to drove on Nehar side (from Roorkee to Mohan Nagar) and but belive me thats very risky. This is a deep nehar without any security.

National Highway is under construction but its good to drive now.

I had my finger & toes crossed, and was just praying that I would make it through in one piece.

Frankly, taking photos was the last thing on my mind. It will easily rate as the worst stretch of road (???) in the country.

Looking back it definitely was a tribute to the Punto that it survived. There were a number of trucks lying on the roadside broken down. It was some thing like you see in futuristic movies like "The book of Eli".

Johnny

Since I do Delhi - Dehra Dun quite frequently - I had gone from 21 to 29 Dec, I thought I will give a route update for TFIans planning this trip.

Firstly, the road condition has improved considerably. Delhi to Meerut is a fairly OK stretch. The traffic is a bit heavy even though it is a four lane road. From Meerut, the new toll road starts. It goes all the way till Muzaffarnagar, and is really good. The toll is Rs 65/-, and the distance about 67 kms. Thereafter, the road surface is OK till Roorkee. Roorkee till Chutmalpur is also OK. However, the stretch between Chutmalpur to Biharigarh is quite bad. Some repair work is being undertaken, but the overall road is bad. From Biharigarh till Dun, the road surface is fairly good.

I have found that if you can plan the trip on a weekday, the traffic is manageable. It is quite bad on weekends/holidays. The towns en-route are bottlenecks and include Modinagar, Roorkee, Phurkazi, Biharigarh, Chutmalpur etc. My personal experience based on trial & error, is that a 7 AM start time gives a reasonably OK run traffic wise. This will also cater for the fog which is quite prevalent on this route.

The main eating joint on this route was Cheetal Grand in Khatauli. This has been totally by-passed by the new toll road. However, there is a new complex on the tollway with a Mc Donalds & Haldiram. This is really nice and the food and facilities including parking, toilets, etc are very good. Incidentally, the road through Khatauli was a real nightmare, and I will not recommend entering Khatauli to eat at Cheetal Grand.

One thing to be careful about, especially if you plan to drive at night are the illegal speedbreakers that have been constructed by villagers along the road. These are NOT marked, are quite high, and can damage your suspension/alloys etc if you take them at high speed.

Regards
Johnny

I am in Dehra Dun at present. The latest route update is as follows:

The entire stretch is quite good except for two stretches. The stretch from Biharigarh to Chutmalpur is really bad with big potholes. Also the stretch from Mohund to Dehra Dun through the hills is in a bad shape. Almost all turns are potholed. These two stretches are best avoided by night.

Regards
Johnny

This is further to my last post. We returned from Dehra Dun today.

We started at 0600 AM, and made good time till the tunnel on the stretch towards Mohund. Immediately after the tunnel are two of the steepest and tightest turns. Right in the middle of the second turn, there was a fully loaded truck (coming up the slope) which was leaning precariously with both rear tyres on the left side having deflated. I could just about manage to squeeze past this truck. Behind it was a loooong row of trucks. By the time I travelled about a km I realized that this was a gridlock situation. There were a few other cars which had stopped ahead. So, we did a quick 'on road' conference and decided to back-track - which was done with some difficulty.

After returning to Dun, I followed the by-pass towards Haridwar. The road finally joins up at Roorkee. There was a lot of traffic, but the road condition was good. So, the positive side was that I avoided the bad stretches. The route via Haridwar is about 10 km longer, but I think it is a better option, especially if you are driving at night.

Regards
Johnny