Until a few days earlier, I thought NH 48 was the obvious choice for this journey from Chikkaballapur on outskirts of Bengaluru to Adalaj on outskirts of Ahmedabad. However, surprisingly Google maps suggested the NH 52 route at that time (though now when I checked to make the below video, it is suggesting NH 48).

The difference between NH 48 route that goes past Hubli, Satara, Pune, Mumbai and the NH 52 route via Hospet, Vijayapura (Bijapur), Solapur, Aurangabad and Nashik is of 60 kms and 1 hr travel time. Thus, probably depending on the traffic, the maps will plot differently every time. Though for a long journey like this that is redundant because traffic situations will change significantly by the time, we traverse the whole journey.

My NH 52 Route: Chikkaballapur – Badami – Pandharpur – Tuljapur – Shirdi – Adalaj

Check the video below to see my final route and how it got chosen… and a few insights I had during this trip.

I spent 10,000 INR on petrol for this entire journey. I started with a half-filled tank and reached with half-filled tank. My 2023 WagonR gives me about 21 km/hr mileage.

I had earlier driven from Ahmedabad to Coimbatore via Bengaluru on NH 48. To read that travelogue check this blog: https://maproute.in/ahmedabad-to-coimbatore-solo-self-driving-road-trip/

Road Conditions:

The road conditions on NH 52 from Chitradurga to Hospet to Vijayapura to Aurangabad are really good. Since, I travelled to a few interior locations, I was off and on this highway road a few times but my overall impression of this highway is really good!

My first detour was at Badami:

Drive to Badami: Roads & Vlog

I already read online that the roads leading into Badami were quite bad. These were from reviews written in 2018, 2019 … so, it was possible that the roads would have improved since then. With my tempered expectations, I found the roads to be Ok. Apart from a few bad stretches, they weren’t too bad. The government is trying for a UNESCO world heritage status for Badami so the roads in and near this town are quite good.

Will update my vlog on it, when I publish it.

Badami to Pandharpur: Roads & Vlogs

Badami to the NH 52 Highway was a good road. NH 52 stretch was also really good, we pass Bijapur (Vijayapura) and zoom up to a small town called Zalki. From there we have to take the left. The smaller route into Pandharpur wasn’t that great. Also, we cross the Maharashtra – Karnataka border on it, so usually the last bit of stretch around these small border crossings are neglected by both governments. So, there was one pretty rough patch… but other than it was OK.

Considering Pandharpur is such a major pilgrimage center for the Maharashtrians – I am surprised with the road conditions. Maybe, they are not expecting much crowds from Badami/Karnataka side? Maybe the roads into Pandharpur from Mumbai and Solapur are better?

Once we enter the Maharashtrian border, I was very happy to see Marathi signs (which I could read). Plus, closer to Pandharpur the frequency of vegetarian restaurants increase. In a lot of these rural areas, they don’t put a veg or non-veg-veg board or green/red dot at the restaurants, that makes it tough for me to take a halt.

I spent only a couple of hours here, and then headed to Tuljapur. The Pandharpur temple is very powerful, so worth spending at least a day here.

Will update my vlog when it is live.

Tuljapur Temple Town:

The drive from Pandharpur to Tuljapur was fine. We pass by Solapur. Am tempted to visit once… but let’s see when that would be.

I did not know Tuljapur was on a hill! That came as a surprise to me. As a result, it was also a lot cooler than Pandharpur… I had a very short stay there. I reached around 5pm and left next day around 8am.

Watch my Tuljapur vlog of Bhavani temple & other temples in this small town here:

Archealogical town Ter:

Took a halt from Tuljapur to Shirdi at a small town called Ter. It has some very interesting archealogical structures. Will share more in my vlog on it. For Ter, I took a turn onto some fairly rural roads from Dharashiv (Osmanabad).

After a couple of hours in Ter, I headed to Shirdi. Once I was on the highway, I was able to maintain a good speed.

Aurangabad: Samruddhi Expressway

The stretch from Aurangabad to Nashik via Samruddhi Expressway is a cut apart. It is one of those elevated 8-lane highways. Easy 120 – 150km/hr drive. Full name of this expressway is Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg – when the navigation system speaks it out on audio, it is really hard to understand as the name is so long 😀 This expressway is planned from Mumbai to Nagpur and it is mostly complete.

Shirdi Sai Baba Town via Samriddhi Expressway

So, I reached Shirdi well in time as per plan – around 5.30pm in the evening.

Read my complete guide to visit this pilgrimage town: https://maproute.in/curate-your-shirdi-sai-baba-trip-one-stop-blog-post/

Shirdi to Adalaj drive via Saputara

Saputara Ghat is considered tough, but I guess I am well-seasoned Ghat driver now. 😊 The Nilgiris and Dimbhum Ghat of Tamil Nadu are way more demanding I found. I enjoyed the Saputara drive. Some very scenic roads. Would have been great to stop and take pics and eat there. However, I was on a 12-hour drive, so didn’t want to take many breaks. Plus, food would only make me sleepy.

The roads from Shirdi to Saputara are small rural roads, some parts not scenic and not good condition. So, I wouldn’t mind replacing that stretch with some different route if possible.

So, that’s a brief about my Chikkaballapur to Adalaj drive. Hope it helps any other drivers out there. I also like writing out details as it is available for me to refresh my own memories. 😊

Overall, I feel a lot of enthusiasm for the amazing road conditions in India – not just the Golden Quadrilateral but so much infra development in the interior regions as well.