[R-Six]

A completely random plan to ride was cooked up over a casual chat in office. One of my colleague and a fellow rider was up for it as soon as I floated the idea over a cup of coffee. And with nothing much on the cards for Diwali, we thought why not start the long holiday weekend with a short ride before we get busy with rest of the world celebrating Diwali and New Year!

We both wanted a short ride so that we can be back before afternoon. That way, we are not missing from home on a festive day for a long time. When we started the discussion, we had a couple of options in mind but later decided to head towards Polo forest. It would give us some option to ride through well-laid highways as well as some pleasing country roads.

Destination: Polo Forest, Abhapur, Vijaynagar, Gujarat

Distance: Approximately 160 KMs from Ahmedabad

Route Taken: From Thaltej, Ahmedabad, take the SG Highway and NH147 through Gandhinagar until you reach Chiloda Circle. From Chiloda Circle, take the NH48 to reach Himmatnagar. From Himmatnagar, take the Himatnagar - Idar State Highway (GJ SH 10). From Idar, follow NH76A to reach Polo Forest.

Directions on Google Maps: Link

Map:


Rides:
R-Six on his RE GT and his Friend on R15


Here is some background about the Polo Forest and the ancient architectures that welcomed us there. Tucked away in the North Western part of India, Polo forest is surrounded by mountains and offer some scenic views of the river Harnav, Harnav dam, and ancient temples from 15th century. It is also said to be an old pilgrimage place for the Jains.

There are two temples within the forest and are now declared as heritage sites and protected by the Govt. of Gujarat. These are said to be destroyed by the Mughals.

Here is a screenshot of the places I visited in Polo Forest.


I'll stop rambling and will let you all enjoy the images I could capture. All the pictures where taken using my mobile camera.

First stop once you reach the Polo Forest is the Sarneshwar Shiv Temple. As I mentioned earlier, this was said to be built in the 15th Century. Though it is a protected place, I noticed that they still conduct Puja in the main settlement here.

Shiv Temple at Sarneshwar

Continued.

[R-Six]

After spending some time exploring the craftsmanship of the temple, it was time to start riding further inside the temple. Our next stop would be to visit the ancient Polo Jain Nagari. A short ride from the first temple and a water crossing over a newly constructed bridge takes you through the woods and a short walk inside the jungle will bring you to this astonishing settlement within the jungle. I was amazed by the expanse and the way they have set up this. I’m sure the pictures might not do justice to what we saw and experienced. I’d let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

River Harnav that flows through the Polo Forest.



If you don't take a picture of your ride at any given opportunity, you don't love your ride enough. Just kidding and finding another reason to post a picture of my bike.



The Jain temple and the Jain Nagari that is built amidst the Polo Forest:



The main temple within the settlement:















Second temple within the Jain Nagari.

Continued...

[R-Six]

Our next and the final stop for the day was the Harnav Dam. You need to ride another couple of kilometers into the forest to reach this place. Just a heads up for those who have a week knees, you have to walk around 1KM uphill from the parking lot to reach the top of the reservoir.

You will be welcomed with an amazing view of the river Harnav and a beautiful scenery.

It was almost 10:30 AM by the time we finished checking out the dam and we were hungry. Our day started around 5:30 and we were running on a couple of cups of coffee and some Poha till now. Before exiting the catchment, we again stopped for some more photo sessions. This time, we focused to capture our rides instead.



I thought I'd sign off with this picture. While experimenting with different modes, my phone decided to focus on the road and the curve instead of the rides. May be its the nature's way of reminding us - For a rider, as far as you are riding, it doesn't matter what you are riding.

With that, we wrapped up a wonderful ride. With the winters setting in, we signed off hoping to hit the tarmac soon, may be for a little longer day trip this time.

Ride Safe,
R-Six

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing.

[SmartCat]

Polo forest? What a strange name!

1) Can cars get to these places? Or is it a narrow bike track?
2) What is inside these temples? Any pics?

Small tip: Avoid using blur effect (bokeh mode) when taking photos of monuments. Blur effect is useful only when taking pics of small objects/persons in the backdrop of a large scenery. But monuments themselves are large objects (fills up 80% of the photo frame) - there is no need to increase "focus" on it further.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by smartcat

1) Can cars get to these places? Or is it a narrow bike track?

Yes, you can take your car through the forest area. Most of the sections are good roads with some broken patches here and there. I guess that had more to do with some constructions.

One more point I missed mentioning in the original post. Once you reach the Polo Forest main entrance, you have an option to rent bicycles to explore the forest area as well. While I did not check the rates, the cycles seemed to be in good condition. If you want to park your car at the entrance and enjoy the wilderness on the cycle, that can be done as well.

2) What is inside these temples? Any pics?

I did not click pictures of the inside. I will check with my friend to see if he took any pictures of the inside. The Shiv temple still had the diety and it looked like they have regular Pooja happening at that place. I could spot spilled oil remains and usual Pooja elements in the sanctum.

The Jain temples (2nd and 3rd) were almost in the ruins with no diety or any such installations. I tried to peep inside the main shrine there and all I could hear was the sounds bats make. It was dark and dungy.

These are mostly used for pre-wedding shoots these days as they make a good background for their cinematic shots.

Small tip: Avoid using blur effect (bokeh mode) when taking photos of monuments.

Thanks for the tip . I realized that when I transferred these images to my laptop. When viewed on the phone, the pictures taken in the bokeh mode actually looks good and I tend to take more pics on that mode than I actually like.

[9thsphinx]

That's a good outing if you want to do it short and sweet! Just last month we were thinking about doing a day trip to the Polo Forest but postponed the plans due to the possible mosquito menace in the forest area - lot of cases of chikunguniya and dengue going around in our city these days, apparently. I'm from around the same place that you started your trip from

I have heard there's quite a trek within the forest. Do you recommend it for a kids day out?

[SJM1214]

We consider the Polo forest as Gujarat's Hampi. Its a nice place for one day picnic or a relaxing trek. I visited polo forest many times clubbed with Idar.

Thanks for the report and lovely photographs.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by 9thsphinx

postponed the plans due to the possible mosquito menace in the forest area - lot of cases of chikunguniya and dengue going around in our city these days, apparently.

I did not notice any mosquito menace there. But I was still wearing the jacket throughout so there are chances that I didn't realize the mosquitos were trying to bite me over the jacket.

I'm from around the same place that you started your trip from

Not sure if we have met during any of our team-bhp / OCG coffee meets that happens at the Dannys coffee bar quite often.

I have heard there's quite a trek within the forest. Do you recommend it for a kids day out?

Certainly. While we did not do the trek, I think if you are planning to spend the entire day at Polo Forest, you should certainly consider the trek. There is some photo point on top of the hill that is only accessible through the trek. The guard posted near the Jain temple ruins were pushing us for taking that trek.

Ride Safe,
R-Six

[R-Six]

Here are a couple of more pictures that I could gather from my friend.

Ride safe,
R-Six

[ARAY]

Such beautiful architectural marvels , this was an epic trip back into History. Sadly never studied history back in school, now I read such blogs and hear the Guides with utter concentration . Thanks for sharing such a detailed blog. Lovely pictures of your ride and the structures. Keep traveling and sharing such wonderful blogs.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by R-Six

A completely random plan to ride was cooked up over a casual chat in office. One of my colleague and a fellow rider was up for it as soon as I floated the idea over a cup of coffee. And with nothing much on the cards for Diwali, we thought why not start the long holiday weekend with a short ride before we get busy with rest of the world celebrating Diwali and New Year!.......Continued.

A brief and nice thread with good pictures. The pick of the lot is that photo of the bikes with the mountain and river backdrop. Gorgeous!!

The architecture is very interesting. Is this a place with big cats? What about other (big) fauna? Any chance of some sightings? Also, what's the boarding and lodging scene like near Polo? (Hotel GTI !!?)

Anyways, thank you for pointing me to this wonderful place. Looks like riding heaven if one is not crazy about land speed records. Once my wife gives me the go ahead, I am off to this place either sometime in December or in late January. Maybe, I can ping you and we can meet up.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

A brief and nice thread with good pictures. The pick of the lot is that photo of the bikes with the mountain and river backdrop. Gorgeous!!

Thank You!

Is this a place with big cats? What about other (big) fauna? Any chance of some sightings? Also, what's the boarding and lodging scene like near Polo? (Hotel GTI !!?)

Well, when we look up online, it does say that you could spot bears, panthers, leopards, hyenas and a wide range of birds. But I'm not sure how often you can spot these cats though. We do hear about instances where locals reporting about spotting the cats.

Also, regarding the stay, there are a couple of camping options in and around the forest catchment area.

sometime in December or in late January. Maybe, I can ping you and we can meet up.

Yes, this is the best time to visit this place. Especially after the rains. September to December/January should be a good bet. It would be pretty cold during this time as well. Even when we rode last week, it was pretty cold in the early hours until 8 - 830am.

If you make any plans to ride towards the west, do let me know. It would be nice to catch up with fellow riders.

[mohansrides]

Originally Posted by R-Six

....Also, regarding the stay, there are a couple of camping options in and around the forest catchment area.

Thank you. But, as much as I like riding, I have to say that I hate camping. Sleeping or cooking outdoors is really not my scene. As far as I am concerned, they invented indoors because it is better than outdoors.

So, I will have to look for options with a functional toilet and running water. Yes, I am a total wuss that way!!

Originally Posted by R-Six

...If you make any plans to ride towards the west, do let me know. It would be nice to catch up with fellow riders.

Absolutely.

[R-Six]

Originally Posted by mohansrides

I will have to look for options with a functional toilet and running water.

Well, when I said camping, it doesn't mean we have to pitch our own tents and all. There are proper resorts with accommodation available in permanent tents they have put up.

I guess there are even accommodation available on government rest house set up too. But again, with a similar set up or look and feel.

Even better if you are just planning a day ride to Polo Forest, you can keep Ahmedabad as the base and do Polo Forest and come back on the same day and then head towards Kutch or Little Rann of Kutch the next day. Worth a try.