Can someone help, I’m trying to warm the wife !! to the idea of a loop around India. Starting and finishing in Mumbai. Mumbai north to Jummu then across into Nepal and Katmandu, south east to Calcutta, Chenni, southern tip and back up the west coast, Goa to Mumbai…


Can anyone give me an approximation of the distance ? is it also possible to do in the months January, February and March … I appreciate the north will be cold, but is it accessible ? the idea is to break up the European winter.

Currently we’re unsure of the mode of transport, short list is: A. Ship our trusty (rusty) Africa Twin, B. Ship out a suitable 4x4 C. Rent / Buy an Enfield D. Buy / Rent a suitable car …. all have there +/- …

Comments welcome

Kind regards
Matt

sorry I dont know about the suggested route exactly, but from Pakistani border to Amritsar, then Dharamsala-Chandigarh-Delhi-Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur-Ahmedabad-Vadodara-Mumbai-Goa-Calicut-Alleppey-Munnar-Trichy-Pondicherry-Chennai, the road distance for us was around 5800 kms. Maybe around 400-500 was just riding around when staying some place, the rest was covering the distance.

I would think your plan adds up to over 10000 kms, possibly 12-13 thousand. India is very slow travelling, for us 200-300 kms per day was usually just about enough.

I dont know the distances but I would suggest doing the loop the other way round... South out of Mumbai and doing KTM last.
I would think the north will be warmer in March than in January.
The south will be a pleasent temperature through to April.

This is all hear say mind.
We are heading there in a few weeks to do a loop similar to yours, Ive done a little research on the complicated weather patterns.

N

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You are choosing a good time to visit - it will be neither too cold nor hot. However, in the north, you will certainly have visibility problems (fog) in the early mornings and this will reduce the mileage you can cover as you will have less daylight to ride in. You are also very unlikely to get rain.

Approximate distances: Mumbai Delhi - 1440 km, mostly dual carriageway, some bad stretches (construction, not more than 150 km of the total + some cities/towns on the way). You can get a moving average of at least 80kph on the AT.

Delhi Jammu - 600 km, dual carriageway more than half the way. Same moving average speeds possible on the four laned sections. Return is via the same route, though you could travel via the smaller roads - they are in good condition, mostly.

Delhi Kolkata - 1450 km, very good dual carriageway again, may have traffic in some places, though (esp near the cities). Bihar unsafe for travel at night, in some cases even venturing out of the hotel. Road sense perhaps the worst in India.

To go to Nepal and Kathmandu, this is the sector where you leave India, am not familiar with the roads/distances.

Kolkata Chennai. 1600 odd km. Apart from a couple of truly hideous sections in Orissa before and after Bhubhaneshwar (approximately 300 km of rutted, potholed, under construction "road" with heavy traffic), the rest is again dual carriageway, fast and well maintained.

Chennai to Kanniyakumari - you can go two ways - From Chennai along the east coast rd/via Bangalore. Both roads are in good shape, around 650 km from the respective cities. Chennai BLR is 330 km

Blr - Mumbai - about 1000km, add about 200 km for a detour via Goa. Some indifferent stretches, mostly good road (and Goa to Mumbai is 400km of twisties and 150 km of flat rd).

What I've described is the shortest route between points, and also the fastest and most boring. On most of the dual carriageways you can easily average 80 kph on the AT if you cruise at 100 - 110, which is a perfectly safe speed on those roads. However you had better get familiar with the "rules" before you attempt to travel at speed, as what traffic around you does may be very different from what you'd expect them to do. Once you get the hang of it, 500 km days are pretty easy on those roads even with rest halts thrown in liberally.

Scenic roads will be a lot slower and you can dial in any amount of additional distance, depending on where you plan to go. Road surfaces may be poorer as well, and traffic can be scary if you are not used to it - all this will translate to a moving average speed of 50 kph or less.


You could use mapmyindia.com for distances/routes

i admire you for your plan. but i think the distance is a bit too much. as the last poster said, on the main roads with nothing but driving, it might be possible. 3 months is a short time and you will have to stop at some point for the beauty/enjoyment and the necessary breakdowns.
the north will be very easily doable in those months. as long as you dont try to 'squeeze' in ladakh?! lol
you may hit some snow in january in the himachal but it shouldnt keep you in one place.
i am currently in assam and the winter is very mild but foggy. i am on an enfield 350 (the best!) and for me, a day of 200 kms is enough. although on a previous trip i did go from lumbini, south of pokhara (and the birth place of buddha) to the western border of nepal in one very long day. the mahendra highway is in great condition in most places. at the western border just inside the nepal side is a good hotel. i forget the name but its the only one there so you cant miss it.
let us know if you have any other questions.
later

Many thanks for the feed back, certainly gives me an idea ..... at the least the idea of needing more time ...

Thanks Matt

you will nothing but enjoy it!

OK I think we have an update, Looking to drive out to India with a 4x4 – no bikes this time, I promised the wife ! we’re looking at 4-6 weeks to travel the classic hippy route, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India / Nepal and then ship the vehicle back.

We would like to leave mid way February so where will the temperatures be comfortable ? Iran maybe ? then we’ll have 2.5 months in India arriving first week of April – leaving 2.5 months …

Now I just need to decide where we must go, where we can miss… I really want to cross into Nepal and see Kathmandu and need to decide on where best to ship a 4x4 back to Europe. (thinking Mumbai)


Comments / advise welcome ..

Kind regards
Matt