[carzone]

Originally Posted by SDP

Started on Friday night and wrapped up the trip-log on Sunday night!
Shilonda snaps coming up next week (after the long weekend ).

It happens with me always!
The thing that I have been waiting for the most, have to stay away for it for some more time. Did go through the part-2 from the phone, just gathering time to stare at the pics again from the PC. Thank You for such a fast wrap-up.

[Desmosedici]

Excellent SDP. The waterfall that you stopped is where i also stopped but while going to Jawhar. I remember the big rock from your pic where we had kept our camera positioned with the timer on.

For coming back, instead of taking the Vikramgadh road towards Manor, you watchout for a small road after exiting Jawhar going to your right with 'Charoti 39Kms' written on it. That is the road i took and it was excellent except for very few patches.

[engrohit]

Well, call it coincidence or inspiration, I also landed in Jawhar, Dhabosa on Saturday, 10th August for a one day drive from Thane.

Got some helpful tips about route from SDP and Desmosedici and off we went from Thane at around 8.30 in the morning.

Most of the things have been well captured by SDP, just adding few pics from my side.

Special mention for a stretch of approx 15 - 18 KM from Khanvel to Dhabosa which falls under Dadar and Nagar haveli, the road was absolute "Makhan" really enjoyed driving on that stretch.

Also got a minor scare as Duster got stuck in soft grass (in pics below); Thank fully I was able to push it out in no time

[SDP]

Originally Posted by Desmosedici

Excellent SDP. The waterfall that you stopped is where i also stopped but while going to Jawhar. I remember the big rock from your pic where we had kept our camera positioned with the timer on.

For coming back, instead of taking the Vikramgadh road towards Manor, you watchout for a small road after exiting Jawhar going to your right with 'Charoti 39Kms' written on it. That is the road i took and it was excellent except for very few patches.

Looks like from Kasa/Charoti and from Manor are the 2 main routes to Jawhar. Would definitely try the Charoti route next time.

Are there any good places for lunch/dinner in this area?

Originally Posted by engrohit

Well, call it coincidence or inspiration, I also landed in Jawhar, Dhabosa on Saturday, 10th August for a one day drive from Thane.

...

Rohit, Good pics!
Which route did you take?
Also, any pic of the Sunset resort you mentioned? How was it? When I go to Jawhar next time, I definitely need a better eating joint than Shivneri Dhaba.

[engrohit]

Originally Posted by SDP

Rohit, Good pics!
Which route did you take?
Also, any pic of the Sunset resort you mentioned? How was it? When I go to Jawhar next time, I definitely need a better eating joint than Shivneri Dhaba.

Thanks. I took the route suggested by you. Khanvel>Dhabosa>Jawhar.

We just had tea and snacks (Kanda Bhajiya to be precise) at Sunset resort (right next to Sunset Point). We actually had lunch at one of the resorts in Khanvel itself. But the place looked decent, esp the seating under a shade near swimming pool.

We were actually looking for something similar to help us uplift our "Spirits"

[SDP]

I was underprepared for the Jawhar trip. Did not know the local attractions and good eating places etc. Did a quick search for Sunset resort and found this at their site.


Image credit: Sunset resort, Jawhar

Looks like the point we visited was Hanuman point. Even the remaining places look interesting.

For me its a bit too late, but hopefully this info would help other visitors to the Jawhar-Dabhosa area.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by SDP

Looks like from Kasa/Charoti and from Manor are the 2 main routes to Jawhar. Would definitely try the Charoti route next time.

Are there any good places for lunch/dinner in this area?
.

While going, i had taken the Bhiwandi Route, got stuck in terrible traffic, lost way and went towards Manor. Then got redirected to Vikramgadh and after searching heavily, had to settle for lunch at a local hotel joint on the Vikramgadh road as all others were bar and restaurant.

While coming back, after leaving Jawhar, took the Charoti route to join the Ahmedabad Highway and there is nothing on that 39 kms of road except small shops. We stopped for tea on the highway while coming back, Good hotel but dont remember the name.

And regarding the palace, i had been there during my first visit in 2009. There was one caretaker who took 5 bucks for each person and showed us in and around the palace. Its just ok.

[SDP]

Even at the risk of getting this post branded as "baal-ki-khaal", let me share something that I found while exploring google maps yesterday.

From my place in Mulund East, I could have taken not one, not two, but four different routes to Jawhar.

The even more interesting thing is that, the travel distance varies significantly by the 4 routes.
Route 1: Mulund East -> Khanvel -> Jawhar = 185 kms
Route 2: Mulund East -> Charoti -> Jawhar = 147 kms
Route 3: Mulund East -> Manor -> Vikramgad -> Jawhar = 128 kms
Route 4: Mulund East -> Bhiwandi -> Wada -> Jawhar = 104 kms

Here's a map showing the 4 routes.


Desmosedici seems to have taken Route-4 and Route-2.
Looks like I took Route-1 while going to Dabhosa-Jawhar and took Route-3 while coming back.
Will explore remaining routes during next trip.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by SDP

Route 1: Mulund East -> Khanvel -> Jawhar = 185 kms
Route 2: Mulund East -> Charoti -> Jawhar = 147 kms
Route 3: Mulund East -> Manor -> Vikramgad -> Jawhar = 128 kms
Route 4: Mulund East -> Bhiwandi -> Wada -> Jawhar = 104 kms

Sanjay/Rohit/Raj/others,

Amongst the 4 routes which route has got the best roads and worst roads? Can you rank them please? Although route no 3 & 4 are the smallest, do they have good roads or route no 1 or 2 still preferable. Looking at the craters in the route taken by Sanjay I feel the other roads might have taken the almost similar hit.

[Desmosedici]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Sanjay/Rohit/Raj/others,

Amongst the 4 routes which route has got the best roads and worst roads? Can you rank them please? Although route no 3 & 4 are the smallest, do they have good roads or route no 1 or 2 still preferable. Looking at the craters in the route taken by Sanjay I feel the other roads might have taken the almost similar hit.

Girish Bhai,

Bhiwandi Road is just out of the equation. Too much traffic, plus even after your cross the Bhiwandi area, the Wada roads are also bad. Lots of potholes, you will accelerate, go to 3rd gear and brake as there are potholes. This goes on. I had gone in a M800 and trust me, the car took a lot of hits plus you dont have any major garages on the way.

The Kasa / Charoti Route is scenic plus excellent. Take Ghodbunder Road to touch Mum Ahm Highway. Dont take Manor exit. Drive further up and take the Kasa / Charoti right turn. From there on you will find only very few bad patches. The entire 39Kms is silky smooth tarmac. This will take you to Jawhar. I enjoyed driving on this road while coming back. Very less traffic so pretty relaxing.

Are you going for overnight stay or a day trip. Please note that after you take the Kasa / Charoti right turn, you will hardly find any shops / hotels and just a few sleepy villages so make sure you take your food breaks while on Mum Ahm Highway.

P.S. - Even on Route 3 mentioned by SDP, the Vikramgadh Jawhar road is not so great. I went via Bhiwandi - Wada - Vikramgadh - Jawhar.

[ghodlur]

Raj,
Thanks for the tip. My BIL (a guest at BHP forum) who will be visiting this weekend had requested me to make the trip after seeing Sanjay's & Rohit's travelogue pics. So planning to go on either Friday or Saturday. Had tried to get the information about the NH222 condition to Malshej, but got no response on the contact nos I had. Hence the Dabhosa option.

[Dodge_Viper]

Thanks Raj and SDP for the excellent route details. Looks like now I have to visit this.

The last I tried to visit Jawhar was during Daman trip. It was not at all on my agenda, but suddenly it came to our mind while returning back. Since we had time we decided to visit Jawhar. I had heard about these falls, but had no idea about the location.

We tried to search but landed up in god-knows-which place. At one place some villagers told us to take one route. After a while the route ended abruptly and dirt track started. Though wide enough for a car, but def not suitable for Honda City. Had a horrifying experience, somehow we found a spot big enough for a u turn. Parked our car and started walking. No sign of any waterfall, just one lake kind of thing.
That was the only time when I was lazy to do a run time googling. Heck, I didn't even see the map .

[SDP]

Part 3: Shilonda Trail on 27th June 2013

Shilonda is a trail in the Sanjay Gandhi National park in Mumbai. A nature walk event was organized on 27th June by my organization's ecology club. My friend and fellow Team-BHPian Jignesh also participated.

Here's a link to his excellent coverage of the nature-walk:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/travel...-borivali.html

I will try not to repeat what Jignesh's thread has already shared.

We were supposed to meet at the SGNP gate at 7:30am.
I reached just before 7:15am and stopped under the bridge rather than causing a traffic mess in front of the closed gates.


The gates do open sharp at 7:30am. Got in and parked.


The group assembled. Headcount was taken. Red ribbons and snack-packets were distributed.


People with vehicles needed to take a vehicle entry ticket on their own. 110Rs, if I remember correctly.
We drove inside and found the designated parking area.


It was muddy and vehicles were parked hapazardly. Some cars were even double-parked, effectively blocking the car on the inside. So I parked a little bit farther.


Almost 8:15am. Time to walk.


A muddy rivulet clicked from a bridge.


Green colored vehicles belonging to the park.


It has rained fantastically well this season. So was surprised to see partially dry streams.


Its a 20-25 minute walk.






A monkey eating garbage :(


Finally we reach a place where there is a gate. Seem like this is the way to the caves inside the park as well.


The entry point to the trail is still ahead.


Finally 8:45am: We reached a spot where there is a small gate which marked the entry to Shilonda Trail.

A few boards with information.






This was the gentleman who gave us lots of pieces of information during rhe trail. Good, knowledgeable guy!


While he started his opening remarks, a friend pointed me to a bug nearby.


After clicking a few good snaps of the bug, I was sure that its going to be a good day today.

[SDP]

Just on the next plant, we spotted a huge spider as well.


The nature-expert pointed to the tree under which we were standing and brought the unique shape and pattern of the fruits to our attention. Apparently these are called as the soccer fruit.


Interesting trivia about the soccer fruit: The fruit when eaten induces vomitting. The wildlife knows this. So if a bird or a monkey etc is not feeling well due to trouble with digesting something that they might have eaten, they eat this fruit and get the bad stuff out of their system. Pretty amazing, isn't it?

The instructions said - wear covered shoes. I missed that instruction and was wearing sandals. Less than two minutes in the trail, I realized that wearing sandals was possibly better.


You must have heard about touch-me-nots. They close their leaves when you touch them. These are a different variety called as 'press-me-not'. They are sensitive to pressure and not touch!




We used to stop every few feet. The guide used to share some interesting bits. We used to listen eagerly. Read the boards. Click photos. And then proceed only to stop after another 20 feet.








A snail.


A spider.


Apparently those green patches is nature's way of indicating that this is a zero-pollution zone.






Tiny beautiful mushrooms.


A crab


Green grasshopper!




Up close and personal.


Another crab looking at a us from a hole.

[laluks]

SDP,

I was laughing at the story of the soccer fruit .

In fact that fruit is called Noni, and the tree is called the tree of life. This tree bears fruit all year round. The fruit definitely have a very distinct and unpleasant smell. This smell induces vomiting sensation and hence the nick name vomit fruit also

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

This fellow grows along the rivers all through out Kerala. The fruit is non palatable due to its pungent smell and bland taste, but fermenting it to make noni juice would be a good idea, if you have the time and inclination to do all that.

I have one tree at home for experimentation