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.

What to Eat - Rajasthan - Jaisalmer

This is not a desert... at least for food lover.. For me being in Jaisalmer was like being in Oasis & not in dessert.

When you are in Jaisalmer, along with beautiful Sand dunes & Haveli's & Fort , the most enjoyable thing is variety food served here.

Dont give miss to any of these as you wont find them in other part of country and more importantly they are very different.

Ker Sangri:
Ker sangri in its raw form looks like this. Its mostly found in desert and requires very less water to survive.

After preparation, the final dish looks something like this:

Apart from Ker sangri, you should also try Gatte ki sabzi, papad soup.

Ghotma Ladoo is another such delicacy from Jaisalmer, it is different type of Bundi laddu. You can enjoy this laddu  in a Bhatia Shop inside Jaisalmer fort. You can pack them with you as well as they will remain good for around 15 days even without refrigerator.

Rajasthani Kadhi is another interesting thing you can enjoy it across Rajasthan. and even in Jaisalmer most of restaurants serve Rajasthani Kadhi.

What to Eat - Rajasthan - Jaipur

Travel and Food cannot be separated.
If you travel without trying local food and talking to local and taking a stroll in local market.. you better travel on google maps or google streetview. This is my belief please dont feel offended & at least dont stop reading.

I am starting this new segment in blog from Rajasthan as thats the place where I found dishes from different segments all together. So here I bring you step by step guide to eating in Rajasthan while you are travelling to Rajasthan.

Jaipur:
     Its a capital of Rajasthan and all famous cuisines here are really very very reach in all aspects. So if You are very cautious about calories, burn some extra fat before going on rajasthan trip.

    I will recommend Chokhi Dhani if you dont have much time to explore various places in Jaipur.
    Daal bati Churma is the must have when you are in jaipur .

  Bati is made in shuddh desi ghee and if that not enough, they pore some additional ghee when it is served. The real fun is, when you break the bati, then pour Daal & lots of ghee on it and enjoy.. Its amazing...

   Churma is sweet crushed form. You can enjoy it as a dessert after finishing your daal baati.
   If you have sufficient time, you can explore this dish in Dhabas near Sindhi Camp.

   and for those friends who think rajasthan is all veg... Laal Maans is must try. In Jaipur, On MI road, you can try Handi restaurant for amazing spicy laal maans.

You can enjoy this dish with Missi Roti. Missi roti is made of mixture of various flours and with added some ajwain.

If you are not visiting entire Rajasthan then you can try some Pyaaz kachori, Mirchi Pakoda, mawa kachori, ghevar, gajak, gatte ki sabji as well. but if you are visiting entire Rajasthan visit my individual city wise posts to know what to try wherever you go.
   

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.

The Colourful Quandrangle of Rajasthan

Rajasthan is a famous tourist destination & people from various countries come here to enjoy rich Rajasthani culture, Royal palaces, sand dunes, forts, folk & food...
So you will find huge amount of pages written about Rajasthan on web.. Thats why I wont be writing much about beauty of places in Rajasthan but will just try to putforth how one can plan the trip..

Amer Palace Rajasthan

The first point of our quadrangle is Capital of Rajasthan thats Jaipur.. Its in the eastern part of Rajasthan & at a driving distance from Delhi.. If you are travelling from Mumbai there is good connectivity by trains & plane..

Jaipur being an ancient city there are many places of tourist interest amer palace & amer fort, meherangad fort, hawa mahal, jal mahal, pink city, jantar mantar, museum to name few..
You can also go on shopping spree... in rajasthan emporium.. one can look for beautiful carved articles, colourful bangels, saree, 100 gram rajai etc..

In Jaipur, Dalbati is must have.. One can plan visit to Agra from Jaipur before proceeding to next point of quadrangle i.e. Bikaner.. I advice 2 days of stay in jaipur & 3rd day if you want to visit Agra

Junagarh Fort

Second point Bikaner is around 350 Kms from jaipur, & in the northen part of Rajasthan..
One can cover Ajmer & Pushkar on the way.. In Ajmer you can visit famous dargah of Ajmer, & Pushkar hosts only temple of lord Brahma & is famous for Gulkand & Pushkar festival..
It takes around 6-7 hours to reach Bikaner from Jaipur.. Roads are in very nice condition but.. try to reach Bikaner before sunset.. This route is little deserted..

Our second point Bikaner is very famous for Bikaneri Bhujia & rasgulla.. Start your day in Bikaner with Chhotu-Motu ka rasgulla.. & then head straight to Bikaner palace & Bikaner fort.. after visiting these places.. One should visit Bharni mata temple which is around 15 kms from Bikaner.. Dont miss this one.. Besides Bharni mata temple, you can also visit camel farm.. One day is sufficient to visit interesting places in Bikaner but if you have extra day.. no harm in spending..

After visiting  Bikaner travel to the western end of Rajasthan.. thats jaisalmer.. This is perhaps the most amazing point of our quadrangle.. Golden sand.. spectacular golden jaisalmer fort. & an evening on sand dunes & then night in a tent near sand dunes collectively make jaisalmer a must visit place.. You can try ker sangri, gatta laddu here.. I wont go in much depth as I have written separate post on Jaisalmer.. One can halt at Pokhran on the way from Bikaner to jaisalmer.. I recommend at least 3 days in Jaisalmer

Jodhpur city

Now lets move on to Point no 4.. thats Jodhpur.. Jaipur is Pink city, jaisalmer is golden city & colour of Jodhpur is blue.. Again a very beautiful fort of jodhpur is must visit.. taking round in jodhpur market is also great fun.. One can eat many rajasthani delicacies in Jodhpur.. One shouldn't miss Pyaj kachori, mawa kachori, ghevar, Gajak to name few.. Distance between Jodhpur & Jaisalmer is around 300 Kms..

Now one can opt for completing the quandrangle by returning to Jaipur by travelling around 350 Kms more.. or one can travel southwards to Udaipur.. Another spectacular city in rajasthan.. or if you have ample days you can travel jodhpur - mount Abu - Udaipur..

Mount Abu is very beautiful hill station on the border of rajasthan & gujrat.. Whereas Udaipur offers places like chittodgarh, palace of maharana pratap, haldi Ghati, & many beautiful lakes..

So.. plan your trip.. winter is coming closer.. thats the best season to visit rajasthan.. Again my recommendation is to plan at least 10 -11 days to complete the quadrangle & atleast 14 days to add Udaipur also.. If possible, hiore your separate car instead of travelling by public transport....
and VVV Important point... dont forget your camera.. there are many things worth capturing..

Jaisalmer – golden desert treat.

While travelling in India you come across various forms of beautiful locations. Some of them are created by God nature & others by God’s best creation HUMAN. Rajasthan is a state in western India with very low rainfall & huge area of the state is covered by desert & low fertility land. Still Rajasthan is one of the most visited places in India. Where nature felt short Indian artists took the responsibility of beautification.

   In my trip to Rajasthan, I enjoyed 3 days of stay at Jaisalmer. I travelled from Jaipur to Bikaner & then Bikaner to Jaisalmer. When we reached Jaisalmer it was around 7:00 pm. I was tired by entire day of travelling from Bikaner to Jaisalmer but Jaisalmer welcomes us with beautiful glittering Golden fort of Jaisalmer & all fatigue, tiredness goes away. One can’t take eye off the fort. After sunset flood lights are operational focusing on golden walls of the fort. We went to the hotel, relaxed for a while & had a dinner. I tried local specialty called KER SANGRI. It’s a leafy vegetable which grows in desert around Jaisalmer. After dinner we went for a stroll around this beautiful fort.

  The morning was as beautiful as evening.  We moved out of hotel to visit entire Jaisalmer fort. It’s 900 years old fort, but still in very good condition. The rock found in this area is golden in color & entire fort is built using this rock. It’s a ground fort & you don’t have to climb but just to take a walk. One can see beautifully carved palace built for queens. Some beautifully carved Jain temples & many huge palaces, gallaries etc.

  Next spot was Patavaon ki Haveli. These are 5 huge multistory palaces built by one merchant for his 5 sons. All palaces are beautifully carved & one can get glimpses of how Rajasthani people used to leave life king size.

 
  There is one more haveli called nathumal ki haveli. Specialty of this structure is its not in symmetry. Two artist brothers from Rajasthan had built it simultaneously as per their creativity. Both parts are equally beautiful.

  On way back to hotel I tried some delicious laddus which is specialty dish of Jaisalmer. Many foreign tourists visit this place for seeing Jaisalmer fort & sand dunes.

  After lunch we left for the biggest attraction of Jaisalmer. As most of you are aware, Jaisalmer is perhaps the last big town before “Thar desert”. So the sand dunes of Thar are very close to Jaisalmer. We travelled around 40 Kms to reach village called SAM there is another village called KHURI which is close to sand dunes.

  We reached tent camp of SAM @ 4:00 pm. Settled down in swiss tent, had tea & then headed straight to sand dunes camel ride. Riding a camel is really great experience (for us of course, for camel it must have been nightmare). The camel doesn’t eat anything but you have to keep feeding his master if you want to go in deeper desert. (Actually SAM sand dune point has become too crowded due to many tourist visiting so if you really want the feeling of being in desert you have to go further in desert). The dunes are big & the view is breathtaking if you visit at the time of sunset.

   We played in dunes, had a photo shoot & then came back to our camp at SAM. This was perhaps one of the best evenings I had spent.  What could have been better arrangement for celebrating my first marriage anniversary?

   When we returned to our camp / desert resort @ SAM, we had another treat in terms of Rajasthani cultural program organized by resort. Local artists played rajasthani songs, performed dances.. The program was short & sweet. We enjoyed the program & then had typical Rajasthani dinner which includes Dal Bati, Churma, Gatta Kadhi, Ker Sangri, Gathi vegetable, rice etc. After sumptuous meal we enjoyed campfire & then concluded our day.



  Next morning returned to jaisalmer & halted at hotel to freshen up & then bid goodbye to this beautiful golden city..

Visit my Website http://www.shivchhatrapati.com