On 1 March 2023, on my mom’s bday she expressed an interest in going for a roadtrip on the newly inaugurated Mumbai-Delhi Expressway. Since I did not really give her any gift, I thought an experience gift would be a good substitute.

Mumbai – Delhi expressway is one that I have eagerly been waiting for and have been tracking it’s progress. Being a frequent traveler between the two cities and having completed the roadtrip from Delhi to Mumbai via Gujarat in 2017 and Mumbai – Delhi via Madhya Pradesh in 2022, a new route was very welcome.

Read about both those roadtrips by clicking on the above links.

Also, check out some amazingly useful roadtrip products on amazon:

Pepper Spray, Pee Safe, Peechute; car freshener, Car charger, Car charging cable, Car air pump , Car tissue holder, Car vacuum cleaner, Car door edge cover guard 

Posing with the Milestone on NE4

Journey Vlog

If you prefer to watch a video about this journey, you can click on the link below as I have also vlogged about this journey.

About Mumbai-Delhi expressway

Mumbai Delhi Expressway is a 1350 km long expressway which is designed to reduce time between the two cities from 24 hours to 12 hours. It is an 8-lane highway and the entire expressway is scheduled to be completed by mid-end 2024.

The expressway would traverse through Sohna, Dausa, Kota, Ratlam, Vadodara (The stretch from Delhi to Vadodara would be National Expressway 4 (NE4)), Surat, Bharuch and Valsad.

No two-wheelers, three wheelers or tractors would be allowed on this expressway.

The first stretch of the Delhi-Mumbai expressway was finally inaugurated in mid-February 2023. This was a 246 km stretch: Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot.

The Plan

As of March 2023, we could only drive till Lalsot on this highway. Our plan was to drive till Dausa on the new expressway and then head towards Jaipur.

Both of us had already been to Jaipur, so we tentatively kept a few other stops like Kishangarh and Bhangarh fort on our radar as both of us had never been to these.

As usual, the plan was flexible with no hotel bookings. The only preparation we did was to full tank our car as Haryana petrol rate is considerably cheaper as compared to Rajasthan rate.

Read Preparing for a roadtrip in India

Ultimate packing list for a roadtrip in India

Day one: Delhi – Kishangarh

We started from our home in Gurgaon at 7:00 AM and headed towards Sohna elevated road. Soon after crossing the Sohna toll plaza at Gamroj, we were on the expressway.

The roads were beautifully smooth with a speed limit of 120 kmph which I believe is perfect for that road.

The road is currently 8 lane but there is scope for it to be expanded to 12 lane highway. Since the provision for expansion has been kept, there is currently no concrete divider – it is a muddy 4 lane provision which I believe will be a cushion in case of accidents.

About 1 hour into our journey, we decided to stop for breakfast only to notice that although there were signs for rest stops ever 30-40 km, most of them were not currently operational.

We finally found a semi operational rest stop after the Bharatpur exit. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants there had not opened and the only operational one was only providing patties and tea.

Having no option, we had one patties and tea and decided to stop for a proper tandoori paratha breakfast once we exited the highway at Dausa.

Update as of March 2024: I went on part of this highway again one year later and the one addition now was a McDonalds near the Firozpur Jhirka exit. A very welcome addition!

Although, the food options were limited, most operational rest stops had a functional washroom facility. However, there is no option between rest stops and at times that can be up to 50 km distance. In such instances, pee chute (Buy it here) is a good option.

We munched on some fruits which we had in our car and waited patiently to get off the expressway to have a proper breakfast.

The expressway was extremely smooth and quite empty due to which we managed to cruise along a stead speed of ~110 kmph and soon reached the Dausa exit.

After taking the Dausa bypass, we found a hotel ‘Sri ram hotel’ which had amazing tandoori parathas and tea. Service was good as well.

Finally it felt like a roadtrip to me.

Happy full, we restarted our journey with some high energy music. Since we were making good time, we decided to drive to Kishangarh and stay there on our first night.

Taking the Jaipur ring road, we reached Kishangarh by 2 PM and were extremely exhausted. Unfortunately for us, the weather in the afternoon had become quite hot so the drive was not as pleasant as I would have liked.

Stay at Kishangarh

Hotel

There were not many options for stay at Kishangarh and during our drive itself, we booked a place ‘Royal Heritage hotel’ which was on the highway.

We got the room for INR3,000. The property was quite nice but the room was basic. It did seem a little run down which I believe is an issue with most non luxury heritage hotels.

Since we were extremely exhausted, we decided to take a nap and head out to the Kishangarh dumpyard around 5 PM.

By the the time we woke up at 4PM, the weather had changed. It was now overcast and breezy.

What a dramatic change in the weather.

We quickly changed and headed towards the dumpyard which was a 15 minute drive from our hotel.

Kishangarh Dumpyard

Kishangarh is a city in Rajasthan which is the largest supplier of marble in Asia. Kishangarh dumpyard is actually a dumping ground for all the waste marble slurry.

As the slurry is white in colour and is being collected at the dumpyard for many years, the slurry dump looks like snow hills which makes the site look quite picturesque.

Also, there are a few spots where water has been collected due to the rains which adds to the picturesque quotient.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

People have compared the site to Maldives/Ladakh/Sri Lanka and even the moon.

The place is actually quite a popular location for photo shoots/movies especially songs.

In order to enter the dumpyard, you need to collect a receipt from the Marble association office which is about 1.5 km from the dumpyard. So if you are planning to visit this place, add the location in your GPS  as Association office and first collect the receipt.

The office officially closes at 5PM; however we had no idea about the timing and reached there at 5:30PM but were lucky that the office was still open.

There is no charge for entry for visitors. However, if you have a video camera/plan to do a photoshoot, there are some charges for that.

The weather was beautiful when we visited the dumpyard. It was a a good mix of clouds with the sun peeking on and off and more importantly it was breezy.

The only drawback was that since the sky was not bright blue, the water did not look as blue as I had seen in most of the pictures.

It was a beautiful location none the less. Mom thought the experience was similar to the one at Rann of Kutch. We could however feel the marble dust in the air especially when the trucks moved to dump the slurry.

We spent about one hour at the dumpyard, enjoyed a beautiful sunset with the white foreground and reached our hotel around 7:30 pm.

Kishangarh to Jaipur

Since we had slept early the previous night, we woke up at 6AM on day 2 and were on the road by about 8:00 AM

The weather was absolutely beautiful on this day and the same stretch that seemed endless on day one seemed to be too short on day 2.

Weather can really make or break your experience.

We took one stop for our paratha breakfast and reached Jaipur around 10:00 AM.

Stay at Jaipur

On our morning drive, we had booked a hotel which seemed quite centrally located: ‘Nirwana hotel’. We got the room for INR 3000 but the room was far superior than the previous one at Kishangarh.

They allowed us to check-in early. We dumped our stuff and headed towards Jaipur market for shopping.

Since both of us had already been to Jaipur a few times, we had already seen the touristy locations and hence decided to only shop and relax at Jaipur.

We spent the day buying a few kurtis from MI road (Gulabchand Prints)/Bapu bazar and some pretty silver jewelry from johri bazaar.

At night we decided to check the rooftop restaurant in our hotel as it was rated quite highly. We were quite exhausted so decided to directly go there after our shopping to have a quick dinner and retire early to prepare for our long drive back home on day 3.

We reached the rooftop restaurant ‘Jaipur Adda’ only to realise that it seemed quite a hot spot especially with youngsters. We were superbly under dressed but were too exhausted to go to our room and change.

We had a nice candle light dinner there and retired early.

Jaipur to Delhi

We had two route options for this journey. One was the traditional NH 48 and the other was the NE4 via Dausa. The time for both route was similar ~4 hours.

I checked for weather predictions and it seemed to be a cloudy day with 20-30% rain chance in the second half.

I was quite keen to check Bhangarh fort which is a haunted fort near Dausa and both my mom and I had never been there.

Since we wanted to check the fort, we chose NE4 route and started from our hotel at 7:00 AM.

The drive was smooth but by the time we reached Dausa, it had become quite hot. There were no signs of the clouds that the forecast had predicted.

Exploring a fort in the North heat was not a very exciting thought and hence we decided to skip the fort.

We headed towards NE4 but wanted to have our breakfast prior to getting on the expressway. Since it was early in the morning and also the Holi week, very few restaurants were open. We finally ate at Highway King on Agra road, Kandoli.

Soon after that we got onto the expressway. We took our first stop at the Rajgarh rest area. This was supposed to be a washroom break but we were surprised to find a functional restaurant there. They served kachori, paratha and a few other items.

Update as of MArch 2024: Now there are a few more operational restaurants here. We ate at a place called Hotel Tokas. The food was very good and service was quick too. There was also a Halidram outlet which was going to open here soon.

If like me you like to pick up a take away coffee, then a Starbucks would be opening soon near the Firozpur Jhirka exit.

We were quite full but had a kachori and chai and continued on the superbly smooth expressway.

We did have some panic moments as our low fuel indicator flashed about 30 km before the end of the expressway.

We had been looking out for a petrol pump since we were at level 2 on the fuel mark but were unable to find a functional one.

Thankfully we made it till Sohna (off the expressway) and got our fuel filled.

The rest of the journey was smooth and we finally reached Gurgaon at 12 noon.

Delhi to Jaipur via NE4 (Mumbai expressway) or NH48?

The distance between Delhi to Jaipur via NE4 is ~270 km and takes ~3.5 hours while the distance via NH48 is ~230 km and takes 4-5 hours depending on the traffic.

While the NE4 is superbly smooth and you can drive at a steady speed of 120kmph, currently there are fewer options for food/coffee stops. For me, that is a very integral part of a road trip.

I like to pick up coffee during my roadtrips and that option is available on NH48 with a Starbucks on that route. Also food options are very limited on NE4 currently.

The NE4 route is a different experience though and my suggestion is to drive through NE4 on your way to Jaipur and return via the NH48 or the other way around.

Tolls

Between Delhi and Jaipur, there are currently 3 toll points on NE4:

• Sohna elevated road: INR 115. After this toll, you would head towards the NE4.
• Dausa exit on NE4: INR 395. This amount is calculated as per the km travelled on the NE4
• Rajadhok toll plaza: INR 75

For a trip from Delhi to Jaipur via this route, you will pay a total of INR 585 as toll.

Alternatively, if I had taken the NH48 instead of the expressway, the tolls would have been:

• Manesar toll: INR 80 (This can be avoided depending on where in Gurgaon you are starting from), If you are travelling from Delhi, its best to pay this toll and stick to the highway.
• Shahjahanpur: INR 170
• Manoharpura: INR 80
• Daulatpura: INR 70

Total amount by this route would be INR 320 or INR400 (depending on whether you can avoid Manesar toll).

I recently (in Dec 2023) drove till Jodhpur via NH48 with my mom. Read about that experience here: Women’s roadtrip : Delhi to Jodhpur

Possible stops and diversions on NE4

If you like to explore new areas on your way to a particular destination, then you can check the below options on your drive to Jaipur. Alternatively, if you want to visit another destination via NE4, the below options are a possibility

Chand Baori stepwell at Abhaneri

This is very close to Dausa. I had been here a few months ago on my trip to Ranthambore.

Bhangarh fort

This has been on my list for a long time, not yet had a chance to explore it. It is said that the drive to this fort is a surreal and eerie experience.

Alwar and Sariska

The Alwar fort, Siliserh lake and Sariska Tiger reserve are decent attractions worth a visit. Check my post on my roadtrip to Alwar/Sariska with my mom

Even if you don’t want to visit the Tiger reserve, there are quite a few staycation options in Sariska. One of the options which I recommend is Vanaashray which is a set of luxury cottages priced at ~10,ooo INR/night.

Bharatpur

If you are an avid bird watcher or just like to be in the forest, then the Bharatpur bird sanctuary is a good option.

A possible stay option here is the Laxmi Vilas Palace priced at ~6,000 INR/night

Ranthambore

Probably the most famous/touristy tiger national park in India. If you do visit this park, make sure to research a bit on the zones.

Disclaimer: The hotels mentioned here are on the basis of experience and there is no paid partnership/sponsorship.

Tip: The difference in the petrol price between Haryana and Rajasthan is `10 INR/Litre. If possible, fill up your fuel tank in Haryana itself.