Yagati Tours
Vasavya Yagati · Completed family road trip

Our Chhattisgarh Family Road Tour

17–20 October 2026 · Hyderabad to Bastar’s waterfalls and back by car — 4 days, 3 nights, two families together in one car.

Hyderabad · Bhadrachalam · Parnasala · Sukma · Jagdalpur · Kaleshwaram · Medigadda
≈1,400 kmTotal drive
17 OctoberStarted at 6:45 AM
20 OctoberBack home at 8:15 PM
34 placesTowns, temples, waterfalls and viewpoints

Our route

Press play to watch our car drive the whole trip, or pick a day. The red line is the toughest stretch.

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Recorded tour over a geographic map with major roads, rivers, state boundaries and towns
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At 1× the whole trip plays in about 2 minutes, one day in about 45 seconds. Stops and nights are skipped quickly.

Our journey · 17–20 October 2026
StopPassed throughPhoto spotToughest stretchDotted line: GPS track missing

Slow sections

Progress was slowest on the interior forest road from Paidegudem to Dornapal, driven in the dark with no proper road and almost no mobile network.

SectionReason for low speed
Paidegudem → Dornapal (Sukma)Interior forest road at night: no proper road, no lights, almost no mobile network, and a loaded car

Our families

Two families travelled together in our Hyundai Alcazar: Vasavya, Usha, Adarsh and Spurthi, and Ganesh, Ramya, Sravan Karthikeya and Aaradhya — eight of us, with about 50 kg of luggage on the roof. We set off from home in Hydernagar at 6:45 AM on 17 October and were back at 8:15 PM on 20 October.

The toughest stretch: Parnasala → Sukma, at night

≈98 kmPaidegudem → Dornapal, about 3 hours in the dark (8:00–11:08 PM)
≈158 kmParnasala → Sukma, 6:56 PM to almost 1 AM
8 peopleplus about 50 kg of luggage on the roof

The plan was to stay the night of 17 October in Bhadrachalam and, on the 18th, drive to Jagdalpur via Sukma on the national highway through Konta — the best option. In a hurry, we decided to push on to Sukma the same evening by the interior forest road.

From Paidegudem to Dornapal it was the hardest drive of our lives:

  • Almost no mobile network
  • Completely dark — no lights anywhere
  • No proper road; in places even the car’s ground clearance was not enough
  • The car was overloaded with 8 passengers and about 50 kg of roof luggage
  • No people around — only CRPF camps, and not even police or army personnel on the road

It was truly terrifying with the family on board. This was the challenge I took on — and we made it through: Dornapal at 11:08 PM, a late dinner at UP Dhaba, and Sukma around 1 AM.

Trip highlights

Day 1 · Temple towns

Bhadrachalam & Parnasala

Darshan at Bhadrachalam, then the evening at Parnasala and Seethamma vari Naracheeralu.

Days 2–3 · Bastar

Four waterfalls

Tirathgarh, Chitrakote, Tamda Ghumar and Chitradhara, plus the Matnar Hills viewpoint.

Day 4 · The way home

Mahadev Ghati & Kaleshwaram

Family group photo at Mahadev Ghati, then Kaleshwaram on the Godavari and the Medigadda Barrage.

Four days on the road

Day 1 ran past midnight to our hotel in Sukma. Distances are approximate.

Trip dayRouteApprox. km
Day 117 Oct → early 18 OctHyderabad → Suryapet → Khammam → Kothagudem → Bhadrachalam → Parnasala → Dummugudem → Paidegudem → Kistaram → Burkapal → Chintagufa → Dornapal → Sukma568
Day 218 OctoberSukma → Darbha → Tirathgarh → Jagdalpur113
Day 319 OctoberJagdalpur → Chitrakote → Matnar Hills → Tamda Ghumar → Chitradhara → Jagdalpur118
Day 420 OctoberJagdalpur → Geedam → Bijapur → Mahadev Ghati → Bhopalpatnam → Asaralli → Sironcha → Kaleshwaram → Medigadda → Mahadevpur → Manthani → Peddapalli → Karimnagar → Siddipet → Shamirpet → Hyderabad599
Total≈1,400 km

Day 1 · 17 Oct → early 18 Oct

Hyderabad → Suryapet → Khammam → Kothagudem → Bhadrachalam → Parnasala → Dummugudem → Paidegudem → Kistaram → Burkapal → Chintagufa → Dornapal → Sukma

≈568 kmapprox.
TimePlaceAbout this stop
6:45 AMGoogle Maps ↗Set off from home with the family.
7:38 AM – 8:21 AMGoogle Maps ↗Breakfast on the Vijayawada highway.
10:48 AM – 11:02 AMGoogle Maps ↗Short break.
1:12 PM – 1:18 PMGoogle Maps ↗Short break.
2:17 PM – 3:06 PMGoogle Maps ↗Lunch in Bhadrachalam.
3:22 PM – 4:41 PMGoogle Maps ↗Darshan at the Sri Sita Ramachandra Swamy temple.
5:58 PM – 6:20 PMGoogle Maps ↗The rock marks known as Seethamma vari Naracheeralu.
6:22 PM – 6:56 PMGoogle Maps ↗Evening visit to the Parnasala temple.
7:33 PM – 7:42 PMGoogle Maps ↗Last stop before the forest road.
From Paidegudem (about 8 PM) to Dornapal: the toughest stretch of the trip — read the story
8:24 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Into the forest road towards Chhattisgarh — the toughest stretch.
10:05 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed through in the dark.
10:15 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed through in the dark.
11:08 PM – 11:27 PMGoogle Maps ↗Back on the highway after the toughest stretch.
17 Oct 11:31 PM
→ 18 Oct 12:14 AM		Google Maps ↗Late dinner.
18 Oct · 12:51 AMGoogle Maps ↗Reached Sukma town.
18 Oct · 1:26 AM – 11:37 AMGoogle Maps ↗Checked in around 1 AM.

Day 2 · 18 October

Sukma → Darbha → Tirathgarh → Jagdalpur

≈113 kmapprox.
TimePlaceAbout this stop
11:41 AM – 1:16 PMGoogle Maps ↗Late breakfast after a well-earned rest.
1:21 PMGoogle Maps ↗Set off north towards Jagdalpur.
3:26 PM – 4:11 PMGoogle Maps ↗Break on the way.
4:25 PM – 5:45 PMGoogle Maps ↗More than an hour at the falls.
6:54 PMGoogle Maps ↗Reached Jagdalpur.
18 Oct 7:37 PM
→ 19 Oct 9:12 AM		Google Maps ↗First night in Jagdalpur.

Day 3 · 19 October

Jagdalpur → Chitrakote → Matnar Hills → Tamda Ghumar → Chitradhara → Jagdalpur

≈118 kmapprox.
TimePlaceAbout this stop
9:12 AMGoogle Maps ↗Set off for the waterfall day.
9:28 AM – 10:02 AMGoogle Maps ↗Short stop in town.
10:50 AM – 12:21 PMGoogle Maps ↗Chitrakote Falls — the widest waterfall in India.
12:53 PM – 1:14 PMGoogle Maps ↗Viewpoint stop at Matnar Hills.
1:23 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed by.
1:40 PM – 2:15 PMGoogle Maps ↗Tamda Ghumar Falls.
3:39 PM – 5:26 PMGoogle Maps ↗Evening at Chitradhara Falls.
19 Oct 6:36 PM
→ 20 Oct 6:21 AM		Google Maps ↗Second night in Jagdalpur.

Day 4 · 20 October

Jagdalpur → Geedam → Bijapur → Mahadev Ghati → Bhopalpatnam → Asaralli → Sironcha → Kaleshwaram → Medigadda → Mahadevpur → Manthani → Peddapalli → Karimnagar → Siddipet → Shamirpet → Hyderabad

≈599 kmapprox.
TimePlaceAbout this stop
6:21 AMGoogle Maps ↗Started the long drive home.
7:38 AM – 8:14 AMGoogle Maps ↗Morning break.
9:48 AM – 10:15 AMGoogle Maps ↗Viewpoint — our family group photo was taken here.
11:03 AM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed through.
11:51 AM – 12:03 PMGoogle Maps ↗Short stop.
12:37 PM – 12:47 PMGoogle Maps ↗Fuel stop.
1:00 PM – 1:09 PMGoogle Maps ↗Kaleshwaram on the Godavari.
1:56 PM – 2:06 PMGoogle Maps ↗Medigadda Barrage of the Kaleshwaram project.
2:42 PM – 3:09 PMGoogle Maps ↗Short stops.
3:42 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed through.
4:16 PM – 4:20 PMGoogle Maps ↗Short stop.
4:49 PM – 5:22 PMGoogle Maps ↗Short stops.
6:08 PM passed throughGoogle Maps ↗Passed by Siddipet.
7:18 PM – 7:29 PMGoogle Maps ↗Last break before home.
8:15 PMGoogle Maps ↗Home safe.

Each day in Google Maps

Open any day’s drive in Google Maps.

17 Oct · Hyderabad → Parnasala17 Oct · Parnasala → Sukma (forest road)18 Oct · Sukma → Tirathgarh → Jagdalpur19 Oct · Sightseeing loop20 Oct · Jagdalpur → Medigadda20 Oct · Medigadda → Hyderabad

Photos from the trip

All our photos and videos from the four days. Travellers and family sign in with their Google account to open the full album; everyone else can see the public album.

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Vasavya Yagati & family · Road trip 17–20 October 2026 · Shared with friends and family · Tour details