The best driving roads: Jodhpur to the Sam Dunes
India is infamous for its shabby roads but at the same time, there are many fantastic driving roads spread through the length and width of our beautiful country. OVERDRIVE has been fortunate enough to experience quite a few of these roads and we want to share the joy with a weekly feature of a fantastic road that you should aspire to experience someday.
We kick off this series with the famed roads of Rajasthan, in particular, the route from Jodhpur to the Sam sand dunes outside Jaisalmer. Rajasthan is famed for it's long, smooth and high speed roads that cut across desert wasteland. The road from Jodhpur to Pokhran is unremarkable but after that the traffic all but disappears and the smooth roads extend as far as the eye can see. These are two lane roads but they offer great visibility and there are almost no speed limit boards in sight. All you need to watch out for is stray cattle on the road.
Last year, we drove these three cars down that very route. Read about our awesome experience here
A good place to stop is at the abandoned town of Kuldhara outside Jaisalmer. Infamous for being haunted, this 400-year old town of ruins is worth a stop. But the main attraction on this route is the famous Sam Dunes. The roads that extend to the dunes are in immaculate condition and even have a few corners. In total, its about a 330km drive and you can either return to Jodhpur or drive to Bikaner instead. The fast roads ensure that either is a single day's drive. If you choose to stay, there are plenty of camps at the Sam Dunes that offer food and accommodation.
The view at Sam dunes in Rajasthan is spectacular
A journey absolutely worth taking, we only advice you avoid it in peak summer for obvious reasons.
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