Hillstation you can't have enough of!

[pjbiju]

This is a place that I am sure almost every Team-BHPian from Mumbai and Pune must have gone at least a few times. It was my second trip during this year. The first one was in Jan 07 and we had come back with several kilograms of fresh strawberries handpicked from one of the farms. They were the juiciest and the sweetest strawberries we have ever had. We had also dug into mounds of fresh strawberry ice cream at the Mapro factory garden. It was quite crowded in January and we had gone on an impulse. And it was my first long trip (not a long trip by any standard for many BHPians) and that too without any planning. Still we had managed to make it to some of the most important view points at Mahabaleshwar.

I was a little apprehensive to drive to Mahabaleshwar in October, thinking that the roads may have taken their worst possible avatar after the monsoon rains. But I was pleasantly proved wrong. The roads were superb all the way till Mahabaleshwar. Some of the internal roads in Mahabaleshwar had turned a little bad. We went to Kate’s point and visited the temples at old Mahabaleshwar. We also visited the Panchganga temple. One can see a "Krishnabai" or "Gomukh" (a cow head carved) in a stone in this temple, which is supposed to be the source of five Deccan rivers: Krishna, Koyna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri. And then we drove to Arthur’s Seat and that’s when we got completely enveloped in mist. It was truly a wonderful feeling. It brought back to me the memories of my days at Kotagiri and Yercaud. The roads were relatively empty. But we missed the strawberries. So there ought to be another trip soon.

Below are some of the pictures. It was very sunny and the atmosphere was very hazy, conditions that are not very photography friendly. So bear with me on the photographs.

Facts and Figures
Total distance traveled – 287 km
Car – Swift VXi
Mileage – 15.4 kmpl with 100% A/C with 2 adults and one child. Maintained good speeds on NH4.

Pasrani Ghat


View from the Pasrani Ghat


Some of the breathtaking views from Panchgani/Mahabaleshwar


Dhom Dam




From the temples at Mahabaleshwar


From the Mapro Garden


Cooling their heels.. err.. tyres in the mist


-Biju

[danlalan]

Awesome pictures.. Love the views. This is infact the right to go to panchani and mahableshwar. I love panchgani more. Studied there at the billimoria High way back in 90'. The place has change alot since then. So so many hotels have come up now. It was heaven some 17years ago. It still is. Hasnt lost its charm at all. Love the times early morning and late evenings when the fog sets in.

[humyum]

Nice pics pjbiju
Awesome weather in this season but damm the hotel rates are too high. Book one in advance if u want to go mahabaleshwar now or u ll be left with no place to stay.
Had been there 2 weeks back and places like rajesh were charging 4000 bucks per night (couple) with lunch and dinner and it was full btw.

[emkay456]

Nice post, with breathtaking pics. Which camera do you use ?
What is the Mfr. year of your VXI ? I must say the mileage is good !!.
I have a similar 2006 Silky silver.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by emkay456

Nice post, with breathtaking pics. Which camera do you use ?
What is the Mfr. year of your VXI ? I must say the mileage is good !!.
I have a similar 2006 Silky silver.

I use a Nikon F80 along with two Nikkor lenses, a 28-105mm f/3.5-4.5D IF and a Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D. I am looking to move to a digital camera and hoping that I will soon find a bag full of money lying somewhere on the road.

My car is also of 2006 April
On my last trip to Shirdi I got a mileage of 17.35 kmpl - but I drove more sedately then with speeds ranging from 60-110 kmph while going and 40-80 kmph while coming back. In the city I get a mileage close to 13, usually slightly more. All figures are with almost 100% A/C.

[MaserQ]

Digital or not, those pictures look superb. Almost makes me wish I was there now! Please do click away and post em!

[Nitin]

Nice pics,biju.
This makes me wonder..If only the Govt. Tourism Dept would take extra steps to take care of such wonderful monuments/areas of nature and showcase them with better skill.

[akroy]

Nice pics Biju, another nice account from you, my plan of Mahabaleshwar from bangalore has failed once due to lack of leaves...Hopefully I will do it sometime.
Can you also highlight some nice palces to stay there and the tariffs?

Abhi

[mobike008]

So used to digi pics, this came as a pleasant surprise. Lovely pics and a nice short narration.

I do remember my days of college in pune and we almost use to go to Mahabaleshwar once in a month on bikes. Always it used to be 5-6 Rx-100's and 1 Shogun, racing all the way to the hill station. We used to especially love the snaky roads in Mahabaleshwar where its pure thrill to drive on bikes.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by mobike008

So used to digi pics, this came as a pleasant surprise. Lovely pics and a nice short narration.
We used to especially love the snaky roads in Mahabaleshwar where its pure thrill to drive on bikes.

Not being digital, I need to wait for a while (sometimes a couple of months), before I get the film rolls developed, printed and then scanned. Yes, the roads in Mahabaleshwar are really nice to drive around and being on a bike, you can get out of traffic jams quite easily, that are common in peak season.

Originally Posted by akroy

Nice pics Biju, another nice account from you, my plan of Mahabaleshwar from bangalore has failed once due to lack of leaves...Hopefully I will do it sometime.Can you also highlight some nice palces to stay there and the tariffs? Abhi

Abhi, I have never stayed there and therefore never explored the hotels. I think, Karl and Moralfibre would be able to guide you on this one.