My intention behind writing road-reviews have been to provide necessary information to fellow travelers (read drivers) who wish to undertake that journey. With that thought, probably New Delhi to Patna by road, doesn’t make the cut, since not many would be traveling (read driving) such a long stretch. Patna is not a hot tourist place and neither is it close enough to let people choose the tar instead of routine rail or expensive air. So the only real reason I think would be then to use this is to get and feel high, since I did it, just the last week. I drove all the way to Darbhanga (200 Km further to Patna) from Delhi. May be 10 years down the line when I read this again, I would feel young (and stupid), so here it is Delhi Patna Road Review.
Delhi – Patna can be divided into following stretches.
Delhi to Patna Distance – 1050 – 1100 KMs , Time – 32 hours with a 12 hour night stop at Allahabad or Banaras. 20-22 hours non-stop with 2 meal breaks and 2 tea breaks.
1. Delhi – Agra – Etawah
2. Etawah – Kanpur
3. Kanpur – Allahabad
4. Allahabad – Banaras
5. Banaras – Patna
Delhi to Patna Road Map
1. Delhi – Agra – Etawah Distance
Distance – 320 KM , Time – 5 hours including a 20 minutes stop at McDonalds, Mathura.
You need to get on NH2 which is more popularly known as Mathura Road. The road exits Delhi from the south so depending upon your point of stay in Delhi, you need to plan an early exit. Ask for ‘Ashram’, its on Ring Road, and then take Mathura Road. Stick to it and cross Badarpur on the way. Badarpur has the reputation of snarling traffic so try to cross that before 6 AM else you would lose some precious time. Keep going straight and cross Palwal. The quality of the road is fantastic and you can easily clock an avg of 65-70 an hour. The traffic would slow down at Kosi trade tax barrier. Again, if you can get past Badarpur by 6, you would be able to avoid this mini-jam. The directions are a no brainer since it’s the same NH2 all the way till Banaras (or Mohania to be precise). Apart from the good tar, there is nothing else great to look at so have some good music and conversation within the cabin. As you approach Mathura, look for that huge M sign of McDonalds. It’s the only decent place to stop for a quick grab but be alert on the time spent as it can eat your valuable minutes without anyone realizing it. Also, if you are leaving early, then its a good stop to relieve yourself and get some clean-hot snacks to fill your belly.
The above pic is from Aditya’s post on Delhi-Agra-Kanpur, which now seems like the most reliable and detailed post on internet. I was so busy driving that I actually missed it.
As you cross Mathura, you would shortly get into Agra madness. Keep your patience and drive safe. There is a lot of petty traffic and some of it can get aggressive very easily so resist your set-the-world-right temptations and allow the wrong-side traffic to carry on with this business-es. If you are not very un-lucky, it should not take lot of time, 30 minutes to cross Agra. If you care and have time, then you can stop for few minutes and watch Sikandra fort. Its right there on the road, on the left.
Once you are out of Agra, the road gets a little better and traffic reduces. Press the pedal and hit Firozabad. This is the first city (after Agra) where you would start to feel the Mughal Era. Some of the old buildings could be still seen, the city is known for its bangles and glass work. There are these big tempting bangles showrooms which you need to pass quickly else a female fellow traveler’s urge makes you stop. After Firozabad, you have Shikohabad and finally Etawah. The roads are really good and you should be able to do an average of 65 (if not 70). This road falls under ‘Golden Quadrilateral’ and NHAI is currently finishing the road in Etawah, so you would need to take a detour. It should be done shortly, most of it is done.
2. Etawah – Kanpur
Distance – 150 KM. Time – 2 hours non-stop
In this stretch you do nothing but just drive quick. Very sparse in terms of traffic and the road is new. The only but very critical and important thing which you need to be aware is that you would find oncoming traffic on the wrong side of road at full speed. It’s a double road so while you think that you can drive at 100 KMph on the right lane of the left road, in practice you can’t do that. This is something which you will see for almost rest of NH2, more when you get out of big cities and are in vicinity of small towns. There is no point in spoiling your drive by getting into the blame game so as I said before, resist the temptation of setting-the-world-right and give these guys their way and forget about it. Since the visibility is good because of no distractions like polls, posters, hoardings, trees, road being straight, it’s not too difficult to spot these wrong-side-right-fellas so just let them go. You can actually do this stretch in less than 2 hours.
3. Kanpur – Allahabad
Distance – 200 KM, Time – 4 hours since the by-pass is not yet done
Most of the road within the Kanpur city is an elevated road, so that takes you away from city traffic. You need to keep on NH2 and should not be taking any left exits, which go to the city. The landscape (and the social-scape) would now begin to change. We are now starting to get into Eastern UP and as you travel more towards East, the poverty would start to hit you. It’s not very visible since you are still on a big-side road but as your cross small towns, you would start to see it. The shops in these towns are more like the assembled contraption of wood-and-aluminium (from vanaspati ghee tins) and it’s not un-common to find small kids relieving themselves in open along the road.
The road is all the same, quick and clean with very minimum traffic. About 60 Km after Kanpur, look for a big BP petrol pump on your right, its in Malwa and is a COCO (Company Owned Company Operated). Its time to re-fuel (assuming that you started with a full-tank) and get some fresh air. There is a small tea shop where you can have tea and snacks. There are swings and some green area to relax. Loos are clean though not too great. It seemed like a nice-clean and big place to have some quick bites and get enough energy to hit Prayag, the Sangam city.
Allahabad is about 140 KM from this place, you would pass many small towns and finally you would reach a point, from where it appeared to me that NH2 is making a by-pass. Its not yet ready and didn’t seem like it would be done shortly. In any case, we had decided to stay put in Allahabad (a quick story on that later) so we went in. You would pass a town called Lukarganj. The road suddenly gets narrow and some of the stetches are actually stone-paved, with so much of petty traffic and narrow-potholed roads because of rain, you wonder whether you would ever make it to Prayag. Sustain all that and find a good place to stay. I stayed at Kanha Shyam which I think is incorrectly rated (high) and has lived its life. I looked at Map and it shows a by-pass kind of thing. Anyway.
4. Allahabad – Banaras
Distance – 120 KMs, Time – 2.5 Hours (if you are coming from city, once by-pass is there, it would be less than 2 hours)
I think I started to write about the social side but didn’t elaborate much. Now you are in true Eastern UP. While the quality of the roads remain same, the infrastructure seems to have taken a beating. The houses wont have plasters on the outer walls in small towns, the shops have no spank and the landscape looks more rural. There are less tractors in the fields and there are more people with bare chests and worn-out dhotis. Even though it would look more like apna-desh, it may not be necessarily pleasant. Almost everyone would be chewing pan or a gutkha, from toll man to rick puller to khaki clad police wallahs. There is definitely much less rush and there is more time per transaction but it can get a little depressing at times, especially for spoil-ed metropolitans. I noticed more of this since I stayed at Prayag and had to really pass through couple of small towns. I think one of them was Hanuman-Ganj (what a hindu-muslim solidarity name of a place, hanuman and ganj) but most of you would avoid this if you don’t chose to stay at Allahabad.
Anyway, I would come back and rather focus on road, since we have a long way to go. We stayed at Banaras but if you don’t then that’s much better since Banaras is not on NH2. You spend a lot of time going in the city and coming out (that has its own charm but can be avoided at least in one of the to or fro trip).
5. Banaras – Patna
Distance – 250 KM, Time – 5 hours
Eastern UP is gradually getting over. While you can survive the chaos and sheer variety of Banaras by being more patient, we were preparing ourselves to enter Bihar which over time has lost its reputation of being a hub of culture-education and power. Since we were in the city, we headed towards Mughal Sarai to get to other side of Ganga. Mughal Sarai used to be a big hub for Indian Railways at one point of time, it even is today, to a great extent but development over time has acted as a great leveler, and for the same reasons it’s fairly big and the urban sprawl goes on for a while. I still remember the times, when the loco of our train would be changed, from Diesel to Electric or vice-versa, depending upon which side you are going to. Banaras and Mughalsarai is divided by a bridge. After crossing Mughalsarai, we joined NH2 and it was again 6 lane high-speed drive till Mohania.
From Mohania, you can either go all the way down to Kolkata or take a left to reach Patna via Ara. As we took the left, the landscape suddenly changed. From a double road highway, we were on a single two lane road but very well tar-red. On both sides we had long stretches of fields. Since it was June, the rice has not yet made in and there was nothing on the fields at most of the places.
I realize that a lot of people are not reading the comments. Well things change so do read the comments for latest. As of now, do NOT take the exit at Mohania, instead go a little further till Sasarem and then head towards Ara. Mohania-Ara is being re-built from the scratch so hopefully when its done it would be a breeze but till then, go via Sasarem.
We crossed numerous small towns on the way, we were able to get past quick because there was hardly any traffic. The occasional bus or even less occasional tractor was what we needed to maneuver. We drove past Buxar (remember the battle of Buxar) and were heading to one of the big political and historical marvels of all times. This part of Bihar is a little better-off in terms of overall development, employment, money, at least till Ara. The distance of 150 KM from Mohania to Ara was spent in less than 3 hours. We had not planned to break till Patna so we kept going.
At Ara, we had a one hour stop at a railway crossing. As many as five trains passed while the barriers were down. This simply killed the good time we had saved but anyway. From Ara, the road quality takes a hit, especially as you reach Danapur, even though Danapur is a cantonment area.
One interesting ride which I should share with all of you is this real long road bridge, after Arrah. As we were approaching the bridge, we noticed that the traffic has gradually started to drift towards right and there is this serpentine line which seemed to be heading at some barrier. We suspected a railway crossing, being ignorant we kept on our left and after passing all the waiting trucks (which were now on our right), we discovered that there is this long road/rail bridge. So we reached to the head of the queue, may be the make of the car did it or what, we were not looked at with contempt by the few police-men who were controlling the entry to the bridge. After a while, we were asked to move in and boy what a view. Try to imagine a narrow real long straight bridge which is double-decker, since the rail bridge is on first floor, is old, the color if the iron has gone rust-colored, you look down and you see Ganga and there are not many cars in front, infact none for us. The bridge is so long that you can’t see the other end and I didn’t meter it but it must be more than a KM. If someone from that area is reading this then we would really benefit from some more details. It was one damn different experience.
Ok, So it’s already past noon. Enter Danapur, remember to take a right (so keep asking) else you would get into something which you would regret (we almost did). Get off Danapur and you are at Patna. You are still at the out-skirt but you could sense that this once has been one of the greatest cities of all times, the patliputra, a city which has seen the only golden era of Indian History. So much for drive and for the adrenaline, we were finally there.
I was to drive beyond Patna (200 KMs further towards North) but I would save you further fatigue. Its been a really really long journey. We crossed the longest bridge on Ganga (5 odd KM), Mahatma Gandhi Setu, which was not in a good condition. Some pics before I close.
Mahatma Gandhi Setu
Keep going
We could see the mammoth Ganga in its full glory and as we looked up, the astonishing skyscape was even more grand. Being humbled by both, we clicked some pics, thanked our stars , while still driving and carried on.
Dear All
I am planning to go indirapuram to chhapra( saran bihar ) via kanpur ,lucknow gkp by road any one suggest best rout .
Dear All
I am planning to go indirapuram to chhapra( saran bihar ) by road any one suggest best rout .
The road I took for travelling is :
Day-1 – Delhi -Agra-Eatwah -Kanpur -Allhabad -Benaras – I started early morning @4.00AM from Delhi and by 4.30 PM I was in Varanasi . Stayed ina decent hotel.
Day-2 -Benaras -Gazipur -Ballia -Manjhi- Chapra (4 hours – 200 KM) – Road is decent but not four lane -so maximum speed one can do is @50km per hour ..If you can start ealry @ 4.00 AM from Varnasi then probably you can save some time (1 hour)
Hi Nandan
FInally back to Delhi…. after a marathon drive…
Darbhanga- Delhi via Gorakhpur – Lucknow.. is not worth travelling, it kills too much of time..
I took the East West Corridor from Darbhanga, and it was fine upto Muzaffarpur and Pipra Mor (or you can say upto Gopalganj) though it has about 30 Diversions due to the flyovers under construction.
Gopalganj – UP Border.. Uff… single laned road with too much of path holes and slow traffic..
It took me 5 and Half hours to reach U.P. border from Dabhanga.
Now U.P roads were started.. Another 3 Hours till Gorakhpur, and a bad traffic Jam there.. Wasted 2 long hours.
Headed for Lucknow with a short break on the new Road… which was four laned.. Thought it will be like this till lucknow and I will cover this distance in 2-3 Hrs, but it was a real nightmare..
East west corridor is still under construction from Muzaffarpur to Faizabad, and it has almost 300 Diversions. Most of the stretch is single laned and crowded.
Reached Faizabad by 8:00 PM and again there was a huge Jam.. Got help from a local guy, and chosen the city road, instead of waiting on highway. Misguided by cops and headed towards Allahabad.. almost drove 10 Kilometers then asked from a shopkeeper, who sent me back to faizabad highway..
Faizabad – Lucknow stretch was a bit good and four laned, but again, too many diversions on it which makes you hop on single roads.
I was getting tired as I was driving since 7 AM, and it was about 10:30 PM. Stopped for a quick tea break, and started for Lucknow again. Filled the petrol tank at Barabanki, and reached Lucknow at 12:30 PM.
I decided not to drive more and stayed in a hotel for a good sleep.
After taking shower in morning I started at 7:30 from Hotel and left Lucknow city at 8. As advised by Nandan, I skipped Rampur-Barrely – Moradabad route, and chose Kanpur-Etawah-Agra Route.
I reach Kanpur at 9:30. There is an old road for Delhi, which is closed now. The signboards direct you towards the flyover on NH2, if you are going towards Delhi.
I have used this flyover while going to Darbhanga too. I decided to measure it’s length .. gosh… it is 21 Kilometers long flyover.. maybe the longest in India.
Reached Ferozabad at 1:30, and stuck in small Jam again. Reached Agra by 4:30 and wasted on hour in Jam again.. Finally reached Home at Delhi by 9:00 PM, after crossing a big Jam in Faridabad.
It’s better to take Patna-Mohania-NH2 Road .. East west corridor is not done, and it may take another an year or two to get it done. This stretch has more than 300 diversions and most of the stretch is single laned..
Will plan to go again in next year… :)
Cheers !
I want to go patna by car. Which will be suitable rout. Please give me suggest as soon.
Hi Shailendra – I am not sure on what is your ‘starting point’. Assuming that its Delhi/close-by, the best route is Delhi – Agra – Etawah – Kanpur – Allahabad – Mohania (NH2). Take a left from Mohania and reach Patna Via Ara. See if you can find a way to avoid the railway crossing at Ara since that usually takes a lot of time.
A good halt would be at/around Mohania.
Hi All,
I am planning to go to Muzaffarpur by road. Please suggest the best rout to take and also a decent hotel to drop in for night stay while travelling.
Hi Navin
Go for Delhi-Faridabad-Agra-Etawah-Kanpur-Banaras- Mohania-Patna-Muzaffarpur. You will be able to reach Mohania (70 Km after Bihar Border), in 12 Hours (with four Meal Breaks). If your stamina allows, Drive another 4 and half hours and you reach Muzaffarpur. There are two ways to reach Muzaffarpur from Banaras. One is from Chhapra and another is from Mohania – Patna- Hajipur. Prefer going on Sunday, as there will be no traffic on NH2. Start early , at 3:30 Preferably.
Thanks for the post. Helped me a lot. Just one suggestion… The By pass at allahabad is almost ready and is very good. You have to take a diversion approx 30 – 40 kms before allahabad. Look for a Bypass sign before a flyover on your left.
Hi Nandan
went through the details and ur experience,i must say it is very informative,i am planning to drive to purnea next month,any suggestion or updates?
thanks
aditya
Dear All
I am planning to go Ghaziabad to bhagalpur bihar via patna by road any one suggest best rout .
Reply
I started from delhi at 3:40 a.m via agra reached agra at 06:15 a.m etawah at 8:30 a.m,kanpur at 10:30 am varanasi at 01:00 p.m via allahabad bypass 2:15 p.m at mohania and 5 p.m at danapur but due cantonement traffic jam it took 2 hrs to reach patna and from patna it took 6 hrs to reach begusarai via fatuha jam baktiyarpur and barh reached at 1 a.m at begusarai. again i m planning to drive on 31 may on same route if any one can guide me the route from varanasi via ghazipur ballia chapra road condition than i will change the route else above route is opted. thanks.
Hi Arvind.
Did you reach Mohania at 2:30 or 5:00PM?
Hi Arvind,
Can u pls. confirm.. u whent ny which Car? is it good by going Wagon R ?
i am planning to go patna with family including 1.5 month old baby by car WAGONR
will it be good by below root, i know it wil be bit hectic .. but is it OK going by family?? if i take night stay around Kanpur bcz i cant drive with family in one shot more than 4 hr. so we need 1 hr break after 4 hrs.
1. Delhi – Agra – Etawah
2. Etawah – Kanpur
3. Kanpur – Allahabad
4. Allahabad – Banaras
5. Banaras – Patna Via Mohania/ara
Pls. advise
@ Arbind – Also please tell us on how many stops did you take ? Any tips on road conditions or something which fellow traveler needs to watch out for.
Seems like if someone started by 4 AM , he can reach patna by 8 PM. Even if it gets 10, it might still be worth it.
Hi All,
I am planning for Indirapuram to chhapra by road. Please suggest the best possible route. I am planning to do Indirapuram – Agra – Kanpur -Allahabad -Benaras -Gazipur -Ballia -Manjhi- Chapra.
There is also another one
Indirapuram – Agra – Kanpur -Allahabad(Bypass) -Jaunpur -Azamgarh- Mau -Balia – Chhapra.
If any one has explored this route please let me know the road condition.
Which route will be preferable? please suggest.
thanks
–Manish
can u tell me d road condition (ie four lana,double lane….etc) from varanasi to Bhagalpur ,bihar
hello Guys,
I am planning to go Madhubani(Bihar) by Swift after 15 days . What is best possible route and where to stay for night halt? I want to stay in a hotel on highway not in the city hotels. Plz also give your view about entire journey in a single strech(no night halt) as only me and my my friend is travelling(no family). Is it possible to go there with only few hours rest at any roadside DHABA.
Please reply asap.
thanks in advance
Hi Anant – It is a very loong drive so I would recommend that you plan for a regular halt around Mohania. If you are able to make good progress then you can go till Patna but do break the journey there. It would give you a good rest and you can be at Madhubani by Day2 noon.
Route – Delhi – Agra – Kanpur – Allahabad – Mohania (NH2 so far) – Danapur – Patna – Muzzafarpur – Darbhanga – Sakri – Madhubani
Please let us know the time it took, the route you finally decide to take and road conditions.
Hi, All I am planning for Indirapuram(Noida- Patna in mid Nov.) Can you please suggest the best route & is it possible to cover it in a day or should we take a night halt. Any one who has recently travelled, his feedback on roads will be very valuable!!
Thanks in adavance
hi
we are planning to go from Gorakpur to Muzzafarpur, Purnea and then onto sikkim as part of The Borderline Drive… I have a couple of questions
Is the road safe? Can we get good hotels to stay in Muzaffarpur? are they safe?
One hears such horror stories about travelling in Bihar and there seems to be no good reliable info on this that I have to ask such basic questions!
Hi all,
I travelled Delhi to madhubani via patna on 2nd oct. (Sunday morning) in my Swift. Entire journey was comfortable and reached safely at my home.(total distance covered 1256 Km from Mayur Vihar Delhi to madhubani). I took NDELHI-AGRA-ETAWAH-KANPUR-ALLAHABAD-VARANSI-MOHANIA-ARA-PATNA–MUZAAFARPUR-DHARBHANGA-MADHUBANI route. Started Early 3Am reached PATNA @ 8 30 PM.Night halt at PATNA. present road condition till mohania (NH2) is superb). After Mohania till patna one way but you can’t say it poor. At few places i had to speed down my car to 20 Km/H :(
I would like to provide few tip for fellow travellers:
1. Start early 3Am . Be carefull till Agra while driving. Heavy trafic of truck at that time . Speed 70-80 KM .
2. Agra -Etawah . spped up. 90-100 KM /Hour. Dont Stop till Etawah (Assuming that you had a good sleep before travelling). It will take approx 4 hours 30 mins from delhi. Take a tea/biscuit there in any road side
dhaba:-) don’t waste your time in searching good food. Nowhere available in between Agra- etawah:-)
3. Plan for a good breakfast before Kanpur. hardly take 1 hour 30 minutes from Etawah. Dont’ Enter in KANPUR city. NH is seperate from City (looks like a big flyover). Fill your tank there.
4. Most important and time saving strech. Kanpur -Allahabad bypass. Dont enter in allahabad city if you dont have plan to stop in Allahabad. Speed up . my speed was 100-120 km/h. raod is superb. Dont stop till the BYPASS is over. Almost no traffic. Take lunch once bypass ended.
5.Continue till mohania. Tea break there.Superb road till mohania. take left turn (PATNA MOD).
6. Mohania -patna. Almost single lane. You cant speed more than 80. Be carefull at this strech.
PS: Road condition between patna and muzzafarpur isvery pathetic. construction work is going there on NH :-(
hope this is helpful to you guys
Have a SAFE JOURNEY.
THANKS
ANANT
Thank you Anant. So finally someone has made it to Patna in a single day.
If one has to leave by 5 from Delhi then I would think that it would get dark by the time one is around Ara. Do you think it is OK to reach Patna by 10.30 – 11.30 PM or would your rather suggest to leave early (if not 3 then leave at 4 at least) so that one is able to cover the single-road Mohania-Patna in public hours.
I am asking this because I am guessing that it might be simpler to pass through this area when it gets a little dark so as to find less traffic etc ?
Also, I heard that there is an alternate route from Patna for Muzzafarpur.
My suggestion:-better pass Mohania-patna strech in Public hours. Traffic is not a big issue and you could easily manage to reach mohania by 6 PM if started early (4 AM) from delhi.
And agree to your point if someone start at 5 Am then do halt near MOHANIA.
Guys !!! night halt near Mohania if you are travelling wid your family.
Have a safe journey.
Thanks
Anant
Hi, I am planning to go Patna by road. I will drive SX 4 VDI. Pl suggest when should i start early morning or around 3 AM. i have two children wid me.\
Regards.
Hi i would be driving from samastipur to delhi. Can you suggest which route to take and where do I plan my night breaks as I would be travelling with two kids.
@ Suraj – I would suggest that you do not start not before 4 or 4.30. If you reach Mohania before 5 then go all the way down else stop somewhere in Mohania/Buxar/etc.
@ Karmendra – Reach Buxar either via Chhapra or Patna. Find out the road information locally. Post Buxar, it would be Mohania, Varanasi, Allahabad Bypass, Kanpur, Etawah, Agra, Delhi (all of NH2).
If you start early and if you are able to cross Allahabad Bypass by 3 PM (which is doable) then I would recommend that you drive all the way till Agra. If you are getting delayed, then stay at Fatehpur. You would lose lot of time if you get inside Varanasi or Allahabad. Do tell us what you found after you make the journey.
Hi All,
I traveled from Indirapuram to Ranchi on 25th Oct in new i10. I started from Indirapuram at 4:30 AM and reached Ranchi at 11:30 PM. I took Indirapurm – Agra – Etawah – Kanpur – Allahabad ByPass – Varanasi – Barhi – Hazaribagh – Ranchi route. NH2 till Barhi is superb except for some places where patches are there. Barhi to Ranchi road construction is going on.
–manish
I started around 11.30pm & was able to reach reach Allhabad around 8.30 am with 2 stoppage for a teab break. But after that it was a huge trafic in Allhabad. I reached Mohania around 2.00pm Finaly i reached Patna around 6.00pm. Total travel time was around 19.00 hours including Tea Break, Break Fast & Lunch
Planning to cover Noida-Ramgarh Cantt.(Jharkhand) in Etios during yearend. Reading thru this thread got a fair idea about route till Banaras. Queries: 1) What route to follow from banaras(details please) and distance to ramgarh and appox time to travel. 2) Planning to stay at Banaras Cantt, so how far will it be from NH2 and also directions to return back to hit back NH2 again. Earlier had covered around 525 KM(solo drive 10 hrs) Delhi- Dharmshala many times..
@ Kaka – following might help.
1. Please ask this question on this story – https://www.ghumakkar.com/2011/03/21/noida-to-ranchi-1250-kms-one-gr8-road-trip-part-1/
Ravi might be able to answer better.
2. Cantt is not too far in terms of distance. 30 odd minutes if you know the way. I stayed at Raddisson which is in Cantt area. We did lose our way a couple of times. Difficult to give directions since I am not very familiar with the city so best to ask at every turn.
hey nandan, very good and informative page. i m also planing a delhi-motihari-delhi visit in mid fab. can u guide me about present route gor motihari and road conditiond. yhanks
hey nandan, i want to travel from ludhiana to chapra, bihar in march. i want to visit haridwar in the same route. should i follow the bareily route or via new delhi, from haridwar. pls suggest about the shortest route and road condition.
@ itsmeshreeharsha – Its a tough one. I would recommend to go via Delhi but that would mean an extra of 175 odd Kms, since from Moradabad you would have to come back to Delhi instead of going to Lucknow via Bareily.
I would suggest that you do
Ludhiana – Haridwar – Lucknow – Allahabad – Varanasi – Mohania – Ara – Patna
Except Bareily – Lucknow (which is OK) and Lucknow-Allahabad (which I would assume would be good, considering that it passes through Gandhi family’s constituency), everything else is excellent.
Please come back and update on road conditions when you make the trip and all the very best.
Hi Nandan,
A great travelogue I would say, especially on Delhi-Patna road drive as there is hardly any genuine stuff available (at least I could not find). However, I was really looking forward to further details (drive till Darbhanga). Also, may be in 2-3 weeks time I’m planning a trip to Bhagalpur, would need your help on following points – 1. Which route should I take after Patna (till Bhgalpur), 2. Any suggestions (or precautions to take) 3. It has been almost 3 years after your post, do you have any further feedback about the road conditions (has it got better or worse?). I’m looking forward to your reply…, thanx once again for your amazing post…
@ Narendra Jha – Thanks for liking the post. It is difficult to find genuine stuff :-) about Indian destinations, roads etc.
1. I did a road trip last month from Patna to DBG. I took Muzaffarpur on the way down, it is OK till Muzaffarpur. From Muzzaffarpur to Darbhanga, it is a 4 lane expressway toll road so you can do that in less than an hour. On my return journey, I took the other route viz. Samastipur, Vaishali, Mahua and I would recommend this one.
2. No insights on Bhagalpur.
3. Please go through comments. The last update is of Oct 2011, just a few months back. Overall the roads have become better with Allahabad bypass, Gandhi Setu repair work, Muzzafarpur – DBG Expressway.
I look fwd to reading a short snippet of your experience after you have made the trip. All the best.
Sure…
Hi.
I am Pl
aning to go Mayur Vihar,phase-2 (Delhi) to Bhagalpuur by Road in my own car Zen Stello.Pls suggest me which route is best & safe . where i stay in Night. I stsrt my journey early morning on around 6 a,m from delhi
@ Shamim – I would recommend Delhi-Patna-Begusarai-bhagalpur. If you can leave at 6 then take a break around Mohania/Ara depending on how you are doing. All the best.
Hi Nandan
I am planning to go to Patna on 15th March with my wife & 1 Kid, I want to start at 3.00 AM from Delhi Dwarka, Shall i stop at Varansi or continue Drive till Patna, What about Varanasi, Balia, Chhapra, Hajipur Route. whats the condition of this route
Rajeev,
You can plan a similar trip as i did but i strongly suggest you to break your journey at varanasi/ Mohania as you are going with your family.
DRIVE WELL and have a safe journey.
Regards
Anant
3.00 might be too early since it is still pretty dark and might be a bad time to be on roads. I would suggest that you are crossing Mohania by 4 then surely go for the home run else break at Mohania/Ara. I have not been on the other road but off late the road network in the state has gone for a brilliant makeover.
All the best.
Dear Nandan,
This is the first time on Ghummakar and your write up on Delhi-Patna has been very impressive and motivating.
We are planning to drive from Vasant Vihar -Delhit to Patna on the last sunday of march along with my husband and two small kids. (5 & 1.5)
We want to take break and preferably near Varanasi- are there hotels/motels near varanasi on the NH 2- we do not want to enter any city.
What is a suggested safe time we can leave delhi ? looking forward to your help.
regards
Tulika Sinha
Tulika,
If you want to stay in a good hotel then you have to enter in varansi city. this will extend your journey by 50 KM approx. There are few small motels on NH-2 in varansi till mohania but i recommend you to stay in a city hotel considering you have small kids. 50 Kms is not a big deal in 1050 km strech.
keep posting about your journey.
Have a safe journey
Regards
Hi Nandan/Anant,
Your inputs herein are exceptionaly well and meet a nice international-level standard, keeping in account all the relevent facts with true sentiments. You both be well-versed and fantastic gentlmen, I must guess. This makes me feel and say India-Shining when I read the entire blog so intesively. Good of you, God Bless you both!
I, till Now, merely have some odd and less than 20 hours of total driving experience. I’m thriving to advent on this long ride from Delhi-Muzaffarpur in the 2nd week of hot June, with my nuclear family including a year old son by then. Should I really hit it, with all my will but no skill? I value your genuine suggestion, a doable one.
Thanking you both in anticipation.
Regards,
Ratnesh Kumar
Ratnesh,
You have 2 more month to polish your driving skill and this is very much doable but I would suggest that keep one more guy during journey. Roads are good till PATNA but why to take any risk? . If you don’t want to share your driving seat then do break your journey frequently.
I would also point out the road condition from PATNA to Muzzafarpur . It’s really pitiable and could create trouble for new drivers.
So my final suggestion- Do it yourself but with backup.
DRIVE WELL and have a safe journey.!!!!!
Regards
ANANT
I just responded as well. :-)
I was on Patna-Muzzafarpur road in Jan this year. We took a different road (ask around and someone would guide you) and it was pretty ok. Muzaffarpur-Darbhanga is a super swanky highway now, takes less than an hour now.
Hi All,
Thanks all for great post specially Nanadan and Ananat.
I am planning to drive from Indirapuram to Azamgarh in April 2012 in Ritz, bit confused about Delhi-Bareilly-Barabanki-Faizabad over Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Barabanki Faizabad. Please suggest I also heard the news about Taj Expressway to be opened in April.
I checked few sites(including NHAI official site) about the work completed on NH24 but not sure of the road conditions.
The Delhi-Agra-Kanpur-Faizabad via NH2 road is around 682 KMs where as via NH24 it is 600 KMs. Please suggest whats the current situation on NH24.
Thanks in advance
Rajeev
Thank you Rajeev.
Yamuna Expressway is opening in April, 2012. I do not know the date. Delhi-Moradabad is all double laned. Moradabad-Bareily-Sitapur is bad. Thereafter road is pretty good.
82 KM would mean 100 minutes (overall average). My recommendation would be to take Delhi-Agra-Kanpur route if Yamuna Expressway is open, else take Delhi-Morabad-Sitapur route.
Thanks a lot i am planning in April last week so will watch out for the Expressway
Halo People,
Have just returned after doing Delhi to Bhagalpur trip (one way, left the car there only!). Though there is hardly anything left to be mentioned about Delhi to Patna Road drive, still I would like to share my experience at the cost of repeating many points already mentioned by Nandan & Anant.
Delhi to Patna Road Drive
The best time to leave from Delhi is 4 am, anything before that is too early (cosidering you have to drive throughout the day and you should not compromise with your sleep too much) and after that is too late! Drive till agra should be completed by 7-7.30, there is heavy movement of truck but not to an extent to bother you.
Once you cross agra remaining drive (till Varanasi & Mohania) is going to be by and large pleasant. Distnace and other cautions is already mentioned by Nandan & Anant (like not to get into any city, keep your eyes open when you enter Kanpur, Allahabad & Varanasi so that you don’t enter into the city till you wish to).
I would suggest people who wish to do this drive to halt either at Allahabad (if you started late from Delhi), Varanasi (if you are traveling with family, as you wont get good hotel in Mohania) or Mohania (for Stags or CHADE as they call in Delhi). Drive to Mohania is further 75 kms from Varanasi (will take 1.5 to 2 hrs after dark as there is a thin devider between roads and oncoming traffic will dazzle your eyes)
Continue your Drive to Patna (the same day) only when you have absolute time crunch as road is just ok after Mohania (it matters a lot when you have driven on excellent roads for almost 900 kms) and will not let you enjoy the drive. Also I re-emphasize (the point made by others) one should not do this stretch after dark.
Patna to Bhagalpur
I was keen to share my experience as no-body has written anything about this drive on this page. There are two routes for Bhagalpur from Patna – 1. Patna-Bakhtiyarpur-Mokama-Munger-Bhagalpur or 2. Patna-Bakhtiyarpur-Mokama-Begusarai-Khagaria-Naugachia-Bhagalpur. I did the mistake to take route no. 2 (through Begusarai & Khagaria on NH – 31) but road condition is pathetic (couldn’t drive even in 3rd gear for kms altogether)
Hence, my suggestion to people going to Bhagalpur would be to take Munger Route (NH 30 till Bakhtiyarpur, then NH 31 till Mokama & NH-80 afterwards).
Last point, After Ara, dont forget to ask for Bypass (I entered Patna city and ended up wasting good 1.5-2 hrs), even on Bypass dere are long jams (kms altogether!!, was my worst experience of the whole trip), so its better to cross Patna Bypass as early as possible.
I think if I write any further, that will bore you, so bye and happy journey to all who wish to do a road-journey to Bihar!
Hi all ,specially, Nandan/Anant,
Please reply to my original post, dated March 9, 2012 at 6:28 am. Your opinion will genuinely matter much.
Regards,
Ratnesh Kumar
@ Ratnesh – By all means you should hit the road. I would suggest some precautions
1. Start early but not too early. 4 AM looks good to me for Mid-June.
2. Drive steady but not fast. Never ever rush, for a long drive like this,it is not helpful.
3. Take a mandatory break every three hours. Avoid taking a break before three hours. So break at 7 for b’fast, break at 10 for tea, break at 1 for lunch, break at 4 for tea and then halt for a night in Varanasi.
4. Start after having a good relaxed heavy breafast from Varanasi and you should be reaching Muzaffarpur before dark.
All the best.
want to know the best road route from jamshedpur to muzafarpur to travel with Truck, less ghat road n less fear about robberies etc
Dear Nandan
I am planing for Delhi to Patna by road in two wheeler bike Passion pro within 2 dys if is possible or not. i am 1 night break to Kanpur or Allahabad. Please suggest me.
Thanks
Ahmad
Dear Ahmed – It is possible. Start early and take a break as it gets dark. I am hoping that if you start early then you should be able to reach outskirts of Allahabad. Try to find something before the bypass and avoid getting inside the city. All the best.
Hello Nandan,
I have read your blog and got inspired to drive till Saharsa from Delhi next week. I want to go with my new Wagon-r (Company fitted CNG). Please suggest about CNG Stations in between the route
nandanji namaskar,thori bahut jankari de raha hun jo aapne is post me jaanani chahi hai,1. jo rail cum road overbridge hai,aapko ara ke baad mila tha, wo koilwar naam ke jagah par hai,ye rail cum road bridge kutchh saal pahle tak india ka sabse lamba r/r bridge tha.is bridge ka naam freedom fighter abdul bari siddqui ke naam par hai,aur is pul ke neeche se ganga nahi sone nadi bahti hai,jo danapur ke paas ganga me mil jaati hai.2. ara railway crossing ke pahle hi rail overbridge bana hai,aap use paar kar ara shehar me ramna maidan hote hue bypass pakad sakte hain,shehar me speed slow rahega par aap aram se nikal jaayenge.
@ Lokesh – Here are some details about CNG pumps.
1. Agra (http://www.gglonline.net/Pages/Businessarea/CNGoutletAgra.htm)
2. Kanpur (http://www.cugl.co.in/t-cngstations.aspx)
3. Allahabad (There is one there)
I am not sure whether Patna or rest of Bihar has any. All the best.
@ Rajesh – Thank you very much.
Hi Nandan,
This is Umesh Singh from Delhi (Dwarka Sector 7 to be precise). I have read and re-read your article and almost all comments by different ghumakkars written in response to your post. Recently I purchased a new Car (Maruti RITZ – ZXI – 1200 cc) and decided to go to my home town (Ara, Bihar) by road. It was a thrilling experience for me as I have never been to highways for such a long journey (around 1000 KMs). I would like to share some experience with you all of my this Journey.
I started from Delhi at 3:00 am on 8th June. It took around 3 hours to reach Agara fort. It was 6:00 am and I was not feeling tiered due to which I decided to reach Etawah and take breakfast. After a merathon drive on NH2 from Agara fort to Etawah I reached Etawah at 8:00 am (330 KMs done) . I took a 30 minutes break in Etawah and then decided to move forward for Kanpur. The road after Etawah was awesome and you can sprint the car for 120+ KMs if car allows. I reached Kanpur at 10:30 am and felt proud that I covered Delhi to Kanpur Journey in just 7 hrs. I loved NH2 in Kanpur and found it one of the most interesting road to drive on. Without taking any break I decided to drive till Allahabad and put more pressure on the accelerator of the car. I reached Allahabad using the new bypass at 1:00 pm. It was very HOT there due to which I decided to keep on driving and take some rest at Mohania. I reached Varanasi bypass and at 3:00 pm and was feeling hungry. I remembered your advise to halt in Mohania for food and shelter. I crossed Mohania at 4:00 pm and left NH2 for Ara. The road SH30 was really a hell to cross-off. I decided to take some good food on SH30 and then move for Ara. A road side dhaba (named as Fauji Dhaba) was really a good one. I have chicked and rice along with fish there. Then I decided to move for Ara. This road is not good and can never be compared with the single lane road of Delhi. It is such a shame for Bihar Govt. that they can’t make it two lane at least. Anyways I reached Ara at 5:15 pm and I was happy that I reached Delhi to Ara in around 14.15 hrs.
All of this Journey was inspired by you and other people who have written in this bolg. Once again I would like to thank you for such a nice article :).
Umesh Singh
You made my day Umesh. Your detailed log would further help people to plan this journey well. Yamuna Expressway should open soon (July 17,2012 is the date I heard last, I have been hearing a date for last 6 months so not sure) and then it would further cut down the travel time.
Dear Nandan Bhai
I’m planning on driving from Begusarai to Delhi. What would be the best route to hit NH2?
Begusarai – Patna – Mohania OR Begusarai – Bihar Sharif – Gaya – Aurangabad – Mohania?
There is a differential of around 80 km but considering the road conditions and traffic situation I am tempted to take the Gaya route. I plan to set off from Begusarai at 4:00 a.m. should I risk going via Patna?
Thanks