I am basically from Lucknow and live in Noida. Normally I board a night train to visit Lucknow. We were visiting my parents in Lucknow on new year’s weekend and this time decided to drive down because of two reasons. One, we had to pick up some stuff from my parent’s house for which we needed a vehicle. Second and more important was that, having completed the big road drive (Delhi – Jaisalmer- Jodhpur – Delhi in 4 days) on previous weekend, we were high on driving!
The Delhi to Lucknow distance is approximately 500 km by road. The standard route is Delhi – Hapur – Moradabad – Rampur- Bareilly – Shahjahanpur- Sitapur – Lucknow. I had been hearing about the bad road conditions on some stretch on this route. Another new route that is becoming popular is the Delhi – Kanpur – Lucknow route. Some of my friends tried this route few months back and said that it is fast as it’s a 4 lane road but longer than the standard route by about 50 km. We decided to take the longer and the faster one.
“Delhi Kanpur Lucknow” route can be divided into 4 parts:
a. Delhi to Agra ~ 200Km
b. Agra to Etawah ~ 125Km
c. Etawah to Kanpur ~ 150Km
d. Kanpur to Lucknow ~ 80Km
Delhi to Agra: Started early (around 5:45 am) from Noida and reached NH-2 via Kalindi Kunj. Road was clear in the morning so we covered the first 150 km quickly. Delhi-Mathura-Agra road is an important road (because of Agra) so generally one doesn’t experience bad roads here. But this time, I guess maintenance was due and we met some rough stretches. Arrived Mathura (160 km) around 8:30 and stopped at McDonald’s to get fresh, but couldn’t resist the smell of fresh burgers and ended up having burger and french fries for breakfast. You can not miss this McD while driving as its huge in size and is a good place to stop for breakfast if you start early in the morning.
We continued on NH-2 and reached Agra which was around 50 km from our first stop. On this route, I was going beyond Agra for the first time, but knew that there is a flyover from where the road turning towards right leads to Agra city and the flyover continues straight for Kanpur. I did confirm with some pedestrians and continued towards Etawah-Kanpur. This straight road is supposed to be the bypass and one expects a smooth drive. Seems that this one has lost the ‘bypass’ status as people were avoiding the service road and drove across the main bypass. This was the main bottleneck on this stretch and we took some time to cross Agra.
Agra to Etawah – From Agra, we headed towards Etawah and based on our research about this road, we were on the ‘WORK IN PROGRESS’ stretch. From Agra to Tundla (some 20 odd km) the road was quite good and I was smoothly sailing the car but after crossing Tundla, we started feeling traces of new construction. Diversions, unfinished roads, vehicles coming on wrong sides all started together. Once, near Etawah bypass, we got confused and took a newly constructed but unfinished road that was closed in between and then had to come all the way back to take the old road and ended up driving few extra km. One must take care of this specially near Etawah.
We reached Etawah around 12 pm. Bypass was still not functional so we crossed the city and continued on road towards Kanpur. The road directions inside the city are surprisingly clear and simple.
Etawah to Kanpur: After Etawah, the road condition was awesome. We felt as if we were on Delhi-Jaipur Road. The road has 4 lanes with wide divider in between. You should take care of vehicles coming towards you in the wrong direction. Yes, people avoid taking U-turns and use wrong side and it becomes very dangerous when you are driving at 100-120 kmph on a smooth road. But since the road condition is very good, one can drive on a comfortable speed to cover this stretch.
We took a small tea break, had some snacks we were carrying from Delhi and continued towards Kanpur. We reached near Kanpur around 2 pm and then took a cut that lead to Kanpur city. I visited my college HBTI after a long time. The roads inside Kanpur are just as they were 6 years back! They are in such a bad shape that by looking at the road, one can not say whether it was ever built or not!
Kanpur to Lucknow: It was really nostalgic being in Kanpur and visiting college after so many years. Finally we had evening snacks and tea in Kanpur and headed towards Lucknow. We spent around 3 hr in college and then hit back the road to reach Lucknow by late evening. In college days I used to drive my ‘Hero Puch’ on Kanpur-Lucknow high way and at that time it was 2-lane single road. Now it is 4-lane double road. The road quality is poor near Kanpur but it improved as we approached Lucknow. We covered this stretch of 80 km in around 90 minutes. Entered Lucknow around 6:30 pm and reached home at 7:30 pm.
Some Tips:
I’m sure that like me, a lot of people must be scared of driving in UP specially because of the bad roads that existed until sometime back. The new routes are well maintained and clean and a 500 km drive is very much possible.
* Delhi to Lucknow route can be done comfortably in 8-10 hr driving at a decent speed with 2 short breaks.
* Places to stop for a break/bite:
o McDonald’s near Mathura
o A1 Plaza in between Mathura and Agra
o A1 Plaza in between Kanpur and Lucknow
Hi All..come to lucknow on saturday .. unlike other reviews it took a longer time than expected .. because of two reasons .
1 . started late .. around 7 15 am as i didnt know the route to NH-2 via Faridabad and it was dark at 5 30 .. so got stuck in early morning traffic in Faridabad and lost precious time ..
2 . Got stuck twice before mathura on NH-2 for some unknown reasons in traffic .and kanpur took around 2 hrs , there was heavy traffic on ramadevi chauraha and after wards some 5 kms towards lko-knp highway ( cant call it highway though ) trucks were sitting like ducks in two lanes and there were only two lanes .. i got lucky . . got one scratch on my car ., a traffic cop helped me and one bus driver said ” ud ke jaoge kya ” ( got in the wrong lane , didnt know untill all the lights started coming in my way .. there wasnt any road devider so i could know) .. with this it took around 14 hrs for us to reach lucknow .. :-D
well .. leave the kanpur episode cause it doesnt matter when you are anywhere near lucknow and the overall journey was good .
Moto was to enjoy this journey .. since i ‘v learnt driving few months back and i was the only driver . wife doesnt drive and baby is 2 years old.. he tries but i dont let him do it . . even though he tries to help me as much as possible by pulling gears , increasing volume of player , switching on vipers etc etc .. so decided to go comfortably 60-70 , avoiding overtakings and risks .. and stop whenever need some rest ..
If you are a first timer my advice is to leave early .. around 5 30 . that way you will wont see the city traffic , try not to go very fast till agra . avg of 70 would be fine . let ppl overtake u , thr’s no trophy for the early birds take your first stop well before agra .. thr r some good dhabas .. didnt see any classy though.
After Agra road is a very good and driving is easy .. traffic isnt much and you will enjoy driving . save your energy for this part of the journey ..
For regulars who wants the status of roads .. roads are still in very much good shape from Agra to 20 kms less than kanpur .. and you can easilly drive at 100-120 km/hr for a very long stretch. even from Palwal to Agra , road is good but traffic is too much to go at high speeds unless you are willing to take that risk.
Rajesh ..
Dear Rajesh
A very sensible review..I must congratulate you on this. You may be new to driving but you certainly shall go a long way..and reach safe..my compliments
And…good writing too..:-)
Piyush
Hi Sameer ..just heard from some one that delhi moradabad Sitapur lucknow is completed except 3-4 kms.. and its two way end to end . Can you confirm , i was planning to go via NH2 but if this one is ok than will change the plan.
Rajesh
Same road which takes you to lucknow will bring you back to Gurgaon .. this is what i’v thought but had to reconsider my thoughts after taking up that journey back home…
I’v decided to leave early this time and on sunday so that i could avoid The Kanpur saga .. so left early . around 6 am .. it started raining soon after leaving home and when i was somewhere between lucknow and kanpur and weather was very good .. we stopped somewhere and had tea which we have brought from home.
If you guys ever wanted to feel how an earthquake feels like .. go to that bridge which is on Ganga nadi .. the old bridge ..( surely they are making some new bridge , if not they should make it asap).
we caught in a traffic jam on the bridge and when trucks were passing it started shaking .our car and the car just infront of us was shaking very badly . i waited for the traffic to pass and when road was clear till the end of bridge only then i started and crossed the bridge .
in next hour we have crossed kanpur and moved ahead without any more trouble .. i had thought that the road from kanpur to Etawa and further till Agra will be as good as it is on other side but sadly its good but not that good .. u cant speed up .. you will notice that the white lines drawn in the middle of the road are not satraight its tilted an tilted very badly , if one is going left other is going right , and that shows the condition of road.. road is not flat .. you will feel bad when paying the toll..
Traffic was not much and i’v crossed Agra very easilly , stopped for lunch in mathura at 2 : 30 where there are lots of engineering colleges .. lunch was good , we stopped for around 45 mins and moved ahead .. road after Agra is in good condition though traffic is there.
If any of you knows about status of KMP expressway , please do let me know . if its ready or not or by when its expected.i think it will save a lot of time if you have to reach NH-2 from Gurgaon
It took a bit longer.. nearly 2 hours from reaching Faridabad to Gurgaon , forgot the turn towards Gurgaon and there was traffic as road was under construction inside faridabad.
Total journey took around 12 hours with two breaks and overall experience is good.
just read today in TOI Delhi edition that KMP is under progress and manesar -palwal stretch may start by 1st April this year( already delayed by ,more than a year) , sure they want to celebrate April fool day , they also said that it might get delayed by a fortnight. it will be a toll road. total distance of KMP e-way is 135 kms . I m interested in its M-P part.
I used to think that Gov collects taxes from income and uses it for necessary infrastructures eg roads schools etc. whats the point of collecting Toll then , even the road condition is very bad they keep collecting toll.
Hi,
I’m planning to drive down to lucknow coming friday. Is it advisable to consider an overnight journey with family via NH-2???
I can start somewhere roundabout 2300hrs.
Hi Sameer,
NH-2 is good if you are talking about the road conditions and so u can travel at night as well. If you are with familly you have to take care of other things also other than travelling , I can plan early in the morning even 4 am also but not at night and wont advise also ..
Just tried to get the tickets today but IRCTC is useless when u need it most. I will leave on sat early morning.. I’m afraid to drive at night ..
I agree. It is not recommendable to drive in the night. Better start very early in the morning. At present both route Del-Agra-Lko and Del-MBD- Lko are good to travel.
Hi Sameer,
I have traveled some times in night in this route and on coming Friday night i am again traveling via NH2. Route is fine, some suggestions 4 u as u are traveling with family:- u wont get traffic in night and there will be very few open dhabas as well, so dont think to take more than 1-2 break, secondly your car condition must be good coz u wont get any mechanic in night at all.
Rest is fine, in night you will definitely cover the distance in very less time.
Although traveling in night with family should be avoided but there is no much risk in this route. I traveled 5-6 times in last 8 months and experience have been fine.
While coming from Agra to Gurgaon at Palwal you can take left turn and after about less then a kilometer again take left turn then after 60 km on this road it will take you to Sohna Road Gurgaon. This way you can avoid Faridabad as well as Delhi traffic.
I came from Lucknow to Delhi via the Kanpur-Agra route on the 27th of March. One advise for those planning to travel the same route from Lucknow to Kanpur/Agra/Delhi – at Unnao there is a bifurcation where one should take the road going towards LEFT and not RIGHT.
I had once before travelled from Lucknow to Delhi, but on this occasion I saw a prominent signboard telling me to go on the right for Kanpur (25 kms). I thought that maybe the NH-25 section from Unnao to Kanpur would be under repairs or something and foolishly followed the signboard. I ended up in the narrow bylanes of Unnao. Asked people who told me to keep going straight for Kanpur. This was the old Unnao-Kanpur link road and not NH-25 which was very narrow and had cracks and potholes. Moreover, I ended up in the middle of old Kanpur and had to keep on asking people for Ramadevi Chauraha. Thus, I travelled the whole of Kanpur and wasted nearly 1.5 hours before hitting NH-2.
This is what happens when u follow official signboards and not go by your instincts in India !!
Is driving at night on this route suggested, im planning for a road journey on 15th June,11
Request your feedback and recent updates on road condition aswell..
a. Delhi Agra ~ 200Kms
b. Agra Etawah ~ 125Kms
c. Etawah Kanpur ~ 150Kms
d. Kanpur Lucknow ~ 80 Kms
actually most would suggest to avoid to travel in night and there are many reasons for this also. I can tell you my exp here. I have traveled many times in night via this route. Last weekend i went to LKO. If you ask me i would prefer to travel this route in night rather than in day time. And the reasons are good road conditions and very less city traffic. It would take at least 2 hour less than day time. One thing you will not get any dhabas in Itawa district. So take your breaks accordingly.
Rest is fine, Happy Journey :)
Drive safely.
And roads are quiet wide throughout so the visibility is also good in this route. But if in case ladies and children will be with you then plz avoid traveling in night. Otherwise i don’t see any problem,
Shalabh Jii,
It is never safe driving in night on Indian road be whatever road condition is, unless you are truck driver that too not because of your choice :)
If I was you, Id hit road little early in morning and cross Faridabad / Palwal till Agra early, after that road is all yours with bad patch at Kanpur/Unnao.
Lastly, do take Kanpur bypass bridge ~14KM long and then U turn to avoid Kanpur traffic
-Ajay
Thank you Ajay…I had that view in mind just checking with the regulers if that is possible.. as i will be alone.
Will take your valuable feedback and advice…
Thanks Alot… Also i was told that this road has barricade on both sides so noone can jum onto the road from any where.. is that correct.. or is this done on the other route Ghaziabad-moradabad-Barely-LKO..
Hi Shalabh,
I travel between Delhi -> LKO at least once in every month. Traveling Ghaziabad-moradabad-Barely-LKO route is like a lottery, if everything goes well then you will reach LKO in 8 hours otherwise it takes more than 12 hours. And bro most of the time i was unlucky. But to update you NH24 route is little bit repaired but it is single and as you mentioned you are thinking to travel in night, a BIG NO for that. Seriously don’t travel in night via NH24, its super risky.
Go via NH2 its best.
True, there are barricades all along from Agra to kanpur. But, whenevr i travelled on that route i find people coming on wrong direction.
I think in article above, somewhere it is mention too, and asked us to beware of that as we travel quite fast on this particular stretch. I remember, i could do Agra – Kanpur somewhere around 3 hrs.
Never go on Ghaziabad route, though i never took the route till Lucknow. But, i travelled alot via moradabad for nanital, corbett .. etc. my exp.s were never been good on NH24. I’d anytime prefer NH2 over NH24 for lucknow
Would advise not to take NH-24 in next 5 years .. after that you can go ahead and check if its ok or not … some 3 months back i v taken that route and it was a horrible experience .. believe me there are ditches in the road the size equivalent to average size of indians . also you will see traces of corruption and kamchori all along the way ..
NH-2 is safer .. still being an indian you should follow your instinct .There are barricades all along NH-2 but cows and dogs are very clever here .. they dont care for the zebra line and always willing to see the other side of road .. think its all lush green .. it could be dangerous if you are travelling at any speed above 80kmps.. except you are in a truck or bus.. And there are trucks who prefer to drive in the wrong direction (diesel is also going to get costlier ..)
I wont suggest anyone to drive at night .. never driven at night though .. dont have that much guts and have a family to take care of .. hospitalization is costlier and a a minor fracture with plaster will keep you at home and good for nothing if you have an office job .. rest you have to decide ..
Is there any way we can inform authority to stop wrong side traveling on this Agra Kanpur Highway? I traveled twice from Agra to Kanpur and got tractors on wrong side. Those are extremely dangerous. This should be considered as murder because due to wrong side tractor car occupants could die due to head on collision.
Hi All,
Recently travelled to Lucknow from NOIDA on 28th May. Roads are overall good. One useful update is about Kanpur bypass. Now we don’t need to go till the end of bypass and take U turn to get back to Ramadevi. There is one cut(left) on the bypass just before Ramadevi which takes you straight to Ramadevi so almost 10 KMs saved.
Akash
hii akash.. i m leaving frm lucknow on monday.. 28th june fr delhi by road via kanpur.. u have any idea like how to get on tht bypass near ramadevi kanpur when gng frm lko to del.. someone was saying tht i shud turn opposite direction and then after 4 kms take a u turn and come to flyover.. any idea how to avoid ramadevi traffic and come to bypass/ flyover ???
Hi All ,
I have gone through all comments , advices , suggestions etc. So decided to take one for myself . This is the first time I m planning to go Lucknow from Delhi ( Tilak Nagar ). Since decided , I m taking prints of google road maps , reading them … Kindly suggest me which route to follow . I m planning for next Saturday (02-07-11). I want to start my journey at around 04:00 pm . Should i need to take halt at some place or can simply move on till i reach lucknow .
Also have planned to returned on tuesday , back to Delhi , to start at around 09:00 pm from lucknow to Delhi . kindly suggest this route also .
Abhishek Sharma
hi abhishek,
u dont require any map or anything. the route is very simple and straight, there is no turn until u reach kanpur. I would suggest to start early in the morning as in the evening there will be huge traffic up to agra.
You must take at least 2 halts, one you can take in agra and other in kanpur.
this route is best. roads are good,
Have a safe journey.
hii .. i m leaving frm lucknow on monday.. 28th june fr delhi by road via kanpur.. u have any idea like how to get on tht bypass near ramadevi kanpur when gng frm lko to del.. someone was saying tht i shud turn opposite direction and then after 4 kms take a u turn and come to flyover.. any idea how to avoid ramadevi traffic and come to bypass/ flyover ???
i think i got little late to reply. Now u dont need to drive opposite as previously closed cut has been opened again. it was closed for some months. i think u will find that cut after completing 18 km(appx.) on the kanpur-> allahabad NH2 bridge. That cut will take u to ramabai crossing.
I am planning to drive from Noida to Lucknow during first week of October,11.I am planning to take NH2.My car is Honda City.
Any suggestions/inputs/advise on route/others.
Please post your experience, road condition. I am again going to lko on 22nd Oct.
Dear Vivek Ji,
I also plan to go at Lucknow by Car to take NH 2 on 22nd October 2011. please post your experiance/suggestions/ advice on route.
Please share so that i can enjoy mr journey.
Rergards
Rakesh Shukla
I have gone through all posts, and advise. Thanks to all for sharing their experience, its definitely one of the best blogs I have come across. Starting for Lucknow from Gurgaon, on October 1, via Agra – Etawa – Kanpur. Hope to enjoy the ride. :D
Please post your experience, road condition.
Anyone, any recent update on NH2 road conditions between Del-KANPUR-LKO ?
As a side note, any update on Yamuna Exp. way?
Anyone, any recent update on NH2 road conditions between Del-KANPUR-LKO ?
As a side note, any update on Yamuna Exp. way?
Rakesh Shukla
Delhi – kanpur – lucknow is just fine .. just last week i have come from Gurgaon to lucknow .. roads are same as it was 6 months back .. if yamuna exp is somewhere on NH-24 .. i dont know about it .. for next 5 years i wont take NH-24.
There s one square feet patch half feet deep ,. .somewhere on NH-2 . i have seen it somewhere but i dont remember it where it was .. take care of it..
When you are in kanpur and on that freeway .. after going around 18 kms you will see a road going left and a small marker is there to tell you which side is lucknow .. that way you can save traffic jam at ramadevi chowk.
Thanks for the update!
Due to some reason could not start on 1 October. Here is the review of the same journey that was postponed to 26 October –
Unlike others, not much sure about the road condition, except for posts written by experienced travellers at Ghummakar.com; I started for Lucknow from Gurgaon on 26 November 2011 at 5:45 AM.
This was the first time I was travelling on a different route, and all alone, though I have been to Jaipur on number of occasions. However, thats a different story, and no route in Northern India can compete, Delhi Jaipur Highway, I believe most of you will agree on that.
I already made up my mind, and was mentally prepared, and very much excited to explore the new route. The idea was to cover maximum distance early morning, as it was Diwali time, and inside city may be crowded.
From Gurgaon, I passed through South City II, and took road going towards Sohna. Since it was Diwali, I can see little traffic already in early morning, but that could not check my spirit. On reaching Sohna, I noticed indication towards Palwal. This is what I need to follow. Going little further, the road takes a Y shape. Though I took the right route, yet I thought of confirming with locals over there. Having confirmed, and making sure I am on the correct route, I started accelerating. The route from Gurgaon up to Sohna and then up to Palwal is not that good. Lots of pot holes, speed breakers, patched roads, and emerging traffic. For people coming from Delhi – Faridabad route should be the ideal. However, from Gurgaon this is the only route, and Google also suggests that. Anyways, on reaching Palwal, I came across a T point, from where I had to take right. Going little further, it will merge with NH2. The road from Faridabad also merges at the same place. I took right to follow others, after reaching that point. Just to make sure, that I am on the correct route, I confirmed for the Agra Highway NH2, and started rolling, and slowly accelerating.
Diwali rush can already be noticed, everyone seems to be hastening. I decided to stay focused and drive at an average speed of 60kms, and speed up at places where I get chance to. I was looking at the speedometer 60 80 Kms. thats the speed I was maintaining. The road up to Agra is somewhat good, but need to be careful, as I observed most of the people commute using two wheelers to reach neighboring places. The tendency of overtaking, taking immediate cuts, honking vehicles all are there. I had to drive carefully. Well, thats not the end at times I can see villagers and cattle jumping in.
Quickly passed Mathura, and noticed McDonalds, just opposite Mathura Refinery. Didnt stopped at McDonalds as I intend to cover maximum distance. Vrindavan is 6 Kms from Mathura. Reached Agra around 9: 10 AM, followed the straight road ahead, passed in front of Akabar ka Makbara, and continued driving straight. It took me 20-25 minutes to pass by Agra, as the traffic was slow, and the reason being Diwali.
I took a breath as I passed through Agra, and slowly startedaccelerating again on the straight road. After Agra, there was no stopping. After covering 300 Kms. at a stretch I decided to stop at one place for breakfast. At 10:30 AM somewhere near Sirsaganj, seeing a decent restaurant cum dhaba I stopped. Didnt waste much time in looking into menu, asked the attendant whats there in breakfast, and ordered for tandoori aloo paratha, and a cup of tea. Parathas were well baked, and was served with butter on top. Tea was refreshing. Nearly spending around 40-45 minutes, I started again.
Kanpur 190 Kms. the signboard flashed. After Sirsaganj break, there was no stopping till Midway Hut at Nawabganj. Road then after is just awesome, and I really enjoyed driving. I crossed Kanpur around 1:45 PM. The Kanpur bypass flyover takes you straight to Ramadevi, where you need to take the left cut to come down from the flyover. From Ramdevi till Ganga River the road is in bad shape, as a connecting flyover is getting constructed. Hence need to drive very slowly. It took around 20 minutes to cross that 5 Kms bad road. Then afterwards road is somewhat good. Around 5 PM reached Lucknow. It was nice experience for me, and I do believe it will be the same for everyone.
To sum up
Gurgaon Sohna – Palwal – Average road condition, drive slowly, speed breakers, potholes and emeriging traffic, ideal speed should be 50-60 Kms
Palwal Mathura Agra Good road, drive cautiously, people may rush to overtake, keep honking, cattles and villagers may jump in, ideal speed should be 60-80 Kms
Agra Etawah Kanpur Love the road, appeared to be total freeway driving, ideal speed should be 70-90 Kms, drive caustiously, vehicle may come from the wrong side tractors, cars, jeeps, road rollers, bus and even trucks.
Kanpur Nawabganj Lucknow Good road, drive cautiously, at some places road is getting constructed, ideal speed 60-80 Kms
Toll Plazas:
1. NHAI Section: Badarpur Kosi 18.8 Km to 108.90 Km Location: Srinagar Km. 75 on NH2 Tax 35/-
2. NHAI Toll Fee Ticket-Mahuban (barari) (KM 165) on NH2 Tax 35/-
3. Toll Plaza : Tundla Tax 25/-
4. Semra Atikabad (UP) Section from 250.50 to 321.10 Km of NH2 Distt. Firozabad Tax 50/-
5.SkyLark Securities Pvt. Ltd. NH2 Etawah-Kanpur Section Km. 351.5 Tax 45/-
6. Sikandara Toll Plaza at km 395/800 from km 393 to km 470 Sikandarg-Barg (via Akbarpuri-Bhaunti Section) of NH2 in the State of UP Tax 35/-
7.Lost the receipt the last one is somewhere between Nawabganj and Amausi.
I will share the pictures and video soon!! Happy Jorney !!
Dear Naina,
Excellent review. Thanx a lot was planning to drive down to LKO from NOIDA sometimes in December. Find this sharing of your extremely positive and informative.
Thanx one again.
Rahul
I must say……great review…congrats!!!
You put lot of time and effort in writing the review, i really appreciate.
Some may not be agree but I would suggest not to drive 500+ kms alone.
I also came to Noida from Lko yesterday. Roads are as usual good but too much traffic after Shikohabad(due to Diwali). Started at 9:30 am and took 10:30 hours.
Waiting for Yamuna Express Way to be opened soon. It will definitely save 40-50 kms and one hour.
hii all..
so many reviews about NH 2 .. so i decided to write too about my road journey from gurgaon to lucknow yesterday on 31st oct 2011..
started at 7:30am from gurgaon. was planning to leave at 6 am but somehow it got delayed.
30 kms- faridabad: i took that ridge road as i heard bad reviews about sohna – palwal road condition.. be careful as soon as u enter faridabad immediately there is a right turn and nowhere its mentioned that it goes to palwal or mathura. but got heavy traffic at faridabad which can be avoided if one starts early from gurgaon. then corssed palwal and got some traffic there too.
then came the worst part of journey and was stuck in a heavy traffic jam 50 kms beofre mathura. took 1 hour to travel that 1 km of jam. but i think i was not lucky enough as usually its not there daily.
112 kms- mathura: stopped at Mc Donalds near mathura refinery for half an hour for a heavy brunch and was the only meal i had till i reach lucknow.
197 kms- agra: road condition is good but heavy traffic from faridabad to agra as many people were visiting agra including thousands of foreigners that day ..as formula 1 race got over a day before only.. so almost everyone i think made plans to visit agra after F1.. got some traffic in agra but later it was ok and very soon crossed shikohabad and firozabad. till now was driving at a decent speed of 80 to 90 kms/hr and sometimes even less due to traffic.
318 kms: etawah: reached etawah and without any problem corssed the city. after that it was a smooth drive with less traffic and good roads .. here speed was varying between 90 to 120 kms/hr. but lot of two wheelers on this section and they drive on the middle of lane and u r not sure from which side to overtake them and u cant predict when they will change the lane within a flash of second. a small tea break for 15 mins between etawah and kanpur and was really refreshing.
472 kms- kanpur: reached ramadevi at a good speed but there as expected a heavy traffic jam. heavy vehicles moving slowly and that 1 km strech took 20 mins. then crossed jajmau easily as bridge is opened on both sides.
550kms- lucknow: reached lucknow at 6:30 pm. got heavy traffic there too in evening from amausi to gomtinagar.
so finally i covered full distance in 11 hrs. but i will practically take it as 10 hrs journey with two breaks in between if i dont add that 1 hr jam between faridabad and mathura.
there are 7 toll plaza in between and naina has already told in detail very well about the charges and location so need not comment again. have the pics too but i really dont know how to upload them here..
wish u all a happy journey if someone is planning in near future…
Here is the link to pictures –
https://picasaweb.google.com/111436730731060799399/NH2GurgoanLucknow?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJi07IHks8WAfg&feat=directlink
Enjoy!! :D
Hi,
Just visited Lucknow following the information mentioned in posts above and I am highly delighted with the conditions of highway. Its really easy to commute via agra to Lucknow. My travel time including the 40 mins break in between, was 10 hrs.
Thanks to everybody for posting various useful info to help people who might be planning to follow the same route.
There is an update about the Toll tax we pay on this route and here it goes:
1. Badarpur : Rs 20
2. Kosi Kalaan : Rs 35
3. Mahuwan : Rs 35
4. Sikandara : Rs 35
5. Firozabad : Rs 50
6. Auriya : Rs 45
7. Tundla : Rs 25
8. Nawab ganj: Rs 40
Total = Rs 285
Happy miles to all… Keep posting!!!
Regards,
Vishal
Hi All,
I’m really impressed with the info posted by me fellow travelers, it really helped me in my Journey from Noida to Lko.
Just one update about the Cut to Ramadevi on Kanpur bypass. There is no-sign board to tell you when to take the cut, only way I’ve figured it out is to keep a check on the milestone. When you get the “Kanpur 2 KM” keep to the left and take the first Cut. It’ll take you directly to Ramadevi. Secondly if my memory serves me right this is Only cut which you get once you get on this by-pass.
Please update if you find it otherwise.
Hello All,
It has been reported by the local commuters, and in local newspaper, there have been incidents of extortion, and loot on this route. Please drive cautiously, and avoid travelling in night, if not really necessary.
hello there
I am planning to drive from delhi to kanpur , is the yamuna expressway completed ??. Has anybody used it.
Regard s- Varun
@Varun,
Not yet buddy, I live @ Gr Noida and don’t see any activity at the start of the X-way. There are still barricades at the start point.
Regarding Faridabad By-pass, is it worth taking the risk, I mean the Railway-Xing at the end,
Dies it save time during rush hours, or its like the Known Shortcuts, which almost everyone knows and in turn becomes more crowded than the main highway.
manish
thanks for the update
Hi Friends,
I am planning a trip from Delhi to Lucknow and back via road, sometime next month. Some friends above have commented about roads/service lane/ cut etc. at Ramadevi Chauraha (Kanpur).
Can someone update me the latest position now ? i.e. how to go down from kanpur byepass flyover when going from Delhi to Lucknow and how to come up on flyover when going from Lucknow to Delhi?
Hey Kamal,
The by-pass which is mentioned above is actually NH-2 which takes you to Allahbad. So once you’re about to enter Kanpur, follow the sign-boards to Allhabad and not to Lucknow as it’ll take you through the Kanpur City traffic and which we all now how bad is.
Once you get on this by-pass, you’ll be spared of all the traffic.
After this follow the milestones and when it reads Kanpur 2 KM, keep to the left of the road and you’ll get the cut, which will directly take you to Ramadevi Crossing. Go straight from there and you’ll reach Ganga Bridge and straight to Lucknow.
Thanks Manish, Really appreciate the prompt revert.
Can you also update me which cut etc to use at Ramadevi Chauraha, while coming from Lucknow to Delhi ?
I saw someone mentioning that I need to turn towards allahabad side and take U turn to come on flyover towards Delhi, but that post was amlost two years old. So wondering if some new proper cut/ service lane has been created?
You’re Welcome Kamal,
About the return trip from Lucknow, just go straight from the Ganga Bridge and you’ll reach Ramadevi, go straight form there, no-left or right turn. Aas you’ll move forward you’ll see the bypass voer the road, there will be a road going under that, just follow that and it’ll merge in the bypass.
Initially when this Merge wasn’t there, then people had to take a left from Ramadevi and then go towards Allahabad and then take a U-trun. Now it isn’t required.
Thanks once again, Manish.
hello everyone,
I am planning to drive from New Delhi to Lucknow. Can anybody know me whether the yamuna expressway is open and has anybody used it. Please also tell me the CNG stations on the way and their location.
Reply
Hello guys…. I am about to visit varanasi from delhi toorrow…….can somebody suggest me beat route….i am especially concerned about route from lko to varanasi….from delhi to lko i can take route via nh2…..lko isit is inevitable for me otherwise i cud have taken via kanpur…..thanx
Hi Guys,
Am also expecting the reply on the road route through yamuna expressway.. is it open and functional now ? If yes then can anybody share his experience for this route. I’m looking to travel to lko from Gurgaon on Sat Morning… thx
Yamuna Expressway is not yet open. No firm date as of now, but it seems that it should open soon.
Thanks Nandan. NH2 is the way option for me then… thx
Hey Manish,
Its not open officially yet but you can pay the guards at the entrance few bucks and they’ll allow you. I live at Gr Noida and it’s a common thing. Every day I see people using the X-way, not many but yes approx 5-10 cars in an Hour. I don’t know the exact amount they ask for but I don’t think that It’ll be more than 200.
I recently (Aug 10, 2012), undertook the same journey driving alone in my Hyundai Verna. I started early from the IIM Lucknow, NOIDA campus (Sector 62) at around 6 am. Within no time I hit the NOIDA- Greater NOIDA expressway and by 6:40 am, I was exiting it to enter the big circle leading me to Yamuna Expressway. No two things about it, the road is awesome. I touched 100 kph in an instant but then made sure not to cross it as thats the speed limit there and every car is under surveillance. Well, on that road, that was a punishment. At 7 am, I was crossing the Buddha International Circuit. There are three toll plazas on the way. The toll is pretty high (320 bucks for a one way car journey). The toll road is around 185 kms and is shorter than NH2 (till Agra) by around 30 kms, since it runs to east of Yamuna which is the right direction. Additionally, Yamuna Expressway completely bypasses Agra and dropped me to NH2 around 15 kms ahead of Agra. The Agra exit part of the E-way is incomplete, so those going to Agra will hit NH2 and then have to take a U-turn for Agra. I reached that spot by 8am (2 hrs flat).
Joining NH2 looked like a huge degradation- from a 6-lane concrete car-only traffic to 4- lane pitch car-bus-truck-auto-vikram-pedestrian traffic. It took some getting used to.
The road till Firozabad was crowded and it took some time to cross the city (NH2 goes right through). After that, the road was not only better but also less crowded and cruising at 100+ speeds became a regular feature. Just 40 kms before Etawah, I stopped at a nice restaurant (Glorious) for a breakfast at around 9:15 am. I moved out at 9:45 am and was at Etawah at around 10:30 am. The city is bypassed, so no problems there. After Etawah, the road is awesome (as Aditya mentioned) and I was at Rania (just outside Kanpur) at around 12:00 am.
Anyways, by around 12:30pm, I was exiting Kanpur (a major bottleneck crossed). I hit NH25 which is of poor quality initially (due to the flyover construction and other Kanpur effects). But soon it started improving and was actually nice around 40 kms after Kanpur. I was flying on the road and I entered Banthara (Lucknow outskirts) at around 1 pm and was at the airport at around 1:20 pm. My home is 10 mins from the airport, so in a sense my journey ended there and I did not have to cross Lucknow city to reach other side parts.
So, in total, my journey took me 7.5 hours with a 30 mins break in between to cover a tripmeter marked distance of 554 kms at an average speed of 74 kph. Thats as fast as the Lucknow Shatabdi which also takes around the same time.
Hi All,
Whats the update on NH2 and NH24.
Am travelling to Lko this Diwali.
NH24, cause of the distance, looks like a better option to me but did anyone drove on it all the way to Lko, when please and how was the road?
Thanks and Cheers!!
Asit
Dear Asit,
I recently did a road trip from Ghaziabad to Faizabad (Via Lucknow) in August 2012 with my wife and our pet (a dog). After doing all the research I decided to take the NH-2 route via Yamuna Expressway. And trust me I don’t regret my decision.
I started from Ghaziabad at 7:00 in the morning. We took Yamuna Expressway and reached Agra by 9:30am with an average speed of about 90-100kms per hours. You wont even feel a bit of tiredness up till Agra. And the good part about this Yamuna expressway is that it bypasses entire Agra City, so need to get inside the city. The moment Yamuna expressway ends NH-2 starts.
By 9:51 we were at Firozabad. Road condition is very good. But please be very careful of traffic coming from wrong side of the road, specially bike, tractors and cycles.
By 11:33 we reached Etawah. Again road condition was very good.
By 12:30 we were at Auraiya and by 13:10 we reached Akbarpur.
We reached Kanpur 14:00hrs and took the newly built flyover (bypass) to cross the city. Altough its not 100% completed, but still you wont be stuck in traffic for more than 10-15 mins after the flyover ends. We crossed Kanpur by 14:10 and reached Unnao by 14:30 and stopped for lunch.
We hit Hazratganj Lucknow at 16:20 and eventually Faizabad by 18:30.
Through out our journey we had to stop and take a break of around 5 to 10 minutes after every one and half hour so that our dog can ease himself.
Entire route was awesome. Yes a bit long but its “advisable” to take this route. Trust me you wont regret it.
Do let me know your experience once you are back. All the best, and have a safe driving and Happy Diwali.
Hi all,
Thanks for all the useful comments and descriptions. I have done Agra-Lucknow a couple of times and the road, particularly from Ramadebi (Kanpur) to Agra is nothing short of excellent, with bypasses and overbridges over most small towns. You can just keep going between 100 and 130 KpH on this stretch. I plan to go NIODA next month. Lets see how the experience goes. Just been upto Mathura once, so I know theres an excellent McD. Dont miss the thick shakes there. They dont sell them in most McD joints.
As for night driving, regardless of the low traffic volumes, I would not recommend due to the incidences of drunk driving by truck drivers. Roadside assistance is nil and there are stretches where if you are marooned in the middle ofthe night, you just might be divested of all your belongings, to say the least. Star early morning as most have advised and enjoy safe driving folks.
Any comments on Del-Moradabad-Sitapur-Lko route? any updates on road conditions? Any help would be welcome.
Regards to everyone.
Samir Sharma
@ Samir – https://www.ghumakkar.com/2008/06/05/delhi-moradabad-sitapur-lucknow-road-review/
Net net
Delhi – Moradabad is super (though not comparable to Agra-Kanpur)
Moradabad – Rampur is OK
Rampur – Bareily-Shan..pur-Sitapurr is Bad
Sitapur – Lucknow is Super
This highway is still 5 years away to be the main road for going to LKO from DLI. With YamunaExpressway, Delhi-Agra-Kanpur works best.
Is the Ramadevi (Kanpur) traffic issue sorted?
This stretch would take 60-90 minutes when I last drove to Lko.
Cheers and have a safe Diwali.
Hi All,
Last saturday drove from Delhi to Lucknow….
1. Yamuna expressway: an excellent entry point is thru the DND….from DND start to end of Yamuna expressway is 2 hours without breaking the speed limit. Great job by JP and Mayawati.
2. Firozabad was cogested and we had to slow down considerably.
3. Etawah to Kanpur was excellent in long stretches but towards Kanpur the road is bad.
4. Kanpur City: OMG, when will they not fail to dissapoint.
5. Unnao: Bad.
6. Towards Lucknow: Ok. Do drop in at the Allen Cooper factory outlet for shoes and bags. Some very good stuff there.
All in all it took us 10 hours due to Kanpur and Unnao stretches.
7. Home sweet home and some beer with murgi. Cheers all and a happy diwali.
Has anyone done NH24 recently i’ll be leaving to Lucknow on 29th Nov,12. Just checking hows it now i traveled through this road in 2009 and it was okay sort of but construction material was all over the place with a single road at most of the stretch.
Hows it now after 3 years any recent traveler till Lucknow.
I know NH 2 and that is best still. Just checking about NH 24 has it been re-toned?
Thanks for reviews .
After reading your reviews I started from South Delhi to Lucknow on 11th Nov at 4 am .
I was driving for first time more than 100 kms.
I took NH2 from badarpur and reached Lucknow at 3PM .
I got my Swift car CNG refilled at Faridabad, Agra(Just right side before main chowk) , and Kanpur(Allahabad road).
Only Kanpur and Unnao city had some slow traffic due to flyover work.
Whole journey was very smooth and non exhaustive .Speed 80-100 .
NH2 is really good road.
Not much has changed on NH 24…heard that the road is bad.
Hi,
I’ll be leaving from Gurgaon to Lucknow on 13th. I plan to leave as early as possible. I’ve read through the page and all its posts. Can someone advise me if it would be better to go via
Taj Expressway
Sohna-palwal
or via faridabad
This wud be my first time travellking so far by car. I’ll definitely post my experience.
Thanks
Very Good Road all the way Delhi to Lucknow….
580 kms. did in 7:30 hours with a couple of 20 mins break..
Avg. speed 80 kmph, hitting 120 kmph on the expressway and streches between etawah and kanpur.
CNG avbl. an issue as you have to get off the highway to tank up CNG..
Only strech before Kanpur a bit bad , approx. 20 kms and then the Jajmau/Ramadevi strech before Ganga Pul needs to be cautious..
Overall an excellent trip..
Return trip also good.. except the strip after you exit Kanpur.. 8:30 hours on the return..
Agree, the trucks/vehicles coming on yiur wrong side is definately an issue and needs to be cautious.
UP traffic is bad and not very disciplined…
Delhi-Agra Expressway was really really awesome…only thing to be careful is to stick on his/her own lane…did come across couple of idiots who could not control at high speed ( also the friction is less on such a concrete road)
Agra-Kanpur was also great, few **** coming from the wrong side as already mentioned but this road is also a pleasure to drive
there’s a bit of stretch in which construction is going on so it does take some time
but overall an excellent trip…no need of GPS on this track :D
Hi,
i am leaving 21st mrg fron Noida to Kanpur.. i will take yamuna expressway from Noida to Agra.. Can u please suggest how the road after agra.. How much time it will take from agra to kanpur..
thanks..
Agra to Kanpur is 3-4 hours.
Road is good…mind the villagers and traffic coming on the wrong side. I always keep my headlight on when on highways due to the latter. Atleast they can spot you earlier than they would w/o lights.
Stop at Dhabas, see the crowd and then come out the car please.
Enjoy and be safe.
All the best!!
Asit
Hi, Just cam back from Lucknow on Jan 15, 2013. The route is very good. Please make sure visibility is good before you start. Avoid driving in FOG.
Route is very good. Be cautious from traffic coming from the wrong side. Make sure you tank up before hitting Yamuna Expressway.
Yamuna Expressway to Agra: 2 Hrs 20mins (Drive carefully, do not overspeed, very tempting road to challenge your vehicle limit, dont do that.)
Agra to kanpur: 3 hrs 30 mins
I am planning to attend one marriage in Lucknow from Noida on 7th Feb and same day return.
Is it possible by my Diesel Car i20, what is the status of Road as of now , I know from Noida to Agra not at all problem .. ( touchwood ) but Don’t know from Agra to Lucknow, never been in that route, secondly the highway of which everyone is talking, is it possible to take highway from Yamuna Express way.
Please suggest anyone ASAP.
“is it possible to take highway from Yamuna Express way.”
Yes mukund, the road is straight and the road till kanpur is awesome… but i would not advise travelling at night….there are people coming on the wrong side after agra so be careful about that
Thanks Vaibhav, generally how much time it takes if I start my journey around 4 Am. Because I have to be there in Lucknow around 12 afternoon.
Is it advisable to go by Car or I should take Either Bus or Train.
Please suggest.
8 hours sound unrealistic as it may be foggy on the highway.
The road is good but you have to drive keeping in mind the villages and wrong side traffic.
The best I have done is 10 hours with 2 breaks….Kanpur and Unnao patches are bad.
Okay, Thanks Asit, Do I need to take care of GPS, I mean should i carry GPS phone or it’s okay because I am going in Feb 7, so I don’t think so the Foggy factor will be there but still the weather is not predictable.