[atul.ktm]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Very nice pictures and writing; Western Maharashtra in the rains is paradise. A nice thing about living in Pune is that in just an hour one can be in the hills in the kind of atmosphere conveyed in the photos here.

June has been wetter than in 2016; hopefully there is no let up so I can do my annual pilgrimage into the hills in August!

We are heading to MH, again, in July end. Will be covering few more places which were missed last year!

[Sawyer]

Enjoy; though I would expect similar experiences in the Sahyadri range in Karnataka as well, that may allow you to reach them quicker from Bangalore. And it is all Konkan up to Mangalore, essentially. Having done it a few times, I find Bangalore Pune via NH4 to be very boring.

[atul.ktm]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Enjoy; though I would expect similar experiences in the Sahyadri range in Karnataka as well, that may allow you to reach them quicker from Bangalore. And it is all Konkan up to Mangalore, essentially. Having done it a few times, I find Bangalore Pune via NH4 to be very boring.

We have already finished most of Karnataka and Kerala Western Ghats, need to cover MH Sahyadri range one after the other. NH4 is indeed a very boring road, infact for that matter, all NH roads are boring for us bikers

[Sawyer]

MH Sahyadri runs up the western side of the state, flanked by NH4 on the plateau side and NH17 on the Konkan side, the Bombay Goa highway. 4 and 17 are connected by a number of interesting roads that incorporate ghats, along the entire length of the two national highways, that you can take your pick from. On the other side of NH17 as the hills are the state highways that connect the towns that are on the Arabian sea, all connected to NH17.

All are spectacular in the rains. If you haven't used it, Varandha ghat between Mahad on 17 and Bhor on 4 is very scenic, with an added bonus of Shivtharghal at the foothills on the Konkan side of the ghat. Just a few kilometres before reaching Shivthar, I remember another slice of heaven, with the river on the left, and the road leading into the hills, flanked on both sides by hills, like a U shaped formation you enter into. With countless waterfalls running down the sides all around you, mostly feeding the adjacent river.

Another interesting ghat I have to still check out is Tilari, crossing the range just north of Goa.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

All are spectacular in the rains. If you haven't used it, Varandha ghat between Mahad on 17 and Bhor on 4 is very scenic, with an added bonus of Shivtharghal at the foothills on the Konkan side of the ghat. Just a few kilometres before reaching Shivthar, I remember another slice of heaven, with the river on the left, and the road leading into the hills, flanked on both sides by hills, like a U shaped formation you enter into. With countless waterfalls running down the sides all around you, mostly feeding the adjacent river.

Very true . I am taking the liberty of sharing here some pics from my trip of Varandha Ghat & Shivthar Ghal that I did in Dec-2015 in my TUV3OO.

The Nira-Devghar dam from where the ghat road starts once you leave Bhor


The backwater of the dam keeps running parallel to the road for at least 30-40 kms


Another view of the serene backwater of the dam


The sharp descend with multiple hair-pins start from this point


A vertical shot of the same spot to cover the cliff


The short cut road to Shivthar Ghal, with very steep descend into the valley (only 6 kms otherwise take detour of 30 kms)


The naturally formed cave where the "Dasbodh' was written by Shree Samarth Ramdas Swami.


Very thick vegetation around the cave area

[Red Liner]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

The naturally formed cave where the "Dasbodh' was written by Shree Samarth Ramdas Swami.


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Wow. What was the route you took to reach these caves? Any hiking involved?

These are going into my maha itinerary as well! Atul, i will most likely be doing end july myself, hope we meet on the road!

[Sawyer]

Yes, and it all looks even better in the monsoon season. The way to get the most of the Shivtharghal detour is to use one road to go there and the other to come back to different points on the Mahad to Bhor road.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

Wow. What was the route you took to reach these caves? Any hiking involved?

These are going into my maha itinerary as well! Atul, i will most likely be doing end july myself, hope we meet on the road!

The road directly takes you to the footsteps of this cave, which is called Sundar Math, Shivthaghal. Many trekkers/ hikers get down in Varandha ghat itself and climb/ trek down the ghat, crossing the paddy fields and the Kaal river to reach Shivthar Ghal.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Yes, and it all looks even better in the monsoon season. The way to get the most of the Shivtharghal detour is to use one road to go there and the other to come back to different points on the Mahad to Bhor road.

The road (short cut of 6 kms), which I have shown above is very treacherous, but off-roading enthusiasts would love it. Else there is a plain road towards Mahad and a right towards Shivtharghal, which adds 30 more kms.

Courtesy BHPian mahesh_sn,

Looks like this in monsoon (heaven on earth?)


These are the ones that feed the waterfall pictured above.

[nandita_bayan21]

With so many beautiful pictures floating in, I think we should head out for MH soon. And, Maha ride during monsoon is always a bliss for heart, soul and eyes.

[atul.ktm]

Finally got time to edit and upload, this is of the 2nd day when we rode to Malshej Ghat. Please watch in full HD and share feedback

https://youtu.be/SrcG8wV52mU