Mumbai weekend getaways - 1
RAIGAD FORT : SHIVAJI'S BIRTHPLACE
In summer desperation of not being able to go out anywhere during the Great Indian Summer (and a very very long one this year!!), we did a short one day trip to Raigad, a fort near Mumbai.
Surprisingly though, the short relaxed trip turned out to be a packed one. It was HOT and sunny the whole day, but surprisingly we enjoyed:). And as with any weekend trip outside Bombay: it was short and sweet and cheap too!
The usual start, leaving early to get out of Mumbai fast, eating at dhabas on the way, driving through the Marathi countryside, yellow and dry at that time of the year..
Our first stop was river-rafting in Kolar. It was tough to find the place where river rafting happens in season as we were there in the wrong season anyways. So we just somehow landed up at the lake where the rafting ends. It was peaceful, calm and an oasis of coolness in the hot summer.
We found a deserted pump house next to the lake where we could just rest for sometime.. and then into the water!! Took a short nap also on a tree bark, it was soo quiet and cool. you could even hear people talking 100 mtrs away! Imagine anything close to that in Mumbai:))))
After that we landed up at the Raigad fort and were pleasantly surprised to see that there was a ropeway going up to the fort!!
Why are such places not marketed by the tourism department? Imagine we were living just 3 hours away from the place, and we had not even heard about it all! The ropeway up was scary though, with views of the ghats below.
The fort was interesting too with a lot of history. Spread out in a huge area, good architecture, and though mostly in ruins, there were still some structures still standing strong!
Raigad is also the birthplace of Shivaji and there is a monument within the fort erected in his honour.
On the whole, the fort was a good place to spend sometime looking at the views around. (And wonder, how did they manage to build such places ages ago!! ) There is also an MTDC resort at the top of the hill near the fort, a must-stay I would say. Anyways we spent some time at the fort, roaming around the ruins and then were back to the city life, quick enough:)
KHANDALA
Khandala and Lonavala, however much people may crib about these
places being ordinary, sometimes they end up being the only choices for escaping Mumbai. And frankly, quite beautiful escapes too (at least during the rains)! The drive on the expressway being a pleasure, driving through the clouds at high speeds, rain all around, the hills lush green all the way, what more would you want (or need) when looking for a break?
We had another a recent weekend out at the Duke's retreat
at Khandala. The resort is nice, at least the rooms. They have a breathtaking view of the cliffs of Khandala and the table-top. The cottages are not that great though!
Duke's offers one of the best views of Khandala and that
is reason itself for staying at this resort! The pool, the events during the day to keep kids busy, the puppet show, the games at night, the pretty views from the cafe and restaurant.. surely a great place for relaxation.
Rest of course, is the same at Khandala as Lonavla.
A trip to Bushy dam, stop at the lakes, eat butta and enjoy the greenery around. Totally relaxing and heavenly!
HAJI MALANG
Haji Malang is a short trek near Mumbai that you can go to [when the weather is good, that is:)]. Its located quite close to Mumbai, nearer to Kalyan and takes about 2-3 hours to reach. The road till there is quite bad in patches though.
Midway during the trek is the Haji Malang majaar. The way till there has stone steps. So its good as well as bad. Good since its easier to walk and you can't lose your way! Bad because there are lots of crowds on this trek as the majaar is well revered. Also, there are lot of vendors selling all kinds of things all the way, so that does get tiresome and irritating.
After the majaar though, the trek is good and the view from the top pretty. There is also one part of the trek where you cross across the stones on ropes. We did not do that part of the trek, but apparently that's quite fun and dangerous too!
BHANDARDARA
Bhandardara is a huge huge lake located near Igatpuri, off about 40 kms or so from the Mumbai Nasik highway. Somehow it is not a well know tourist spot near Mumbai, but it surely is one of the most stunning and serene places around: perfect for a weekend getaway from Mumbai.
The drive from Mumbai till Bhandardara is impressive. First on the
Mumbai Nasik highway, amazing (for India) three-laned roads, through hills and ghats and green fields and forests. Even though we started on a hot afternoon from Mumbai, the weather just got so much cooler on the highway. It was a very pretty drive, with green hills on both sides, , chilly cool air and of course the awesome highway.
Once you get off the highway, there is a 40 km drive across the countryside, single laned road through villages and hills, forests and plains. Its just so relaxing to drive here, it feels so fresh and pristine!!
Once at the lake, you can stay at either the MTDC resort or
Anandvan. The location for both the resorts is pretty, just next to the lake with a fascinating view of the whole lake and the hills beyond. MTDC resort is reasonable but poorly maintained. Anandvan is much more expensive though.
But this place definitely needs two days to be able to enjoy yourself. Enjoy a morning walk next to the lake, trek on the Kalsubhai peak nearby (the highest peak in Maharashtra) and generally enjoy time out for youself!
The perfect place to spend a nice weekend out of Mumbai.
SULA WINEYARDS
Its funny how I forgot to write about the Sula wineyards in the blog! And only realised it 3.5 years later!!! So here it is..
To start with, it was funny how we landed up in Sula in the first place. We left one morning from Bombay to trek somewhere on the way to Nasik, but then changed our plans to go watch the movie 'Kaminey' in Nasik. After the movie, we felt guilty of having wasted the day, so spent a couple of hours at Sula just to make up for the movie with some touristy stuff!
Sula is one of the first wineyards in India, and they've tried to capture the essense of wineyards there. The grape wines extend till wherever you can see, on undulating land. There is a small restaurant where you can taste the wines, as well as eat very tasty cheese snacks with the wine.
We did not do much that day, but as I understand, there is a wine tour as well as a yearly wine festivals which is celebrated there. You can even stay at the wineyards overnight, and since the weather is pleasant all year through, its quite a good weekend getaway for wine-lovers.
CHOKI DHANI
An advantage of going on treks north of Mumbai towards Kalyan is that you can get to have dinner at Choki Dhani!!
This is a Rajasthani theme based eating place where you can spend a
nice evening out. It opens from 7pm itself, and has enough of things to do to spend a couple of hours with friends here. You can see the Rajasthani dances, puppet dances, get mehendi done, sit on the camel, take photos in Rajasthani costumes, play the local games etc etc (the usual toursity experience of Rajasthani life!!) and of course have a nice tasty Rajasthani meal, all for Rs. 500!
Again a must go for Bombayites...!
Once you cross Oxford, you get into the Cotswold area and you feel you are in a different world altogether.. Small narrow lanes through small villages.. strewn with cottages and sheep and cow.. just what I always visualised the 'countryside' to be like which we read in countless english novels .. you just get that feeling when you reach this area...
Our first view of the village was of a local group playing cricket. Wouldn't you want to play in such a setting too? Then we walked to the village centre. And this is how it looked!
Isn't it unreal, a placid small stream with stone houses in brown on both sides:). And of course the English pubs and food places. And lots of people just sitting next to the river, enjoying the sun and a drink and the complete peace and calm all about.
but they were all 100% occupied by old people:). [Most such places in England are almost always full with retired people enjoying their old age]
Lower and Upper Slaughter were again small queer little villages, with a famous Chapel at Upper Slaughter and a mill with freshly made icecream at Lower Slaughter. With the weather being pleasant, you just feel like clicking everywhere! Here are some shots I took, on the way. Not much I can express in words, can I?
