Indore to Jabalpur Travel Review

All our relatives told us to travel by train as it is a monsoon season and driving is difficult, but we traveled by Amit’s Maruti Swift car because we love driving. Me and my friend Amit planned for the trip.

Amit got the second service done of his Maruti Swift Vdi on 8th of July 2010 and we decided to leave for Jabalpur on 10^th July Saturday morning 6 a.m. Kept all our luggage including eatables, extra tools, umbrella, lots of water, GPS navigation system, vehicle documents, credit/debit card, full tank diesel, etc.

The route planned was:-

Indore - Dewas - Sonkach - Ashta - Sehore - Bhopal - Obaidullaganj - Bareli - Tendukheda - Shahpura - Jabalpur, total 500 kms.

Morning 6 a.m., our GPS navigation system showed clear weather all over Madhya Pradesh and we started our journey from Indore and reached Bhopal at 9 a.m. through National Highway 86 at a variable speed from 120 to 140 kilometers per hour. The road is a perfect four lane with corridors made in villages to avoid speed reductions. We stopped at Sonkach for breakfast. In Bhopal, we refilled diesel from Reliance Pump. The GPS navigation device guided us through Bhopal city roads. We reached Obaidullaganj through Hoshangabad Road in a few hours. Now, comes the worst part of the journey. To our surprise, NH12 from Obaidullaganj to Jabalpur had no toll tax booths and Amit defined it simply as a “non-maintained road”. The drive was a complete disaster with big potholes and single laned through some villages. Animals everywhere on the roads. Speed was just 60 to 80 kmph maximum. It took us the whole day, but we reached Jabalpur at 5 p.m. Now on the way through NH12 we spotted a flyover near between Tendukheda & Bhedaghat. It was NH26 coming from Sagar (North) to Kareli and Narsimhapur (South). We decided to check the route later on the GPS system after reaching the hotel.

On reaching Jabalpur City, we checked in Hotel Arihant Palace, Russel Square, Jabalpur. The hotel had a good parking and the room was also clean and tidy, Rs.650 + taxes for 24 hours for a double bedroom. Had a deal with the greedy guard to wash our car every morning and reserve our parking place for 4 days at Rs. 200. The hotel had overnight parties which had a lot of rush and parking got full always, so the guard did his job well and made sure our space was empty. Amit had a headache due to the stressful drive on the road, so we bought tablets from the medical shop in front of the hotel. Amit bought his cigarettes from a pan wala just near the hotel. Hotel food was cheap and not that much good, i.e., less or more spices, so we decided to eat outside on some occasions during our stay. Now we checked the other route as it was 4 lane and obviously better than NH12. It was 72 plus km but we decided to go through it at the time of return. The city roads are quite thin and traffic is worst.

Bhedaghat - A Beautiful Waterfall Going Through a Marble Canyon

We left the hotel at 8 a.m. and Bhedaghat was just a 20 km drive. Roads in Bhedaghat were good. Paid Rs. 20 for entry and another 15 for parking. Parked the car and now it was time to walk. The marketplace was good, but a lot of greedy village people were selling statues and all sort of rubbish at the bottom of the ghat. Took the ropeway for Rs.60 per person for both crossing and back to the other side. The ropeway had a nice view over the falls. I was shocked to see more village sellers on the other side! Took some pics of the falls and Amit recorded it through his handycam. Spent a few hours there. All the trekking was very hectic and  we both got really tired. Left Bhedaghat and returned to the hotel. The hotel service was quite good but it was a vegetarian hotel, so searched the GPS navigator again for some nearby nonveg restaurants. Most of them were again vegetarian! At last, we found one just 200 meters away from the hotel. The food was just okay and expensive.

Jabalpur City Culture

Jabalpur City is really populated but the culture is very different. A few malls opened just last year. Theaters have a lot of rush but bad crowd. Again, fast food zones and recreational areas have bad atmospheres all over the city. People drive like they own the road. Amit almost got hit while crossing once. There were a lot of car decor shops, mechanics, fast food joints, clothing stores, and dense markets around the hotel area, although the south side of the city was beautiful with good roads and houses made on Madan Mahal hill. Army cantonment was located in the same area near Gorakhpur.

Jabalpur to Indore- Back Home

It was time to leave back for Indore. Checked out of the hotel on 14th July Wednesday 6 a.m. It was raining hard in the morning, but the GPS navigator showed clear weather outside Jabalpur. Paid the bill. Took a little discount on the tax and it came around to Rs. 3300 for 4 days stay including breakfast and lunch on some occasions. The GPS guided us out of the city and we reached the NH12/NH26 crossing around 8 a.m. Now as we planned, we turned to north to Sagar (NH26) to avoid the bad road (NH12) from Obaidullaganj. It was still raining and we were at a constant speed of 120 kmph on the empty 4 lane NH26. The road was perfect till Deori. We were shocked to see no road after that. I mean it was a disaster, 4 lane national expressway into no road. We realized that it was under construction. Our Swift struggled through mud and big potholes. The “no-road” 70 km drive from Deori to Sagar was the worst experience of my life. I just prayed for it to end fast and for us to reach home safely.

Motorvehicle Accident on NH26

While on our way to Sagar on NH26 the rain got very hard and the fog around the hills was also thick. This affected vision badly so we decided to drive at 80 kmph. Now I was driving constantly and suddenly Amit spotted a huge horde of cows a few meters away.  I floored the brake pedal but the rain was so fast that the car took time to slow down. Amit pulled the handbrake just before impact. The car spanned 180 degrees and we hit two cows, one in front right portion of the bumper and one at the rear. The cows just got up and nothing happened to them. The two boy villagers and an old man started abusing at us. I lost my temper and replied them and was going to get out of the car but Amit stopped me and told me it is not the right place and time, so I floored the pedal just as the villagers started shouting for calling others. We pulled over at Deori when the rain stopped. Found the left taillight broken, no front left fog lamp cover and the bonnet pushed inside as the cow fell on it. We punched the bonnet from inside. It did lift back up but lost its curvy shape. Decided to continue the journey as it will be fixed by insurance claim in Indore.

NH86 saved the day

Now after such a bad experience on NH26 we were hoping that road from Sagar to Bhopal must be good. We reached Sagar around 11 a.m. The weather got clear and sunny. The GPS device guided us through the city and finally after a disastrous drive, we discovered a toll booth. Tarun and I felt very relieved. NH86 went through Begamganj & Raisen. The road was very smooth through the hills and plains. We reached Bhopal at 2 p.m. right on time. Refilled diesel, had lunch, drove through Bhopal City with the GPS. The rest of the journey was good, enjoyed some music and drove at 120 to 140 kmph on N86 till Indore. We finally reached home at 5 p.m. We were very happy to arrive safely. Next day, we dropped the car at the service center for insurance.

Total Travel Expenses

Hotel Bill - 3300

Outside food - 1300

Diesel - 3000

Toll Tax - 200

Miscellaneous - 600

Vehicle Repair Estimate - 500

Total came around 8900

Indore to Jabalpur Car Travel Conclusion

Well it was an amazing trip. Enjoyed the good, suffered the worst. But in the end gained all the experience which I feel is important. Will be extra cautious next time and will plan more nicely. The GPS is a “must have” device. Found a lot of dead dogs and cows on the highway. Even in the small villages cows were sitting in the middle of the road. Village people are very irresponsible. They are least concern and obviously not good to talk to. Animals are the biggest reason of highway accidents. On the way to Indore overtook a Honda Civic and Grand Vitara and they both did the same thing vice versa. Enjoyed the whole thing, the 205 section tires are really good. The car would have not stopped or even spanned many more times or worst. The tires really have good grip and they did there job well. Amit got them aligned after getting the car back from insurance.