A weekend in Mahabaleshwar

Avi and I headed to Mahabaleshwar on a bright sunny morning to celebrate the Easter weekend. We had barely escaped a working weekend and could not have been more excited even though it was almost the end of strawberry season.

Mahabaleshwar is approximately 6 hours from Mumbai and it is advisable to leave early in the morning. I had however enjoyed a few drinks on the previous evening and therefore, we left on Friday morning by 9 am. We took the route through Lonavala and Pune and reached by 3 pm. The weather was surprisingly good - not too hot but bright and sunny.

Where to stay

Mahabaleshwar has a number of small to mid scale hotels and resorts. It is better to stay in the city unless you have transport of your own and are willing to drive to the Mahabaleshwar market for the feel of the city in the night.

We stayed at the Sunny International which is situated in the main market in Mahabaleshwar. The hotel is mid-scale and comfortable. The staff looked a little lost at  our requests regarding the maps of the city and directions but was in general helpful. Their restaurants serve only vegetarian food but they got non-vegetarian food for us from a restaurant called Meghdoot nearby. I would not recommend their gravies though the shawarma turned out to be good.

What to see

Mahabaleshwar is beautiful to drive around and has a number of “points” from where you can see the view of the hills. Not all the points are worth spending a lot of time at. However, a drive to these points and walk around them is quite beautiful usually.

Since half the day had already gone, we decided to drive to Arthur’s seat point and stop at all other points on the way. Arthur’s seat point is supposed to have a great view of Savitri river. However, since it was April, the river was almost dried up. The view of Western Ghat from these points was quite beautiful. The greenery and the birdsongs added to the charm.

We stopped at one of the points for sunset and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I had seen in a while. Maharashtra's favourite Vada Pavs finished the day for us.

We decided to visit Pratapgad fort the next day. The fort was built by Shivaji and like all Maratha forts, required you to climb lots of stairs. The fort is popular for in the history of India as knight of Bijapur Afzalkhan was defeated and killed by Shivaji at Pratapgad. It is one of the better maintained Shivaji forts, possibly due to still being a private property. It is an interesting piece of architecture as the walls are built in a way that gates of neither the upper fort nor the lower fort can be seen unless you are very close. Our guide informed us that it was a strategic move to mislead the enemy forces.

We also made a pit-stop at the Mapro farm though I did not find it very interesting. However, they serve beautiful strawberry and cream which both Avi and I loved.

Later we drove to Panchagani and stopped at Parsi point and Sydney point- neither having any connection to Parsis or Sydney to the extent I could tell. Both the points overlook Krishna Valley and Dhom Dam and were beautiful. Since we reached closer to the evening, we got the bonus of great wind and nice weather.

We finished the second day with a visit to Venna Lake. It was too crowded to take a boat ride but the sunset was quite beautiful.

What to eat

Mahabaleshwar is famous for strawberries and strawberry and cream is a must have. We also had mulberries, corn patties and bought masala chana from Mahabaleshwar. We also brought back some Mapro strawberry products- our slice of Mahabaleshwar- home though we are yet to try it out.

Best of the Western Ghats- Bhandardara

Avi and I had just got our car and wanted to take it out for its first road trip. We had been to Lonavala, Khandala and Goa too many times and wanted to go to a not-so-common place. We decided on Bhandardara which is as yet unspoiled. Lush greens, untouched villages, narrow roads through the hills and Arthur lake made it a perfect weekend getaway.

First, a bit of information on the practical matters. Bhandardara is approximately 4 hours from Mumbai. The last leg of the drive has bad roads but a brilliant view of the hills.

We chose to stay at the MTDC resort. MTDC has the knack of picking out the best location everywhere though usually not much else can be said about their resorts. We were pleasantly surprised by the room which was comfortable and clean and had been recently renovated. Our room had a view of Arthur lake and the hills. The service however had not improved since we last stayed in an MTDC resort. They refused to take our order for snacks at 6.30pm because kitchen closes at 7pm and it takes them half an hour to make pakodas!

Our grievances with MTDC services apart, the trip turned out to be great. Since we had not done much research on the place, we decided to take a guide with us. We started with Wilson dam. The park leading up to Wilson dam is quite unkempt but makes a pleasant picnic spot. The water from the dam falls in the shape of an umbrella which is quite beautiful to watch.

Park near Wilson Dam

After spending some time taking in the scenery from different sides of Wilson dam, we went to Arthur lake for boating. The lake was at the same level as the road and it felt like the force of water was barely being stopped by the gates to the dam. We even spotted some birds around the islands in the lake. We took a motorboat though it retrospect a rowboat would have been a better idea. The noise of the motorboat took away from the serenity of the moment.

Arthur Lake from the boat

Our next stop, Randha falls has been created by Pravara river and is an exceptional sight. It falls from the height of 45 mts and can be heard from a distance. 

Randha Falls

Pravara river also meets a seasonal ravine near the waterfall reminding me of the Gate of the Kings from LOTR. It is probably the most beautiful part of Bhandardara. You can even walk over the hydro power dam created near the waterfall. Our feet were hurting slightly after walking in sun so we dipped our feet in the water and enjoyed the breeze for a while. 

The view of Pravara River near Randha falls

We then headed to the Amriteshwar temple, built in 1100 AD. The temple itself is set on the banks of the lake and has some beautiful carvings. It is a functional Shiv temple and loses some of its charm with people walking in and out to worship. The drive back from the temple to the resort was a beauty with Arthur lake on our right Western Ghats around us and the sunset.

Drive from Amriteshwar Temple

Sunset in Bhandardara

We skipped Mount Kalasubai during this trip. It is the highest peak of Maharashtra and supposed to be a beautiful trek but that is for the next trip.

Lovanala- an unplanned weekend trip

One random free weekend with no plans saw us in Lonavala. Avi and I left on a Saturday morning with the intention of going to Mahabaleshwar and ended up making a totally unplanned trip to Lonavala (since Mahabaleshwar felt too far to drive once we saw the traffic).

With no planning and no place to stay, the first course of action was to find a place to stay. We found a simple unassuming hotel called Mount View Hotel (simple, basic but good food- I would recommend their Reshmi Kababs, served with coleslaw).

After checking in, we left for the Bhaja caves, a set of Buddhist caves dating to 2nd century BC situated approximately 14 kms from Lonavala. The drive was quite scenic and enjoyable (once we were out of Lonavala traffic). The caves are high up in the mountains and so after parking our car near some shops, we prepared ourselves for a steady climb up the stairs. Half an hour of climbing (combined with multiple stoppages, some to take in the beautiful Western Ghats and some to just take some breaths), got us to the Bhaja caves.

Bhaja caves

First of all, the scenery from the caves is beautiful. It was misty but sunny when we arrived and the view of the peaks is the mist was beautiful. There is a waterfall on the right side of the caves though it was dried out when we visited.

Bhaja caves are very similar in structure to their more well know cousin Karla caves. The chaityagraha is open, horseshoe shaped, with wooden ceilings. The highlight of the caves is 14 stupas built to contain relics of the monks who died in Bhaja caves. This is a rare feature which I have not seen before in Karla caves or in Ajanta-Ellora. Most of the stupas are simply built and bare but some contain carvings on the top. The caves are not astonishingly beautiful, especially for the people who have seen other Buddhist caves, but the location makes it worth the trip.

Stupas at Bhaja caves

We arrived back at the parking lot thirsty and tired. A desperate drink of Frooti later we headed to Lohagarh fort.

Lohagarh fort is approximately 4 to 5 kms from the caves. The drive is stunning, with narrow serpentine roads and greenery around. 

Once parked, we geared up for another climb up, this time to the fort. While we struggled for breaths, kids ran up and down the stairs with frantic parent calling after them. Were kids always this energetic? What would I not give at that moment to have that energy!

However, the walk was so worth it. 20 minutes up and you get the best view of Pawana lake I have ever seen. The lake, nestled in the middle of the hills, with two small islands and motorboats was stunning in the mist. That was my camera crazy moment when I saw the lake on my right and the hills on the left. I had just got a new camera, a Nikon D 5300 and the excitement of hearing the 'snap' sound seemed too much to contain. 10 minutes later I had at least 40 pics from all the angles!

View for Lohagarh fort

Drive back from Lonavala

The guard posts at the fort provide some beautiful viewing points. However, a little later, tired and exhausted, we made the (wise if lazy) decision to climb down.

The sun was setting, so we made our way to the hotel, with memories of another weekend well done.