Segment IV: Sanchi to Pachmarhi

Bunty (Chandrama Giri), our guide at Sanchi advised us to visit Bhimbatka on our way to Pachmarhi. He suggested the road via Raisen, which would take us to Bhimbatka with out any diversion. This was a wrong advice we followed. We originally chartered the road via Bhopal, Hosnagabad, Piparia to Pachmarhi. Our well wisher and local friend from Bhopal had suggested this as the best route. The distance was around 200 kms, which would maximum take four hours of driving.

Since, this was the shortest distance in the entire drive, we thought of spending some time at Bhimbatka (Prehistoric caves and heritage site) and take the road via Raisen. Sadly, Bhimbatka falls on the other road via Bhopal. This was the first mistake. The second and the expensive mistake was yet awaiting.

GPS was guiding us. Yet we took a wrong turn with an error of 10 mts separating roads. That wrong turn at Raisen took us to a road, which was dangerously under construction. Raisen to Sultanpur stretch of 18 km was under different levels of construction. Most of the road was just a trench filled with large boulders. The only vehicles were the ones moving on metal tracks. The only support, we had enough food, water on board and fuel in car. Any eventuality, we can manage until evening.

It was a decisive test for me and torture track for the car. It was around 8 am. It survived all and reached me safely on the other end. Among tyre pressure, suspension, axel, engine tuning and power; anything less than perfect would have stranded me at nowhere with only couple of earth moving equipment lying in between.

I was trying all my skills to offer comfort to car. Banking more than 30 degrees, discovering soil tracks, I hauled through worst 3 kms patch. Later, it was better, I could travel at 20 kmph in second and third gears.

All this process slowed the pace of journey. A stretch, which should normally take four hrs, took five and half-hours.

My GPS was continuously recalculating the distance, route and suggesting the same route up to Sultanpur. From Sultanpur the route was taking us to Bari- Bareli-Piparia-Matkuli and finally, Pachmarhi. NH 12 took us from Sultanpur to Piparia later SH 19 and SH 19A took us to Pachmarhi. From Matkuli to Pachmarhi the road was becoming narrow and the ghat section begun. At around 12 noon there was almost no traffic on ghat. The drive was very pleasant even on narrow ghat road. Yet we could not avoid a couple of VIP numbered vehicles driving us off the kerb. Last 40 kms was a pleasant drive. If it were not to be summer, it would have been a heaven.

We reached Amaltas at Pachmarhi at 12.30 pm driving 203 kms, taking 5 hrs and 15 minutes with 15 kms of bad roads consuming 1 hour 45 minutes. We had an average speed of 38 kmph and moving speed of 41.2 kmph; gaining an altitude of 1554 mts. We paid toll of Rs 68 at three places at Raisen, Piparia and a tourist toll at Pachmarhi.

Almatas is a MP Tourism Hotel. It is an old British campus spread on a large campus presently inhabited by only monkeys and uninterested hotel staff. The bed sheet was torn with holes in it. Staff is artificially courteous and useless. The food is bad and expensive. Almatas scores only four out of ten; the score mostly due to Himalaya toiletries and filtered cooled water liberally available everywhere.

Opposite Almatas there is hotel Vrindavan with excellent food and service. It had a variety of menu and was very kind and pleasant on palette. Surprisingly, this hotel, which is almost on roadside, is totally enclosed in a cage to prevent monkeys from invading.

At check in Hotels insist for a photo Identity and preferably are happy when you provide a photocopy. I knew this and carried photocopies of my Driving license. Strangely, it is easier at international travel.

There is a petrol filling station one km from Hotel.

No net work is available except BSNL. However, a hotel boy offered to lend a sim card for Rs 50 per day and refill at our cost. It did help us, but we had to keep receiving irrelevant SMSs on his number and our phone.

On the succeeding day we went to the Sunrise point called the Dhup Gadh, Echo point, Reech Gadh caves, Pandav caves, and Bee falls. We relaxed for the rest for the term. The car had a check-up. Every thing was fine but I had to top up coolant with water. With air-conditioner on, through out the journey, it had to happen. This is one other reason I was getting around 16 kms per liter. The engine and air-conditioner use to be on throughout, whether on ghat roads, resting for drinks or refreshment in car.

We had some culinary discoveries. Aloo bonda, which is a close cousin of Mumbai ka batata wada was delicious and filling. Poha (flattened rice) happens to be a standard breakfast; simple, safe and uneventful on the palette but filling. Zelebi for breakfast looked novel and strange in stomach. It had over lasting taste in mouth and stomach.

With tachometer showing 1541 it was almost midway. Pachmarhi was planned to be the pit stop for the car for servicing and check up. I requested out local jeep driver cum guide to provide checkup to my car. A mechanic (supposedly, certified by Maruti for K2 series engines) came took a test drive and certified the car to be fit and perfect. He suggested that I check the pressure at digital pressure gauge. He topped up coolant and certified it road worthy for rest of the journey.