I am happy to share with you some brief descriptions of a few interesting places
I am happy to share with you some brief descriptions of a few interesting places I have travelled to.
1)Mahuli is a hill fort inside a sanctuary in Maharashtra. It can be accessed by a 3 hr long enjoyable trek from Mahuli village at the base of Mahuli hill. This village can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Asangaon - (auto) - Mahuli village route. At the base, one needs to be careful about starting on the proper trail with arrow marks. On top, there are scattered remains of Mahuli fort inside a deep forest and one should again be careful about finding the proper route. There is a cave here which can accommodate 20 people for night stay. (27-06-09)
Matheran is a hill station midway between Mumbai and Pune. This green hilltop can be reached from Mumbai CST rail station in many ways: (i) Take a train to Neral and then either walk for 3 hrs, or hire a car, or take the wonderful toy train whose tickets should be booked in advance; (ii) Take a train to Vangani and do a difficult but enjoyable 8 hr long trek through Nakhind and Peb fort; (iii) Take a train to Panvel and reach Chowk by an auto before starting a 4 hr long easy trek to One Tree Hill point via beautiful Morbe dam.
2)Rajmachi is a hill with twin forts Shrivardhan and Manranjan, which can be reached by beautiful trekking trails in any season. One of these trails is a flat road from Tungarli lake near Lonavala rail station. It takes 3 hrs of walking (possibly in full-moon night) to reach the top. In rainy season, one needs to carefully cross a stream. Alternately, one can do 4 hrs of steeper trek from Kondavane which is reachable in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Karjat - (auto) - Kondavane route. Buddhist Kondane caves can be visited by following the arrow marks on this trail. (11-04-09)
3)Solang is a western Himalayan valley near Manali in Himachal Pradesh. It is famous for adventure sports like skiing, zorbing and paragliding. It is one of the three places in India where one can ski; the other two being Auli in Uttarakhand and Gulmarg in Jammu and Kashmir. We reached Manali by a train journey from Mumbai to Chandigarh followed by an overnight bus journey from Chandigarh to Manali. From Manali, one can reach Solang valley in 1 hr by a car. We enrolled here at a nominal charge for an introductory one week skiing course.
4)Harishchandragad is a hill fort in Maharashtra famous for an old Vishnu temple. However, the most fascinating thing here is a 1700ft concave cliff called 'Konkan Kada'. People have witnessed broken spectre and vertical cloud burst from its edge. It is reachable by a 4 hr trek after a 5 hr long journey by Mumbai CST - (train) - Kalyan - (bus) - Khubi Phata - (1hr walk) - Khireshwar route. Alternately, it is an 1 hr trek after a 7 hr drive from Mumbai to Pachnai through Igatpuri, Ghoti and Rajur. There is a huge cave near the temple for night stay.
5)Karla and Bhaja caves are 2200 years old Buddhist Chaitya shrines depicting the rock-cut architectures of the Satwahan art of Hinayana sculpture. Both these cave complexes can be reached by short auto rides from Malavi station after a 3 hr journey by Mumbai CST - (train) - Lonavala - (auto) - Malavi route. Bhaja is also the base village for 2 hr long treks to Lohgad and Visapur forts. The dilapidated Visapur fort is slightly tough to reach whereas the well preserved Lohgad fort is easy to access. Bedse Caves near Kamshet is also worth visiting.
6)Karnala bird sanctuary a popular destination for amateur trekkers and bird-watchers of Mumbai. It is on the Mumbai - Goa Highway (NH-17) and is a 2 hr drive from Mumbai. Alternately, it can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Panvel - (auto) - Karnala route. It is home to 147 species of resident and 37 species of migratory birds who migrate in winters. The historically important Karnala fort at the highest point of this sanctuary can be
reached by an 1 hr walk from the entrance.
7)Dhak Bahiri is a hill cave, located in an extremely remote region of Maharashtra. It can be approached from the base village Sandshi, which is reachable in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Karjat - (auto) - Sandshi route. The trek takes 5 hrs if one is able to find the route in the forest, something very unlikely without a local guide. The final part of this tough trek involves an exposed rock and rope climbing. However, it is immensely satisfying to reach the cave successfully. It is better to start this trek in early morning to avoid hot rocks.
8)Lonavla and Khandala are perfect monsoon destinations within 3 kms of each other. From Mumbai, one can reach here in 3 hrs by train, bus, or by driving through the scenic Mumbai-Pune expressway. Tourists come here to enjoy the lush green countryside surrounded by numerous waterfalls. Interesting nearby places are Valvan, Bushy, Tungarli and Pawana dams, Rajmachi, Lohgad, Visapur, Tung, Tikona and Korigad forts, Karla, Bhaja and Bedse caves, Kune falls and Duke's nose. One should not forget to taste Chikki, a locally made delicious sweet.
9)Ganapatipule is one of Maharashtra's virgin beaches on the beautiful Konkan coast. The name of this place comes from an ancient Ganapati temple on the beach itself. One must also visit nearby Jaigad and Ratnadurg forts with spectacular views of the Arabian sea. MTDC resort is the best place to stay here although local residents rent their rooms at nominal prices. Ganapatipule can be reached by driving from Mumbai but one can also reach in 8 hrs by Mumbai - (train) - Ratnagiri - (car) - Ganapatipule route.
10)Kalavantin Durg - Prabalgad is a watch tower - fort combination which we climbed on two different days. Both times we started from Thakurwadi which can be reached by Mumbai CST - (train) - Panvel - (auto) - Shedung Pata - Vardoli - Thakurwadi route in 2 hrs. After 1 hr of easy walk, one comes to Prabalmachi village from which Kalavantin is an 1 hr climb. One can come back to this village and trek up for 2 hrs to reach Prabalgad on the same day. From Prabalgad, we returned in 3 hrs to Poinje village via Prabalmachi and took an auto to Panvel.
11)Naneghat is a mountain pass in Maharashtra. It was Kalyan - Junnar trade route during Satavahana rule 2000 yrs back. Nowadays, one can do an enjoyable 3 hr trek to the top of this pass. This trek starts from a "Naneghat" signboard on the Kalyan - Malshej bus road, which can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Kalyan - (bus) - Murbad - Tokavade - Vaishakhare - signboard route. There is a huge cave for night stay near the top of Naneghat, with ancient Brahmi inscriptions inside. This trek can be continued for 3 more hrs to Jivdhan fort.
12)Chanderi is a square massif visible from Mumbai - Pune train line and also from far away peaks of Sahyadri. Reaching its top is a technically challenging task. However, we could go to a cave near the top quite easily. The base village Chinchavli for this trek can be reached in 2 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Vangani - (auto) - Chinchavli route. The cave can be reached in 3 hrs from here by a trail through a waterfall. Chanderi is joined by a ridge to a group of four pinnacles called Mhasmal.
13)Ajoba is a hill fort in Maharashtra, accessible only by a trek through rivulets and waterfalls inside a thick forest. There is a sacred but dilapidated Valmiki ashram on the way and a cave of Lav-Kush on the top. A legend says that there are footprints of Lav and Kush in the cave. The base village Dehne for this trek can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Asangaon - (auto) - Shahapur - (auto) - Dehne route. It takes another 3 hrs to reach the top. We could not reach the cave as the final part of this trek is risky in monsoon.
14)Ulhas valley is a wonderful place to be in monsoon. This green valley of Ulhas river can be explored by coming down from Thakurwadi (a station on the Karjat - Khandala line where very few trains halt) to Mundhyachi Thakurwadi and then trekking up to Khandala. Alternately, one can try to reach Khandala from Kondavane village (base for Rajmachi trek) by starting on the other bank of the river. Note that the river should be towards the left when one is trekking upstream to reach Khandala. Starting on the wrong side, we could not cross the fast-flowing river.
15)Nakhind is a hill with a hole through it, which offers spectacular views on both sides of the hill. A 3 hr trek to this hole starts from a small village (close to Vaghini chi Wadi) which can be reached by Mumbai CST - (train) - Vangani - (auto) - village route in 2 hrs. From the hole, one can do a difficult 2 hr trek to Peb fort through a narrow ridge and continue for another 2 hrs to Matheran toy train line. A more difficult approach to Nakhind is from Neral station: follow the route to Peb fort before turning right at the saddle between Nakhind and Peb fort.
16)Borivali National Park is arguably the largest park in the world that is located inside a city. It is close to the Borivali train station in Northern Mumbai. Apart from offering a quick escape from the heat and dust of the city, this park has rich flora and fauna which includes leopards. However, the main attractions of this park are the ancient Kanheri caves sculpted out of rocks by Buddhist residents 2400 years ago. Few locations around these caves are excellent training grounds for rock climbers.
17)Bhimashankar is home to one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva. This ancient temple is reachable by a motorable road from Pune. However, trekkers start from a beautiful village Khandas which can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Karjat - (auto) - Khandas route. From here, one needs to follow the Ganesh Ghat trail for 4 hrs through Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary. Adventurous ones can also use the shorter but risky Sidi Ghat trail from Khandas. Nagphani point on the top offers an excellent view of the Sahyadris.
18)Peb fort can be trekked from Neral station, after a 2 hr train journey from Mumbai CST. From Neral station, one needs to walk through the road to Matheran before leaving it to follow an extremely confusing trail below high-tension electric power lines. In about 3 hrs, one reaches the saddle between Nakhind and Peb fort. One has to take a left turn here to reach a cave within 30 mins. The actual fort above this cave is difficult to climb. One can continue this trek for 2 more hrs upto Matheran, or can take a right turn at the saddle to reach Nakhind in 2 hrs.
19)Kothligad is a small fort in Maharashtra and is more popularly known as Peth Killa. It is an easy 2 hr trek from Ambivali village which can be reached in 3 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Karjat - (auto) - Ambivali route. The fort has a huge cave where one can spend night with bats. There is an interesting rock-cut staircase from this cave to the top of the fort. One can see Bhimashankar, Dhak Bahiri and Rajmachi from the top. This trek is a very popular one in Maharashtra due to its easy accessibility.
20)Korigad is a hill fort near the famous Amby Valley Sahara Lake City in Maharashtra. It can be reached by a very boring 1 hr trek through stairs from Peth-Shahpur village. To reach this base village, one needs to travel for 4 hrs by Mumbai CST - (train) - Lonavala - (auto) - Peth-Shahpur route. The top of this fort is a huge flat area which offers a great view of Amby valley in night. Surprisingly, there are two small lakes here. One can also see caves on the way and on top.
21)Manori beach is a popular weekend retreat for Mumbai people. It offers fresh air and calm atmosphere so close to the city !! Manori can be reached in 1 hr by Malad - (bus) - Marve beach - (ferry) - Manori route after an 1 hr train journey from Churchgate (Mumbai) to Malad. The rocky region of this island is a breathtaking site for rock climbing. There are expensive cottages, hotels and resorts for staying near the beach. One can also go to nearby Gorai beach from here.
22)Janjira sea fort is famous for being the only unconquered fort along India's western coast despite Maratha, Dutch and English attacks. Situated in the middle of the Arabian sea, this magnificient 700 yrs old fort can be visited from Murud by 30 mins of sail-boat ride. Murud is a small beach village reachable from Mumbai by a 6 hr drive. Alternately, it can be reached in 4 hrs by Gateway of India - (ferry) - Alibag - (bus) - Murud route. The beautiful Kasid beach on the way from Alibag to Murud is a popular weekend destination for the Mumbaikars.
23)Elephanta island is a popular tourist destination around Mumbai. It can be reached by an 1 hr ferry journey from the Gateway of India. The main attractions of this island are the cave temples of Lord Shiva and few Hindu deities. These temples are probably made around thousand years ago and are said to be the abode of Lord Shiva. For these magnificient expressions of ancient Indian arts, Elephanta island is designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It remains closed to visitors on Mondays.
24)Kalsubai is the highest peak of the Sahyadris. The small temple of goddess Kalsubai on the peak can be reached by a trek from Bari village in 3 hrs. It takes 4 hrs to reach Bari by Mumbai CST - (train) - Igatpuri - (bus) - Bari route. This trek is a simple one but one needs to carry enough drinking water. There are long ladders at points to assist climbing. The summit is quite chilly even in summer nights. The major attraction for this trek is the opportunity of enjoying panoramic view from the highest point of Maharashtra.
