[pjbiju]

I first heard about Kaas from some internet forum while looking for places around Pune that is worth visiting. And then the Team-Bhp meet happened at Kaas in 2010. We got a glimpse of this magical place then. On that day we visited Sajjangad, Chalkewadi windmills, Thoseghar waterfalls and the Kaas plateau.

The photos of those days recently put up by Laluks ignited the desire to visit the place again this year. Unfortunately I could not be a part of the Team-Bhp Kaas meet 2011. Since the weekends were not working out, I decided to take a day off to make this trip.

Thus it came to be that we were driving towards Kaas on Monday, 26-Sep-2011. The plan was to start early from home and reach the pateau by sunrise. But that was not to be. Instead of hitting NH4 at 4:00 a.m., we were there by 4:30 a.m. I had another friend and his family coming along with us in their car. Luckily there was no big queue at the toll booth. But the roads have become patchy at many places. So we took it very easy not wanting to be stranded at some place with punctured tyres or failed suspension. We did not encounter any big pothole on the highway. But at many places, the top layer of the road is peeled off.

So we had to be content with the sunrise somewhere on NH4, before Satara. It was not as dramatic as I was hoping for.

The sunrise


Windmills, lucky ones to witness the Sunrise and Sunset every day


We could hear a lot of peacocks at the place where we stopped to enjoy the sunrise. It is the early bird that catches the worm! And they know it.

We stopped briefly at Virangula for a quick bite and then drove directly towards Kaas, stopping once on the way to click a couple of snaps.

The green meadows and the mist covered distant hills


The kids enjoying their moments of freedom


Finally we reached our first destination for the day.

The Kaas Plateau


We were not expecting anyone, since it was a Monday. But there were a few people there already. But not the kind of crowds that one might see on the weekends. We could park our vehicles anywhere along the plateau.

It was then time to walk around and see the different flowers and try to capture their beauty through our cameras. It was not easy and the flowers had already decided to end the show for this season. With many areas cordoned off, and with a 90mm lens, there was not much that I could do to get closer to the flowers.

Mainly Whites


The green leaves - I do not know if these plants flower too


The pinks. Many households grow these plants in their garden


Close-up of a tiny beauty - Just look at the way this thing is all dressed up. Combed hair, yellow hair bands and all.


The guardian tree


The common yellow ones


The cute yellows


Dancers...


All lined up


Whites again


Color coded Umbrellas


Drying up


Mixed-up


We are not the only visitors


Pink Border


Remnants of the show


Violets


The Kaas Lake (miniature lake)


Yellow beauties


Green Mushrooms


Yellow dotted valley


Look to your right


Look in front


I guess many of these plants have already shed their flowers


Admiring the flowers


To be contd...

[pjbiju]

I guess the perfect week this year would have been the week of 19-Sep. Perhaps one would have seen the flowers in full bloom then. Better luck to myself next year.

Donald Duck


Splashes of color


Dancing fellas


A dried shrub


More flowers


And more


And more


And more


There were people carrying multiple cameras, tripods and stuff like that. People were standing, sitting down, lying flat on the ground trying to take pictures.

I too tried to get low to take some shots


I almost stood on my head to get this shot


We then moved on to our next destination

To be contd...

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Travelogues forum. Thanks for sharing!

[pjbiju]

As we left the Kaas plateau behind us and started driving towards Bamnoli, I was not sure what to expect. We drove a little ahead and stopped immediately.

To our right was the beautiful Kaas Lake shimmering like a blue gem. I do not think I was able to capture the beauty of the lake.

To my left


To my right


The grass meadows surrounding the lake


The lake nestled between the hills.


We drove on and stopped again. The beauty of the lake is to be exeperienced.

The first view


My son going wild seeing the lake. And I went around clicking many pictures.












The color of the lake was green & blue while looking at it from various angles. I had infact taken some pictures with a CPL, but that was really not necessary. I guess we were there at the right time.








The water appeared to be clean. And the children had a great time playing in the water near the banks.

Again, mindless people have thrown some trash and pieces of broken glass bottles were scattered at many places. So one has to be careful if walking around barefoot. After spending a long time here, we decided to drive further ahead.

To be contd...

[pjbiju]

While driving back from Kaas, we also stopped to take pictures of the green pastures and the Urmodi dam backwaters. In fact there were several places that I had marked in my mind. Places where I wanted to stop for pictures. But we did not stop at all those places.

Urmodi Dam Backwaters


Green Pastures


Green & Blue


Green Ridges


Plots for sale?


From the Kaas lake we drove towards Bamnoli.

Bamnoli welcomes us.


To be contd...

[SDP]

@pjbiju, Loved the snaps and one-liner titles for each snap. The snap for which you had to stand on your head, it rocks! Eagerly following your thread. Loved the crispiness in your snaps. I have a lot to learn.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@pjbiju,

nice pics.
I think i never saw that combed hair type flower during all my visit to kaas,
thanks for posting that combed hair flower variety.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by SDP

@pjbiju, Loved the snaps and one-liner titles for each snap. The snap for which you had to stand on your head, it rocks! Eagerly following your thread. Loved the crispiness in your snaps. I have a lot to learn.

Thanks SDP. Actually I missed the right side of the valley where the pink flowers abounded. You have pointed to that location in one of your photos. Also I really went low to click only that one picture. Like you I should have shelved my inhibition and got low and dirty.

================================

At the Kaas plateau, I saw people using binoculars to have a closer look at the flowers before probably deciding to photograph them. A couple of more pictures from the plateau.

Yellows romancing the violets and the whites.


Looks like a rainbow just fell down from the sky. I guess sometime in the ancient past, a huge lovely rainbow crashed into Kaas. And that is how Kaas got blessed with this beauty which comes out of its hiding every year at the end of monsoon to say hello to the other rainbows in the sky. Now someone with a good imagination can make this into a beautiful story for the kids.


We were fast approaching Bamnoli and what welcomed us was this.

White clouds beckoned us


The white clouds guarding their treasure trove


Nestled close to the waters. I wonder who stays there.


To be contd...

[pjbiju]

Soon we snaked our way to Bhairavnath Boating Club at Bamnoli. There is enough parking for a few cars. I am not sure how they would manage the traffic on weekends.

There is also some government building which was again full of cars. There are a few places serving food, which is simple and home cooked. We tried the Chicken Rice Plate, but the chicken was just ok. I would stay, stick with the vegetarian fare. There are a couple of rest rooms which are in bad condition. Again, it is pathetic how the Maharashtra tourism department neglects such places. For people travelling with women and children, finding a clean rest room would be an impossible task once you leave Satara.

The boating club has boat rides to Tapola, Triveni Sangam, Datta Mandir and a few other places. The rates per boat is fixed for each trip and is displayed at the booking office. I think each boat can easily accomodate 12-16 people. You get the whole boat to yourself even if you are only two once you pay the full amount. There are no life jackets in the boat but there are two lifebuoys tied to the boat. I am seriously thinking of getting life jackets for my family for all future trips involving such activities.

We had our simple lunch at a place and then headed out in the boat to Triveni Sangam.

Waiting for the tourists


Cruising in the reservoir


Looking at its sibling


Heading out


Towards this


Through this


One begins to wonder if this is really in India. I kept jumping from one side of the boat to the other side to click pictures. Some of the pictures have a small tilt, thanks to the boat ride and my twisted body in trying to capture the beauty of the waters.

We sail through blue waters


Green waters


The trees checking out the waters


The lifebuoy


Wondering at nature's artistry


To be contd...

[SDP]

No post since Friday? Seem like you are off to Kaas again!

Eagerly waiting for the rest of the travelogue and more sharp pictures.

[pjbiju]

Everyone in my family can swim. Even then, if you are not a regular swimmer, you cannot swim for long. Which is why I always look for life jackets while taking a boat ride. It may not be important for all. But I guess should be available as an option for people going for these boat rides.

The expanse of the waters was not very wide. And that is what makes this water body so beautiful. You are never too far from the green shores and the hills. It is as if you get sucked into the beauty of the waters, the matching skies decked with the white clouds and bordered with the green hills. I am sure it all turns muddy during the monsoons.

Boats awaiting their turn.


From muddy brownish red, to green to blue


Green waters touching the shining green of the hills which in turn touches the white clouds


Enjoying their rides


A dead landmark of the triveni sangam. We circled these trees.


Triveni Sangam - a living landmark


The Boat club - far away


Now closer


To be contd...
==================================================

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

@pjbiju,

nice pics.
I think i never saw that combed hair type flower during all my visit to kaas,
thanks for posting that combed hair flower variety.

Ashish, even I had not really noticed this flower until my friend pointed it out to me. So more to see next year.

Originally Posted by SDP

No post since Friday? Seem like you are off to Kaas again!

Eagerly waiting for the rest of the travelogue and more sharp pictures.

Had a lot of things to do over the weekend. So here I am back to post the rest of the pictures. Hope to complete them today, taking snatches of time during the day today.

[pjbiju]

The boat had bench like projections on either sides running the length of the boats. The floor had wooden planks that were not nailed down. The boat was powered by a simple diesel engine. I did not enquire about the power and torque figures.

One could take the boat out to the middle of the lake and then simply sit inside soaking in the beauty.


And perhaps do some fishing..


Or read a book


Or simply take a nap


Or admire the sunshine


Or pray to God


Powered by this whale of an engine


And we begin circling the Triveni Landmark


Circling and clicking


Circling and clicking


I would not mind getting banished to this house?


If you want to live here...

You could perhaps buy a boat


Or two boats if you are richer


Or buy many of them if you own a bank or two


You could become a policeman, posted here


Or become a politically important person to enjoy a ride inside this VIP boat - notice the sliding windows


Or you could visit whenever you feel like, like us

One last close look at the waters


One last look from far


To be contd...

[pjbiju]

Finally we had to say good bye to Bamnoli. We started our journey back. A few minutes later I stopped. You can see why.











We passed by the grazing cows & buffaloes




And the parting shots - there are many

The flowers


The cows and the meadows


Triveni Sangam


The shimmering waters of Bamnoli


Blue skies, white clouds and yellow flowers


And a piece of heaven on earth


I hope you have enjoyed the pictures. And I hope to be back there again next year.

-Biju

[Indian Ranger]

Fantastic snaps and locale Biju. Really liked all the pictures, especially the tree in the middle of the lake. Awesome..

Thanks for sharing.

[kaushik_s]

Lovely photographs, although looks like most of them were shot during harsh daylight. That place is just awesome, both Kaas and Bamnoli. We were bit luckier in terms of flowers as we show much more flowers.