[sbraj]

Originally Posted by khoj

We are stuck in the bricks & mortar world and rely on your travelogues to expand our horizons and to go where no one with a real job has gone before. Could not resist that

What do you mean?

... but will eagerly look forward to the Kaas trip especially since I now plan to go there this September.

Before reading this travelogue, I never knew that such a place existed. Long live the travelogues.

A suggestion ( for you and all other tbhp members who post travelogues) is that at the end of each travelogue if you could list out the hotels and restaurants that you stayed or ate in, complete with the contact details and room tariffs it will be an unbeatable guide to people who follow.

See this.

[MX6]

Let me kick start my kaas trip log with this.

We continued our journey on the road to Satara through Saswad. The huge board of Muktangan was very inviting and it was around 1:40 pm. so we decided to have lunch there.
I liked the sheltered car park and the view from the table.

Ikon resting!


Hotel Muktangan. Food was terrific. Nice place for vegetarians!


Nice garden view we had from our table. Pleasing to the eyes.



We also passed through the Jadhavgarh fort (now converted to a hotel). I was tempted to stop there for lunch, but given my penchance for the simple roadside dhabas, I preferred to move on. Last week I saw in the paper that there was a vintage car ralley in Jadhavgarh and felt morose on missing this event. How come there wasn't much publicity for the same?

[khoj]

Hi MX6,

What a pleasure it is to see that you have restarted this travelogue, keenly looking forward to visiting Kaas through your words and through your Camera's lens.

[LongDrive lover]

Originally Posted by khoj

Hi MX6,

What a pleasure it is to see that you have restarted this travelogue, keenly looking forward to visiting Kaas through your words and through your Camera's lens.

+1 to this, same here, waiting for more.

[ambivalent_98]

Some more pix coming our way ? I have very fond memories of Kaas. I remember I had gone to that lake sometime in September'05. After climbing up that ghat to Kaas there was a huge plateau and it was full of flowers and after some distance it was completely covered by fog. I mean the place at that point of time felt like I was totally out of this world. It was very mysterious and very nice to drive. Keeping the windows of my car open I let the clouds drift in and man it was chilly inside as well as outside. The lake was OK and the boating was closed. Since I had gone quite late I decided to return otherwise there is a waterfall ahead on that road called "Thosayghar" .
While coming back though I saw almost a completely circular rainbow. This time from the plateau down in the valley towards Satara. It was as if I passed under the rainbow....man it was too good.

@ MX6 - I am surprised you did not take the NH-4 to Satara . any specific reason ?

[aargee]

Well, MX6, there's someone in addition to keep reading this travelogue . The first pic of view from Ghat is terrific.

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

@ MX6 - I am surprised you did not take the NH-4 to Satara . any specific reason ?

@Ambivalent - your answer lies in page 1

Originally Posted by MX6

I got bored taking NH4 all the time. I wanted to try something different. Hence set out towards saswad, jejuri route. I wanted to stop where I felt like. Hence I took the dive ghat. It was fun.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

The lake was OK and the boating was closed. Since I had gone quite late I decided to return otherwise there is a waterfall ahead on that road called "Thosayghar" .

There is no boating at kaas lake.
The kaas lake at the plateau, further down the ghat, you will reach the village named bamnoli.
Yhe lake at that place is shivsagar, the back water of koyna dam. boating is available at that place.

Thoseghar waterfall is not on satara-bamnoli route.
It is on satara-chalkewadi route which further goes to patan via windmill farm.
From kaas, you will have to come back to satara and again take that chalkewadi route for thoseghar.
Thoseghar waterfall is best location for one day picnic from pune.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by ambivalent_98

Some more pix coming our way ?

Time to hijack the thread?! But I am sure I can beat MX6 at laziness... (just thought of the promises I made to some fellow bhpians regarding travelogues!)

Here are some of Kaas and a couple of Tosegar.. Every monsoon creates magic in Kaas...

And driving a bike in the rain makes it even more enjoyable

[aargee]

Originally Posted by vrprabhu

And driving a bike in the rain makes it even more enjoyable

Err...isn't it called, riding a bike?

I too love riding in the rain with only condition being, shouldn't get wet clothes. This place looks like magical with attractive colors. Picture, Kas204 is absolutely great to watch with green & blue colors. The waterfall is looking great.

[MX6]

Amazing photos of Kaas there vrprabhu. Can you please completely hijack my thread so that I too sit back and enjoy reading rather than taking pains posting.
Feel free to continue with the photos. I missed the flower season by 10 days. So by the time I went there, the flowers had gone. But nevertheless, it was a great place.
I reserved Bamnoli and Thoseghar for the trip this september. I intend to grow this logue with places in maharashtra and will be adding on to this once the kaas part is over. Will think of a nice title to change the existing one.

[sami316]

Hi,

Even I agree with MX6, the photos posted by vrprabhu were simply awesome. Please go ahead and post some more pics and hijack this if you want as the captain has given the permission himself.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by aargee

Err...isn't it called, riding a bike?

Oops - thanks for rectifying the error!!

Originally Posted by sami316

Even I agree with MX6, the photos posted by vrprabhu were simply awesome. Please go ahead and post some more pics and hijack this if you want as the captain has given the permission himself.

These efforts are from a point and shoot Canon and Kodak - may be with DSLR the results would have been really awesome. But nothing beats being there yourself and taking it all in!

Originally Posted by MX6

Amazing photos of Kaas there vrprabhu. Can you please completely hijack my thread so that I too sit back and enjoy reading rather than taking pains posting.
Feel free to continue with the photos.

Thanks for the permission, o Master!

Let me see how my maiden effort at writing and interweaving the picture go!?

This was the first trip we did during the monsoon period in 2008 -

We leave Pune by 6.00AM on our bikes (Unicorn & Gladiator).
Prefer the NH4 to Satara - saves lot of time; Katraj tunnel in the morning is fantastic; early morning tank-full of Shell petrol gives you peace of mind - the bikes literally purr their way throughout the day!

A couple of spots beg for a break - duly obliged!


(Note to myself - too many pictures of the asides is going to make this lengthy and may not stoke the appetite)

The (first) turn off to Satara from NH4 is abrupt - you are likely to overshoot if you are not careful.

This brings you the taste of things to come...


You have an option to take a tea break at Satara - we prefer to skip and continue ahead (it is 9.00 AM by now) - the weather has been good and only a few sprinkles so far....

Carry on ahead through the City to the tunnel at the end of the town; the road forks - straight ahead takes you to Tosegar (may be the next thread will be on Tosegar); turn right and start climbing... and catch a glimpse of the Satara town nestled below...


Despite the rains, the roads are in good condition - you don't have to worry about pot holes and punctures; traffic is very thin (we choose a working day - that way one can skip work and enjoy the day fully)



More is to come...

It just struck me - "A post a day keeps the blues away!"

[tortoiseNhare]

@MX6: Thanks a lot for introducing Kaas to me. I thought places like this could be seen only in Bollywood song sequences.

@vrprabhu: Mind blowing pics, man.

[MX6]

Good one's Vrprabhu. I'm taking devilish pleasure in outsourcing the Kaas travelogue to you. Of course, I'm going to add to this too with reference to different route and different photos.

This sept let's make it a t-bhp meet there in kaas. Mid sept is the best time to go there.

[vrprabhu]

Originally Posted by tortoiseNhare

@MX6: Thanks a lot for introducing Kaas to me. I thought places like this could be seen only in Bollywood song sequences.

@vrprabhu: Mind blowing pics, man.

You got to be kidding, t'nH - sitting in Gauhati and enjoying Kaas!

But you hit the nail on the head - some pictures were shot here - a place called Wai is more known for picturesque scenes in songs in films.

Originally Posted by MX6

This sept let's make it a t-bhp meet there in kaas. Mid sept is the best time to go there.

+1 to that. Hey - anybody from Pune / Satara / Kolhapur listening? What about the big boss AP?

Now, Kaas continued....

As you reach the crest, you realise slowly how high you have climbed....



The moment you catch the first glimpse of the lake, all else is forgotten!

(Caution - One is likely go on a shooting frenzy here. Conserve yourself for what nature has in store ahead!)