This Kerala man holds World record for longest car journey in one country

Mangalore Today News Network/News18

New Delhi, May 22, 2024: Manikuttan GS from Cheriya Konni of Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala travelled a distance of 69,207 km in India on his car to create a Guinness World Record for the longest journey by car in a single country. He returned from Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the world’s highest motorable roads.

 

Manikuttan drove himself for 69,207 km until he returned from Khardung La in Ladakh, one of the world’s highest motorable roads. He covered almost one and a half times the circumference of the equator.

Manikuttan now holds the Guinness World Record for the longest drive in a single country. This record was previously held by the Americans. The previous record holder held the record of travelling a distance of 58,125 km in 121 days in her own country. Manikuttan covered a distance of 69,207 km in just 99 days. Manikuttan also holds 10 other records besides winning the Guinness record.

His journey crossed 22 states and 6 Union Territories without coming back or crossing the same route. It required detailed planning to avoid crossing the same place. Manikuttan drove an average of 735 km each day. The entire journey was captured by 16 cameras mounted on his 2015 model Mahindra XUV 500 vehicle. Except for the basic needs of sleeping and eating, the rest of the time Manikuttan spent was for travelling.

Manikuttan continued his journey eating food from the roadside stalls and cooking in his car. An inverter and an electric cooker were also kept in the vehicle for this purpose. He started his journey at 5 am and ended it at 11 pm daily. But on some days, Manikuttan had to run till 3 am to achieve his goal.

He stayed at the hotel for only three days during his excursion when the vehicle had to be serviced. 50 pairs of clothes were kept in hand during the trip where there was no time or facility to even wash the clothes.

As per the Guinness World Record, the journey started on August 13, 2023. It started from the front of Cheriya Konni Navodaya Library and concluded on November 19, 2023. The journey required 6,800 litres of diesel and cost Rs 7 lakh. GS Manikuttan, who is also a successful businessman with shops in Thiruvananthapuram and Kuwait, was earlier working as an eyewear technician in the Gulf. He said that he loves to travel.