The SUV had undergone its 2nd service recently, so expected to be in top shape with odo at just ~5.6K km.
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This travelogue is about a 3-week return road trip from Mumbai to Kanyakumari in a Tata Harrier.
(It is a long post, please read at leisure.)
The entire trip is in numbers below.
- Total Distance Driven – 4639 km
- Duration – 21 Days in January 2023
- Stops – 11 Cities/towns – Hyderabad, Chennai, Puducherry, Kumbakonam, Rameswaram, Kanyakumari, Kodaikanal, Mysuru, Udupi, Goa, and Pune
- States / UTs – KA, AP, TS, TN, PY, GA, MH
- Total Driving Time – 86 hrs
- Average Speed – 54 km/h
- Average Fuel Efficiency – 16.2 km/l measured tank to tank, though the trip meter claims 17.8 km/l
- Total Toll Paid – Rs 3616
- Total Diesel Cost – Rs 28178
- Car Wash Expense – Rs 1000
- Travellers – Wife and me
- Vehicle – Tata Harrier KZA+ (Odo at ~5.6K at the start of the trip)
Trip Objectives
Visiting a few Chola-Pandya temples of Tamil Nadu and Kodaikanal was on my wish list for a while. Their wife wanted to visit Puducherry and Kanyakumari. I was able to take extended time off from work in January, which I consider the best month to visit the Indian peninsula. In short, the stars aligned.
Planning and Preparation
Concrete planning for this trip started a fortnight before the start date. Bookings were made for a mix of hotels and homestays – all online. Made bookings only up to Kodaikanal because we were not sure of our path after that. We didn’t want the trip to be a race against the calendar and were prepared to extend it by a few days if needed.
The vehicle had undergone 2nd service (free) recently, so expected to be in top shape with odo at just ~5.6K. Topped up DEF with 5 litres and carried another 5-litre can. No other prep for the vehicle is needed or done.
The Harrier – pic was taken at Dhanushkodi near Rameswaram.
Our biggest concerns were:
- Health – my ability to drive over long duration/distances and my wife’s health to sit through them. I had done a 15-hrs/730 KMs day once several years ago in a Duster AWD. Some additional stops were added to keep on-road time under 10 hrs, with exceptions. We also booked stays that were 100% refundable till check-in.
- Safety – stuck to daytime driving, highways / known routes, mental conditioning for defensive driving (and yet lost my cool a few times) and carried a mace spray.
Vehicle capability and reliability – was confident of the Harrier.
Specific items purchased and carried for the trip:
- Electric Kettle – used every day – Amazon Link
- Drinking Water – carried 20 litres from home, added 12 litres in Puducherry and another 15 litres of RO water reliably sourced from the stays – our total drinking water consumption on the trip.
- Heat-n-eat (add hot water) – 15 portions, a custom combination of breakfast and meal items from MOM (meal-of-the-moment) and The Taste Company – ordered from respective websites. We found the former better than the latter in quantity and taste. This was my wife’s initiative that sparred us the worry of finding food.
- Premixed Tea ~ 25 cup sachets – Wagbakri and Girnar, again wife’s idea
- Emergency Cutter/Hammer – never needed – Amazon Link
- Bergmann Gladiator Duster – never used – Amazon Link
- Sunscreen SPF 50 – used regularly, but there is no way to avoid peninsular tanning – Amazon Link
- Mace spray (small can) – never needed – Amazon Link
- DEF – 5 Ltrs to top up the tank (15 Ltr capacity), an additional 5 Ltr can carry in the boot
- Additional data cards for dash cam
- Clothes – we carried a week’s worth of regular wear with the intent to wash where convenient or buy new. Specifically, packed a warm pair for Kodai. We packed smaller bags that would be carried up to the rooms each day and larger bags that we would only carry where we are staying for multiple days.
- Medicines – wife’s prescription drugs and basic otc items
Other items that are usually in the car or not purchased specifically for the trip:
- Portable air pump – in addition to Tata’s tyre puncture repair kit – used the pump only once to top up.
- LED torch – never needed
- Pair of microfiber dusters – used every day
- Swiss knife set – used sparingly
- Pair of helmets – used in Puducherry and Goa where we hired scooters.
- A laptop, additional data cards, external drive – for storing all pics and videos. All photos/videos were taken on our cell phones and dashcam (70mai a400).
- All key vehicle papers – never checked
- Fastag – loaded
- 2nd car key – kept with my wife, just in case I lost the primary
Day 1/21: Mum (Mira Road) to Hyd (Madhapur)
- Distance Driven – 753 km
- Travel Duration – ~ 14 hrs – Started at 0530 – Reached at 1915
- Breaks – 3 – Duration ~ 100 min
- Today’s Total Toll – Rs 971 (12 toll plazas)
Having loaded smaller/peripheral items including water in the boot previously, loaded our bags in the morning and adjusted the headlamp level for the load.
Our plan was to start early for the 14+ hrs drive Gmap was showing. We wanted to cross Pune before rush hour traffic and then stop for breakfast. Lunch would be around Solapur and reach the destination in daylight.
We rolled at 5:30 am sharp on a Wednesday from Mira Road towards Pune via SCLR-Vashi bridge and MPEW. Stopped at the Kalamboli McDonald’s and picked up the coffee. MPEW was relatively empty, but it was foggy on some stretches. There was work in progress along multiple stretches and so the need to drive at varying speeds and change lanes many times. I don’t recall any tunnel without at least one lane closed (in both directions).
A few random MPEW pics.
To keep ourselves busy, we bet on how many armed forces vehicles we would come across during the entire trip. I bet on the number 10 and lost on day#3.
We were happy to cross Pune by 930 am, without encountering much traffic on a working day. Our breakfast was going to be in a misal place and we stopped at a relatively emptier one called Malhar Misal, which had good parking, clean washrooms and great service. 30 mins later, after refilling our coffee flasks (chai for me), we were on the road again.
The 4-lane road between Pune and Solapur was mostly smooth, running through towns and fields. There were sections nicely barricaded, but also several town and village intersections with unmarked rumblers, a mix of two-wheelers, tractors, and tempos, that kept me busy at the steering between 60-90 KMPH (but relatively very less truck traffic). Also, there weren’t many (rather any) places that seemed to have clean washrooms once past 25-30 KMs from the Pune city on this road. Travelling with kids/females may need some more planning.
A tractor-trailer cut across an open intersection and in opposite direction.
We didn’t know of or find any interesting place to stop over. We made it to Solapur bypass jn around 1320 and continued past the city. There was traffic and had to slow down to 40-60 for about 10 KMs.
Ujani dam is seen from the road, somewhere on the way to Solapur.
We were hoping for a place with a clean restroom around Solapur city but couldn’t find a decent one on the bypass for another hour. We had identified a couple of fuel stations that were supposed to have good restrooms based on previous TBHP reviews, but they were both on a service road and I just zipped past them. Finally pulled into an HP fuel station for a 15-min stretch and bio break. On long road days, we typically stick to eating light meals, mostly fresh fruits or sandwiches. A family in an Ertiga pulled in next to us for their meal.
Pretty soon we were cruising past small towns like Itkal, Shirgapur and Anadur, heading towards our next planned stop – the Naldurg Fort.
The fort is on the east end of Naldurg town, which we crossed around 1415. Naldurg fort is a large one, with ancillary structures such as Ramandal fort and a small waterfall on the runoff coming from nearby Bori dam. There is a small entry fee and the entry point is half KM off the highway. We were happy to click a few pics from the highway and drove off in 10 mins.
At one point passing through Naldurg town, it becomes a 2-lane undivided road for the next 5 KMs. I also recall at Andur (just before Naldurg) having a 300-meter diversion, because an elevated road was under construction. A couple of clicks later, at Jalkot town, there is another diversion – for what I couldn’t make out. Overall, this stretch was the only one I recall having diversions (besides MPEW) on that day.
A Naldurg local on his seemingly new mini tractor. Am sure he is just as proud of his chariot as I was of mine!
Now we were seeing boards like this one that had our day’s destination mentioned on it.
We crossed the largest town in this part, Omerga via a bypass and then around 1515 we came to the first inter-state crossing of our trip near Dhaktiwadi – MH to KA – yes there is a bit of KA to cross before you get to Hyd in TS.
I had planned to refuel in KA, knowing it had a lower price compared to MH and TS. Stopped at an HP pump. There was an eatery right next to it where we had our evening tea with some dosas.
Hotel Gujarat in KA – about 14 km from the Dhaktiwadi MH RTO check post – where we refuelled and snacked.
After that, we drove for another 30 mins to cross the KA-TS border. Lots of busy towns all the way to Hyd. There was a lot of truck traffic on this stretch, but the road was smooth. At Kamkole toll plaza there was a delay in reading my Fastag. The attendant kept saying that my tag was faulty (cannot fault him, two other vehicles passed smoothly in front of me) but having crossed 6 plazas earlier that day I was adamant it wasn’t the case. After reversing a couple of meters and approaching the reader again, it worked. My wife was surprised that I hustled because normally I would have just paid double in cash and moved.
The next two hours were uneventful, mostly zipping through rural areas. The last 50 km to Hyd was tiring with typical suburban traffic. Once on the ORR, it was smooth but again the last 4 KMs off the ORR in Cyber Hills took an additional 30 mins due to bumper-to-bumper rush hour traffic.
We pulled into our stay at Hyd around 1915 – Restel Studio.
Solapur to Hyd, the road was a mix of well-marked 4-lane, undivided 2-lane, patchy surfaces, and a few diversions to the MH-KA border. After that, the roads are very good, except for the last 20 KMs approaching Hyd ORR.
A note on restrooms in this stretch – Finding a place with a clean washroom remains a challenge. The only ones available were at fuel stations. There are many food joints where you will get good food. For people familiar with typical Vithal Kamat or Sugar-n-Spice, we couldn’t find anything equivalent in this stretch. We planned our stops based on TBHP and GMap reviews.
The weather helped us – it was breezy throughout the day, clear skies in the morning, and cloudy in the afternoon. The Max temp recorded by the vehicle was 29C.
Overall, it was our longest single-day drive and were tired, but thoroughly enjoyed the day’s drive.
Continue reading BHPian subuiyer’s travelogue for more insights and information.
Keyword: Mumbai to Kanyakumari in a Harrier: 21 days & 4639 km drive experience