Driving Down The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway? Here Are 5 Things To See On Your Way

The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a 1,350km-long, under-construction roadway which will connect two of India’s biggest cities. Currently, it takes around 25 hours to complete the journey in one sitting but the expressway hopes to reduce the travel time to just 13 hours. As it nears the Thane district in Maharashtra, the expressway will go under the Matheran hills as part of a 4km-long tunnel connecting Vadodara and Mumbai. Around 96 per cent of the Delhi to Vadodara route (845km) has already been completed. The expressway is slated to become fully operational by the end of 2024.

If you plan to embark on an epic Delhi to Mumbai road trip soon, consider making stops at the following places for a memorable travel journey.

Stop 1: Ranthambore National Park – 372km from Delhi

This national park in Rajasthan was initially established as a game sanctuary in 1955 by the government of India before being declared a Project Tiger reserve in 1973. Seven years later, this 500-square-kilometre area was accorded the title of a national park. With a mix of rolling hills and crags, meadows, lakes, and rivulets, the park offers some of the finest opportunities for sighting the magnificent tiger in the wild. Apart from India’s national animal, other wildlife in the park includes sloth bears, leopards, jackals, foxes, hyenas, Indian wolves, chital, sambar deer, nilgai, rhesus macaques, langurs and around 320 species of birds like serpent eagles, waterfowls, cormorants, painted spurfowls, sarus cranes, bronze-winged jacanas, sandpipers and kingfishers. Stay for a night to fully absorb the stunning landscape of this place.

Stop 2: Sabarmati Ashram – 655km from Ranthambore National Park

On his return from South Africa, Mahatma Gandhi established his first ashram in the Kochrab area of Ahmedabad in 1915. It was then shifted to open land on the banks of the river Sabarmati in 1917. The Sabarmati Ashram, also known as the Harijan Ashram, remained Gandhi’s home from that time until 1930 and served as one of the main centres of the Indian freedom struggle. Today, it is a source of inspiration and guidance and stands as a monument to Gandhi’s life mission of truth and nonviolence.

At this historic site, visitors can see archival materials like writings, photographs, paintings, voice records, films and the personal effects of Gandhi at the Gandhi Memorial Museum; check out Gandhi and Kasturba Gandhi’s rooms, kitchen and store room at the Hriday Kunj; visit the community living quarters of the Somnath Chhatralaya; tour the Udyog Mandir which symbolised self-reliance and dignity of labour; and visit the Upasana Mandir site where Gandhi gave his “Discourses on the Gita,” among other activities. Spend as much or as little time as you want here.

Stop 3: Jampore Beach – 373km from the Sabarmati Ashram

This beach in Daman is famous because of its serene ambience and mud-coloured water. Covered with trees and a sighing breeze that swirls in the area, step out of your car to relax amid the lapping waves and clean shores of Jampore. Jump into the water for a swim, stroll on the shore and capture the beauty of the setting sun, feast on snacks and drinks at the shacks and cafés, go shell hunting or build castles on the sand, hop onto an ATV for a memorable ride, or simply sunbathe, parasail and paraglide in this paradisiacal place.

Stop 4: Pandevleni Caves – 169km from Jampore Beach

These are a group of old Buddhist caves on the outskirts of Nashik which are estimated to have been built between 250 BCE and 600 A.D. It is rumoured that these caves were named after the Pandavas, the protagonists of the “Mahabharata,” as they sought solace within the rocky confines during their exile. The caves' position has shielded them from the sun and the south-westerly rains, which is why much of the carved workmanship and valuable inscriptions have remained unharmed during the past 1,500-2,000 years. Their intricate carvings and outstanding sculptures (in caves 3, 10 and 18) make them a must-visit on your Delhi to Mumbai road trip. Most of the caves have magnificent idols of the Buddha and the “Tirthankaras” of Jainism.

Stop 5: Kanheri Caves – 167km from Pandevleni Caves

Your road trip is nearly over. Your final stop will be the Kanheri Caves on the island of Salsette in the western outskirts of Mumbai. These are a group of caves and rock-cut monuments cut into a massive basalt outcrop in the forests of the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. It is estimated that they date back to somewhere between the 1^st and 10^th centuries.

Most of the caves were Buddhist viharas, meant for living, studying and meditating in. The larger caves, which functioned as chaityas, or halls for congregational worship, are lined with intricately carved Buddhist sculptures, reliefs, pillars and rock-cut stupas. Rock-cut channels above the caves fed rainwater into cisterns, which provided the complex with water. This establishment was also connected with many trade centres, such as the ports of Sopara, Kalyan, Nasik, Paithan and Ujjain during its time. Kanheri functioned as a university by the time the area came under the rule of the Mauryan and Kushan empires.