Bangalore - kaas - Mahabaleshwar - Konkancoast

[iridium]

Planning to drive from Bangalore to Satara (Kaas, Thosegar), Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Ganapatipule, Ratnagiri.
Starting from Bangalore on Oct 07, 10. Last date by which I need to be back in Bangalore is Oct 16, 10.
Me, wife and 8 year old son.

Thought a lot about in which car to make the trip. Choices were
1. Swift VDI (55k kms)
2. Honda Jazz (approx 5k kms).

Have finalized on the Honda Jazz due to interior space and luggage space.
Acceleration on the highways is a disappointment after having been used to Swift diesel.

Planning to start on Oct 07, 10 at 5:00Am.

Dreamdiesel who had recently been to places there, gave me a possible route. This is given below.

1 : Bangalore – Satara
Night Halt at Satara.

2 : Satara – Mahabaleshwar
Visit Kaas Plateau and Thosegar falls near Satara.
Night halt at Mahabaleshwar.

Day 3 : Mahabaleshwar/Panchgani
Visit Table Land, Sydney Point, Parsi Point and Mapro Garden at Panchgani.
Visit Venna Lake, Waterfalls and many viewpoints at Mahabaleshwar.

Day 4 : Mahabaleshwar – Chiplun – Guhaghar – Velneshwar
Visit Guhaghar Beach and Velneshwar Beach.
Night Halt at Velneshwar

Day 5 : Velneshwar – Ganapatipule – Ratnagiri
Visit Ganapatipule Beach and Temple at Ganapatipule
Visit Ratnadurg Fort, Thiba Point at Ratnagiri
Night Halt at Ratnagiri or Ganapatipule.

Day 6 : Ratnagiri – Tarkali
Visit Beach at Tarkali and Vengurla Beach.
Night halt at Tarkali (MTDC option available)

Day 7 : From Tarkali you have the option of returning back to NH4 via Sawantwadi or continue further south through Goa and then Karwarthen Yellapur and join NH4 at Hubli.

Any more options, places to see from folks who are from that area/visited places in that area.

I haven't done any booking so far. So flexible in my option.

[jeevmenon]

I will be looking out for the Honda Jazz. We shall be 2 hrs behind you on the same road. Hopefully we can catch up, Iridium.

[ampere]

Opening up an old thread. While having look at Kaas location I see that there is a route
from Kaas to Mahabaleshwar without touching Satara, Is this a good route to take?

I have no doubts that it would be scenic. Has anyone taken this route not taken?
Here is the link to the route in question:

Satara to Mahabaleshwar via Kaas,

[laluks]

Originally Posted by ampere

Opening up an old thread. While having look at Kaas location I see that there is a route
from Kaas to Mahabaleshwar without touching Satara, Is this a good route to take?

I have no doubts that it would be scenic. Has anyone taken this route not taken?
Here is the link to the route in question:

Satara to Mahabaleshwar via Kaas,

Yes, Ampere the route is fine,and is less dense in traffic terms.
Moreover Kaas to Mahabaleswar via Tapola is a also a nice road. I had taken that route ins September 2011, while on a Kaas, mahabaleshwar Hampi circuit. yet to log it

[ampere]

Originally Posted by laluks

Yes, Ampere the route is fine,and is less dense in traffic terms.
Moreover Kaas to Mahabaleswar via Tapola is a also a nice road. I had taken that route ins September 2011, while on a Kaas,
mahabaleshwar Hampi circuit. yet to log it

@Lalu. Sorry I meant the road via Tapola only. I think while posting the link, I just posted the other one.
I wanted to know about the road which snakes around the reservoir (The one you referred to )

Thanks. Definitely looks like a road to be enjoyed! Need to try it some day.

[sharekhan4]

Originally Posted by ampere

I wanted to know about the road which snakes around the reservoir (The one you referred to )

Reopening an old thread again as I'm going to do Bangalore-Mahabaleshwar in about 2 weeks. Googlemaps suggests this route which seems to be more direct to Mahabaleshwar. Ampere, I guess its not the same reservoir you mean is it? Have any of your been on this and what's your feedback? It seems to be SH-58 so I imagine it might be a decent road.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by sharekhan4

Reopening an old thread again as I'm going to do Bangalore-Mahabaleshwar in about 2 weeks. Googlemaps suggests Have any of your been on this and what's your feedback? It seems to be SH-58 so I imagine it might be a decent road.

This is a different reservoir (as Google labels it as Kanher dam! Its not the Bamnoli location). Satara-Mahabaleshwar is the standard road taken when coming form South (SH58).
The road to Mahabaleshwar from Kaas/Tapola is pretty bad and locals advised against taking this road. So if you want to visit Kaas, you need to separately fork from Satara.

Here is a visual of the dam atop the Kaas road.