Lavasa: India's first hill city

(photography: Ashish Ambekar) Lavasa is located in Western India, between Mumbai and Pune, in the midst of the majestic Sahyadris, nestled in an emerald green valley surrounded by hills, clouds and seasonal waterfalls. Situated 2000 to 3000 feet above sea level, it is a self contained world where people can live, work, learn and play in harmony with nature. Lavasa is home to the Karvi flower (Blue Bloom), which blooms only once in 7 years.

As you keep driving on the marked road from Chandani Chowk, you will pass a village called Bhugaon. Keep driving as you will pass another prominent landmark Manas Resort.

Drive straight ahead towards Pirangut, a few kilometers later you will pass by the Pirangut market and reach a junction known as Gothawade Phata. There is a Lavasa signage at Gothawade Phata.

Please take a left turn at Gothawade Phata. Now follow the marked road right up to a point where you see a big dam called as Temghar Dam. Now take a left at this point. Hereon begins the road to Lavasa Continue your journey straight till you reach Lavasa entry gate.

bhar pausath.......Malshej Ghat

(photography: Mr.Ajay)

“Sahyadri parwat ranganchya kushit vaslele sundar ani nayanramya ase thikan mhanje malshej ghat”
After watching movie” Ravana “, we (my friend group) decided to visit Malshej Ghat. After going through the info from net we made decision to go there. We started journey on early Sunday morning. The weather was beautiful, clouded, and cool and all greens were in bloom and it was raining. From Pune head towards Mumbai on the NH4. After Khadki turn right from Nashik phata into NH50 which goes to Nashik. Go upto Narayangaon and then Alephata and then turn left from Alephata onto NH222 which goes to Kalyan. A brisk 40 kms drive from then on would lead you to Malshej ghat. The total one way distance is around 140 kms.
Malshej Ghat is a tourist spot near the city of Pune and Mumbai. The site is nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats. The best time to visit is between August and September. At this time of the year, the hills are clothed in a soothing shade of mint green and the weather is cool due to the monsoons. This place is full of Natural beauty and pleasant climate to experience this when the rains are at its peak and having lot of waterfalls adding beauty. During monsoons, the entire place is covered in a thick envelope of mist. It is a delightful experience to walk in the thick mist. It rains heavily at Malshej Ghat and the fun is actually in getting drenched in the rains. There are millions of small waterfalls right near the main road. The fun is to sit under the cascade and enjoy simple pleasures of life.

Manun manto ekda.........
“bhar pausath……..Malshej Ghat” la gelach pahije......

behene de mujhe behene de.......behene de paani ki tarah...........!

A Spontaneous Bike Ride to Pawna lake & Lonavala...

lions point...

n'joying fog

Lions point of lonavala

lohgad khind

pawna dam

ready for ride...

It was 8 a.m.The weather was beautiful..meaning, clouded, cool and all greens were in bloom and it was raining. So I just hitched up with a friend and by 9 am we had kicked started the bike. The ride was fun because it was spontaneous and the journey was full of hills around us. It was 11:30 am, when we reached pawna lake which is an artificial lake formed by the Pawna Dam built across the Pawna River nearby Lonavala. The lake attracts many tourists due to its imposing natural ambience and cool climate. From the dam site one can view the majestic sights of Tungi, Logagarh and Tikona forts. After pawana lake, we take left turn just before the khind( narrow road passing between 2 small mountain walls) and reached Bushy dam, which was overly crowded and we decided to skip and continue ahead. It was indeed the right. Passing Bushy Dam, we stopped at Lion point of Lonavala, 15-20 minutes from Bushy dam, less than 5 kilometers. Its one of the best places I have seen. The view is very spectacular - due to the unprotected cliff which is thousands of feet high. Getting close to the edge enforces a feeling of great adventure & thrill. Down below you see open flat land with small villages and local farmers busy with their cattle in their farms. 20-30 kms further is Amby Valley, location of Sahara groups most reputed housing projects where many Bollywood, cricket celebrities and well known industrialists have bought prestigious property worth a fortune.

Heaven of Earth - Kokan Coastline

Kokan Coastline.....

white sand beach....

A sunset....

playing cricket on beach...

collecting sea shells....

sing & dance around camp fire....

dolphin watching in boat ...

enjoying seafood cooked in local style...

beautiful night view of sea princess hotel...
"Heaven of Earth" - that’s how I would describe Harnai and Palande beach… Intention was to see and enjoy beautiful beaches of Harnai & Palande. If you like staying away from the crowd and love watching the waves you will love harnai- palande beach, 200KM from Pune, approx 5 hours of drive. It’s a perfect place for a weekend picnic… the place is too good to be missed. We took route from Paud, Tamhini Ghat and reached Dapoli . Located at 11 kms from Dapoli, the beach at Harnai and Palande is an excellent white sand beach and we would like to rate it as one of the best beaches on the Konkan coast. There are a lot of good Hotels and Resorts alongside the beach and it is not at all crowded, practically it is like your own private beach. We stayed at Hotel Sea Princess, which is in one of the beach resorts near the hill side and relish on the exquisite seafood cooked in local styles. They serve good Konkani vegetarian food too. One of the primary attractions here is dolphin watching. A number of local tour operators arrange dolphin watching trips in boats. Beach is safe for swimming or you can just wade in the waters with white waves lapping at your feet. Have the time of your lives playing cricket, beach volley ball, collecting sea shells, etc. The view of the sunset is spectacular and breathtaking. Nights can be a perfect time to relax and sing and dance around camp fire.

Thoseghar Waterfall

Thoseghar fall

The place Thoseghar was told by Deepak (my friend). After going through the info from him I made decision to go to there. I started journey on early Sunday morning. From Pune I took a route on NH4,Pune – Banglore national highway and reach thoseghar with my own vehicle. The road direction and milestones direct the way to Thoseghar. On the way to Thoseghar you will see Parali dam and Sajjangad.

The Thoseghar is just 20 kms from the Satara city. . A 1000 feet waterfall makes the village very special. There are thousands of people come from all over Maharashtra to visit this place especially in Rainy season. There is a newly constructed Platform to stand and take a good view of the waterfall. You can enter in the Vally and see where exactly the water falls except the Rainy season (due to heavy rainfall). Do not try adventure here because many people have wasted their lives due to such adventures. This place is full of Natural beauty and pleasant climate to experience this when the rains are at its peak and having lot of waterfalls adding beauty. Overall, this is a good place to hang out and be in the lap of the nature and still, looks to be not much crowded with the halla gulla of the people.