A beautiful evening in Wai, mesmerising views of sunset over Balkaudi Dam.
Weekend Getaways
Maharashtra is an absolute paradise for adventure seekers. With multitude of treks at offer, to mountain ranges, lush green valleys, serene beaches and river side camping, it provides the perfect gateway for people seeking solitude in humble confinement of mother nature. Am hereby listing down my absolute favourite places to explore in Maharashtra.
WAI, Satara
I still remember the very first time I saw the sunset over the Balkaudi Dam in Wai, I was speechless for a while as I sat in awe of the mesmerising views. Since then I have been to Wai countless times, mainly for Camping as I prefer to ditch crowded Mahabaleshwar and chose solace over it. Best place to stay back and chill by yourself or with a bunch of friends is Krishna RIver Camp. I must say, Millind has been an amazing host. During the winters, you can pick strawberries directly from the fields right next to the river. If you do have time and dont mind off-roading, I would suggest you to take the full round tour of the dam. The views are nothing sort of heavenly.
(https://krishnarivercamp.com/index.php)
Millind (+91-9819833345)
Vandari Lake
One fine morning, during the breakfast ride, we chose to ride to the a waterbody that we saw in the google maps. And to my surprise, we discovered this place. It has this mystical morning feeling as you sit in there, soaking the warmth of the rising sun.
I wish to go back and set up a camp, stargazing through the night.
Duke's Nose, Lonavala
This is my absolute favourite sunrise spot, so far so that, I have visiting here for past 2 years to see the first sunrise of the new year, There is a hike of almost 40 mins from the base village. Trust me on this, the view from the top is mind blowing. One can see the entire stretch of Sayadris till Rajamachi from the top. Best time would be to reach the base village by 4 in the evening and park the vehicle there, hike the mountain and set the tent for the night. Watch the sunrise and then head to German bakery for breakfast and ride back home. Recipe for a perfect Weekend ride. It gets even beautiful in the monsoons and one can witness reverse waterfalls as it rains over the gauge.
I have written a separate blog post on this altogether.
Medha
Well being very honest I lost my way will riding back to Pune from Kaash Plateau and decided to give this route a shot since its name resembled to a very good friend of mine. And it turned out to be absolutely beautiful. I sat over this bridge for almost an hour and enjoyed the slight drizzle. At times, I often think while sitting at my office desk that we are so used to our cozy lifestyle that we tend to miss out to explore. There’s a beautiful world out there right outside our windows and we wold be a fool to deprived of such pleasures.
Tapola, Mahabaleshwar
Well if you ever feel like camping next to massive lake, this is your spot. Tapola is situated right in between Kaash Plateau and Mahabaleshwar. To reach, Mahabaleshwar one can take two routes. One goes through Medha and then connects Wai and Panchgani and the later goes through Tapola and many other smaller beautful villages and later joins Mahabaleshwar. Best itinerary would be to schedule Kaash Plateau early in the morning and then post head to Tapola.
Kaash Plateau – Tapola overnight camping – Mahabaleshwar – Mumbai
MALSHEJ
What you see in the pictures is a tale of two brothers, who loved riding in the rain. Pushkar, a colleague from my workplace got intrigued into the world of riding and was my partner in crime trail hunting across Maharashtra.
There’s a road that takes you to hidden lake behind MTDC Malshej. The road to Malsjeh Ghat itself is truly phenomenal. Its covered with fog and multiple waterfalls cutting across the road, once you reach the top. We used to ride to Bhandardhara post, camp out there and then head back to Mumbai next day through Nashik. There’s a ridge on the way to Igatpuri, Kasara ghats which is infamous for its twisties. You can pitch your camp there as well, next to the ridge, its actually surreal.
Kamshet
It was my birthday and I decided to something different. During on my weekend rides to Pawna lake I saw few para-gliders in the sky. I decided to reach out to Temple Pilots to give it a shot, reserved a spot for myself. I rode down to Kamshet post lunch and was all set to glide. I would definitely suggest everyone to give glide atleast once, you will get to know if feels from the top. Imagine simply floating in the sky next to a lake and just being carried away by the wind. You are always in control and yet loosen yourself to let go and simply float. Its one of an experience in itself. It aint as exciting as riding a motorcycle still, its fun to be simply up out there and just fly.
