[ruzbehxyz]

This travelogue is not a multi-day travelogue of one trip, but a series of travelogues of one day trips around Mumbai / Pune, in the monsoons of 2018. Please excuse the quality of the photos as most of them are taken from cell phones and are not edited.


1) 17th June: Navi Mumbai – Lonavala – Kanhe – Khandi - Lonavala – Navi Mumbai.

The first drive of the monsoon. The waterfalls had not started but there was greenery all around. We started from Navi Mumbai quite late around 10am. Drove till Kanhe phata on old MP highway and then took a left, crossed the railway line and onto the village roads. The road leads to Andhra lake also called Thokarwadi lake. This lake supplies water to Bhivpuri Tata power house, located at the base of the ghats.
We kept driving onto the road towards Khandi village. The narrow road from Kanhe to Khandi is dotted with numerous waterfalls, but they had not started yet.
After a few kilometeres, on the left we saw Mohite farms, a small guesthouse / hotel. To the right a dirt track led towards the lake, near some construction (like a small resort). You can park your car here, which is about 100 feet above the lake and have a splendid view of the lake and countryside. As we reached the edge, it started drizzling. What a splendid site! Have marked the sight on google maps. Please note the trail towards the edge can get slushy in the monsoons. From here we returned for lunch at Sheetal da dhaba on the old highway and then returned home.







Mountain view


Mohite farms


Overlooking Andhra lake


Overlooking Andhra lake


Overlooking Andhra lake


Overlooking Andhra lake


Under construction resort

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2) 23rd June: Navi Mumbai – Lonavala – Kamshet – Slops of Hell – Kale Colony – Pawna dam – Javan – Paud – Mulshi – Tamhini – Independence point (Kundalika valley) – Bhamburde – Amby valley – Lonavala – Navi Mumbai.

Was waiting for my Endeavour group to plan an OTR trip but it was not happening due to various reasons. So finally decided to visit Slop of Hell in Kamshet. Although not advisable to go off-roading alone (one SUV) especially with children, I decided to go upto where I could and then return. We also coupled this drive with a long one day drive as per route mentioned above. We took the road to the slops of hell from Kamshet. It was just drizzling so we were lucky as the trail could get very slushy. The climb from the bottom to the opening was fun. From here on the route goes through a small trail which is wide enough for trekking and not a car theoretically. Walked up the trail a bit and decided to go ahead. After about halfway we saw a small fallen tree right in the middle. Tried to lift it but could not, so had to abandon the plan to go ahead. Now there was no space to turn, so had to reverse through the bushes. This was the toughest part. Although there is a rear camera it wasn't much of use. Managed to have many small scratches on the sides, with my wife looking at me in anger
Finally returned back and drove towards Pawna lake. Crossed Pawna lake, Mulshi and onto Independence point /Kundalika valley. This point is a hidden gem and a must visit. The photographs speak for themselves. From here drove straight down towards Amby valley, Lonavala and back home.

Thread reference for Slops of Hell: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-e...opes-hell.html (Fortuners in search of Heaven through the "Slopes of Hell" !)







View enroute


At the upper plateau


At the upper plateau


Enroute


Enroute


With family


Accessing some stuff


While returning


Junction of Tamhini ghat & road to Lonavala


Fog enroute


At Independence point


At Independence point


At Independence point


While returning towards Lonavala


While returning towards Lonavala

[ruzbehxyz]

3) 28th June: Off-roading near Pen.

This was a private event organized by one of our friends in the Endeavour group. We were also accompanied by Dr. Tejas Kothari (Distinguished Bhpian) whose presence and advise was very helpful. Another experienced off-roader with his Pajero was Mr. Amol Sethi. Please see the photographs.

























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4) 01st July: Navi Mumbai – Old MP highway – Khopoli – Dolavli – Palasdhari – ND Studio - Chowk – Navi Mumbai.

After searching on google maps, I found a narrow trail which leads to the top of the ghats from where you can see the Karjat-Khandala ghat line. Again there was only one SUV, so had to abandon the approach as was travelling with kids. The return journey was fun, through Khopoli-Karjat road, Palasdhari and Chouk.


Enroute to Bhor ghat from Dolavli


While returning


View of via-duct on the Bhor Ghat made by British, still standing good.


View of via-duct on the Bhor Ghat made by British, still standing good.


Farming


Dirty MRF Wanderer


Dolavli railway crossing on the Karjat-Khopoli route of CR.


Irshalgad fort as seen from Morbhe dam


View of Panvel-Karjat railway line near Morbhe (Sholay style)


ND studio

[ruzbehxyz]

5) 11th Aug: Navi Mumbai – Old MP highway – Chowk – Morbhe dam – Sondewadi – Ambewadi -Tadwadi - Nimbarwadi - Burujwadi - Shri Baapdev temple - Chowk - Navi Mumbai.

This small one day drip was towards Morbhe dam near the southern base of Matheran. All these villages mentioned have a trek route to the southern part of Matheran near One tree hill point (If you recollect your last visit to Matheran). Surprisingly there were newly laid roads to all the wadis (hamlets with very few houses)

Morbe Dam is a gravity dam on the Dhavari river. The Morbe lake is the main water source for the city of Navi Mumbai. It was built by the Water Supply and Sanitation Department of the Government of Maharashtra in 1999 to supply drinking water to the Navi Mumbai and Nhava Sheva regions.

Sonewadi village is the base of a relatively small fort called Sondai.
Sondai fort: http://trekshitiz.com/trekshitiz/Ei/...k-S-Alpha.html

For details of treks to Matheran please buy and read Matheran – A mountaineering manual available on Amazon. This is a must read for trekkers.


















Shri Baapdev mandir








My daughter



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6) 02nd Sep: Navi Mumbai – Lonavala – Kanhe – Falne – Kivale - Malegaon - Khandi point – Laalwadi - Kanhe - Lonavala – Navi Mumbai.

This was a longish one day trip. From Kanhe phata (as mentioned above) we took the northern route of Andhra lake. First stop was Kivale waterfall. The entire area was foggy. We could see the beautiful site of windmills above the ghats. Drove next to Khandi Point, which is a wide open point from where you can see the base of the ghats near Bhivpuri. From here we headed to Laalwadi waterfalls and had lunch at a local hut. The charges are Rs. 150 per Veg. thali and is unlimited. The food is traditional Maharashtrian food. After having a wonderful lunch we visited some more roadside waterfalls and then returned home. The road has three main waterfall although there are many more, but the trek route is quite slippery. Due to lack of time and small kids we did not visit all the falls.

For a detailed review of tbe waterfalls in the area, please read this link:
https://www.onacheaptrip.com/bendewa...ap-waterfalls/




Trek route towards Kivale falls


View of windmills on top of the ghats


With my son


View of windmills on top of the ghats






At Khandi Point




Lunch at local hut near Laalwadi falls


Lunch at local hut near Laalwadi falls


Lunch at local hut near Laalwadi falls


Lunch at local hut near Laalwadi falls


With my son


Enroute


Railway crossing at Kanhe on Lonavala - Pune section of CR.

This ends the series of travelogues.

[GTO]

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

[vb-saan]

Thanks for sharing! Brought back the memories my visit to Pune last year. We did a drive to Mulshi in the rains and once we passed through the city traffic it was just magical.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thanks for sharing! Brought back the memories my visit to Pune last year. We did a drive to Mulshi in the rains and once we passed through the city traffic it was just magical.

Thanks for appreciating my post. The area of Mulshi is a gem. The monsoons bring greenery all around, but this particular area is enjoyable in the dry season as well.

Since Khandala - Lonavala is saturated and quite expensive, people are heading East towards Kamshet / Kanhe and South towards Mulshi / Pawna.

The only sad and dissappointing part is, whenever I visit these areas there is some or the other construction going on in the form of resorts or bungalow plots / schemes. This in turn adds litter all around and no one is bothered.
There are bungalows at exotic locations facing various lakes and I sometimes wonder how did they get permission to build these bungalows.

[VivOverland]

Originally Posted by ruzbehxyz

[b]This travelogue is not a multi-day travelogue of one trip, but a series of travelogues of one day trips around Mumbai / Pune, in the monsoons of 2018.

Excellent shares and we seem to have common interests, albeit rather different cars with which to tackle them! That's us when rambling around the countryside...



I'd be interested to know the coordinates to the Bhor trail you mentioned; if possible?

Thanks again, and hoping to hear of some more discoveries in and around Mumbai.

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by VivOverland

I'd be interested to know the coordinates to the Bhor trail you mentioned; if possible?

The co-ordinates:
18.844646,73.359982

I have not completed this trail. If you ever happen to so this trail then please post your experience for others. I am pretty sure this can be easily done in a two wheeler but not sure about a four wheeler.

[rajarams]

I hope you went to the waterfalls behind the house where you had food. That is part of my monsoon itinerary every yr. I started going there 4 yrs ago. Then, it was pretty much isolated. Nowadays, the "Khandi waterfall" route is very crowded, to the extent that cops are deployed on weekends. Also mainly because of the private "steps" waterfall on the route.

[ruzbehxyz]

I guess you are referring to the Laalwadi waterfalls. I had been been here earlier and not on this particular trip as my kids are pretty small.

[ruzbehxyz]

As a continuation from the first post, a one day off road event for Ford Endeavour owners was organized at a private farm located at Bhivpuri near Karjat.
Thanks to Mr. Sachin for helping us and provide food on the wonderful trip.

Date of event: Sunday, 06th Sept. 2020.
Participants: 16 Endeavours and 3 jeeps + 1 ATV from Grizzly, Pune.

A short video that sums it up.

https://youtu.be/0k9nBO8_1Iw

Video by: Sujeet Acharya (Loose Gravel chanel on YouTube).
Organizers: Ajay Punjabi and Suhail Mukadam.
Arial clips by: Karamveer Singh.
Supported by: Grizzly, Pune (Link: https://www.facebook.com/GRIZZLY-MOT...5419417344928/

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https://youtu.be/UtKOoU2VjjQ

Drone footage by Karamveer Singh.

[naren_gs1]

I did Pune Saswad Panwadi Kaldhari Veer-Dam Saswad Pune loop couple of weeks back.

Had carried a big flask of tea and food. Roads are ok - you will have to drive slow at some spots. Sparse traffic on roads - however didn't feel any issue.

No tourist at all - it being a weekday - every place it were only 3 of us in family! One of the best experience around Pune - not only because of traffic and crowd condition - but also this circuit offered a different terrain/view every 10 kilometers!!

[ruzbehxyz]

Originally Posted by naren_gs1

I did Pune Saswad Panwadi Kaldhari Veer-Dam Saswad Pune loop couple of weeks back.

Thanks for sharing.
I will try this circuit some time.
I am actually planning to stay at Fort Jadhavgad hotel sometime in the future. So will try the circuit then probably.

Link: https://www.orchidhotel.com/m/fort-jadhavgadh/

[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.

[adi.mariner]

Went to the Begdewadi Waterfall today. It's a 1 hour drive from Pune on the old Mumbai - Pune Highway near the Talegaon Ordinance Depot. Excellent weather for travelling.