Satara - Weekend Getaway

One of my close friend, Manjunath, and I were discussing as to which place to visit during a weekend. We considered various options but were not able to reach a consensus. Then I threw an idea of visiting an offbeat location. It was a spontaneous decision, and we agreed to visit Satara. And of we started our journey in the morning in Manju’s WagonR Duo. About 2 hours and 120 km of drive on the excellent NH4, we reached our destination. On the way we stopped at one of the roadside hotel, Virangula, and were pleasantly surprised by the quality of service and the taste of the offerings. This hotel is just about few km before Satara on the left side. I would recommend that you must try the Thalipith at this place if not full meal. Total two and half hours of relaxed road travel and we were in the city of Satara. The first and fore most agenda for us was to find a suitable hotel to stay at. There are lot of hotels on Radhika Road (named after a movie theatre) right in front of the Satara bus stand. After checking various hotels I zeroed in on Hotel Sagar. The rooms are quite spacious and clean. You can also book the rooms on phone – 02162-228331, 228332. In case you prefer western WC then go for AC room, or else non-AC rooms are good enough. Same day evening we went to Sajjangad, the fort where Swami Samartha stayed. I think its 20km drive, though the hotel manager told me that it will not be more than 10 minutes ride..Ha 10 minutes? Puhleease.. It took us good 30 minutes. But then no part of the journey was dull. Every turns a good view. From base of Sajjangad it's approximately 20 minutes to the top. We reached in time for the evening prayers. It was Holi day, the day when Hindus burn their sins in to the sacred fire of Holika dahan. It was a different experience to watch the sacred fire in the dead of the night! Early next day we started for Kas Lake. 34km from the center of Satara, the first 10 or so km is sort of dry rough patch. After that one is surprised by the view, by that time you are on the upper side of the plateau and on a clear day can get very good views of various water bodies around Satara. And then you enter the dense flora, it’s almost like a jungle. The air gets cooler and cleaner the road is covered with shadow from the trees. It is pleasure driving there, it is. After spending some time at Kas Lake, we started for Bamnoli. At Bamnoli there is excellent facility for boating. A boat ride of 45 minutes was cool! The boat is stopped for about 15 minutes before it returns back. Those are peaceful 15 minutes, water everywhere and green mountains at distance. Just relax or click away your camera. And then we returned back to hotel. That was one great weekend getaway! While returning back we picked up many packets of the Satara special Kandi Pedhas, a local specialty. Do try it. And back we started with a resolve to return back in Monsoon to visit the Tapola (near to Kas Lake) also known as mini Kashmir.

Where to stay
Sagar Hotel is good hotel, there is a luxurious hotel also in Satara

What to see
Sajjangad, Kaas Lake, Tapola, Bamnoli

What to eat
Kandi Pedha

When to visit
August to February

What to shop
Hmmm... Kandi Pedha

Minimum stay duration
2 days

Kashid with Friends

There are times when one wants to get away from the daily chorus and there is nothing like going to sea. Sea has this special ability to sooth you and put you to relaxing mode. Probably it is the combined effect of the salty breeze, the sound of waves splashing on the shore, the soft sand underneath the feet and the vastness of the sea. Somehow it puts a spell on me and I am mesmerized by the nature’s bounties. For most part of my life I have stayed at place which is quite far from sea. So when I first saw sea, it was love at first sight for me.

Since then I have been to Goa (I love the Colva beach for it’s not very crowded plus it gives a sense of safety even while walking at mid night) almost every year. However Kashid is near to me and is perfect get away for 3 days. So any extended weekend is ideal for visiting Kashid. This place is quite near from Pune/Mumbai and can be easily reached in about 3 hours. There is one 5 star resort their, Prakruti Resort. It is luxurious but costly. More over it’s quite far from sea. And anyway who wants to go to disco, have continental meals and breakfasts and air conditioning when one can stay at the local resorts which are 10 hops away from beach J

Kashid is a small village with population of about 2000. The exceptional quality of Kashid beach is that it is not crowded like its neighbouring beaches. And the sand at this beach is silvery. You can walk for long stretches enjoying the solitude and the occasional glimpse of the flying fish in the sea. It’s like having a private beach only for your self! If you are going with friends then this is perfect place to bond.

Some residents of Kashid have built accommodations for tourists and most of them are maintained pretty well. Some have gardens with banana and coconut trees and the hammocks to lazy around in the noon. I prefer to stay at Friends resort because it’s clean and has a very good garden. And most importantly it’s quite close to sea. I have found that the uncle who owns it is quite friendly. The cook, a lady, is an expert is Surmai and Bangda (mackerel) fry.

While visiting Kashid, it is a good idea to take a trip to Murud Janjira. It is just about 16 km from Kashid. One can visit the sea fort of Janjira. There are boats (prepaid sailing boats) to go to this fort. There are guides at this fort to provide information about its history. I hired one but found it to be not very useful. You may very well skip hiring a guide. Instead get the material from internet. The view from the top of Janjira is something not to be missed.

Where to stay

Friends Resort, Kashid Sea Face, Surve Huts

What to see

The Kashid beach, the Janjira Fort, Murud beach

What to eat

Home made sea food, fish fries, soul curry (made up of coconut milk)

When to visit

Mid September to mid March

Minimum stay duration

2 days 1 night

How to reach

The nearest rail head and airport is Mumbai and Pune (almost equidistant). From Pune/Mumbai one can go by car.

Distance from Pune: About 180km. The route to follow is:

Pune-Express High way-Lonawala - Khopoli Exit – Pen – Alibag – Nagaon – Revdanda - Kashid

Distance from Mumbai: About 120km

Some useful links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murud-Janjira

http://murudjanjira.blogspot.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashid

Contact info for local resorts:

Friends Resort: Mr A. A. Belose 09270371274

Kashid Sea Face: Mr. Abhishek Kate 02144-278555

Have you been to Murud or Kashid? How was your experience? If you have visited some super cool place in Konkan aread, do share your views. I would like to explore Konkan and your first hand opinion can be useful.

Chikhaldara - Hill station of Maharashtra

Chikhaldara, many of you would find the name a bit strange. At least I did when I heard about it the first time. This gem of a place is located at the vidharba region of Maharashtra. This little known hill station was first discovered by an Englishman during British rule. He was so enchanted by this untouched beauty that he developed this place as a summer retreat.

Even today Chikhaldara is covered with dense forest. As a matter of fact it is very close to the Melghat tiger reserve. This small town situated in the folds of Satpura ranges is the place to be if you want to calm your nerves and enjoy a relaxing holiday. There are no 5 star hotels, shopping malls, movie theatres or spas or such things out there but one can enjoy the simple things of life like smelling the pollution free air, enjoying the cool breeze, talking with the simple town folks, walking on the streets without any care in the world and of course taking the forest safari to list a few.

It was a long weekend staring out at me and I was wondering what I can do to utilise it. I had already searched for my options at the MTDC resorts online. None was available. I also tried calling a few resorts around Pune and Mumbai but with no luck there either. Then all of a sudden I thought, why not go to some off beat place. A little googling, a little surfing on the travel sites and out comes Chikhaldara. There not much information about Chikhaldara on internet and I thought – how about a little trial for a change, may be it will turn out to be a great destination. I could not have been more right!

I and my wife started our journey towards Badnera, the nearest railway station to Chikhaldara on the eve of Friday. Railway being my favourite means of transports (more about it later). After overnight journey we were standing at the Badnera station and got ourselves a Sumo booked to drop us at Chikhaldara. After 100 km out of which 25 km involved climbing up we were there. Due to last minute planning I didn’t had any hotel reservations. So for the three nights that I had in mind, I stayed at two excellent resorts :-) So much for not planning for the stay.

As soon as one enters the town of Chikhaldara the first hotel that one comes across is “Harshwardhan”. Personally I didn’t find the location appealing though the food is good. The MTDC resort has arguably the best location, overlooking the valley. The Satpura resort is also near by. Another good resort is Green Vallies Resort. This one is close to the bus stand. I had stayed at the Satpura VIP (this one is the extension of the Satpura resorts) thought not that good. It has four suites, two on first floor and two on ground floor. However this one is a stand alone building originally constructed by the State Irrigation Dept and now leased to Satpura management. And for remaining two days I stayed at the Green Vallies. The expanse of Green Vallies is huge. The attached restaurant, Gavilgad, is near by and one can get descent food and service there. The quantity of the food in a dish is generous so it is better to get waiter’s opinion before placing the final order.

The climate of Chikhaldara is cooler throughout the year. The rainfall is very heavy during monsoon. During summer the greenery would fade away but then it becomes all the more easy to spot the animals during the forest safari. Talking of safari, there are no elephants or gipsies for safari. One has to hire vehicles (Sumo, Indica, Bolero etc). Indica is a complete no-no for safari. It’s too small and at some places won’t be able to manoeuvre through certain places like river bed. I preferred the Sumo and didn’t regret the experience. From Chikhaldara the Melghat tiger reserve is about 24km and on reaching there, the forest dept at Semadoh provides the guide and charges a forest entrance fee which is nominal and some refundable deposit. The safari takes about 4-5 hours from Chikhaldara to Chikhaldara and one can expect to spot Tiger, Leopard, Wild Dog, Sloth Bear, Sa-mbhar, Nilgai, Wild Pig, Bison, Flying Squirrel etc. and many types of birds and reptiles.

Other than forest safari, there are many points to visit in and around Chikhaldara like Devi point, the Bhimakunda, Shakkar Talav, Gavilgad (fort), near by windmills and so on. But one should not miss the forest safari at any cost. Even if you are not able to spot any animals, the effect that forest leaves on you will be soothing. For more adventures sort there is forest lodge at Semadoh which can be booked through Conservator of Forest dept.

To enjoy the vacation at Chikhaldara at leisure I advise that the duration of stay has to be at least 3 days and 2 nights, anything less than this would be a compromise.

Where to stay

MTDC resort – Can be booked online

Satpura Resort – Can be booked through phone and by depositing the money in their account (details available on request)

Green Vallies Resort – Can be booked through phone and by depositing the money in their account (details available on request)

When to visit

Oct-Mar, though any time of the year is good. Avoid monsoon if you do not like heavy rains.

Must see

Forest safari, Devi point, Bhimakunda (huge water fall, especially during monsoon), Shakkar talav for boating

Minimum stay duration

3 days 2 nights

How to reach

By Train: Badnera is the nearest railhead is about 100km from Chikhaldara

By Air: Nearest airport is Nagpur

What to carry

Khaki/Green clothes, Woolen sweaters, Thermals, Cap, shades, good shoes, Camera, Medicines etc