Mahabaleshwar Trip (October 20 -23, 2014)

Given a choice between work and Travel, I would prefer Travel any time. I love nature, like to explore new places. Last year when I visited US, that time I had decided to explore India first and then if there is still balance in the bank account would visit abroad.  Honestly, I think one life would be insufficient to explore India!!!. There are sooooooooo many places to see in India and so little time left!!!!!

Since I try to do 3 trips in a year, one pilgrimage trip on my birthday, second one in May (trek) and third one a short trip(Nov - Dec) which was pending. For a very long time, had a desire to visit Mahabaleshwar and there was opportunity coming up. When I went to meet my college friends, Manisha and Swati the topic of going on tour came up. During the conversation, Manisha told about her WAI / Mahabaleshwar experience. Enquired about the stay and the tour. She had stayed at one of the Wada (very old house with 13-14 rooms). One can hire a taxi and go to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. I liked the idea of Home stay and decided to go in Diwali holidays. Since it was Diwali, nobody wanted to leave their house and go for touring. So I decided to go alone, a solo trip.

Booked a ticket with Neeta travels to Mahabaleshwar and alighted at WAI Bus depot. Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar is 262 kms. Mumbai to Wai is 231 kms. approx it takes 4- 5hrs to reach Wai from Mumbai. The place where I was going to stay was Mr. Karandikar's Wada. Took a auto to Mr. Karandikar's Wada. Everyone in Wai seemed to know the place. Quite a few generations of Karandikar family have been staying in Wai. 

Till I saw the wada, I had absolutely no idea what a Wada was. I was literally shocked to see such a huge place with very old style of furniture.. Btw, Wada was 250 yrs old!!!!It had almost 15-16 rooms , 3 bathrooms and a front yard and back yard. WAI is famous for film shootings. It has a lovely picturesque with greenery surrounded by mountains and closer to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. In fact when I entered the wada, there were approx. 50-60 people  in the verandah for makeup. Later on came to know children's movie was being shot in the opp Wada. This place was rented for makeup.

Karandikar's Wada, WAI

Since I reached in the afternoon, decided to explore WAI. Sightseeing was taken care by Mr. Karandikar. An auto was hired to visit nearby place in WAI.

Wai is situated on the Mahad - Pandharpur State Highway. Wai is known for its ghats on the banks of the Krishna River and its temples, esp the Dholya Ganapati on the Ganapati Ghat.

Day 1:
I had half a day at my disposal. Hired a Auto and visited nearby places in WAI. There is not much to see in WAI..however outskirts of Wai is full of greenery. At either side of the road, you will find rice paddy, sugarcane, soya, ground nuts....

First place in the agenda was Nana Phadnis's Wada. Since I had just got a glimpse of Karandikar's Wada, was expecting the much bigger and colourful wada. I was greatly disappointed..The wada was in a very dilated state. Entire armory used in the battle has been shifted to Pune museum...Not recommended to visit.

Nana Phadnis Wada, WAI

Krishna Ghat was beautiful. Temples surrounded by Krishna river. Many of the film shootings were shot at this Ghat...When I visited the Ghat, the scenery was apt for shooting!!!few females were washing clothes, buffaloes were taking bath in the river, elderly men were chatting, kids were playing, I didn't feel like leaving the place..

Krishna Ghat, WAI

Krishna Ghat, WAI

Krishna Ghat, WAI

Dhom Dam: is situated at the Krishna & Kamandalu river. This dam can be seen from outside only.
However after much pleading with the authorities, we got the permission of seeing it from the top. The view was stupendous and since it was almost sunset time, it added all the more!!!!Only regret was photography was not allowed.  It was a huge dam surrounded by greenery, and further down, boating rides were available as also there were dolphins in deep down the dam.

Dhom Dam, WAI

The main attraction of WAI was Maha Ganapti. Because of its height and weight it is also called as 'Dholya' Ganapati. Located on the banks of Krishna river, the temple was built in 1691. The idol is 24 meters in height and 2 mtrs in circumference and is made from one stone. In the evening, the place was full of people, at one side elderly males were chatting, female group was seen exchanging their daily events, younger couples were busy playing with their kids, this was an ideal place for everyone to meet!!The environment was very pleasant. Till the time, I was in WAI I spend entire evenings at the temple.

Mahaganapati Mandir, WAI
Source: Wikipedia

Dholya Ganapati, WAI
Source: Wikipedia

Day 2:
Pratapgad, Panchgani & Mahabaleshwar

Next day around 8am I started for Pratapgad, Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are on one side of the Wai and Pratapgad on the other side.

Pratapgad fort is located 22 kms from Mahabaleshwar. Shivaji Maharaj commissioned Moropant Trimbak Pingle, his Prime Minister to undertake the construction of this fort in order to defend the banks of the Nira and Koyna rivers and to defend the Par pass. The Battle of Pratapgad between Shivaji and Afzal Khan was fought below the ramparts of this fort in 1659. Afzal Khan's head is said to be buried a little farther from this fort. Forts till today have a very historical importance. When you visit these kind of places, you imagine the things that have happened there. When the guide shows you the place where the king used to meet the Praja, or the different ways from where the elephants, horses, Mawlas used to go, or the bathing tank where the females used to take bath, 400 years old but stil you can actually feel the moments, imagining them right in front of you!!!! 

One must surely visit this place just to feel the days of Shivaji Maharaj!!...and don't miss the delicious zhunka bhakri, thali pith, taak (chaas), on the way. 

Pratapgad

Pratapgad

Pratapgad

We 're together, come what may!!!

Pratapgad fort

Hold me....

Panchgani, Mahabaleshwar

The road from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar is spectacular... both the sides of the road is covered by   the trees. Looks like a tunnel of trees..Frankly, there is nothing in Mahabaleshwar or Panchgani to see but enroute from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar is magnificent.  The view is still fresh in my mind. It looked very similar to Matheran. There are points to see and each point is located at far away.. Since you have gone all the way to see them, no point in missing them even though they looked all the same!!!..I managed to see few points and skipped the lesser important points.. Visited Elephant head or the Needly hole point, Lodwik point, Elphinstone point, Arthur's seat point, Tiger spring point are some of the points which I saw. Elephant head or Needle hole point was the most eye catching point. It very closely resembles the head of the elephant and there is distinct hole between trunk and the head of elephant. One of Nature's marvellous creations!!!

Elephant Head point, Mahabaleshwar

Panchganga Mandir

One of the holy place and a prime attraction of Mahabaleshwar is the Panchganga Mandir.
The confluence of five different rivers, viz. Koyna, Krishna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri has given the name Panchganga where Panch means five and Ganga means river. All the rivers come out of a cow's mouth which is carved out of a stone. A very unique thing about this place is that even if the flow of the rivers increases the water never overflows out of the tank, it remains at the same level.
Must see. 

1/2 km away from Panchganga is the Krishna temple. Two rivers namely the Krishna and Bhagarathi meet here. The temple is 4500 yrs old.

Table Land point, Panchgani

Table land point at Panchgani is the most captivating point. This flat large expanse is the second longest mountain plateau in Asia. This is the highest part of Panchgani with an elevation of 4550 feet above sea level & covers 95 acres of land. This is indeed another of nature;s beautiful creation!!The flat land is so vast that it will almost require a day to cover the entire land. I was walking, walking and walking and then stopped as I couldn't see any end to the land. However it was unbelievable that at such a height there can be such a vast of flat land!!!

View from Table Land point

Sunset from Table Land point

Sunset from Table Land point

Sunset from Table Land point

Sunset from Table Land point

Sunset from Table Land point

On the way back from Panchgani to Wai, couldn't resist Mapro garden. All the Mapro products are sold at this store. Don't miss the Squashes, Jam and yes very yummy Sandwiches J

Day 3: Aund & Sajjangad

Aund

Shri Bhavani Museum at Aund is a must visit. Museum has a superb collection of original paintings of world famous painters, artefacts made up of marble, sandalwood, sculptured pots, weapons, holy books, etc.   Words fail to describe the paintings and the sculptures. They were superb...I had only heard of Raja Ravi Verma as one of the greatest painter from India but when I saw his paintings I realised why he was the greatest painter!!!!Painting of renowned painters such as Baburao Painter, Satavlekar, Thakursing, Dhulender are displayed in the museum. There are total 19 galleries in the museum. To actually see each and every painting and sculptures, a day would not suffice!!!Because of time constraints, I had to skip some of the galleries...However, I intend to visit the museum just to see the paintings once again..This is a must see, if you happen to visit Mahabaleshwar or Satara.

Sajjangad
It is located near the city of Satara. It is the final resting place of Sant Ramdas, a saint, Guru of Chatrapati Shivaji and social reformer in the 17th century.  This is also the Samadhi Place of Sant Ramdas. There are two temples where Shivaji Maharaj used to meet / consult Ramdas Swami. One was Hanuman temple, located slightly away from the main temple and another one was Devi's temple. Everyday the temple offers prasad (lunch) for the people who come to offer their prayers. I always feel one should make it a point to visit the forts, you get the feeling of witnessing the battles, wars and to be with the great warriors!!!a very beautiful experience happened when I visited the Devi's temple. I went to offer my prayers to the Devi. There was a priest who was reciting Arti in sanskrit. His voice was so melodious, I just stood at the entrance. He looked behind and with a sign he asked me to come inside the temple. Went inside and sat there till he finished the shlokas. After finishing, he asked me from where I had come and in turn thanked him for the shlokas which he sang in a melodious voice.

Sajjangad, Satara

Sajjangad, Satara

View from Sajjangad

It is always advisable to stay away from the main places. Main tourist places are usually expensive, difficult to get accommodation during the festive season and too crowded. Hence I decided to stay at WAI and hired a private taxi to visit the tourist places.

All in all, I had a wonderful time in Wai, Panchgani, Aund, Mahabaleshwar. Stay was very comfortable (Karandikar's Wada). Journey was good and the moments, memorable.