Lonavla- Rajmachi

On 26th Sept 2009 I, Amit Bhalerao and Rahul (Amits Friend) set out for Rajmachi. Amit picked me up from Gokuldhan Gate at around 7.05 A.M. and we took the JVLR route to pick up Rohit and roughly at around 7.45 A.M. we left for Rajmachi. We took the Nerul route and moved towards Panvel and moved towards Lonavla after taking the old Pune highway. We moved towards Kondivane and started moving towards Prakruti resort. The road towards this resort was a single lane and was in better shape. We could see majestic mountains on both the sides and could feel the clean breeze. After passing Prakruti farms we proceeded straight and finally reached a dead end and a few houses. Amit parked his car at one of the locals place. Total Damage: INR 50.00. The place was surrounded by mountains but we couldn’t make out which was one was Rajmachi. We took the route which was formed on account of walking and proceeded towards our destination. We started fumbling since the path was not clear and used the help of few locals whom we met on the way. The vegetation was quite thick in the start itself and was thus making our journey tiring right from the start itself. Finally after walking for roughly 20 minutes we arrived at series of small water falls on the way and arrived at Leni- Buddhist cave like structure however of smaller size. There was a big waterfall beside the caves and is favorite hangover for lot of nature lovers. We proceeded towards our ultimate goal and since our start at 10.00 A.M. we were already exhausted and had finished almost 3-4 litres of water. The atmosphere was quite hot and the heat was draining our energy. The climb was becoming difficult and we were quite frequently getting confused over the path. We kept on going based on trial and error and it was almost 12.30 P.M. but there was no sign of the fort. Finally at around 1.00 P.M. we could see the walls of the fort and it looked a good 1.30-2.00 hours of more climb. By this time Amit and Rohit were totally exhausted and I too found it much more difficult then Bheemashankar. We all decided to leave the journey over there since it was almost 3 hours climb and we still were now-where near the summit. We had exhausted our water stock and we had to return the same day too. We started our journey down and while coming down we were pretty fast. However we lost our path and didn’t knew what to do?? We simply started following whatever path came and were ending up nowhere. The idea came of walking up the stream since we had left Leni much above and somehow wanted to reach there. Even that became difficult since the path was too difficult to climb and everyone was too exhausted. Finally we agreed to move along with the stream straight down. Finally we managed to arrive at a small hut which we had noticed while climbing and thus our journey came to an end.

Key Take Away: Start early morning, take local guide, plenty of water, food, cap.

For pictures visit the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30002962@N05/

Bhavnagar- Palithana

On 18th Sep 09, I Parul and Daksh left for Palithana- near Bhavnagar. We took the Bhavnagar Express from Borivali which left at 10.10 P.M. Next day at 12.00 P.M. we arrived at SONGADH was a small station unlike big stations. On the platform while moving towards Mumbai front, there were autos- Vikram made waiting for the pilgrims arriving. The autos were taking in passenger loads of around 10-12, with both of us seated in the front along with the driver. Palithana was at a distance of 24.00 K.M. from the station. Total Damage: INR 30/ person. There was a straight road outside the station and there were hardly any shops near the station and the market was at roughly 500-600 meters away from the station. The auto immediately took right and then left and moved straight towards Palithana. The surrounding was pictures and there were small mountains surrounding giving a magnificent look. Finally at around 12.30 P.M. we arrived at Palithana—typical small Indian town with shops surrounded on both the sides and the air smelled much like rural India—fantastic. The bus stand was located while entering the town itself and was roughly at a distance of around 3.00 K.M. from Taleti- (base of the mountain). The pilgrims visiting Palithana are Jains- and belong to some samaj and hence stay in the dharmshalas of the sect samaj. Since we were Hindus- we asked the auto-driver to take us to the place which was open to everyone—since as usual I don’t believe in pre-booking. Before arriving at Palithana the tall majestic Shatrunjaya mountain range stands in its grandiose form and gives the entire place the spiritual look and feel. We arrived at Oswal Dharmshala and after checking we managed to get a room: Total Damage: INR 500.00 (for A/c rooms and INR 200 for Non A/c). We checked into the room and were surprised to find the place so clean and spacious that it was better than a hotel room. The room contained the front room, a kitchen and separate toilet and bathroom. There was no TV inside the room and was having 24 hours hot water facility. Inside the campus was a garden in the centre with trees of various species and a temple of Lord Mahavir. There were also rooms available on first floor and in total there would have been at least 200-250 rooms. The place was surprisingly clean and calm despite having so many tourists. There was an eating place in the dharmshala and was strictly in accordance to Jain culture- no onion, garlic etc and with strict timings (evening was open only till 7.00 P.M.). Since it was almost 1.20 P.M. we decided to take lunch and some sleep since it was not feasible to go out as it was very hot. The lunch at the place was another experience all together- Personally I never had such simple, good food ever wherever I have travelled so far. Total Damage: INR 40/ per person. In the evening we visited the local market which was at a distance of 1.5 k.m. from our hotel. There were autos and horse cart to take us to the market. Total Damage- Auto: INR 20.00. The market was in the form of shops on both the sides selling ladies dresses, kids dresses with local touch in the form of designs etc. the place has hardly few good restaurants i.e., Red Rose Restaurant. However the place had road side eateries selling dosa, Chinese, pav bhaji etc. we decided to eat at Bhojnalay – as advised by the locals and best for those looking for simple, non spicy food. The place had plate facility with dal, 2 vegetable, roti and rice. Total Damage: INR 40.00 / person. The market is open till 10.300-11.00 P.M. and there is also SBI ATM in the market.
Next day morning we started our journey to palithana temples- which was on the top of the mountain, however was not visible from the base. The start of the climb at the foothills was roughly at a walk of around 10-15 minutes from our dharmshala. At the foothills there is a magnificent temple of Lord Mahavir and the whole place was having a religious touch and feel. There are potters who will surround once you reach the base for taking you to the top along with also option for taking your kids. We started at 6.17 A.M. and were already accompanied by hundreds of pilgrims to reach the religious spot. There were proper steps which were built and the place was not having any stalls and hence it was clean. the initial climb was pleasant, however as we kept on climbing started taking toll on Parul- was exhausted since she was on fast previous day and had not eaten anything. The climb was not a straight climb, however was zig-zag and then flat to be covered across 2 range of mountains. After climbing for roughly 500-600 steps we got the magnificent view of the entire Palithana city. On the left side was Shatruganya river and the mountain we were climbing was lush green and the morning atmosphere was amazing. Finally at around 8.29 A.M. and after climbing roughly 3500 steps we arrived at the summit. The experience at the summit could not be described in words and was really like reaching heaven on earth. There were roughly around 900-1000 temples (of varying sizes). After spending roughly 40 minutes and trying to visit maximum temples we started climbing down at 9.18 A.M. and at around 10.40 A.M. we reached the base. The total experience was simply amazing and one really needs to visit the place to experience the feel. We set towards Bhavnagar and after reaching the bus stand at Palithana, caught the bus at 1.00 P.M. and left for Bhavnagar- 55 K.M. Total Damage: INR 62.00. We arrived at Bhavnagar at around 2.15 P.M. and took an auto for local sight-seeing. Total Damage: INR 200.00. We first visited the New Port and were roughly at 4-5 k.m. from the city and while approaching the place we saw mountains of salt and the few migratory birds. The security person denied us to go inside since the place was a restricted area for civilians. Our next destination was the old port area in the city and the approach road was in worst condition and finally we arrived at a private marine ship maker and we saw a new private marine which was built. Our next spot was Ganga Deri- a marble structure of Ganga Devi. The place is in the middle of the city and was in pretty bad situation- it’s used by locals to rest over there from the afternoon heat and there was nothing much to see. Our next spot was clock tower—and then finally we arrived at Thakteshwar temple dedicated to Lord Shiva. The place was in pretty bad situation since it was used by as usual locals for resting from afternoon heat. We arrived at Bhavnagar station- only station in India to have female coolies. As such there was nothing interesting in Bhavnagar to see.
Thus our amazing journey came to an end.

Key Take Away: Start the climb in early morning, spend some quality time at the top, beware of the horse cart drivers trying to sell your horses metallic strip.

For pictures visit the following link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30002962@N05/

Lonavla- Lohghadh

On 29th Aug 2009 I, arunabha, ashish negi and his friend Sameer set for Lohgadh. After taking the pune expressway we arrived near Lonavla, and took the left turn and after passing through Lonavla market proceeded straight and joined the expressway again. After crossing the toll, we went straight and took right turn and proceeded towards Malavali. There is a crossing near the Malavli railway station and finally reached the Malavali village. The village was quite small with hardly 20-30 families and few small shops selling tea/biscuits/water bottles etc. We parked our car in the market and proceeded towards Lohgadh. There is a clear path towards which takes one to the fort and immediately near the village was Bhaje Caves. We however decided to first reach lohgadh. The walk was proving to be tiring since it was a steep climb and as we were descending up we could see the entire place- lush with greenery. The road was in pretty bad condition and hence one cannot take his vehicle. After walking for almost 45 minutes we arrived at a place where we could see 2 mountains –one on the right side and the other on the left side. The right one was Lohgadh and the one on the left was Visapur. We proceeded towards Lohgadh and arrived at the base of the fort- Lohgadwadi village. We had tea, biscuits before we started the climb. The village is pretty small- hardly 25-30 habitats, with small refreshment huts selling biscuits, tea, cold-drinks, wafers, mineral waters etc. there was a proper steps which took to the top of the mountain and we found monkeys greeting us in the start. We took roughly 20-25 minutes to reach the top, locals can be found selling tea, lemon-water. The scene at the top was amazingly beautiful with utter silence and peace. Immediately on reaching the top, there is a mosque like structure on the left side and small cannon. We walked straight towards the left side and came across a small temple and a tank with water. There was so much of fog that the place turned out to be surprisingly beautiful. We walked straight and came across a lake which contained water and was pretty clear. We kept on walking straight and came to a place called Vinchukata (resembles scorpions fangs). We climbed down and were a bit difficult and came to a place where we actually could go down, but we could see the end of the fort. We walked down and on the way once come across water-fall. We started our climb to Bhaje caves and roughly in 10-15 minutes we arrived at Bhaje caves- there is an entry fee of INR 5.00/ person. The caves are of small sizes and the total number of caves is around 22. However of importance is hardly 3-4 caves, and rest all are of not so importance. The place seems to be more visited by young college couples then by cave lover. We moved towards Karla caves which was on the other side of the road and is 12 k.m. from lonavla. The climb was of 20-25 minutes and finally we arrived at the summit after paying for the entry fee of INR 5.00/person. The caves were of larger size and much better than Bhaje. The caves were cut into the hill and there were several chaityas and viharas. The chaitya over here is the biggest in India and is really beautiful. Just outside the chaitya is Ekvira Devi temple.outside the chaitya there are beautiful carvings of elephants and there is a tall pole like structure resembling ashoka pillar. During rainy reason there was a water fall falling and was looking magnificient. Near the top there were stalls selling tea, water, wafers, eatables etc. there is a small hotel at the base of the climb and a parking lot with a toilet facility. Thus our journey came to an end.

Key Take Away: Carry sufficient stock of water, cap.

For Picyures visit the following link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/30002962@N05/

Nashik

On 7th Aug 09, I, parul and Daksh set out for Nasik, my second trip. Next day morning after visiting trumkeshwar we arrived back at Nasik. We started our local sight seeing in an auto, total damage: INR 600.00. We first arrived at Pandav Leni which was roughly 08.00 k.m. from the city towards Mumbai highway. There are 2 mountains separated by the road and to the left was the Panduv Lena. At the base of the mountain was the Buddha auditorium (Pagoda kind structure) and inside the structure was a huge hall which was having Gautam Buddha’s statue in a sitting position. The place was quite and peace and even the slightest murmur were echoing like anything. Beside this monumental structure was a garden and we started our climb after passing through the garden. The climb was for roughly 20-25 minutes and the place was used in true sense by the college couples. At the summit there is an entrance fee of INR 5.00/ person. The caves are look like’s of Ajanta/Ellora, however of small stature. There were total 20-21 caves, however hardly 3-5 were worth visiting. There was just one eating place at the base and since we were hungry had no choice. We had dosa, uthappa and tea. Our next spot was Jain temple roughly 10 minutes further from this spot. The temple was stunningly situated beside the highway with mountains on all the sides. It was a Jain temple with the statue of Lord Mahavir weighing 10.00 tonnes /10 foot. The temple was amazing built with 2 more floors and the top floor was having lord’s statue in all the directions. The temple provided meals and the food is quite good as suggested by our rickshaw. We proceeded towards other side of Nasik- Chambharleni near Mashrul, roughly 85 km from the city towards Jain temple build on a mountain. The place was having a deserted look and at the base was dharmashala with bathing/staying facility. There were steps to be climbed and after a tiring journey it was quite exhausting. Parul and Daksh stayed in the auto and I decided to climb up the mountain and scaled the top in flat 10.00 minutes. The entire city could be seen from the top and there was temple of Lord Mahavir.

Key Takeways: Bargain hard, avoid night trains while returning from nashik.

Bhandardara-Near Igatpuri

On 1st Aug 09 I, Arunabha and Ashish set out for Bhandaradara in Arun’s car. We took the malshej ghat route and at the shivneri turn, we went straight and finally reached a village where we took left and drove towards bhandardara. It was my second visit, and spend the first day with the local sigh seeing and stayed at room given by the locals. There was no bed, neither TV. Total damage: INR 500.00. Next day morning we set out for Ratangadh fort, which was near the Amruteshwar temple (near Ratanwadi village) supposed to be build by pandavas in one day as told by the locals. On reaching the place Arun parked his car and I negotiated with one of the locals for guiding to the summit. Total damage: INR 175.00. The place is at its best during rainy season and we were simply amazed at the nature’s beauty. Finally we started the climb at 9.00 a.m. and after passing through streams started the trek .The jungle was having thick vegetation and finally at around 11.00 we arrived at the summit. The last stretch of the climb is the most dangerous one since we had to climb on huge boulders without any support except for the small gaps in the boulders which was used for climbing. At the summit was a small cave kind structure used by trekkers for overnight staying. Since it was rainy season there was so much of fog that we couldn’t see anything.

Key Takeaways: Best in rainy season, travel in your own vehicle/hire, carry rain jacket.