Goshala near Wai

Thursday, March 19, 2015

After visiting Krishna Ghat,  Dholya Ganpati Mandir and Kashi Visheshwar Mandir we headed off to see the Goshala on the outskirts of Wai. 

GPS and google maps are misguiding hence we referred to locals for directions and traveled by the Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road.  The goshala is located around 700m away and can be reached in 7 minutes time. 

Govardhan Sanstha (Goshala) is a stable which is around 110 years old,  It is a shelter for cows.  That's all. 

We then headed off to see Dhom Dham. 

Wai in Maharashtra

Tuesday, March 17, 2015

After exploring Sydney Point in Panchgani we headed over to Wai. We travelled by the Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road. Wai is located at a distance of around 14 KM from Panchgani so roughly around 30 minutes away. 

By the time we landed in Wai,  it had already started drizzling and in a matter of few minutes it had started raining too.  Chilled breeze complimented the rains. 

Now we had to search for a place to stay for the night.  

Manohar had asked me, if he should book the rooms online, to which I had declined, stating that we might get rooms and now we are searching for one. How stupid of me. Grrrr

We spent the next one hour searching for accomodation.  There are plenty of hotels in Wai, but they didn't meet our needs. Finally we found Hotel Ganesha,  located very near to the Dholya Ganpati Mandir.  It provided us hot water (hot rod), good rooms at a price of Rs. 800 for a day.  Checkout time being 10 AM. 

The time was around 5 PM on my watch,  but it was already dark outside so we couldn't visit the Dholya Ganpati Mandir,  which was next door. 

We called it a night.  Now due to heavy rains the power had conked off. Thanks to generators in the room, we still had light and fan in the rooms but the charging ports were non functional.  Now I realise the importance of powerbanks on trips.  Though I never felt the need to carry one in the past. 

Dom,  his bag was like a magician's hat,  such a lot of stuff filled in it,  ranging from food,  to 3 litres of cola,  to mosquito repellent.  Anything that you can think of is in his bag. 

We also found Ganpati statues on each and every internal road in Wai.  The same way we have Crosses on the side of the roads in Goa. Never seen anything like this before.  Wai is famous for its Ganpati Temples and hence has devotees throughout the year.   

Dinning was a task for us,  as there was no electricity,  we had a tough time searching for a place to eat.  Most to the eateries were shut down.  So we travelled along the tiny roads of Wai hoping to get some dinner.  As it was raining and to compliment it there was no electricity,  most eating joints had shut shop.  Finally we reached a small food court comprising of roadside chinese food.  

We had some awesome Indian chinese food,  Triple Shezwan Rice,  Chicken Manchurian in Gravy and Chicken Hakka Noodles. After having out stomach full, we called it a day and headed off to the room for rest. 

We were to visit the Dholya Ganpati Mandir,  Krishna Ghat the next day 

Sydney Point in Wai

Monday, March 16, 2015

We returned from Rajpuri Caves near Panchgani and had a hearty meal at the bazaar area near the Panchgani ST Bus stand,  we decided to head over to Sydney Point to see it. BTW,  when you are tired any meal no matter good or bad is tasty,  the after effects are known the next day.  LOL. 

There are instructions in the form of signboards which will guide you up a hill again to get a great view of the hills around. We need to take right on Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road after the Panchgani ST bus stand.   

Again the view is very much similar as to what is offered by Parsi Point and Tableland.  

Now it was growing darker. The weather had started changing,  we were surrounded by dark clouds at 2:30 PM in the afternoon.  But that didn't stop us from exploring Sydney Point. 

Again if offers a beautiful view of the hills and valleys with River Krishna flowing through it. But the bright skies was replaced by rainy clouds.  I wouldn't be surprised it would rain that night. 

After enjoying the cool breeze here we then headed off to see Wai, the land of temples. 

We had to reach before dark as we had to find a place to stay for the night.   

Parsi Point and Tableland atop Panchgani in Maharashtra

Sunday, March 8, 2015

Panchgani is located around 20 KM away from Mahableshwar. It is located on the Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road. Panchgani is a smaller hill station in comparison to Mahableshwar. It is located in Satara district of Maharashtra. Parsi Point, TableLand and Sydney Point apart from Devil's Kitchen (located near to TableLand) and Mapro Farm (located on the Wai Surur Road) are the main attractions here.

After enjoying the beautiful view of Lake Venna we headed off to Panchgani.

View from Parsi Point

Me at Parsi Point

Dom and Me at Parsi Point

Parsi Point is located on the Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road.  So we did this point first.  The point offers a beautiful view of the countryside.  The hills and valleys and River Krishna flowing within it was just beautiful. The blue sky was filled with white clouds,  some of which were so huge and dense it shadowed the hill below.  A few houses were located in the valleys surrounded by trees all around. Could't stop myself from taking selfies here. 

As Manohar was taking a short nap,  it was Dom and Me who did the honor of taking selfies. 

Tableland

 Now there was a beautifully decorated heart here,  Charge is Rs.10 per person to take a snap here.  What a waste of money.

We then headed off to the bazaar area where the Panchgani ST bus stand is as it has signboards to the other points in Panchgani. Remember GPS and Google Maps are unreliable here, so asking people around will surely help. 

Group Pic near one of the caves near Tableland

We then followed the signboards and instructions provided by the locals to reach Tableland. Now Tableland is a flat top atop the hill. The car went right atop Tableland.  There is car parking available here.  But be prepared to be harassed by the horsemen for horse rides here.  Sadly there were no takers for horse rides here. We didn't opt for it either. 

Group Pic

Tableland is a flat piece of land that stretches over two hills with a divide between them.  There is not a single tree atop it.  Barren land.  The soil is red and loose too. So do wear a cap in the summers and rain wear in monsoon. In the rains it would be madness here? The strong wind and the rain,  it will hit you hard on your body. 

Another view of Tableland

There are two caves located below the Tableland.  But they are converted into theme parks.  There is a fee of Rs. 10 to take snaps here.  But the caves didn't excite us much and so we exited them.  The theme parks are restaurants and serve food and drink.  But have to admit the caves are nice and warm. Nothing much to explore in the caves. 

The view from the tableland is very similar to that offered by Parsi Point. Only change was that the sky was just amazing.  Now it was a bit windy here and when mud mixes with wind.  It's dust all around and over you.  

The only camel we saw on our trip

The Tableland is huge, it also has a football ground atop it, I won't be surprised if horse races are held here

The entrance has a couple of food stalls that offer refreshments but for a premium price. 

After getting ourselves covered in dust we headed off to see Rajpuri Caves,  which is located around 10KM away from Panchgani. 

Wilson Point (Sunrise Point) at Mahableshwar in Maharashtra

Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Manohar and I had decided that we would be making a trip to Panchgani, as we couldn't complete it, the last time we visited Mahableshwar. We had visited most of the Points in Mahableshwar and Pratapgad Fort. But as we traveled by public transport we missed out on Wilson Point (Sunrise Point) and Lake Venna.

 So this time we decided to travel by the car instead of public transport, at such a short notice Dominic volunteered to join us.  Three's Co. We decided to kick start the trip with Wilson Point (Sunrise Point) followed by Lake Venna, Points of Panchgani and later the historic temples of Wai.

As decided we met at Ghatkopar Station at 10:15 PM. Manohar was to drive us all to Mahableshwar in his Maruti Swift. 

Dom stunned me with the size of his bag, The size of the bag was that of the one I carry for a 10 to 14 day trip. I was curious to know as to what he was carrying in the bag. Keep reading to find out more, as to what was in his bag.

We stopped at the Food Court on the Expressway, now the temperatures had started dropping we were feeling the cold. We decided to have some Vada pav. As we inquired, the vendor informed us that   the outlet will remain open till the Vada pav is in stock, post that the outlet wil close down. We had our share of Vada pav and in a minutes time, the lights went off. The Vada pav's were over and so they shut shutters. 

We were to travel to Pune by the Express Way, to refuel CNG at Kothrud in Pune. As travelling on a car which runs on Petrol and CNG is much more cheaper than a car that runs on petrol alone.

We relied on GPS to show us the way throughtout the journey. Missed out on a couple of correct turns and so spent the next one hour lost on the roads of Pune. Not a soul on the road at 3 AM, who could help us with directions. Finally we met a couple of rickshaw drivers who then  guided us with directions, and finally we were at the Kothrud CNG station for refuelling. 

We then kickstarted the journey, exited the Express Way and onto NH 4. Now the roads keep getting broader and narrower so if you travelling at night, be careful and to top it you have  slow moving trucks and racing cars  for company.

Manohar drove for a hours time, we braked for a quick nap. Manohar was the only person driving, as I can drive only automatic cars and Dom doesn't know how to drive. It is advisable that on a long journey, you have a backup driver who can take turns at driving so that you save on time and you don't overexert yourself. Meaning I need to start driving geared cars.

Time was 5 AM I guess, when Manohar was up and we started our journey to Mahableshwar. I was sleeping like always, finally due to hickups on the road, I was wide awake. A small power nap comes in handy when you feel sleepy. 

Now it was a race to Wilson Point (Sunrise Point) in Mahableshwar. As per Google , Sunrise was to happen at 6:55 AM.  Now we had to race if we had to reach on time to view the sunrise. 

We relied totally on GPS and Google Maps for directions. We exited NH 4, onto the Wai Surur Road, crossed Wai, then onto the Wai-Panchgani-Mahableshwar Road crossed Panchgani to reach Mahableshwar. Manohar drove as fast as he could on the hairpin bends on the roads so that we reach on time. Roads are full of people who are there for morning walks. Do drive carefully.

We won the race against time and were there at Wilson Point, in a nick of time. It was already dawn. The sun was not out yet but the clouds in the sky were beautiful, the patterns they had formed was just amazing. If you plan to visit Wilson Point, please be early else you will not be able to see the cloud patterns.

Finally the sun rose and it shone on the clouds, like a golden lining. The sky was golden in color and the view from Wilson Point was amazing. But it was so cold, that even after wearing a jumper I was still shivering.  Manohar and Dom, were shivering too. I believe the temperature would be less that 10 degrees. With the sun shining on us, we were still feeling cold. Enjoyed the sunrise and then headed off in the car to ST Bus stand, with glass rolled up due to the cold.

The road to Wilson point is narrow and a bumpy road with rocks on either side of the road, so drive carefully else you might damage the lower end  of the car. 

You must be wondering why ST Bus stand.