NH 47
Bamanbore–Nagpur Highway
Also known as Formed from the former NH 8A (part), NH 59, NH 59A and NH 69 (part)
1,006 km
Open
3 states
National Highway
Route
NH 47 runs 1,006 km from Bamanbore, Gujarat to Nagpur, Maharashtra.
Crosses Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Through Ahmedabad, Godhra, Dahod, Dhar, Indore, Harda, Betul and Nagpur.
Why it matters
NH 47 is the main freight road between Gujarat's industrial belt and central India. Cotton, chemicals, plastics and containers move inland from Ahmedabad and the Gujarat ports to the mills and warehouses of Indore, and grain and soyabean move back the other way — the Ahmedabad–Indore leg is one of the busiest inter-state truck routes in the region. Its ends also matter: at Bamanbore it links into the Saurashtra highway network, and at Nagpur it feeds the north–south spine of NH 44.
History
NH 47 runs across the middle of India, from Bamanbore in Gujarat's Saurashtra region to Nagpur in Maharashtra. On the way it connects two of western and central India's biggest cities, Ahmedabad and Indore. It was pieced together in the 2010 renumbering from four older highways, including the busy old NH 59 between Ahmedabad and Indore. The Ahmedabad–Indore leg has been a major trade road for a long time, carrying cotton, chemicals and factory goods between Gujarat's ports and the Malwa plateau. East of Indore the road changes character completely, running quietly through the Narmada valley farmland around Harda and then over the wooded Satpura hills to Betul and Nagpur. Its two ends plug straight into two of India's biggest highways — NH 27 in Gujarat and NH 44 at Nagpur.
Good to know
- Crosses three states: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Made from the old highways NH 8A (in part), NH 59, NH 59A and NH 69 (in part).
- Passes through Multai, the town where the Tapti river begins.
- Meets NH 27 at Bamanbore and NH 44 near Nagpur.
- About 388 km lie in Gujarat, 559 km in Madhya Pradesh and 59 km in Maharashtra.
- It links Ahmedabad and Indore, two of the largest cities in western and central India.
- It ends at Nagpur, the city of the Zero Mile Stone, from which distances across British India were once measured.
Key junctions
- Bamanbore — western end in Saurashtra, at the junction with NH 27
- Ahmedabad — meets NH 48 (the Delhi–Mumbai trunk route) and NH 64
- Indore — crosses NH 52, the Sangrur–Ankola highway; the biggest city in Madhya Pradesh
- Betul — junction with NH 46, the Gwalior–Betul highway
- Nagpur — eastern end, where it meets NH 44 and NH 53
On the road
Ahmedabad to Indore is the busy part — roughly eight hours of steady truck traffic, with good dhabas around Godhra and Dahod and a noticeable climb into the Malwa plateau after Jhabua. East of Indore the road is quieter and narrower in places, and the Betul–Multai–Nagpur stretch crosses the Satpura hills through teak forest, which is lovely by day and worth avoiding after dark. October to February is the most comfortable season; the Gujarat and Malwa sections get very hot in May.