Karnala - Best trek for beginners, Best patch for climbers

  Although I personally started trekking from Mahuli near Asangaon, I have taken few groups to Karnala as their first trek. If you are in Mumbai, this trek can be done in a single day. Very less travelling required, and you can club this trek with karnala forest resort or trip to Alibaug, Kihim etc.

  Karnala base is just 14 kms from Panvel as you can see in this map.

Panvel - Karnala Map

  I have mentioned it as best place to start trekking because, its comparatively easy and small trek. You can reach to the top in 1.5 to 2 hours easily. Apart from one small rock patch, I dont remember any tricky portion enroute.

  You can travel to base by your own car / bike, then park it in any of the restaurant and start climbing. Else you can also travel easily by state transport buses.

  You will easily get a bus from Panvel ST depot, as all buses going to Konkan pass through Karnala.

  Apart from Karnala fort its a bird sanctuary and if you are lucky and interested, you can spot few nice birds around.

  Once you reach at the top, there are around 50 stairs which take you to the entrance of the fort. The fort is not in very good conditions but you can see some bastions and protection wall which will give you glimpses of what it was in past. 

  If you are climbing enthusiast. Then the image shown below will surely attract you. A thumb shaped peak is a good challenge for climbers and many groups plan climbing expeditions at karnala.

 There are two water reservoirs, carved beneath this thumb. They have very sweet water and most importantly the water always remains cooler compared to the water you have carried with you. You can safely drink this water, provided groups before you have not thrown garbage in it.

  You can prepare, or unpack your meal at the top, enjoy it and then start your descend. You can come down to base in an hour or so.

  If you have additional day in hand, you can either enjoy at karnala forest resort, or travel to alibag / kihim for spending remaining time.

 

Kihim Beach

  So, if you reach karnala base by 8 am on saturday, you can easily come back to base by 4pm.

  If you have your own vehicle, you will reach Alibag, kihim by 5:30pm. Then enjoy sunset on alibaug beach. Spend night at Alibag / kihim. And come back on next day post lunch after enjoying your dip in the morning.

  So when are you planning your first trek? Its not too hot yet.

  but, Please dont leave any plastic behind when you come back.

  If you need any help, dont hesitate to write to me at kaustubhkhare@gmail.com or contact me @ 9820031162.

Unexplored Beaches of Kokan - Ratnagiri District 1

   In My first article I had written about some beaches of Kokan which are in Raigad district. This time I am taking you further south. Ratnagiri district has many beautiful beaches. Most famous being Ganpatipule, Velneshwar, Ratnagiri etc. but I am taking you to some lesser known beaches.

Anjarle:   

This village is famous for Kadyavarcha ganpati temple and also has a small but beautiful beach. You can reach Anjarle via Goregaon -> Mandangad -> Kelshi or Dapoli -> harnai.

You can also, enjoy very nice homely lunch / dinner here in small houses of locals.

If you are visiting konkan from Mumbai, I will suggest travelling from Mandangad -> Kelshi -> Anjarle and move southwards after enjoying anjarle beach.


Harne - Murud - Karde

    These three beaches are almost adjacent to each other. From Anjarle you have to head towards Dapoli and these beaches are on the way. On this road, dont miss one spot atop the hill where small gallery is constructed to observe beauty of this entire area. You can see beautiful view of Suvarnadurg & other forts near Harne.

  Suvarnadurg is sea fort which can be reached from Harne in a ferry. You will have to negotiate with local fisherman to reach this fort. But if you are fort architecture enthusiast then you should not miss this fort.

Harne offers another very very important thing for Fish lovers. The grand fish market near Harne port. If you are travelling in own car I will highly recommend purchasing fish here and then ask the cook at your destination to prepare it for you. Here is a small video of auction at harne beach which takes place every evening except heavily raining days.

After visiting harne, you can proceed to Murud and Karde beach and then head to Dapoli. Murud & Karde beaches has some good accommodation options if you want to call it a day alternately, you can proceed to Dapoli and stay in Aryavart.

Ladghar - Burondi - Kolthare

If you want to explore more, you can take a right turn for Ladghar just before entering Dapoli. This right turn will take you to two more less explored but scenic beaches, first is between Ladghar & Burondi. & another one is Kolthare. There are few more small beaches but I personally liked these two mentioned above. If you are planning to stay here, you have option of sai sawali at Ladghar.

In Kolthare you can check for homestay, or travel till Dabhol jetty for accommodation.

After visiting these two beaches, you can head straight to Dabhol & cross the Dabhol creek in a ferry to explore Ratnagiri further. This Dabhol Ferry carries your car / mini bus as well so take this ferry, else you will have to travel back all the way to Khed -> chiplun to reach our next destination.

So this was the first part of unexplored beaches in Ratnagiri, soon I shall put the second part where I will cover beaches near Guhagar to Ganpatipule and more.

Aurangabad - Maharashtra

     Maharashtra has great history. Although Shivaji maharaj is the highest point of History of maharashtra there were many important events and places which belong to historical periods other than period of Shivaji maharaj. Aurangabad belongs to the historical period of Yadav's.
     Today's Daulatabad was capital of Yadav kingdom till 11th century. Yadav's ruled this part of India for many centuries and formed very stable rule in this region. As a result, this part became very rich culturally.
     This part was so well developed that Mohammed Bin Tughlaq shifted his capital from Delhi to Daulatabad.

     Today this place hosts many beautiful and historically important places, which makes aurangabad must visit. Here I am listing down some of the important places within or very close to Aurangabad city in details.

1> Deogiri (Daulatabad Fort): This is amazing fort and in very good condition still. Built by Yadav Kings back in 11th century. This fort is architectural marvel and those who are interested in Fort architecture cant afford to ignore visiting this Fort.

  The fort has very unique arrangement at entrance to fool the enemy attacking the fort, it has multiple levels for defence, it has maze to fool the attackers, it has pit dug from all the sides to protect the fort from enemy troops climbing the wall and it also had multi layer protection wall. Architecture of this fort is separate topic of discussion. but if you are planning Autrangabad keep at least 3-4 hours for this fort and see it with guide. It is very close to Aurangabad city, and you can visit by taxi or local public transport.

2> Ghrushneshwar:
      Maharashtra hosts 5 of the 12 jyotirlings of lord Shiva. Ghrushneshvar is one of those Jyotirlings. This temple is very close to Ellora caves. Its 30 Kms from Aurangabad city.

3> Ellora: Ajanta & ellora are one of the most famous caves in India. Ellora has 34 caves in total showcasing carving art of various beliefs. It has set of Hindu caves among which Kailas temple is most important as it is carved out of Single rock. It has buddhist caves as well as Jain caves.

4> Biwi Ka Makbara:
   This amazing place has a great resemblance with Taj Mahal in Agra. Constructed by Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in 17th Century. This place though not as beautiful as Tajmahal, is a worth visiting when you are in Aurangabad.

Apart from the above mentioned things there are many interesting things around Aurangabad, which includes,
1> Ajanta Caves
2> Lonar crater
3> Paithan
4> Nathsagar lake
5> Panchakki
6> Sindkhedraja (Birthplace of Jijamata)

If you are planning a trip to Aurangabad from Mumbai or Pune, I will suggest 4 days trip. This place has really great attractions which are worth spending time. You can travel from Mumbai to Aurangabad by train or State transport run buses. Most of which run overnight. You start journey in the night and by morning 7 you reach Aurangabad.

It will take
1 day for local sightseeing including Ellora
1 day for Ajanta
1 day for paithan
1 day for Lonar

There are many hotels in Aurangabad including MTDC. You can also spend one night at Paithan.
Paithani saree is another attraction of Paithan and you can visit Paithani making factory and purchase a saree for yourself.

So visit Aurangabad, enjoy the places and write your experiences. Feel free to contact me if you need any help in planning this trip. you can reach me at 9820031162 or kaustubhkhare@gmail.com

Panchgani - Dala Rooster

   Hello all... We all are enjoying beautiful winter and many of you must have planned or are already travelling  in this amazing season. Today I am going to write about a specific accommodation and not about itinerary.

   Last month, I visited this fabulous place. A well furnished, well maintained, warm and welcoming bungalow near Panchgani market called Dala Rooster, owned by Capt. Vikas Gokhale from Pune.

Dala Rooster - Near Panchgani market

    Its a 6 BHK Bungalow with well maintained dining area, backyard garden, parking area, gazebo, camfire & BBQ area. Rooms are spread across 3 levels. 4 Bedrooms are self contained and others have toilet besides them.

    All amenities in this property right from televisions to crockery are in perfectly running, maintained & hygienic condition which is really commendable. All public area are guarded by CCTV cameras.

    The couple which stays there to take care of this bungalow is well trained under Mr. Gokhale and is very hospitable and welcoming. They will serve you very good food while you are staying there. Their charges are also very simple which are calculated as price for raw material + cooking charges per person.

    This bungalow can accommodate 12 to 16 people and charges are per person based. You will also get some discount if you are booking entire bungalow. If you are a single family or couple you can book a room as well. Booking entire bungalow is not mandatory.

    You can find booking information for this property on below link.
 
                               Dala Rooster all info

    If you are looking for relaxing weekend at home away from home this is the place to be and if you are going there in a group and booking entire bungalow, there is nothing like it.. Every penny you spend will be WASOOL..

   So, visit this beautiful property, enjoy your vacation and write your feedback about the property as well as whether this post was helpful.

   If you need any help planning your trip, dont hesitate to write me mailto:kaustubhkhare@gmail.com

Prakruti Resort @ Kashid, Maharashtra

      After a long time  I have started travelling again. This time my 6 months old daughter joined me in my first trip after entering fatherhood. Although it was a small trip, I will be writing two posts on it. This first post will as usual narrate about place, what to see, how to reach etc. and the second one, how we prepared ourselves to travel with our baby.

      Kashid is around 120 kms. from Mumbai (Chembur). You have to travel on Mumbai Goa highway till you reach Wadkhal (Chembur - Panvel - Karnala - Pen - Wadkhal). You can take a break at Palaspe or Wadkhal, try Amantran at Wadkhal for your breakfast. After Wadkhal, roads are not in good condition so It will take you another 60-90 minutes from Wadkhal.
  
     You have to take Murud road (Left turn before entering Alibaug) and travel another 25 kms from Alibag bypass to  reach Kashid. Beach at Kashid is very beautiful but "We the people" have made it look like any other beach in Mumbai by throwing all possible type of bags, bottles and stuff.. But, you can walk for 10-15 minutes and reach cleaner part of it and enjoy.

Me And My New travel partner @ Kashid Beach

      Apart from Kashid beach, you can plan to visit fort Janjira @ Murud, Fort Korlai, Kashid view point, and some other beaches like Kihim, Ashti, Nagav, Revdanda etc.

     But, if you have already seen all this and want to spend your weekend relaxing and just spending good time with your family or friends.. Here is one option which will give you some wonderful time.

    Prakruti Resort is just 5 minutes away from Kashid beach. This is excellent landscaped resort spread across 45 acres and has various options like studio apartments and 2/3/4 BHK villas to stay.

Restaurant @ Prakruti Resort

Scenic walkway inside resort

One of the villa inside resort

SPA @ Prakruti resort

Swimming Pool

Dining Hall

Studio Appartment @ Prakruti Resort

Bullock Cart

   There are lot of facilities at this resort to ensure you have good time without getting bored
      - You can take a dip in swimming pool with sip of wine or beer
      - Play Tennis
      - Play Table tennis
      - Bicycling
      - Play Pool
      - Enjoy massage at Spa
      - Enjoy a game of Golf
      - and most importantly enjoy a private beach, clean & away from crowded Kashid Beach.

  The food is included in package and its very good. All meals are buffet and you will get sufficient variety in Veg as well as Non-Veg. Apart from that they have pool-side cafe. You can also enjoy your beer relaxing at poolside or order tea and Pakoda.

  All the amenities are well maintained and you can enjoy them at reasonable rates. (Access to swimming pool is free, other activities are charged).

  Resort also has conference center, so if you want to plan outbound for your company, you can think of this option. You can access internet in their reception lobby.

  Rooms are good. Each room has garden facing balcony. All appliances, lights and amenities inside room were working. Room service was also good. Villas are spacious and if you are going with big family you should surely go for a Villa.

  When I visited this resort, rate for single night for studio apt. was 8300 but they gave some discount. Rate for 2BHK villa was 16000 & for 3BHK it was 24000.

  Overall it was amazing experience, if you have a kid ranging from 0-2 years and thats stopping you from travelling for weekends then this is very good option. I am sure you wont regret the money spent.

  If you need any help planning a trip, you can reach me @ kaustubhkhare@gmail.com 
      
      

      

Unexplored beaches of Konkan - Raigad District

  When we talk of Konkan beaches, we talk of Alibaug, Harihareshwar, Shriwardhan, Diveagar, Harne, Ratnagiri, Ganpatipule, Malvan, Vengurla etc. Of course these beaches are must visit, but if you have already visited these beaches & want to try some off beat beaches, here are few for you.

 Ashti, Nagav, Kihim, Revdanda, Chaul - 

Kihim Beach

 Near Alibaug there are many beautiful & secluded beaches. If you are travelling in your own vehicle you can cover all of them in a single day. If you visit Alibaug & found the beach too crowded for you, move southwards & you will reach these beaches in few minutes. All these beaches have access to road. In nearby villages you can get delicious, fresh fish varieties. You can enjoy tender coconuts, and except the person behind the wheel all can enjoy Taadi & Maadi. On Kihim beach, you can also enjoy some water sports. There are many forts around these beaches & these forts are worth visiting.

 Kashid and Murud

Janjira Fort

         Situated around 35 kms. southwards from Alibaug this beach is surrounded by Phansad wildlife sanctury. This beach hosts beautiful Kashid Beach resort which provides very good accommodation option. Kashid is a straight and long white sand beach. If you travel 15 kms. southwards from Kashid, you can visit Murud beach. Murud is also very famous fishing town. One can enjoy amazing seafood in small restaurants near Murud. If you are visiting Murud, dont miss the grand sea fort Janjira, home to Siddi kings. Small ferry runs between Murud & Janjira fort.

Walwati Beach - Between Shriwardhan & Diveagar

Walwati (Diveagar - Shriwardhan road)

        If you travel from Shriwardhan to Diveagar, You will pass through this small village. After this village, till Dive agar you will see many amazing unnamed beaches. If you are planning a group picnic or want to spend a day at secluded & pristine beach, just relaxing or reading book or painting landscape, this is a place for you. Dont expect typical tourist amenities like fast food stalls, restaurants, hotels etc. here.. this is a virgin patch with very few number of people halting. but the beaches in this belt are really amazing. If you want to visit these beaches, travel on NH17 till goregaon and take a right turn for Shriwardhan. Just before Shriwardhan take a right turn for Diveagar.

Velas & Kelshi

Turtles on Velas Beach

From Goregaon on NH17, one diversion heads to Mandangad. One has to travel till Mandangad and then can go to both these beaches. Velas beach is smaller comparatively, but it hosts very interesting project of ridley turtles. These turtles are grown here & every year turtle festival is celebrated on Velas Beach. Kelshi is a bigger beach and around 15 kms. from Velas. You can cover Velas & Kelshi with Harihareshwar or with Harne - Anjarle. One can also get Ferry from Bagmandla to Bankot if you are visiting Harihareshwar.

  There are many more beaches in Raigad districts apart from these, but I listed few which came to my mind. I will write few more posts on other districts.. till then, read the blog and give youir valuable feedback to improve it.

  

Rajgad & Torna - A perfect winter trek

  Rains are over & so is October heat.. so my trek lover friends pull out ur sacks.. start forming a group & here is the plan for perfect two days trek...

  Rajgad & Torna, both are very prominent forts of Maratha History, Rajgad was the first capital of Shivaji Maharaj & Torna was the first fort conquered by this great king. Both these hill forts are in Pune Region.

  Here I am giving plan from Mumbai... considering your trek is on saturday & Sunday.. So Start by late night State transport Bus to swargate or by Bijapur passenger / chennai express to Pune station.

  From both the places you will easily get another state transport bus to Velha. But dont go till Velha, get down at village called Sakhar which in 2 Kms away from base of Rajgad. Anybody at Sakhar will guide you to starting point of Rajgad.

  From Sakhar, it is pretty simple trek & you will take 2-3 hours to reach Padmavati Maachi of Rajgad.  There is a padmavati Devi temple & small Dharmashala ( without doors ) where you can put up your base.

Padmavati Devi Temple

After some break you can visit Sanjivani & Suvela Machi and also the Bale Killa. Dont forget to sit in 'Nedha' & click a snap there. The fortified Machi's of Rajgad with dual bastions will take you back to those glorious years of maratha history.

Suvela Machi

  Bale killa of Rajgad is beautiful & its must visit. Enjoy spectacular views of all three machi, main fort & surrouding area, enjoy cool breeze & then descend down to Padmavati, where you have set up your base.

Rajgad Top view - Picture by Mr. Gopal Bidhe

  Next day morning, start as early as possible for Torna, You can see bastion of Torna from Padmavati temple itself, and the ridge that joins Rajgad and Torna. Now go to Sanjivani Machi, and come out of the fort from there.

  There is no confusion point. You will be able to locate a long ridge from Rajgad to Torna. It will take around 6 to 8 hours to reach Buidhla machi of Torna. There are very few water sources enroute, hence carry ample of water.

  After crossing these hills ( around 21 I guess ) you will reach a ruined bastion on Budhla machi of Torna fort. Enter from here & cross all the way till Zunjar machi. After entering from Budhla, Zunjar machi is towards your right. So keep travelling till you reach Zunzar machi. You will see Tornai devi temple here and can rest for a while.

Torna - Bird eye view

  Then start your descend from Zunjar machi. It will take around 2-3 hours to reach base village of Velha. From here you could get MUV or state transport bus etc. for Swargate.

Tips : Carry food, water & sleeping bag ( or at least blanket with you ).
          You need to walk a lot, so wear comfortable cloths & footwear.
          Carry torch with you as you are going to stay overnight at Rajgad.

If you need any further info. You can call me at 9820031162. If you need tent for this or any other trek I can provide it on rent.


   

Malshej and more

  Malshej ghat witnesses huge number of tourists every rainy season. People travel to Malshej mostly in their own/hired vehicle & enjoy waterfalls, greenery & wind at Malshej..Its truely amazing experience to spend some hours in Malshej ghat. Unfortunately, this beautiful strip of road is occupied by drunkerds, which can turn your Malshej trip into nightmare if you are going with family or with ladies in a groups.

  But dont skip fantastic drive of Malshej for these antisocial drunken monkeys. Here I bring you some places which you can combine with Malshej ghat to make your trip interesting, or if you want to make your trip longer after enjoying Malshej.

1> Pimpalgaon Jog Dam -

     After crossing Mashej ghat MTDC resort, you will see this dam to your left while travelling from Mumbai to Otur. One road to the left leads to khireshwar village from where people start their trek for Harishchandra Gad. But even if you are in no mood for trekking, you can enjoy Jog dam surroundings.

2> Manikdoh Dam:

Manikdoh Dam

     If you wont mind driving bit further, take right turn for Lenyadri after traveling 5-6 kms further from Jog dam. Cross Ganesh khind. Take the road which heads to Rajur. Total distance from malshej to Rajur is 40kms. You can also visit Leopard rescue center near Manikdoh dam. 

3> Lenyadri & Ozar Temple

    These two temples are among Ashtavinayaks & hence very popular shrines. Lenyadri & Ozar are just 25 kms from Malshej.

4> Shivneri



Birthplace of Shivaji Maharaj



     Birthplace of great king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. This hill fort is near Junnar, One can reach base of the fort in an hour from Malshej Ghat. But if you are planning to visit Shivneri be prepared for climb of 30 minutes.

   

Trekking Options

There are many treks in viscinity of Malshej Ghat, One can opt for Harishchandra Gad, Chavand, Hadsar, Jivdhan or naneghat trek. While Jivdhan & Hadsar are bit hard to climb other treks are smaller & simple.

Accomodation options:

  MTDC resort & some other resorts in Malshej are always there. but you can also stay at Khireshwar village or Bhakt Niwas of Lenyadri & Ozar, or can look for a lodge in Junnar, or near Manikdoh dam.

There is also an interesting place, Kukadi river bank. Riverbed of Kukadi has developed potholes naturally, its very interesting and unique thing, but best time to visit is March to May.

So.. before this rainy season is gone, book your weekend and plan a trip.

Ashtavinayak in 24 Hours

    Here is a plan for those who love to race against time & try something new even on old routes.. this rainy season we took challenge of Ashtavinayak in 24 hours & we completed entire trip starting from kandivali & reaching Kandivali back within 24 hours.
    Usually people plan Ashtavinayak in 2 or 3 days, but here is a plan which can help you achieving it in a single day.But try this only in group. Dont do it alone or with family & I wont recommend it on bike.

    Assuming you are staying in Mumbai, I will refer Thane as a starting point. So Start from Thane at 2:45am and head straight to Kalyan - Murbad - Tokavade - Malshej Ghat - Ganeshkhind - Lenyadri. If you go without break and drive at good speed, you will reach Lenyadri base at 6:00 am. Climbing Lenyadri will take around 20 minutes. So visit the temple spend some time there & descend down Lenyadri base & start for Ozar by 7:00am.

    Ozar is just 12kms from Lenyadri. You should reach Ozar at 7:20am. Visit the temple, you can have breakfast here & start for Ranjangaon at 8:00 am. From Ozar go to Narayangaon - Take right & head to Chakan - On traveling around 30kms you will reach Rajgurunagar - Take left for Shikrapur - On reaching Shikrapur - head to Shirur - you will see Ranjangaon Temple besides highway to your right. It should take around 2:30 hours to reach Ranjangaon, So you will reach Ranjangaon at 10:30am and after visiting the temple start further at 11:00am.

     Next destination is Siddhatek, head to Shirur, just after crossing 5 kms. You will see huge tree to your right and a small road passing by to your right. This is MIDC pipeline road which is a short cut, & will take you via Nirvi - Nimone - Inamgaon to Kashti. (If you ask road to Sidhhatek people will tell you Shirur-Belwandi route but ask specifically for route going through villages mentioned above.Avoid travelling on this route after sunset.) You will Reach Siddhatek before 12:30 pm. via this route.

    You can enjoy Zunaka bhakar lunch at Sidhhatek but dont waste too much of time. Start ASAP, but latest by 1:30pm. Head to Duand - Patas - Chaufula - take left from petrolpump at Chaufula & travel 23 kms to reach Morgaon. This will take you 50 minutes max so, by 2:15pm you will be at Morgaon. Visit the temple & start further journey.

    Start latest by 3:00pm. Head to Chaufula, then take left turn & head to Pune. After travelling 20 kms. Take a right turn which will take you to next temple Theur, just 8 kms away from this junction. You will reach Theur by 4:00pm. Visit a temple, have a tea break and head for further journey.

    Start latest by 4:30pm. Head to Hadapsar - Katraj - take Mumbai -> banglore highway & then Expressway. Travel on Expressway till Khopoli - Take Khopoli exit & travel to mahad which is just 6-7kms from exit. This entire route will take around 3-4 hours depending on traffic from Hadapsar to katraj to Expressway.

    Reach Mahad by 8:00pm visit the temple & then head to Pali. Start latest by 8:30pm to reach Pali which is 38kms away by 9:30pm. visit Pali temple & then come back till Khopoli to take expressway and then head back to your home.

    Please note: if due to some reason you reach Khopoli late, then head for Pali first and then go to Mahad, because Pali temple will shut down at 10:30pm whereas temple at Mahad is open till 12:00 midnight. I have assumed some buffer in every destination considering queue at some temples or any other unanticipated events. So try to be as quick as possible and enjoy your trip.

    I wont recommend Chaturthi / Ganesh Janma etc. to plan this as you will lose so much time in queues that the plan will fail,so plan it in offseason.

    Total distance travelled: 825kms Kandivali - Ashtavinayak - Kandivali.

    Travellers: Karishma Patil, Shruti Joshi, Vikram More, Mayur Patil, Prasad Chavan, Prasad Kargutkar, Nilesh Jadhav & Kaustubh Khare.
    Vehicles: Hyundai Santro & Ford Figo.

   Drive safely, enjoy your trip and you can contact me on 9820031162 or write me to kaustubhkhare@gmail.com if you need any help in planning the trip.

Matheran : Perfect Eco-friendly Hill Station

  This article is not for people from Mumbai, because a person who stays in Mumbai must have already visited Matheran. But if you are among those who r in Mumbai or Pune & not visited Matheran and want to spend a nice weekend, then Matheran is highly recommended.

  Its a beautiful hill station, and most amazing thing about Matheran is, its perfect eco-friendly hill station, where you will not find any tar roads, and motorized vehicles are not allowed within boundaries of Matheran. Matheran is covered with dense green belt which keeps climate very pleasant throughout the year. You can visit Matheran in any season, but it becomes muddy in rainy season, as there are no tar roads.

Mini train from Neral to Matheran

 You can reach Matheran by many ways. You can catch local train from CST to Karjat and get down at Neral junction. From Neral you can take a cab, or take a mini train which runs between Neral & Matheran, or just walk 8 kms till Matheran. Going to Neral by last train and then walking all the way to the top is also amazing option if you are in group.


Matheran is very small hill station which you can cover on horse, or in a cart or just walk around. One can enjoy variety of food in restaurants. You will get restaurant of every budget & same is the case for accommodation.

  One tree hill point, echo point, sunset point, panorama point (sunrise), wilson point, monkey point are few places to visit. Like any other hill station, taking stroll in the market or riding a horse or boating in charlot lake are some other activities you can enjoy.

  For trekking enthusiasts, climbing Matheran from Karjat will take you to one tree hill & from there, you can reach Matheran.

  You can start your trip on friday evening & come back on sunday evening.. So what are u waiting for.. visit Matheran on next weekend.

Cruising on Konkan Coastline - Biker's Delight

This post is for all my biker friends.(For those who love to travel in car please dont follow this route as it is.)

Many people love to go on long bike rides but managing northern expeditions is a tough task for them.. but here is the circuit which will allow you the great joy of ride even if you are alone or with your wife or with just 2-3 friends..
For bigger rides read my posts
http://travellerkk.blogspot.com/2009/09/dream-ride.html
http://travellerkk.blogspot.com/2010/10/colourful-quandrangle-of-rajasthan.html

So enough of preface, lets move straight to contents...

This itinerary is from Mumbai..

Day1: 40 Kms

  Your day will start with heading straight to Bhaucha dhakka. & catch ferry for Revas.

  Load your bike in the ferry & within two hours you will reach Revas.

  from Revas follow the route

   Revas - mandve - kihim - thal - alibaug - nagaon - revdanda
  (places can be covered: 

   Forts: Khanderi, Underi,

           kulaba, 

           revdanda

   Beaches: alibaug, nagaon, ashti, revdanda)

   One can easily get budget hotel or home accomodation in Revdanda or Chaul.

Janjira Fort - Murud

                                 

Day2: 70 kms

   Start bit early today as you have many interesting places to see.

   Revdanda- chaul - kashid - murud - rajapuri(ferry) - dighi - sarve - dive agar - shriwardhan

   (Places can be covered: forts: janjira

                                       beaches: chaul, kashid, dive agar, shriwardhan

                                       temples: dive agar)  

Kadyavarcha Ganpati - Anjarle

Day3: 112 kms

   You can catch sunrise at Harihareshwar temple..
   After visiting Harihareshwar, travel to Bagmandla jetty where you can put your bikes into ferry boat & travel to Bankot.
   shriwardhan - harihareshwar(ferry) - Bankot - velas - kelshi - dabhol(ferry) - dhopave - guhagar

   (Places can be covered:
           forts: bankot, suvarnadurg, gopalgad

           beaches: bankot, guhagar, harne, anjarle

           temples: anjarle, guhagar, harihareshwar, kelshi dargah
           others: Nana Fadanvis house Velas)

Bamanghal - Hedvi

Day4: 80 Kms
Travel on Guhagar - chiplun road & take right turn for Hedvi. After Velneshwar you have to proceed to Katale after narvan & ask for ferry to Jaigad.
Cross the Jaigad creek & take the coastal road to Ganpatipule
Guhagar - hedvi - ganpatipule - sakhartar - ratnagiri

(Places can be covered:
         forts: Jaigad, ratangad

         beaches: ratnagiri, hedvi, velneshwar, bhandarpule, are-ware, ganpatipule

         temples: hedvi, velneshwar, ganpatipule, ratnagiri
         others: Malgund Keshavsut smarak & Konkan museuam)

Day5: 150kms
  ratnagiri - jaitapur - padel - devgad - malvan

   (Places can be covered: Forts: Vijaydurg, devgad, sindhudurg, sarjekot

                                       Beaches: devgad, malvan, devbaug)
  You can you can spend 1 day for enjoying many activities..
  In Malwan you can enjoy snorkling, also dont miss tarkarli creek.
  If you are interested in fort architectures & history Viajydurg & Sindhudurg are must visit..

Nivati rock - Island

Day6: 65 kms
    malvan - chivla - nivati - bhogwa - vengurla 

   (Places can be covered:
          forts: Nivati
          Beaches: Chivla, bhogawe, Vengurla      
          others: Nivati rock, Tsunami island)

   Nivati Island is in deep sea perhaps 15-20 Nmiles..

Day7: 25 Kms
   You can spend some morning time at Vengurla & then start for Redi
   Vengurla - ubha danda - morchemad - shiroda -redi - Terekhol

   (Places can be covered: Beaches: Morchemad, redi, terekhol

                                       Temples: Redi ganesh)

Redi Ganesh 

So my friends enough of leisure biking, now lets do some long runs on amazing NH17..
Get ready on day 8 early morning & hit the road

Day8: 215 Kms
   Terekhol - sawantwadi - kudal - kankavli cross this 85 kms route before you stop for lunch
   Then start for big 130 Kms run
   kankavli - nandgaon - kharepatan - lanja - take left from lanja & head to Pawas

Marleshwar waterfall

Day9:
   You have 2 options now, if you want to complete tonight ride 350 kms to Mumbai straight on NH17
   Or ride till mahad
   Visit Parshuram temple, dervan shivsrushti en route.

Day10:
   If you are not home, & still in mahad start riding & reach home...

So my friends, this was the itinerary for ride mixed of leisure & heavy biking in last two days..
If you dont want heavy rides, then Instead of staying back at terekhol or redi come back till Kankavli.
This will allow you to reach home in 9 days with less than 200 Kms every day..

Have even lesser days??? no problems accelerate on first ride, Come till Harihareshwar on day 1 & instead of Revas come by road.. It can save 2 days & you will miss on Revas & Thal thats it.

I will cover some more interesting places in Konkan in future posts.. till then enjoy riding..

Around Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar is most famous hill station in Maharashtra. If you go 30 years back & take some survey, it was the favorite honeymoon destination for many couples. Now its more of long weekend gateway.. The purpose of this article is not to cover what to see in Mahabaleshwar as you can get it on many websites.. This article is about, What can you cover along with Mahabaleshwar.

Ganesh Templ at Wai

Wai : This is a beautiful town nestled on the banks of Krishna River. Dhundi Ganesh temple in this village is very famous. Also if you have some extra time you can visit Dhom Dam which is 12 kms from Wai. You can also spend some leisure time on the banks of Krishna river.. This village is on the way to Mahabaleshwar, so after spending some time here, you can move to Mahabaleshwar via Panchgani.

Ajinkyatara Fort - Satara

Satara: If you have been from Wai Panchgani road to Mahabaleshwar, try this one some time. Satara has very good Aundh museum which showcases things from Maratha history. One can also visit Ajinkyatara fort & enjoy amazing view of Satara town from the top. So if you dont want to spend all your days in Mahabaleshwar you can spend a day or two exploring  Ajinkyatara & river Krishna. Kandi Pedha & mawa of Satara are very famous, so dont miss them..

Kaas Plateau: This is the second longest table land in Asia. This fabulous plateau is home to many plant

Kaas Plateau

species. Sep-Oct is the best time to visit. Its a fantastic destination for leisure day & only 20 kms from Satara. One can cover the Kaas plateau & head straight to Mahabaleshwar on Kaas Mahabaleshwar Road.

Panchgani: Its on Wai -Mahabaleshwar road.well known for its natural beauty, tabletop point, boarding school & Aamir khan's bunglow. In fact Panchgani is another hill station within itself. You can enjoy the weather tourist points & strawberries here..

All the above mentioned places can be visited when you are travelling on NH4, now lets have a look at what NH17 way has to offer..

Pratapgad Fort

Pratapgad: If you are approaching Mahabaleshwar from NH17, you have to take diversion from Poladpur. A very famous fort of Pratapgad is en-route. This fort is must visit to understand the fort architecture of great Maratha King Shivaji maharaj. Dont forget to enjoy lunch of Bhakari & drink buttermilk inside the fort.

So, If you visit Mahabaleshwar often, on your long weekends.. club these places with your trip & enjoy some  amazing new destinations..

  

Ghats of Konkan

    Konkan is perhaps the greenest belt of Maharashtra.. This narrow strip called Konkan is between Arabian sea & Mountain range of Sahyadri. Sahyadri Mountain range runs parallel to coast of Konkan.. One has to cross the Sahyadri to reach Deccan plateau.
   There are many ghats connecting Konkan to the Deccan plateau. These all ghats are true paradise for riders & drivers. Especially from July to February travelling through these ghats is real treat to your eyes.

   National Highway 17 runs through entire length of Konkan starting from Mumbai & National Highway 4 runs parallel to the prior but is on the other side of Sahyadri. If you travel from Mumbai to Goa.. You will come across many ghats Khandala Ghat, Bhor Ghat, Tamhini Ghat, Par Ghat, Ambenali Ghat, Kumbharli Ghat, Amba Ghat, Karul Ghat, Amboli Ghat, Fonda Ghat. Apart from these ghats connecting NH17 & NH4 you have to cross Kashedi Ghat & Parshuram Ghat. If you are travelling north of Mumbai thats in Thane district, you will come across Malshej Ghat & Thull Ghat. In this post I am not going in depth, but will limit the contents just to 2-3 line introduction of these Ghats.. In fact separate article on each ghat can be written as these ghats host many tourist attractions, dams, forts, sancturies & beauty of nature..

Khadala Ghat:
  This is between Khopoli & Lonavala, this is very famous ghat. After construction of express way, it doesn't look like ghat though. Many tourists visit hill stations of Khandala & Lonavla. One can see Lohgad & Visapur forts guarding the ghat.

Tamhini Ghat

Tamhini Ghat:
  This ghat connects Kolad & Mangaon with Pune. A very beautiful & green strip especially from august to november. Mulshi dam on this route is becoming popular tourist destination.

Bhor Ghat:
  Historically important ghat connects Mahad with Shirwal. This route is surrounded by many dams namely nira-deoghar, bhatghar and Veer.



Parghat & Ambenali Ghat:
  Again a very famous strip. Konkan side till pargaon of this ghat is usually called Parghat whereas the road in after that is called Ambenali ghat. This ghat connects Poladpur in konkan with Wai in satara district. Many places of interest like Pratapgad fort, tapola sanctury & hill station mahabaleshwar.

Kumbharli Ghat

Kumbharli Ghat:
  After entering Ratnagiri district, this is the first ghat that will connect you to NH4. This ghat is between Chiplun & Karad. Huge Koynanagar dam is in close proximity of this dam.

Amba Ghat:
  This very prominent ghat, is a national highway NH204. Connector of two important cities Ratnagiri & Kolhapur. This ghat starts from village called Pali on NH17.

Phonda Ghat:
  This ghat runs between Kankavli & Kolhapur.

Amboli Ghat:
  This is perhaps the southernmost ghat in Maharashtra. It connects Sawantwadi with Belgaum. A beautiful hill station Amboli is nestled on this route.

Parshuram Ghat:
  This Ghat is beween Khed & Chiplun. Famous temple Of lord Parshuram is atop this route. One can have amazing view of Vasishthi river.

Malshej Ghat

Malshej Ghat:
  Again one more very famous picnic spot. This route is famous for Flamingos which come here during rains. There is also a wonderful resort called "Flamingo resort" atop this ghat. One can do Harishchandragad trek from here.

Thull Ghat:
   This route connects Kasara & Igatpuri..




So, Here is the brief introduction of all important ghats in Konkan. All my driving/ riding lovers friends.. take out ur machines & conquer them all.. & dont forget to write ur experiences..

Weekend in Pune

Pune, the upcoming IT hub in Maharashtra is also a cultural capital of Maharashtra. This city is worth experiencing as a traveller. The city that has huge history & was center of Indian politics in 17-18th centuries, offers many places worth visiting.. This post is mostly covering places of historical importance:

Shanivarwada:
   Built by first Peshwa Bajirao First, at the heart of Pune this palace is really huge & as strong as Maratha regim at the time of Bajirao. When built this palace of Peshwa's had 6 floors. Today only bastions & protecting wall of palace exists, but the laser show in the evening is really worth watching.

Sinhagad:
  Few Kms away from Pune, this fort has great historic importance due to gallant attack of Tanaji Mallusure to conquer it from Mughals. This fort has become more of picnic spot & is usually crowded in rains.. The view of Pune city from the fort is amazing

Kelkar Museum
  Fabulous collection of many artifacts from indian history. It also has a place called Mastani mahal which will certainly take you back to 18th century.

Lal Mahal:
  Shivaji maharaj spent his childhood in this palace, but this palace is more famous for the attack on Shaistekhan executed with great finess by Shivaji maharaj & his selective maratha troops.

Kasba Peth Ganpati:
  Idol of Lord Ganesh in this temple was found in 17th Century. This Idol was then placed by Shivaji maharaj in Kasba Peth as Gram Daivat of Pune. This temple is very close to Shanivarwada.

Parvati:
  Small hillock very close to Pune city. Parvati hosts temple built by Peshwa & a museum displaying artifacts & weapons used by Peshwas of Pune.

Dehu:
  Known for great sant Tukaram maharaj. This place has very high imporatnce in Warkari community. Sant Tukaram maharaj is still worshiped as a great sant by entire maharashtra.

Army Tank Museum:
 Pune is important place for western command of Indian Army. There is a tank museum developed by Indian Army & artillary department in Pune, showcasing many models of tanks, guns, shells etc. One can see pattern, arjun & many more well known tanks here.

Sarasbaug:
 This is a huge garden developed by Peshwa's. Situated near Swargate ST stand. Sarasbaug hosts beautiful Ganpati temple built in a small pond.

There are many more places in & around Pune like Vrundavan, Shinde Chhatri, Alandi, Chaturshrungi, Peshwe Udyan, Theur, Ranjangaon, Chakan Fort etc.. but this I will cover in some other posts. Apart from Places of historical & cultural importance, there are many other attractions near Pune.. but those we will see on some other weekend..
 

Harishchandra gad trek

Finally............. summer is over & every trekker's favourite season has arrived.. Its raining & time to spend your weekends in lush green sahyadri ranges..

This year's first rainy trek was harishchandra gad... We went for the two days trek on 26-27 June..
for visiting Harishchandra Gad one has to start early in the morning.. we met at Thane railway station at 6:30 am & took the train for Kalyan.
After getting down at Kalyan check whether you are carrying all the necessary food & medicince.. if anything is missing Kalyan & Murbad are last two stops where you can purchase things..
Take any State transport bus passing through Makshej Ghat from Kalyan depot which is very close to the Kalyan railway station.

aboard the ST bus & enjoy around 2 hours ride till Khubi Phata.. If you dont know Khubi phata, tell the conductor to guide you.. Khubi phata is just 10 minutes after you pass malshej ghat tunnel..

Get down at Khubi Phata & you will see a big water reservoir to your left.. You have to cross this & head to the village called Khireshwar.. its around 4 kms walk.. You may find a jeep travelling to Khireshwar, these guys will take you to the village in 10Rs per person..

You can have a breakfast at Khireshwar & start the climb.. anybody will guide you to the way to the fort..

Way to the top is pretty clear & very few chances of you getting lost in the forest.. just keep following arrows drawn by other trekkers.. We took 2 Hrs before we reached a rock patch. This is the only section where you have to be bit careful.. Its not huge.. it takes 20 - 25 minutes max to cross this rock patch..

And once you cross the rock patch.. you can enjoy the treat of tea / nimbupani ..You can also take halt for lunch after completing rock patch section as, you have crossed more than half of the distance..

After this point you have to cross 4 hills to reach the fort. Just keep following arrows, there is a chance of getting lost in this section.. so keep an eye on arrows.. after crossing 4 hills you can see the ancient rock carved temple.. thats it... you have reached the top. Now your next plan of action would be to look for an accommodation.

There are some caves around this temple, where villagers will arrange for your accomodation.. If everything is full, there is a small cave near Kedareshwar Shiv Linga. So book your cave & have a great time roaming around.. njoy the nature... njoy waterfalls..
  Dinner can be arranged by the villagers staying atop. Our friend Bhagwanta, who stays atop arranged dinner & next day's breakfast & tea for us.. We were carryig some kerosin.. so we also njoyed campfire..

  Next day.. thats day 2 one can visit Konkan kada & taramati pinacle.. We visited only Konkan kada.. If you are visiting Harishchandra gad you should not miss Konkan Kada.. After visit to konkan kada we had our breakfast & started descend..
  It takes around 2 hours to come down to khireshwar.. then come till khubi phata or travel 5 more kms to Madh village to catch the bus to Kalyan..
  Happy monsoon & happy trekking