6th August 2023, 21:52
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| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Poone, Mumbay
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| Two Days in Panchgani, Maharashtra Introduction: My Black ScorpioN aka Vader was close to completing 4 months, and had already clocked more then 6500 km. However, he had yet to be taken on a road trip, no matter how small, and had experienced only the Pune-Mumbai Expressway, the Eastern Express Highway & LBS Road off-road tracks and some light city drives in Pune. This was a situation that demanded to be corrected, so the Significant Other (SO) & I planned a short weekend getaway to the hill station of Panchgani, nestled in the Sahyadris. It has become a tradition for us to visit that part of Maharashtra at least once in the rains, to get away from smelling petrol fumes and smoke while dodging traffic on city roads littered with trash. It is much nicer to smell petrol fumes and smoke while dodging traffic on winding scenic roads littered with trash. We booked two nights at the Zostel in Panchgani. The place mainly caters to young backpackers, whippersnappers, hotsteppers and hiphoppers, but we are young at heart and spirit too. Besides, this would be our second visit, last having come here in 2021 when the world was starting to slowly exit Covid restrictions. The Drive: After filling up Vader's tank, checking his vital signs and loading the 2 days of luggage (75% of which belonged to the SO), we headed out from Pune on a cloudy and rainy Friday morning. An auspicious beginning for a monsoon getaway! After battling through city traffic for 40 odd minutes, we finally got on the NH48 towards Satara. Road was smooth for the most part, and a pleasant change from the harsh Pune-Mumbai Expressway. The NHAI and Govt. of Maharashtra have thoughtfully installed a few craters at random intervals to keep us drivers on our toes, and provide much needed business to Gabriel, Monroe, Bilstein and the roadside “Puncher” shops. Despite those jolts, a caffeine boost was needed, which was provided by a cup of extremely sweet filter coffee at a Vithal Kamat shortly after the Khed Shivapur Toll plaza. After my hand stopped shaking from the sugar buzz, we hopped back into Vader and sallied forth. The freshly washed trees and newly grown grass and crops on both sides of the highway were extremely soothing for the eyes, after the long dry summer.  I think iPhone colors are more natural, but the SO begs to differ. What do you think? Look at the first picture of the valley below for comparison  The source of India's diabetes epidemic The Katraj Tunnel approacheth  The Misty Mountain Top beckons from a distance A climb through a short ghat, followed by an equally quick descent, and then we turned off onto the Wai-Surur road. This is a single lane runs through the outskirts of town of Wai, and then starts identifying as the Wai-Panchgani road as it climbs into the ghats, taking us to our destination, right off the road. Vader made the journey without breaking a sweat.  Wai o Wai do people drive like maniacs  Wonder how long these beautiful trees will last. They must have seen a lot Climbing the first ghat on NH48.  Keep your eyes on the road, your hands upon the wheel The final ascent. SO's camera angle makes my driving appear much more dangerous than it actually is The Place: Zostel is a chain of hotel/hostels all over the country, targeted primarily towards the youth segment. The property overlooks a valley with beautiful views of the green carpeted hills, and the village farms below. Due to the heavy rains, it was foggy and cool for most of the day, which only added to the charm of the place.  We are here  Beautiful view with the beautiful lady  Beautiful view without the beautiful lady Stay is in converted shipping containers, which are tastefully and thoughtfully done up. The small ones are for privacy and the larger ones are dorm like arrangements with bunk beds, catering to the backpacker/budget crowd. There is a common dining area where food is served and consumed. A fair amount of construction is ongoing on the premises. A new café overlooking the valley is being built, as are a row of additional cottages. Activity has slowed down right now due to the heavy rains.  Steps leading to the containers/rooms  The private rooms The crowd at this place primarily consists of college kids and young professionals, all of them looking and acting like late teens and 20 somethings. Minors are not allowed, smoking and drinking is allowed in the open spaces, and music can be played till midnight. So you get the vibe. We stayed to ourselves for the most part, and the youngsters were decent and polite folk overall, taking due consideration of our age and decrepitude. The number of smokers among them was surprisingly high. Hopefully they will outgrow the habit soon. The food and service is top notch at this place. Vegetarian and non-veg options are both well made, and prices are very reasonable. Service is provided with a smile, and is quick and efficient, whether at the restaurant, front desk or housekeeping.  SO chilling in the common room The 2.5 days: Mornings and most of the days were foggy, rainy and cold, which suited us just fine. The air was nice and clean, except for Panchgani town in the middle of the day, which gave us a reality check of potholes, haphazard parking, traffic and honking in the middle of the day  .Day 1: After checking in, we started walking up the road towards Panchgani, dodging puddles, barreling buses and two wheelers coasting downhill without power. Because it was raining, and also because most people have a healthy survival instinct, we hardly encountered any other pedestrians. A few blind turns later, we did see the intrepid toll collectors of the Panchgani town council, collecting their “Pollution Tax” from every outside vehicle. Ironically the road quality also started to degrade shortly after this, making you wonder where this money is going. On second thought, someone has to pay for those hideous birthday posters of our netas.  An empty plot of land next to the road  Playing with depth of focus  The Lady leads, I follow  Didn't I meet your cousins on LBS Road in Mumbai?  Pretty shop houses, reminds me of similar setups in Singapore Soon enough we were in the town. The walk having made us hungry, we set down at Purohit’s Namaste for a vegetarian meal, but the food was mediocre. The disappointment was compounded by the fact that the pay-per-use porta-toilet set up by the town was not working, although it did consume the Rs. 5 coin put into it (which is exactly how Indian governments seem to operate at all levels). A post prandial tea at Meher Café hit the spot, following which we made the trek downhill, and were then safely ensconced within the Zostel boundaries. Dinner more than made up for the mediocre lunch, and was accompanied by some nice live music by a local artist named Ashish. After listening to and humming along to a few songs, we called it an early night.  Soaked SO, but still a trooper Day 2: After a nice heavy breakfast buffet, we took some pics from the new cafe, and again set forth uphill, this time taking a detour via Sydney Point, which was VERY windy that day, but also great fun, and we were rewarded with some nice views of the valley. Post sightseeing we headed back to the town, and this time had much better luck at Purohit's Lunch Home (a different establishment but owned by the same group), which served a decent albeit small Gujarati Thali, which was washed down by a yummy Basundi. A panoramic video of the valley below, taken from the new cafe being readied at the Zostel  Stay Away from Me, say the colors  Back in Black  Path leading to Sydney Point A very windy and rainy Sydney Point  SO in Suspended Animation The return walk was a tad slower this time thanks to the Basundi, which had settled into the tummy like a block of lead. As a result, we were able to observe the establishments and activity along the road a bit more closely, and a couple of the more interesting ones are shown below for you kind readers to appreciate.  "Chaurasiya Vada Pav" sounds as appropriate as "Deshpande da Dhaba"  So THIS is where the show was shot  Someone has a naughty sense of humor  Potholes, trash on the roadside, but putting up a I "Heart Panchgani sign is urgent Evening at the Zostel was quiet, consisting of a short stroll around the property, an early dinner and a trip down memory lane watching the college kids having a good time.  Some more Pretty artwork in the Zostel Last edited by Mustang Sammy : 8th August 2023 at 07:08. |
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7th August 2023, 21:25
| #2 |
| BHPian Join Date: Oct 2020 Location: Poone, Mumbay
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| Re: Two Days in Panchgani Day 3: Checkout time! We said our goodbyes, paid our bills and headed back into town, this time having to pay the pollution tax since we were on 4 wheels and not self-propelled. We had skipped breakfast at the hostel, and headed a Panchgani establishment named Chai Bun Maska. Their omelets were decent, as was the chai, although the buns were (of course) sweet. Properly sated, we drove next to the famous Parsi Point, which was closed to visitors the last 2 times we had visited due to Covid era restrictions. Although still foggy, the views were fabulous, and were further sweetened by a scoop of local chocolate ice cream.  Vader waiting patiently as we head for breakfast  The first picture, worthy of a Hindi suspense movie, or so I like to believe  The Krishna Valley reservoir dammed by the Dhom Dam. Dam(n) it is beautiful.  Ze same reservoir, with a tree in the foreground  Lovely green terraces, growing rice (I think)  The Fog is everywhere  The SO posing patiently  More resorts, further up the road towards Mahabaleshwar. We did not resort to staying at any of them. Finally a cappuccino at The Cliff resort, which is a newly opened place off the Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar road right at the edge of (you guessed it, a cliff) and it was off to good old Punyanagari, with a dosa stop and a cup of an abominable "filter coffee" spiked with cardamom  at Vithal Kamats along the way. Short and sweet, and memorable as always. The Hills never fail to refresh, recharge and rejuvenate. Vader was a dream to drive during this trip. For a big fella, he maneuvers effectively through traffic, and steep climbs, potholes and rutted roads were dispatched with ease. Looking forward to more and longer trips ahead.  The next generation Eeco, suitably camouflaged   Must be an award-winning Misal, why else would it be named Oscarwadi? We didn't stop to ask Last edited by Mustang Sammy : 8th August 2023 at 00:03. |
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8th August 2023, 07:42
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8th August 2023, 16:49
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| BHPian  Join Date: Sep 2021 Location: Pune
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9th August 2023, 07:59
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| BHPian Join Date: Nov 2020 Location: Mumbai
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10th August 2023, 00:56
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| BHPian  Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: Kolkata - Pune
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| Re: Two Days in Panchgani, Maharashtra Nice report on one of the most beautiful places near Pune which is hardly around 100KM. Zostel is a great place to stay among backpackers. Last time we stayed at Jivanta hotel overlooking the Parsi point and it was a sight to behold. Hijacking your thread with some pics of my travel during covid      |
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13th August 2023, 02:30
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11th September 2023, 21:12
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| BANNED Join Date: Jul 2019 Location: UP32/Freeport 7
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