[CARvalho]

Trip highlights:

Route: Borivali-Aarey colony-Panvel bypass-Goa road towards Pen-turn left at Vadkhak Naka-nagothane-kolad & return by same route

Total distance traveled: 280 kms (round trip)

Time taken: 3.5 hrs at a comfortable speed of 70-80 kms/hr

Let me begin with a word of caution. This travelogue is not for seasoned Bhp-ians who have traversed the far ends of the planet. It is more for those who have recently acquired their new ride and have started venturing out but are not considering crunching a million miles yet.

Nagothane does feature on the travelogue forum but only as much as a fleeting mention as one of the several points on longer routes. So I decided to capture the moments of my short drive hoping to cover the gaps left in longer travelogues. Hope it helps. Here goes...

We began at 7:15 am

Pic 1: That's the ride, bride, kids et al!
Pic 2: We took the aarey colony short cut from borivali. Here you see the toll naka ) Rs 15/-

[ampere]

When I read this, then only I realized that there is a place called Nagothane.
Google gave me some links, which say, its a sleepy town over a wooded hill-forest.

Nice place to spend a weekend! Please, do post some more pictures.

[phamilyman]

Interesting. Do post more pictures.

btw - That is a rather nasty bullbar you've put. It can be rather lethal esp if your kids don't wear seat belts. Their only efficiency is in transmitting the entire accident energy to the occupants!! Don't believe me - check out the accidents thread. Rest your choice. God bless

[gaddiwale]

@Carvalho: Welcome on board. Where are the other photos (after Aarey Colony Toll Naka)? Waiting for the full tavel diary.

[Hurrycane12]

Good start, waiting to know more about Nagothane.

[scopriobharath]

Get the Pics Yaar. Share some more info on the route like where to turn etc. Waiting for more pics. I have not heard of this place near Bombay. I am curious to see / visit this place.

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by scopriobharath

I am curious to see / visit this place.

cool down man.

there is nothing to see at nagothane except chemical factories.

nagothane is small village/town on NH17 near pen/panvel.

kolad is the place nearby to have river rafting in kundalika river during monsoon.

[CARvalho]

So here's the rest of it guys...

We decided to take the aarey colony road. It's really surprising that such a green patch exists in the heart of Mumbai!



Vashi bridge



early morning traffic jam at Vashi check naka. Everyone's heading out for the weekend. make sure you leave really early to escape this


Looks like the desi sierra nevada! The panvel bypass! amazing stretch for those who wanna burn some rubber!



We saw these POP lions. They make good home decor


Mango pethi, anyone? Rs 600/- for 3 dozen, if I remember. Wifey picked a crate


Try finding the needle in this haystack!



Plenty of good Neera available after every kilometer. It's toddy minus the alcohol


Saw this burned out shell. Couldn't make out the vehicle. There were lot of burned clothes strewn about. Seemed like a serious crash. Casualties not known


The Goa road is always a treat to drive


The resort is not easily visible from the road. Keep your eyes open once you take the left turn after Vadhkal Naka



Managed this nice family pic with the auto setting on my sony!


Nigdi river


At the banks of the Kundalika river




The local flora...


and the local fauna...


vadhkal naka can be a traffic nightmare in the evenings. we had to pray real hard to get this long line moving.. and guess what it worked!

[CARvalho]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Interesting. Do post more pictures.

btw - That is a rather nasty bullbar you've put. It can be rather lethal esp if your kids don't wear seat belts. Their only efficiency is in transmitting the entire accident energy to the occupants!! Don't believe me - check out the accidents thread. Rest your choice. God bless

Thanks phamilyman. I call it my 'rickshaw buster'. No offence to the 3-wheeler drivers but they would have surely put a dent or two on the front bumper if it were not for the bullbar. But I take your point seriously.

[MX6]

Great place you got there. Nice river, nice resort. Places like this are considered heaven for the average mumbaikar who sees local train crowds 24x7.
Hope there are more coming up!

[ASHISHPALLOD]

@carvalho,
in which month you had done this trip?
[ pic of mango suggest that the month is apr/may].
[ rate of rs 600/mango peti indicates that its month of may].

i am surprised to see so much water in kundalika river in summer.

[ampere]

@AP/@MX

Is this river a "rain river"? Does it go stream into a bigger river?
Looks amazing though.

[CARvalho]

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

@carvalho,
in which month you had done this trip?
[ pic of mango suggest that the month is apr/may].
[ rate of rs 600/mango peti indicates that its month of may].

i am surprised to see so much water in kundalika river in summer.

Hi Ashish, Your deduction is bang on. We just did this trip last weekend (8th/9th may) and the mango peti cost us Rs 500/- (correction from my earlier post). Some of the local river clubs were still running their kayaks though white water rafting is usually done during monsoons.

[amit_3306]

@Ahsish: I heard from one of the local that water is released in Kundalika river on daily basis from one of the dam situated upwards.. And the area of kolad,roha is known for heavesting rice throuout the year with this river irrigation..

[MX6]

@ampere. I second amit_3306.
The river swells to maximum during monsoons and goes down to a trickle in summer. Water is fed in from the mulshi dam (tata power project) and is released every morning. Most of the water is used up by the factories (mentioned by AP) itself.
During monsoons we have rafting conducted and the river is dotted by numerous resorts down stream near to where carvalho had been. So in a way you can consider this as a rain-water monsoon time river.