[humyum]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

Date: Saturday, 12th Sept. 2020.

We did a family one day trip to Malshej Ghat, Pimpalgaon Joga dam and Naneghat (by road). Unfortunately we could not visit Naneghat as the last 3 kms we blocked by local villagers due to Covid.

As a precaution, we carried all eatables and tea, and did not visit any local eatery.

Although it was not raining much, we got good views with clear skies. Ahead of Pimalgaon, we also visited Khireshwar village, which is the base village of Harishchandragad fort. This brought back memories of my trek to the mighty fort way back in 2003.

Enjoy the pics.

Hey, this sounds super interesting. Which is the route you took from Mumbai and how were the roads? I plan to go to Malsejh ghat and the areas you have posted in the pictures.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by humyum

Hey, this sounds super interesting. Which is the route you took from Mumbai and how were the roads? I plan to go to Malsejh ghat and the areas you have posted in the pictures.

Depending on where you start from Mumbai, you need to head to the Ahmednagar state highway from Kalyan. Malshej Ghat is roughly a 3.5 hours drive. Just follow googlemaps. There are view points all along the ghat. Exactly on the top of the road is MTDC resort on the left. About 3 kms from here is a narrow left turn to the Pimpalgaon lake. As you travel alongside the lake you reach Khireshwar village, which has ancient Nageshwar temple. Along the lake, you can have a nice family picnic.

In peak monsoons, the entire ghat is dotted with numerous waterfalls.
As I mentioned in my post Naneghat was closed.

Have a nice time, if you plan to visit.


Screenshot of the area.

[ruzbehxyz]

02nd Oct. 2020

This was a special one day off-road event organized by OffBeat Adventure Drives.
Courtesy: Ravi Nayar and Carmen Miranda Nayar.






What's special about this event?
This was a special event created using technology, wherein two 4x4 SUVs are paired in one team and there were four teams.

Each team starts from the start point on an offroad trail. They need to keep their phones on with a special App created for the event. As you pass by on the trail, the vehicle spots virtual Pokémons enroute using the phone’s GPS. Each Pokémon is captured and gives the users points. In addition around each Pokémon there is a question (on a paper) which needs to be answered. The clue lies around that Pokémon (not necessarily).


Pokemons on the phone App.


LIST OF CARS WITH TEAM MEMBERS

Team 1 : (First Team To Start).
Endeavour : Muslim Kapasi / Alifia / Sarrah / Lubaina.
Fortuner : Zak & Zarina.

Team 2 : (Second Team To Start).
Mercedes GLS : Adnan & Natasha.
Isuzu V Cross : Vikas & Kalpesh. (Has Recovery Gear).

Team 3 : (Third Team To Start).
Endeavour : Ruzbeh & Diana (Has Recovery Gear).
Endeavour : Bhargav & Janki.

Team 4 : (Final Team To Start).
Isuzu V Cross : Himanshu. (Has Recovery Gear).
Isuzu V Cross : Kiran & Dhanya.

Recovery Team :
Endeavour : Ravi Nayar & Kian.
Local Tractor.


Some photographs.
Courtesy: Offbeat Adventure Drives.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6zmN3MwsFVc

[VT-RNS]

Amazing thread! Thanks so much, BHPian ruzbehxyz !

With your beast, I guess all the roads are easy to conquer. Have an Endy in the extended family (2010-11 model), which would be a nice ride for the routes.

That said, what would be your advise (on routes) to someone with a smaller car (lower GC)? Examples could be Baleno, Polo, Ertiga.

I am back in India after many years and very keen to make do with some one-day drives in the region, since last year was a washout.

PS: Going to Igatpuri this weekend. Any recos in this area? I have previously been to Bhavli Dam/waterfall. Have some more friends, so that will be covered most likely (as we have little kids who might enjoy it).
Went to Bhandardara long time ago (15+ years), so not sure how is the road situation there.
Apart from this, might do the simple Tringalwadi Fort trek.

Any further suggestions are welcome

And yes, subscribed to the thread for future updates

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

Amazing thread! Thanks so much, BHPian ruzbehxyz !

Thanks.

Going to Igatpuri this weekend. Any recos in this area? I have previously been to Bhavli Dam/waterfall. Have some more friends, so that will be covered most likely (as we have little kids who might enjoy it).
Went to Bhandardara long time ago (15+ years), so not sure how is the road situation there.
Apart from this, might do the simple Tringalwadi Fort trek.

You can enjoy Bhavli dam and drive around. Nashik district is on an alert and trekking to forts may not be allowed.

The Tringalwadi fort is an easy trek from Tringalwadi village, about 1.5 hours. I suggest avoid the trek and just drive around.

[VT-RNS]

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

With your beast, I guess all the roads are easy to conquer. Have an Endy in the extended family (2010-11 model), which would be a nice ride for the routes.

That said, what would be your advise (on routes) to someone with a smaller car (lower GC)? Examples could be Baleno, Polo, Ertiga.

Thanks for the tips, BHPian ruzbehxyz

Could you also advise on the routes for Khandala/Lonavala & surrounding areas for a low GC car, given your experience (from all the trips you have recorded on this thread)?

Cheers!

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by VT-RNS

Thanks for the tips, BHPian ruzbehxyz

Could you also advise on the routes for Khandala/Lonavala & surrounding areas for a low GC car, given your experience (from all the trips you have recorded on this thread)?

Cheers!

Most of the places mentioned except where I have mentioned "Off roading" are doable by low GC cars. All these places have tarmac roads. However certain places you will have big pot holes, but is manageable.
In view of Covid, Khandala/Lonavala on weekends is a strict no-no because of various restrictions, number of tourists and traffic jams. You can visit on weekdays, if you have time.
You can check the areas around Karjat - Khopoli.

[sahil624]

Today it’s raining since morning in.Mumbai and Navi Mumbai and we wanted to go some place nice to enjoy the monsoon. We zeroed in on Padsare waterfall and boy oh boy what mesmerising route it was. We were just dumbstruck with the beauty around. The Pen Khopoli road was in pretty bad state but it gets better as we proceed, both scenery wise and road condition wise. I would definitely recommend going to this place not just for the waterfall but for the scenic route as well. Also, the fact that today being a working day, there was no one at the waterfall, made the trip much more beautiful.

https://youtu.be/CAQTZwEpqG0

[ruzbehxyz]

19-June-2021.

This was a small one day trip to an abandoned Aircraft, Kundan valley and Kalote lake on NH4 near Khopoli. Here is the extract from google maps about the route.




Details of the abandoned aircraft can be found here: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/comme...e-highway.html (Boeing 737 | Abandoned aircraft located off the old Bombay-Pune highway)


Some photos of the trip:

[vivek95]

Drove Mumbai to Malshej ghat on 20th July 2022. The road conditions are fabulous only exception being the initial 1-2 kms at the exit of Mumbai metropolis near Shahad which is under construction and is horrendous. Post that, its a nice smooth fast 2 lane highway NH61 Mumbai--Nanded , with neat lane markings, reflectors - typical old styled charm. Needless to say, Malshej was pure bliss. But a strong advise to not visit it during heavy rains because the entire region gets covered in thick fog. You may only enjoy the numerous waterfalls during heavy rains but won't get to see the beautiful valleys and hills. Better to spare a couple of hours and wait for the weather to get clear. Pointless to drive only in thick fog and come back. I had visited Malshej 3 times earlier, so didn't bother much. Had recently changed to Bridgestone B250 tyres on my Polo and the wet grip was superb, fantastic, awesome !!

[Maverick5490]

Originally Posted by vivek95

Drove Mumbai to Malshej ghat on 20th July 2022.

Do try the lunch at 'Saj by the Lake', very nice food. Also just before Saj, there is a small left that goes towards a dam road, has amazing views.

[Axe77]

What a fantastic treasure trove of trails and routes for us Mumbai (& surrounding) SUV owners. Thank you so much for chronicling these - would love to try them out whenever can.

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

02nd Oct. 2020

This was a special one day off-road event organized by OffBeat Adventure Drives.
Courtesy: Ravi Nayar and Carmen Miranda Nayar.

Recovery Team :
Endeavour : Ravi Nayar & Kian.
Local Tractor.

Ah! The SpongeBob SquarePants route.

They’re all lovely. Ravi, Carmen and Kian. I’ve done a couple of drives in that area with them including an overnighter and also done a longer 2 week drive with them in Bhutan. In rented manual 4x4s for the Bhutan drive.

Originally Posted by Maverick5490

Do try the lunch at 'Saj by the Lake', very nice food. Also just before Saj, there is a small left that goes towards a dam road, has amazing views.

We’ve gone there on the bikes a few times. On that dam route you mentioned followed by breakfast at Saj. Great recommendations, each of them.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by Axe77

What a fantastic treasure trove of trails and routes for us Mumbai (& surrounding) SUV owners. Thank you so much for chronicling these - would love to try them out whenever can.

Thanks for the appreciation. Unfortunately I will miss more than half of the monsoons this year being a sailor. Once I'm back, there are many more trails to visit. Will post again.