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Old 9th October 2017, 20:48   #1
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Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Prologue

Monsoon brings new life to nature and living beings. And riding to Maharashtra during monsoon is a different heavenly experience altogether. Riding through the greenery, lush enormous hills, numerous waterfalls, mild fog and misty weather is just so breathtaking. One just can’t get bored of Maharashtra during monsoon, as Mother Nature has so much in-store for us to relish and enjoy. And a true nature lover would definitely appreciate this beautiful paradise. Our last year Maha ride was a great one and both Atul and I couldn’t stop reminiscing the moments spent during the ride. The urge to visit this grandeur state once again was itching us and both of us unanimously agreed to do a quick run to Maha. Though we were a bit late in planning the ride (last year we did our trip during the month of July and monsoon was at its peak), yet some of our friends’ pictures of recent Maharashtra trip showed that the greenery is still very much prevailing.

This time around we decided to base ourselves at Mahabaleshwar and planned our trip for the long weekend - Dussehra and Gandhi Jayanti holidays. Staying at Mahabaleshwar was a bad idea we got to know only when we reached there, the town was flooded with tourists as it is the peak tourist time and on top of it, the long weekend. Nonetheless, most of the hotels and resorts were completely booked and finding a stay was getting difficult. Somehow, we got hold of a room in Gurukrupa Niwas, a Maharashtra Tourism approved bed and breakfast budget hotel. The reviews looked good and the location was some 5kms away from the actual Mahabaleshwar town. Booked the room in advance and then started the wait for the ride day. Atul roughly prepared a day-wise itinerary for the entire trip as it would help us plan our ride accordingly.

Some quick bytes from the ride:

Bike: Kawasaki Versys 650
Rider: Atul and I (pillion)
Dates: 29th and 30th Sept, 1st and 2nd Oct
Route taken: BTM > Tumkur > Davangere > Hubballi > Belagavi > Kolhapur > Satara > Mahabaleshwar > Satara > Kolhapur > Belagavi > Hubballi > Davangere > Tumkur > BTM
Distance covered: 2020kms
Total expenditure (for two people): Rs 6400 approx. on petrol, Rs 3200 for food and other miscellaneous things, Rs 2400 for hotel booking for three nights
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Old 10th October 2017, 21:23   #2
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re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Day 1

We started our ride today super late. Previous evening, I had to attend a farewell party of one of my colleague and somehow got too late while returning home. I was in no state to get up early and go for the ride. Atul, but obvious, was super furious with me and decided to cancel the trip. I convinced him to give me some couple of hours to sleep and I will be all ready for the ride. Luckily I managed to pack up for the ride during the weekday and by the time I got up it was around 8am, Atul already arranged everything into the saddle bags and made the tank and tail bags ready with the stuff. I felt really guilty for not being responsible and assured Atul that we can reach Mahabaleshwar before midnight if we ride with lesser breaks in between. Even though he was still angry with me and wasn’t confident of when we would reach our destination, he loaded the bike with the bags and I in the meantime got ready and geared up. Today being a holiday, I was sure that we would encounter lesser traffic on our way. 9am and we started our ride. And to our surprise, it looked like all Bangaloreans were out on the road, heading to some out station or the other. Took lot of time to cross Bannerghatta road and enter Nice Road, did a quick petrol and checked air pressure in between at the Shell petrol bunk. Paid toll of Rs 48 and headed towards Tumkur Road.

Even Nice road was heavy on traffic with many cars exiting the city and too many trucks plying. Somehow we reached the Tumkur road exit and there started a long queue on the toll road. Traffic was on a standstill and all bikes were returning from the opposite side, on inquiry we got to know that the flyover just after the toll gate was completely jam-packed and there was no place even for bikes to cruise through. We took a U-turn and decided to take the service road until Nelamangala, even this lane had too many vehicles. Through the hustle bustle we exited the city and headed towards Tumkur. Rest of the ride was battling through cars, trucks, massive cross-winds and a water drinking break. Thankfully the weather was normal with no rain, no sun, just rain clouds here and there above us. I was praying for no rain at all. On our way we met some other biking groups as well, a Ninja1000, Honda CBR650, Speed Triple, some RE folks and a ‘high revving super-fast’ R15. By 12 noon we reached Chitradurga and continued our ride.

The cross-wind today was heavy and this made our ride a bit uncomfortable, thankfully a heavy bike along with the bags kept us stable. Around 1:30pm we were some 310kms away from home, stopped by at our regular ‘fake benne dosa restaurant’ for lunch (fake because they claim to serve authentic Davangere benne dosa but they are nowhere close to being authentic, yet both Atul and I love the taste of the dosas), I was dying of hunger and couldn’t go an inch further. Ordered masala benne dosa and tea. Just as we sat it started to pour heavily like all hell broke down. By the time rain subsided we ate our food and put on our rain gears. Mild drizzles and we started our ride, with a quick petrol break at a HP station on the way. I did click some quick mobile pictures as well.

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From now on rain clouds were playing hide and seek with us and we experienced mild drizzle at places. With rain gear on we just decided to keep riding and cover maximum distance possible. By 4pm we crossed Hubballi and entered famous the two lane highway to reach Belgaum/Belagavi. Here we got caught in a major rain outburst and cross-winds were still playing the spoil-sport. In and out from rain, rain gear getting wet and dried, we crossed Karnataka border at around 6pm. From here on, though the weather was still gloomy, but rain was something which was off the record. With clocking as many distances in our ODO, we stopped by at a local highway dhaba after crossing Kolhapur, for early dinner. Ordered tandoori rotis, chicken curry, omelet, dal fry and some tea. We wanted to make this break as short as possible but the cook of the dhaba took nearly 40mins to prepare the food. In a hurry, we finished our food and gulped down the tea. 7:30pm with 170kms more to go, we put on our gears including the rain gears and headed for Satara. After a while we took our last petrol break for the day to keep on going non-stop to Mahabaleshwar.

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Traffic on this section of the highway, just before reaching Satara, is always maddening with so many diversions, trucks and cars plying to Pune and Mumbai. Thankfully, some of the under-construction bridges and flyovers we saw last time, were operational. No rain to slow us down, we reached Satara town by 9:30pm and took the diversion towards Mahabaleshwar. As we started riding up the climate started to change with cool breeze and mild fog flowing down from trees to the road. The evening panoramic view of Wai and nearby towns from the top is amazingly beautiful. However, the road leading to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar has deteriorated much from our visit last year, too many potholes, patches and bumps with extremely low street lights. Visibility wasn’t good enough so we had to ride carefully and avoid going into any huge pothole. A bit of Google search and we reached our hotel, Gurukrupa Niwas at around 10:30pm. The ambiance of the hotel surrounding doesn’t look very great but the rooms are quite cozy and well maintained. Most importantly Hulk could be parked safely in the main parking area (not many cars can be accommodated in the parking lot though).

After completing the hotel formalities and taking our luggage, we got into our room. The hotel was already filled with people who came to stay over for the long weekend from various parts of Maharashtra. Both of us were happy that we made it before midnight. Arranged our stuff, got freshened up and decided to quickly hit the sack. It was 11:45pm and we both went to sleep.

(We couldn't take many pictures today as we had to reach Mahabaleshwar as soon as possible and moreover, with such heavy rains on the way I didn't want to risk with cameras not working due to water leakage)

Last edited by nandita_bayan21 : 10th October 2017 at 21:26. Reason: Included the last paragraph
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Old 16th October 2017, 16:08   #3
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re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Day 2

Around 8am in the morning both of us got up as the harsh sunlight was falling directly into our room, which is so unlikely for a Mahabaleshwar morning. Got out to see that the sun is up with full force and a beautiful blue clear sky. Got freshened up and Atul got onto his task of seeing the route maps for the places we would visit today. We would be doing Pratapgarh fort to begin with and then followed by some of the viewpoints which we missed out seeing last year. Got ready, took stuff into our tank bag for the day and headed out. Decided not to have breakfast in the hotel as they take a hell lot of time to prepare and serve the food.

By 9:30am we left the hotel and the first thing we did was to find a decent place and have our breakfast. On our way towards Mahabaleshwar town, we stopped by at a restaurant and ordered food, misal pav, bread omelet, batata poha and tea. It didn’t take much time to get our food and it surely tasted yummy. After done eating we headed for Pratapgarh which was some 23kms away. As soon as we entered the Mahabaleshwar town, as expected, had to pay a city toll of Rs 30 per person which is valid for the next seven days. One can see the beautiful Veena Lake as soon as you enter Mahabaleshwar, flanked by lush greenery, blooming flowers and sparkling clear water. It is a major tourist attraction in the town and offers some fun activities like boating inside the lake, horse riding outside the periphery, etc. Too many people had already reached the place and were enjoying the view.

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As soon as we exited the Mahabaleshwar town limits the roads started getting full of gravel, bumpy and too many potholes. May be because of too much rainfall this year, the tarmac started to loosen out and the roads had deteriorated quite a bit. As we crossed through the road, from a distance we could see the tip of the fort with a fluttering orange Maratha flag, the grandeur of the fort looked magnificent as if it is standing tall amidst all storms. Reached Pratapgarh fort entrance and started the climb up to the fort’s gate. Bikes can go up a bit higher compared to cars, who need to stop a few meters before the fort gate in the designated parking lot. Though there isn’t much space for parking, we somehow squeezed Hulk in a safe place, it was already attracting too many people and they wanted to take pictures with it. Reluctant and worried, we started to walk towards the fort. The surrounding wasn’t at the peak of its greenery but the landscape wasn’t bad either. Green was still prevailing through the fort walls and adjacent mountains.

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Pratapgarh Fort, also known as ‘Valor Fort’, is a significant site in the battle of Pratapgarh. The fort was constructed to defend the banks of Nira and Konya rivers, and an adjacent pass. The fort is divided into two parts – upper part, built upon the crest of the hill and the lower one, in a wider area consisting of defending towers and high rising bastions. Within the fort, there is a Bhavani temple as well along with many shops and small eateries. The fort area is widely spread and surrounded by mountain ranges and gives a splendid panoramic view. Though it was sunny we could see small chucks of clouds and fog hovering over the mountain tips. We spent some time exploring the fort, clicking pictures, drinking cold fresh masala chaas and enjoying the view. But it started getting too hot as the sun became too harsh. This is when we decided to descend down and head towards the parking. Pratapgarh Fort will definitely be one of the finest fort I have seen in my life.

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While we were returning back, came across this beautiful green meadow with a beautiful flowing water stream. Decided to take Hulk down through the trails and do some photo shoot. This place was extremely green, calm and scenic. Spent some time here, it was already 1:30pm and we had some more viewpoints to go check out, our first stop was Elphinstone point followed by the adjacent ones, the area was some 25kms away. Once again riding through the same bad bumpy roads, we entered Mahabaleshwar town and headed towards the viewpoint.

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As soon as we entered the town, like a magic the entire atmosphere changed, the sun disappeared and a thick layer of fog engulfed the surroundings. This was more like the Mahabaleshwar we knew, finally. But then when we parked the bike and entered the viewpoint all that we could see was the white blanket of fog. Not a single thing was visible and our coming here just became useless. Apparently, Elphinstone viewpoint is one of the highest views of the town and this one stands out with some of the widest and beautiful lookouts. There was no point wasting time here and waiting for the fog to clear as it was not happening anytime soon. On our climb back through the stairs, there were many small shops run by locals, selling hot maggi, corn, lime juice, masala chaas and other edibles. We stopped by at one such place and ordered one plate of maggi and some lime juice. The maggi was wood-fire cooked and tasted heavenly. We gobbled up our maggi in lesser than 2 minutes, cold foggy weather and piping hot maggi – best combination on earth.

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Also, by now, the place started getting too crowded with the tourists and both of us dislike the fact of getting surrounded by a large crowd gathering. We humans can be so insensible at times by spoiling the beautiful nature with our misdeeds, throwing plastic bottles, alcohol bottles, packets, waste foods, spitting around and what not. Why are educated people so ignorant about the fact that dustbins are installed in all places and they can be used? Not sure how long Mother Nature is going to tolerate and give up on us one day.

Anyway, Atul and I agreed that due to fog, all viewpoints will give us the same view so let’s not waste our time for all the other adjacent points. We skipped all of them and decided to head towards the famous Kates Point around 3:30pm, which was some 10kms away. But the road leading to the point was extremely bad, actually there was no road at all, gravels, potholes filled with muddy water and no tarmac. I guess that was the shortest route which Google provided us and we once again fell trapped by blindly following. Nonetheless, when we reached the viewpoint it was already filled with hundreds of people. But since this is something which I didn’t want to miss seeing at all, we moved ahead. Parked the bike in a safe ‘unspotable’ location and headed for the viewpoint.

Kates point or Elephant’s Head Point as it is commonly known, is undoubtedly one of the most picturesque viewpoint in Mahabaleshwar. A mountain cliff connected with a stone which looks more an elephant head or some even says looks like a needle head. Dhom dam along with some other mountain peaks can be seen from this point. The entire landscape is breathtaking and provides a great view of the valley down. The sunlight become a bit softer, we thoroughly enjoyed the view of this place, spent some quality time, clicked pictures and captured the frames with our eyes as well. Around 5pm we decided to head back to our hotel which was 8kms away.

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On our way, both of our stomach were growling due to hunger, so stopped by at a restaurant near to our hotel. Luckily they were still serving food, so ordered, tandoori rotis, dal fry, chicken curry, masala french fries and customary, tea. After this we headed for our room and reached by somewhere around 7:45pm. As soon as we stepped inside the hotel, it started to pour down heavily with massive lightning. A much respite from the otherwise tiring hot sweaty day. Both of us got freshened up and sat outside the room to enjoy the nature. After an hour the rain stopped and the smell of the earth was just mesmerizing. Atul and I decided to step out from our room and talk a stroll around. While we walked we came across this restaurant serving variety of milkshakes, fruit juices, ice creams with strawberry as the base and other quick bites. Atul was craving for something sweet so he ordered a chocolate cream milkshake (both of us don’t like strawberries). However, the milkshake was too sweet and Atul literally had to gulp it down forcefully to finish it (he doesn’t like wasting food).

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By 10pm we started our walk back home, already tired, both of decided to hit the bed. Goodnight time!
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Old 16th October 2017, 17:53   #4
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re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Some more pics from Day 2

When we were at the Pratapgarh Fort

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A waterfall on our way to Mahabaleshwar

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When we were enjoying the nature at the green meadows near Pratapgarh

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These thieves stole a food box from a lady's hand

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Some more views from the Kates Point

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Old 17th October 2017, 22:08   #5
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re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Day 3

With the sunlight piercing through our window, making our sleep uncomfortable, we both woke up by 7:45am today. The major place we wanted to visit today was Raigad Fort, around 88kms away from the hotel. And on our way, I requested Atul if we could see the Monkey Point for which he readily agreed. I was amused by the pictures of this viewpoint, where one can see natural sculptures of the stones which looks like three monkeys sitting beside each other.

The hotel provided us free Wi-Fi but in order to access we had to come out to the balcony and try our luck. While Atul was getting ready, I tried catching onto some of Facebook and WhatsApp. It was my turn to get ready and Atul meanwhile downloaded all the required route maps and important details for the trip. We packed our tank bag for the day and around 8:45am we headed out from the room. For some reason both of us weren’t hungry so we agreed on to have a late breakfast.

From hotel we went straight towards the Monkey Point, some 12kms away. The roads weren’t that great to ride but the view on both sides of the road was just beautiful, long ranging mountains, green lush trees and bushes, small flowing waterfalls and curvy roads. Once we reached the spot, it wasn’t really a viewpoint types but rather a small board mentioning people that from this is where the monkey stones can be seen. We parked our bike, took out the cameras to click some pictures and then both of trying our best to figure out where exactly the stones were. Took us a hell lot of time, but no, just couldn’t figure out. The entire hills, stones, rocks and valley were covered with a green carpet of grass and bushes that figuring out the sculpture was too difficult. I clicked some random pictures of the landscape and decided to head for Raigad. Just when we were about to leave, a cab guy stopped and pointed towards something and his passengers started nodding their head. We waited out for them to leave (didn’t want us to look like fools of not being able to figure out the obvious) and then headed towards the spot from where he pointed. Nah! Nothing again. Atul could somehow figure our three stones, he showed them to me, not convinced I fooled myself that ok, those are the ‘Three Monkeys’.

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At around 10am, from here our ride to Raigad began, we needed to reach Mahad via Poladpur and then take diversion towards Raigad. Roads were not in good condition at all due to excessive rain fall during the monsoon, hence it took us a lot of time to cover distances. Just when we thought the road would get better, it turned out to be even more bumpy and full of potholes. The only thing constant however, was the beautiful scenery all along our way. The landscape was just mesmerizing and the greenery at its peak. Mother Nature was too beautiful and we wouldn’t complain much about the roads when the view was such heavenly. On our way, we stopped by at a restaurant for quick breakfast, ordered puri sabji, misal pav, kandha poha and tea. Food was eaten in just some 20mins and after a total break of 30 mins we were again back on the road.

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Around 12:30pm we reached Mahad town, took a quick petrol break before taking our diversion for Raigad road from the Panvel-Kochi-Kanyakumari highway. One has to ride through the Raigad fort natural reserve section to reach the top of the fort, fairly better roads and beautiful country side scenery. Few hairpin bends and then we reached the forts main entry, there are apparently two entries, one via foot and another by the ropeway. 1pm and we reached the ticket counter for the ropeway. Got some water bottles, parked the bike, took our bag and headed for the counter.

From below one can view outer walls of this magnificent fort built by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to make his capital. Perched on the Sahyadri Mountains, this fort is an exquisite gem and is reminder of valor and glory of the Marathas. The fort is famously known as ‘Gibraltar of the East’ as this is well-fortified atop a hill and defied various attackers. This majestic fort can be accessed only from side through a pathway as the other sides are surrounded by deep valleys, only way of getting through the fort is the pathway or ropeway from the base.

Bad news was already awaiting our way. Due to heavy rush on that particular day, ropeway tickets were full till 3:30pm in the evening and for the return trip no tickets available, the only possible way to came back was through the stairs. Waiting till 3:30pm, then reaching the top, exploring the fort around, come down the stairs which would take some 90 mins and then returning back to Mahabaleshwar. All these definitely sounded too much time consuming and no way were we ready to do a night ride through those dense forest areas; traffic would also be really sparse. I was already angry and frustrated, badly wanted to see the Raigad fort which we missed out last year as well.

For a while, we did give a thought of walking up the stairs but that was too much of an effort and would definitely take a toll on both of us while returning. Atul tried convincing me that we can come once again next year, but I was already furious and my anger reached the highest peak. Though I knew it was a mistake of no one, yet I couldn’t digest the fact that after riding such a long way all I hear was we can’t see the fort. Not much that I would do, clicked some pictures from outside and agreed to head back around 2:15pm.

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Wanted to try and take a different route while returning and if time permits we planned to see the Dhom Dam on our way. The new route was via Bhor, the Varandha Ghat road, and added some extra 40-50kms to our route, trust me this was even worst compared to the one we took previously in the morning. The fact is there was no road at all, so many bumps, tarmac scrapped off completely, potholes, gravels and dust. I was extremely mad at Atul for taking this route as it was completely taking a toll on our back because of the extremely harsh roads. The only positive things to look for was the natural scenery of the mountain ranges all along the road, small river streams and waterfalls, curves of the road. Tired of riding on such terrible roads, we stopped by at a small local joint near a view point and had some water and lime juice. Even the heat was getting to us and the atmosphere turned out to be too sultry. Relaxed for some 20 mins and we started our ride again.

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After a while, the road started running along a large beautiful water body which seems like a big reservoir or dam. Later we got to know that it is the Nira Deoghar or Devghar Dam, an earth fill dam on Nira River near Bhor. I have never seen such a widely spread out dam (heard that Dhom dam is even bigger than this) with so much beauty around it. We took multiple stops on the way to enjoy and capture the nature around, monsoon season just getting over greenery was at its peak. If not for this dam, I’m sure Atul would have definitely got a piece of my mind for bringing me through such a horrible route.

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With sun about to set in an hour or so, we decided to start our ride and try to reach Mahabaleshwar as soon as possible. By 6:15pm we reached Bhor town and took diversion at the Bhor Mandhardevi road to reach Wai. The roads started to get slightly better and this helped us cover distance in lesser time. The evening sky was just so mesmerizing so we took some quick breaks and clicked some snaps.

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Via Wai we reached Panchgani and man the traffic we faced while entering the town, all Pune Mumbai vehicles returning back and forming a long train of back to back cars. By now both of us became extremely restless because of the long ride, extremely bad roads, hunger and tiredness. Somehow dragging ourselves a bit more we reached Mahabaleshwar town outskirts around 8pm. It was a unanimous decision to have dinner before reaching hotel room. Stopped by at a restaurant and ordered our dinner, chicken masala, dal fry, omelet and tandoori rotis. Serving didn’t take much time and as soon as we got the food in front of us, both of us hogged like food-deprived people.

45mins later we rode back to our hotel which was just 2-3kms away. The happiness of seeing our room was beyond words and the first thing we did was order two cup of hot tea (the dinner restaurant place didn’t have tea). Both of us got freshened up, sipped some tea, relaxed for a while and then nothing more to do, just sleep for the day. 10:30pm both of us started snoring to glory.
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Old 18th October 2017, 21:24   #6
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re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Day 4

By 7:30am both of us were up, today is the day we are heading home but before that we wanted to cover some places, if at all time permits. Quickly we got ready, freshened up, did our packing and loaded the bags on the bike. Atul finished all the remaining hotel formalities and we checked out by 8:15am. Our first pit stop for petrol happened before exiting the Mahabaleshwar town, tank full and also withdrew some cash for the journey. Even at this time, the town was hustling bustling with tourists from different parts of Maharashtra.

I guess it is customary to go to Harrison’s Folly if one is in Mahabaleshwar, and we didn’t want to miss it. Just 5kms from Panchgani via Wai Panchgani road, Harrison’s Folly is a beautiful windy location, looks more like a wide table top, providing a mesmerizing view of Panchgani on one side and Wai on the other. One can also see the widely spread out Dhom Dam from here. With rainy season just over, greenery at this place is at its peak and it seems like all the mountain ranges, valleys and lands are covered with a green blanket. The place at this time was almost empty with just few cars and bikes scattered around the spot. We spent some time here enjoying the beauty, clicking pictures of the landscape, of Hulk and reminiscing our moments spent here last year. Around 9:45am when the crowd started piling up, we decided to bid goodbye to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani and head towards Dhom Dam.

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Last year we missed out visiting the famous Dhom Dam and even yesterday due to lack of time we still couldn’t make it. From Harrison’s Folly, the dam was just 16kms away through some interior village road. The road was narrow yet manageable if you are on a two-wheeler. This road connected us directly to the Dhom Dam road. After riding a while, we could see the beautiful dam on our right side. At some places the dam water came so close to the road ``side yet we couldn’t find a proper spot to stop by and click some pictures, mostly the view would be blocked with high grown sugarcane crops, or marshy lands, farmhouses, etc. The dam is an earth fill and gravity dam on Krishna river, the major purposes to supply water for agriculture, for drinking and generating hydroelectricity.

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We circled around the periphery of the dam but didn’t find any place to park the bike. Finally, I took some zoom shots from the road itself as there was no point wasting our time looking for a place. From here our next destination was to visit the Kaas Plateau of flowers near Satara, total distance was around 68kms. Took the Wai Surur/Wai Satara Road to touch NH 48 and reach Satara town. Just before Satara town we stopped by at a road-side dhaba to have our breakfast around 11am. The place was just opened and had very limited food to serve, we ordered puri sabji, batata poha and some tea. Finished our food quickly and in some 30 mins started our journey again towards Satara town. This is a busy commercial town with most of the tourists’ spots within the close vicinity, surrounded by mountains on all sides. We navigated through the city using Google maps to reach the diversion for Kaas but damn, once again bad luck. Policemen stopped all vehicles going towards Kaas as there was a major landslide that has happened on the way and would take some time to clear the debris. They were not even letting any two wheelers to pass by. Once again disappointed and frustrated on having missed out to see one more place, we took a U-turn and headed back to Satara to join the national highway for Bangalore.

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By 12:15pm we were on the highway for our final return journey to Bangalore, 750 kms away. Though the sunlight wasn’t harsh but the weather was too sultry and humid, however, we tried crossing as much distance as possible. Getting dehydrated all the time, we for a while stopped by at a local shop for some cold drinks. We did gulp down vada pav as well, looks like the breakfast wasn’t enough to satiate our hunger completely. After this break we started our ride again, Atul kept riding constantly until we crossed Maharashtra and entered Karnataka border around 2:15pm.

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Thankfully Rain God was a bit kind on us and we didn’t experience rain till now. 4pm we reached Belgaum and it was time for us to take a second petrol break. A quick rest break, stretched ourselves for a while, and drank some water before we once again started riding. Crossed Hubballi, Dharwad and reached Davangere around 6:30pm. We decided to stop for an early dinner break so that we can keep on going non-stop with lesser breaks later. Came across a dhaba and ordered our food, tandoori roti, matar paneer, dal fry and omelet. As usual finished the food with tea. 7:45pm and we geared up again to head home, some 230kms away we were.

Till the time we reached Chitradurga, somewhere around 8:30pm, things were all going fine. But as soon as we crossed the town, the weather started deteriorating and the sky was covered with dark black rain clouds with lighting seen at a distance. It started with mild drizzles and both of us parked the bike at the nearest lay bye and wore our rain gears, put rain covers to all our bags. As soon as we reached Sira, it started raining heavily and visibility became too bleak. So many cars stopped towards the extreme left side of the highway as driving became too difficult and the entire highway got filled with water puddles. Even we wanted to stop but couldn’t find any shelter, hence decided to keep riding slowly and keep looking out for a place to stop. The rain kept falling on and off, sometime too harsh sometime drizzles. Luckily, we got a HP petrol station, decided to tank up and also rest for a while, for the rain to subside.

After some 15 mins the rain became mild and both of us agreed to continue the ride. Bad decision! As soon as we crossed the station and went a bit ahead, rain started heavily once again and we regretted the fact that we should have waited out a bit longer. With nothing much to do, we decided to keep going ahead slowly. Somehow braving the situation and riding slowly, we crossed Tumkur, and from here it was just mild drizzles. Each and every toll we crossed were jam-packed with vehicles and the one heavily packed was the last toll booth before entering city. We once again decided not to take the expressway and continue on the service lane to avoid huge pile up of traffic. By 12 midnight we were in the Nice road toll gate, took toll fare (Rs 48) and decided to take a 10 mins break. After this exited via Bannerghatta road and reached home around 12:30am, with ODO reading 2020kms.

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I personally felt that my last year Maharashtra trip was much better than this one, yet all trips are an experience in itself. With not being able to see Raigad Fort and Kaas plateau, something to take me back to this magnificent state once again. As people rightly say, Maharashtra can never fail a traveler!
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Old 19th October 2017, 09:14   #7
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Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

A true Diwali bonanza! Nicely done and dusted and the dish well served!

Last edited by GTO : 19th October 2017 at 09:14. Reason: Bump
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Old 19th October 2017, 09:24   #8
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Unfortunate that you couldn't visit Kaas plateau as the road caved in due to heavy showers in the area. There was an alternate road via Madha village but that is a dirt road and hardly used. Not for cars but you could have made it with your ride.

There is always a next time though. Cheers!
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Old 19th October 2017, 16:02   #9
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Great travelogue as always. Amazing pictures as well. Keep 'em coming !

I've a question though, doesn't riding pillion on that bike for prolonged time cause backache, especially on the lower back ? Or is there some technique to avoid that for long rides ?
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Old 19th October 2017, 17:46   #10
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Very lovely travelogue and a beautiful pictures. Happy Diwali.

One more question - During your entire journey, if you would have had a feature like "cruise control", would it help make your journey more enjoyable ?
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Old 19th October 2017, 20:53   #11
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Great travelogue! Thank you for sharing.

I'm going to take a lot of inputs from this for my December trip to Mahabaleshwar. Did you leave out the hotel details on purpose? Would you mind sharing it?
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Old 20th October 2017, 08:10   #12
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

It appears that the Bhor Varandha road surfaces are as poor as the views around are unmatched - I haven't been that side for while.

Perhaps the poor surfaces keep the views pristine by not encouraging too many littering tourists and if so, long may that state of affairs continue.
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Old 20th October 2017, 19:31   #13
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

Hey there blessed buddies. You guys literally pour down travelogues which are just awesome and the hulk becoming a cherry on top of every trip. Maharashtra is truly a bliss for eyes during monsoon. Make a hat trick by going back again to enjoy even more greenery. Cheers
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Old 22nd October 2017, 18:57   #14
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

As usual wonderful narration and a great choice to do this route on a bike like V650. Mahabaleshwar is a very special place, during and post monsoon is the best time to do that trail. Its sad you guys were stopped on the way to Kaas plateau. Please do loop in Malsej ghat as well on the next MH trip. Other than the NH48 route there is another way to get to Kas via but I guess even that would have been in a pretty bad shape or blocked. There is a MTDC resort at Kaas and it has a wonderful location. Sunset is remarkable from the resort premises.
Posting an old picture from our last MH trip.
Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650-day-2-9.jpg

Last edited by ARAY : 22nd October 2017 at 19:14.
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Old 23rd October 2017, 06:40   #15
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Re: Maharashtra Chapter 2.0 – With the Kawasaki Versys 650

A question though: why do you think that the same basic geography in MH is more interesting that the one in KA? I ask since I have done little travelling in KA, while KA/KL would allow you to spend less time on the extremely boring NH4, and more in the same Sahyadri range.
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