Road Trips Are the Equivalent of Human Wings. Ask Me to Go on One, Anywhere.
We’ll Stop in Every Small Town and Learn the History and Stories, Feel the Ground, and Capture the Spirit. Then We’ll Turn It into Our Own Story That Will Live Inside Our History to Carry with Us, Always. Because Stories Are More Important than Things. Get.Set.Go.
It was during the New Year 2019, when we (Myself and my friend Marsh Whesly) started to plan for a long vacation. It all started from exploring anything outside India. But later (Feb 2019), we decided to explore with-in India itself, as are many locations left un-explored in India. By march, till the mid of June, it was like exploring Gangtok, Mt Kanjanjunga, Zero Point.etc. But it was all already well known and we can visit anytime in future too. We are looking for something new location’s to explore rather than pre-existing tourist spot’s. By the mid of June, we started to analyze about The Great Western Ghats of India. We analyzed a lot and fixed to explore the western ghats for 10 days.
My love for the Western Ghats of India is no secret. The winding roads along the lush green hills, the magical monsoon, the wildlife ? the Western Ghats is what dreams are made of. I have visited different parts of India, more times than I can count. Every time, I fell in love with it a little bit more. So this is my tribute to the mesmerizing landscape that inspired the travel writer in me. It's beena way long for a week-long road trip or any such long road trip before. Previoiusly, it was while exploring Kerala in 2016. But I have been to many (a lot) of these road trips on an extended weekend, enough to select the best for what I would call the Western Ghats Dream Route.
In the same month of June, we had a discussion with our close friend, Sheikh. He is a very nice guy to keep a side always who use to be engaged and makes his surrounding too, to feel the same. Later, we pulled Pravin also in this Road Trip, who is from Coimbatore. He owns MARUTHI BALENO 2019 model. But his presence depends on his personal situation, as he was enhancing his house and had related construction work’s.
So, we pre-booked the following in advance, before 2.5 months itself as an alternative way of transport.
1. Chennai to Bangalore : 16021 - Kaveri Express (Rs. 255 per head).
2. Bangalore to Chennai : 16022 - Kaveri Express (Rs. 255 per head).
3. Bangalore : Myles Car Rentals (9 Days excluding diesel : Rs.13,550 + 350 for pick-up and drop @ RS).
At last on 2nd week of September, Pravin acknowledges positively. We gave the car to service in Maruthi Services as it was a long vacation road trip. It costs around 8,000 INR. By Sept 25th , our Baby BALENO became ready.
We canceled all our pre-booked trains and Myles car rentals. On Sept 27th, we Chennai living guys except Pravin returned back from work an ready to kick-start our road trip.
Marsh got his car, Chevy Beat. We traveled from Chennai to Coimbatore with Beat.
27 Sept, 2019 (Friday) :
We filled the diesel tank and started around 8:30pm from Chennai.There are 2 routes to reach Coimbatore from Chennai. One is via Sriperambatore->Vellore->Coimbatore and the other is Chengalpet->Villupuram->Salem->Coimbatore. We opted the 2nd as 1st usually will be over-crowded with lorries. Around 11:15pm, we halted @ Shri Brindhavanaa Restaurant in the highways near Madurandhagam. We had 2 dosa, each and a cup of coffee. We promised to follow one rule throughout this road trip, which is to avoid having any COKE and PEPSI branded item’s.
After completing our dinner, we resumed again. We nearly halted 5-6 time in-between, walk down from the car, do some general exercises and resuming the journey.
28 Sept, 2019 (Saturday) :
Around 3:15am, we halted near Salem, had a cup of tea and resumed again.
Finally, we reached Coimbatore around 6am. We met pravin in a bakery, where we had a cup of coffee / tea with some small snacks.
Reaching pravin’s house, we 3 had some small sleeping moment’s till 8:30am. Later, we got refreshed one by one and made us ready. We completed our breakfast @ pravin’s home itself and started our journey in BALENO around 10:15am.
We fed our baby’s stomach (diesel tank) full.
We all were the best combo and in the best version of us. The wavelength among us were too good and understanding @ it’s best. We were sharing our experience in our oice life, college and how we were during our school days and how we were now. It was around 1pm, when we halted in a shop near Punajanur Forest. There we came across a tasty cookie. We also purchased some fruit’s to have it lated during our travel time.
Around 2pm, we halted for our lunch @ Chamaraja Nagar. Lunch was no so good, but okay to fill our stomach.
Completing lunch, we resumed the travel. We skipped Mysore through outer ring road and continued towards Coorg. Around 5:30pm, we reached Tibetan Monastery / Golden Temple, Coorg.
The Tiny Tibetan colony in here is an ideal escape from the hustle and bustle of city life. The enclosed calm and the spiritual ambiance of the place welcomes all the visitors. The Tibetan Monastery is located around 6 km from Kushalnagar.
This Place is one of the largest Tibetan settlements in India. There are around 16000 refugees and nearly 6000 monks and nuns in this monastery. This Tibetan settlement at Bail Koppa or Bylakuppe is the the second largest Tibetan settlement outside Tibet
After Chinese took over Tibet the refugees were settled at Bylakuppe near Kushalnagar. The Monastery was re-established in the year 1972. Young Tibetans seeking enlightenment and education come to this place.
The major attraction of this place is the forty feet tall golden Buddha statues. The walls of the temples and institutions are decorated with beautiful paintings depicting the characters from Tibetan Buddhist mythology.
This place really worth a visit. The serene atmosphere of the place take you to another world. There are so many shopping centres in and around the monastery where you will get traditional Tibetan items. Also we can try their style of food or lunch or dinner. It was budgeted and tasty to have.
Visiting the Golden Temple, we also completed our dinner here itself. The traditional Tibetian restaurant serves Momos, Noodles and other Tibetian style food items. 8 nos of Fried / Steamed Momos costs just Rs 80.
Reaching Coorg, we stayed @ a pre-booked hotel. We all were so tired and hence on getting in the room, we all fell over the bed.
29 Sept, 2019 (Sunday) :
Next day morning, it was around 6:30am when we all waken up. Completing our breakfast @ Hotel Ambika, which was best in that circle, serving tasty Idly’s, Vada’s, Kesari Bath, Sambar, Chutney.etc.
Completing our breakfast, we visited Raja’s Seat which is just on the way for us while leaving towards Mangalore.
Raja's seat literally means Seat of the King. Located in the town of Madikeri, it is a beautiful place presenting a refreshing setting and soothing environment.
The place is called as Raja's Seat because it was the place where Coorg's King used to enjoy the beautiful scenic beauty around. It was believed that the Coorg's King use to watch Sunset, every evening along with his wife / Queen.
It is perfect setting to relax and admire the breathtaking view of the surrounding areas. Lush greenery with calm environment and golden streams of sunlight makes for a picture perfect setting.
The place along with a wonderful park has a Gandhi Mantap to its left. The Gandhi Mantap is the place where remains of Mahatma Gandhi have been kept.
There is area for children’s amusement as well making it’s a perfect place for family outing. The toy train which goes around raja seat attracts not just children but adults as well.Inside the train, along with having a look at the beauty around, one can also enjoy delicious snacks. To enter the park, tourists are charged with a minimum entry fee of Rs. 5/- per person.
Completing our visit to Raja’s Seat, we resumed our travel towards Mangalore. In-between, we came across a beauty, a river parallel to the road which we travel. We were looking for a halt and found a nice location. We parked our baby aside and get down the river. We spend some time here, gossiping an enjoying the scenic beauty.
Continuing our travel, we halted on seeing a good-looking church on the way. It was so nice to watch room outside and we so, we visited the church too. Later, we reached Adyar Falls of Mangalore around 2pm.
The term waterfall could be misleading as the level water is not too much. I understand that during monsoons the levels are higher but even then do not expect something big. You need a small trek to get to this place. In google map, you will see one more falls, Volachi, nearby. Asking about which I understood that is more in-accicable than this one.
This adyar small falls looks greenery, surrounded by tress and fresh air. It is good place to visit one day picnic. The love destination for college students to take a dip, this place is located far away from the city where Buses are infrequent. The bonus is view of Nethravathi river from the hill top.
Getting refreshed for about 2.5 hrs, we had ur lunch / dinner outside Mangalore Highways @Tandoor Kitchen Restaurant, which serves tasty food by 5pm too. It serves Soup, Shawarma, Tandoori, Fried Rice, noodles, Briyani.etc Even ice-cream’s were available in the restaurant. Generally, restaurant’s outside the city not use to be good, but this is the best among all in and around Mangalore.
Around 8pm, we visited Murudeshwar, Home to the World's Second Tallest Shiva Statue. The Raja Gopura means the 'King of Towers', this temple tower in Murudeshwara lives upto its name. The Raja Gopura has 20 floors and people can also reach the top of the tower by lift. The Murudeshwar temple is located in Kanduka hill which is surrounded by the Arabian Sea on 3 sides. Thus, providing the great vistas of the sea. The figure of Shiva took 2 years to construct. It is built in such a way that the sunrays fall directly on it and make it look shiny all the time.
Resuming our journey, we entered Gokarna around 12 in mid-night. There, we came across meeting Mr. Ashok A K, who we met during our previous year o travel on the same day in Chikmaglore. Ashok bro was working in FORD, also a well known social activist, and Director of Direction 4 Volunteers group. He also came in search of adventure to Gokarna and Amboli, skipping Goa. We had 2 option’s for staying that night. One is the hotel which we gone through, already and the one where Mr. Ashok was staying. But the one which we visited was quite budgeted and comfortable for us, so we said bye to Mr. Ashok bro and opted the room in the hotel where we felt okay to go.
30 Sept, 2019 (Monday) :
Next day morning, we met Mr. Ashok again, enquired about his plan and said bye to him and wished him for happy and safe journey. We visited Gokarna Beaches, had some fun.
We also made our baby to take bath and that scenes superb, pouring water from 3rd floor, watching with Medimix Soap.
Finally, we all left towards Goa. The location’s in and around the Western Ghat Road’s was breath-taking and amazing. We also had RAVA LADDU while driving, made by mom, which tastes superb.
In the middle, we halted @ Karwar for our Lunch around 2:30pm. We completed our Lunch @ Swetha’s Lunch Home.
We also had some fresh juice @ Taj Food Corner.
It was around 6pm, when we reached South Goa and halting for having a cup of Tea in a bakery.
Here, we were thinking about our Dudhsagar Waterfalls visit. We googled for some cointact’s and information’s about it and decided to start towards Kulem, which is the enterance point for visiting Dudhsagar, from Goa. The road from South Goa towards Kulem was scary during night travel and it was too lonely. No other vehicles came across our eyes from next 2 hours. Around 8pm, we reached Kulem and stayed @ Bina’s Cottages. We loved the location, as it was too much away from any kind-off noise, in the mid of forest, river-side and silent and surrounded by pet animals.
Around 8:45pm, we started to walk in search of dinner towards Kulem Railway Station, which would b nearly 3kms away from our cottage.We completed our dinner (Pav Bajji with Omlette) around 9:30pm and came back to room.
We were accompanied by a street dog, which was too cute and behaving nice with us.
Reaching room, we were discussing with Mr. Bina about our plan for the very next day to Dudhsagar visit. He arranged an experienced trekking guide for us. He also took care of our Breakfast and Lunch for the day. The cottage for 4 people cost’s just Rs 1000 and the guide he arranged for 14+16 km’s of trekking costs just Rs 500. We asked to make the arrangement’s ready and we can start our trekking around 8am.
01 Oct, 2019 (Tuesday) :
Next day morning, we waked up around 6am. The location was awesome to look in the day light, that too in a nice monsoon day morning. Completing our breakfast @ Mr. Bina’s Restaurant (Near Kulem RS) and getting our lunch parceled, we met Mr. Papu-ji, who is going to be our Dudhsagar Trekking Guide for the day.
He speaks only Hindi and understands English. In our team, Sheikh knows Hindi very well. Papu-ji was looking to be very childish (in mingling with us) at the age of 75.
Dudhsagar falls is the tallest waterfall in India located in the border of GOA. Dudhsagar falls which is popularly known to be majestic falls of the country will be open only 6 mopnths in an year for Jeep Safari booking. The falls were closed for the other 6 months due to heavy monsoon seasons. The place was in a mess due to fallen trees and roadblocks. Generally, Dudhsagar waterfall use to be prepared to welcome the visitors from the 3nd week of October, every year through Jeep Safari. The forest department has stated that it will allow around 170 jeeps a day during the weekdays and 225 jeeps during the weekends. The carrying capacity of the forest is around 240 trips a day. Currently, the forest department is not in favour of allowing many vehicles to enter as it will disturb the wildlife there. The full-day visit package is open in Goa, with free transportation from the north goa hotels included in the package at a reasonable cost of Rs. 1699 for adults and Rs. 1500 for children.
Since it was a monsoon season, there wasn't Jeep Safari available. Also we won't be opting that choice as it will give us less adventure compared to this trekking. We started to trek by the railway track. It's 8kms 6kms of Railway Track Trek and 8kms of Forest Trek, a total of 14kms. Our senses got activated with Lush green mud road, sound of flowing stream, cottony clouds with surrounded hills, birds chirping and nature has already started to heal you by then.
Dudhsagar Trek Map :
We noticed different creatures of animals and birds, inside the forest.
We came across a small star-shaped snake too.
We reached a Chai place at Sonaulim around 10:15am and rested for 30mins. We met another group with their guide, who were headed towards the same destination. It is 3-4 kms trek on mud road from Sonaulim Chai place to the falls.
Around 11:15am, we were at the watchtower where the falls is seen from a distance. I was overwhelmed by the fact that it was really worth to visit and trek this long to experience this marvelous set up of Dudhsagar Falls. The source of water is river Mandovi and few steps below the falls you will see a train passes frequently which makes it unique. It is surrounded by hills.
It was around 11:40am, when we reached the foot-area of the great Dudhsagar. It was gigantic to view from it’s bottom. We had superb bath and refreshed to the max, with the pure water from the wonderful nature, dudhsagar. After some time, the rain arrives and added extra beauty and fun to our refreshment. Life-Jackets provided to us to be safer. We also brought a cosco ball with us, in-order to play and make the moment, fun filled. Also an advantage of opting this trek, instead of Jeep Safari is, there is no time limit. We enjoyed or almost 2.5 hrs. Our guide took care of our things and food items, from monkeys present over there.
Suggestions: The current inside the river might go high hence be careful while playing in the water. Carry dry foods and biscuits and drink plenty of water while you hike towards your destination.
It was around 1pm, when we came out of the falls, cleansed us and made us ready as we got an update from Papu-ji regarding the availability of Goods Train around 2:30pm just near to the Sonaulim Chai place. From the Sonaulim Chai Place, if we want to trek back, Kulem RS is around 10kms away. And walking back that much kms is energy consuming process. So, we decided to get ready soon and started walking back towards Sonaulim Chai Shop.
To our surprise, we met Mr. Ashok here, while we are on the way back towards Kulem and they are just entering towards the falls. We met near that Watch Tower area. We shared some plastic covers, which might be useful for them to keep things like mobile phones and all, free and safe from water. Also shared our experience to him and his visiting group, as they are so excited in their visit.
We said bye and all the very best for their visit and resumed our trek, as the train time was nearing. We saw the train crossing the dudhsagar bridge and it is all the way towards us. We can able to hear the sound of the train too. Reaching Sonaulim Chai Place, we quickly completed our luch which Bina Sir gave us as parcel. With the help of Papu-ji, and Sheikh, we requested Railway Police to stop the train un-officially, stating Sheikh had injured his leg while trekking (but not). The Railway Police helped us in this, halted the train for a min and we along with the other group (who were along with us from Sonaulim chai place), got into the same container in the Goods Train.
It was the first ever experience for all of, traveling inside a Goods Train. It was a 20mins journey and all of a sudden, the rain started to pour down heavily with lightning and thunder. We crossed 2 caves too during this train travel.
The train halted just 2kms before Kulem RS and we all get down secretly, without knowing the train driver in the engine. This Goods Train is so large with 6 engines at the front and almost 50+ empty container’s. Since the rail track was so curvy surrounded by dense forest, it was easy for us to get hide from the engine part of the train. Once after the train moved, we left the location. We’ve to trek for another 2km’s to reach Kulem RS.
Around 3:30pm, we reached Kulem RS.
We visited Bina Restaurant, had a cup of tea with some cookies. We thanked Mr Papu-ji for his guidance throughout this trek and Mr Bina for his enormous support. We greeted them both with double the payment as we all were very much satisfied of their servicce and job. Hats-off Both MASTER’s.!
We vacated Bina Cottage around 5pm and started to travel towards North GOA, the real face of GOA>>!!
It was around 6:30pm, when we entered North GOA through famous Atal Setu Bridge. At first, we were searching a good massage location, then a good restaurant, then a good cashew nut shop, then a hotel for stay. We got the best among their business in deals. At first, we completed our dinner @ a 5-star restaurant. We had from soup’s to mocktail’s. Myself ordered GOA SPECIAL KISS ON MY LIPS ;-)
It was tasting like pineapple mixed with some syrub and superb to experience such unique kind of taste. Later, we entered BAGA BEACH. Here, we’re enquiring about massage’s (which we planned to have the next day). We also got room’s in North Goa, Jovinho’s Palace. It is a 5-star hotel very near to BAGA Beach. We had brought some Mocktail’s like Red Bull, Carabao, Monster Drink .etc for that night.
02 Oct, 2019 (Wednesday) :
The next day, it’s pure GOA day as we enjoy riding in almost all available rides in the BAGA Beach. From Banana Ride till Sky Diiving. Riding cost’s starts from 1.5k per head till 2.4k per head (depending upon the individual ride). Completing the rides, we spend some time in the beach, playing caught and ball with 60+ age group uncle’s and foreigner’s. Later half of the day, we spend by going for a massage. Post 6pm, we vacated room GOA with the memories of having and enjoying almost all experience’s in it.
It was around 9pm, when we entered AMBOLI Ghat. I’ve never experienced sunch kind-of driving in my life, that even the next 3rd feet object aren’t visible at a point of driving. There are natural waterfalls falling from the top-hill over the road where we are driving. AMBOLI is scary beauty.
We just crossed the Amboli Checkpost and parked our car aside. There was a superb house (looking so luxury from outside). We thought it was some owned house. But on enquiring with the nearby tea shop, we came to know that it is a cottage / guest house and luxurious among the location (Hotel Durvankur). We simply went inside, enquired about it and cofirmed our stay their itself, as the location was so beautiful and worth.
In-order to make the moment fun-illed, mysel, whesly and sheikh made pravin panic by telling that the building at the back side of our cottage (seperated by a huge football ground) was a Mental Assaylam. But itt was actually a School along with hostel. Pravin believed the same and become very scary till we relieved the truth to him while jogging in the next day morning.
03 Oct, 2019 (Thursday) :
Next day morning, myself, pravin and whesly went for morning jog. We explored many places in Amboli, entered an unknown building which was half-constructed, entering an un-known garden,etc. Sheikh missed this part, as he was busy in sleeping in the room.
View From Room :
Travel And Get Your Own Desktop Wallpapers
Later, we returned back to room, completed our breakfast @ Hotel SaiPrasad which offered us hygenic breakfast with Bread Omlette and Tea and started to Amboli Waterfalls.
Situated in the Sahyadri Hills of the western part of India, Amboli is situated at the height of 690 metres above the sea level and is counted as one of the eco spots of the world since it is home to unusual species of flora and fauna. The Amboli Waterfall is one of the most famous tourist attractions that can be found in Amboli and is visited by numerous tourists all through the year.
This incredibly high waterfall is surrounded by numerous other waterfalls as well, and the sight of the falling water and the surrounding greenery add to the beauty and charm of the already mesmerising place. Since the beauty of the falls cannot be enjoyed throughout the year, the excitement and curiosity to witness this magical waterfall becomes doubled, and couples, children, groups of friends, as well as families, have a gala time at the Amboli Waterfalls.
A flight of concrete stairs takes visitors up to the waterfall, where they can either merely sit back, relax and enjoy the magnificent views, or take a dip in the clean waters of the Amboli Waterfalls. Since the area is quite small, it becomes crowded very quickly; but the liveliness at the waterfall only adds to the joy of the visit.
Suggestion : Be aware of crabs, as they are present in a large number of count.
Getting refreshed @ Amboli Waterfalls, we returned back to our room, vacated our room and started to move towards Satara. Before that, we visited Mahadev Gad, which is on the way while getting down from the Amboli Holls.
Mahadev Gad has a very gigentic view point, displaying all 4 sides from the top of Amboli Hills. We can able to locate 7 waterfalls from here. It has a road to get their. A must visit place when in Amboli. I suggest to cover this place as a morning walk / trek from hotel. Such a serene place, it seems like the nature is left unadulterated. It was just us friends in large swathes of land. One more perk of this early morning walk is that the weather offers you scenic views like early morning sunrise, fog and mist. Also, there is no one to photobomb when you are taking those wonderful pictures of you with hills in the backdrop.
Completed having a gigentic view from the top of one of the great western ghat hill, we resumed towards Satara.
It was around 2pm, when we reach Kolhapur. Since we skipped our lunch, we planned to visit McDonald’s and fill our stomach. It was an Yellow Sky Evening with Drizzling Weather all around us. Here too, we ordered burger and for drinks, we didn’t prefer Pepsi / Coke products. In stead, we went with Cold Coffee.
It was around 4:30pm, when we entered Satara City. Since it was during Pooja Holidays / dasara Festival time, the city was filled with it’s tradition and joy all around.
Here, we also tried ICE BEDA, which costs around Rs. 120, with different flavours. I gone with Malai Oce Beda..
Satara has 2 hills surrounded by. One is Kaas Plateau Hills and the other is Thoseghar Falls Hills. It was a rainy evening, when we decided to climb the Thoseghar Falls Hills.
Thoseghar waterfalls is a scenic spot located near the small village of Thoseghar, 20 km from Satara city, at the edge of the Konkan region, in Western India.
It is one of the highest waterfalls in India and the most scenic - almost an hour's drive from Satara.
A must visit place if you are in Pune or Mumbai - better to visit during monsoon & just post that (Sep-Oct) as it can be viewed in its full flow & serenity during that season.
It is almost a 15-20 walk from the entrance. There are 2 falls - one is short which can be viewed in closer vicinity.You can enjoy the water splashing on you from behind this falls.
The higher waterfall can be viewed at a distance from a viewing gallery. It is just the most awesome and most scenic view that can be enjoyed more directly than in pics.
Parking & toilets are available.
Later, we climb down the Thoskhar Falls hill range and proceeded to Kaas Plateau Hill Range.
The flora of Kas i. e. the entire flowering plants and their related plants are typically restricted to that particular locality only. This is because the plateau is largely formed of basalt which is directly exposed to atmosphere. The basalt is covered almost entirely by a thin cover of soil formed due to erosion and has accumulated a layer of not more than a inch or so.
This soil is neither black nor lateritic. At certain places water gets accumulated because of uneven surface. Such places appear like small puddles which harbor a typical marshy flora. Because of this particular situation of soil the plants growing on Kas plateau are typically of herbaceous nature of like grasses. Botanically the flora is labeled as “herbaceous”. The small shrubs and trees are located at the periphery of the plateau.
The entry Fee charge is Rs. 100/- No entry fees Children below age 12yr. No entry fees for Senior citizen ( age above 65 yrs ) please carry your age proof ID. Note:Only 3000 visitors per day will be allowed to visit. Parking Free. ST Bus Service available from Parking place to Kas plateau and from plateau to Parking place @ Rs.10/- per person from parking & Rs.10/- per person from plateau. Guide Charges Rs 100/-. Free Entry for working soldiers and Ex-soldiers with spouse.
Online booking is compulsory on Saturday, Sunday and Public Holidays.
For more details, visit the official site @ https://www.kas.ind.in/
Completing our exploration of Satara, we completed our dinner @Rajasthani Restaurant, which was good in serving tiffen items.
Later, we started to travel towards Pune via Mahabaleshwar. Reaching Pune around mid night 12, we taken room and falled asleep.
04 Oct, 2019 (Friday) :
Next day morning, we started our journey towards Lonavala in Pune-Mumbai Highway Road.
Heard about Waterfalls. But, MIST FALLS.? :
Lonavala is a hill station near Pune district of Maharashtra. At the height of 2,047 feet from sea level and sprawling over 38 kilometer square of land, Lonavala is an escapist city from the fast-paced and extreme conditions that inhabit both Mumbai and Pune. It offers the perfect retreat to the city dwellers through its serenity and peaceful atmosphere.
Several places of interest around Lonavala and Khandala attract tourists throughout the year. They include vivid and picturesque lakes, cliff-tops, eluding caves, and magnificent forts. Dams and waterfalls are a pioneer attraction during and immediately after the monsoon. Some of these places are Rajmachi Point, Lonavala Lake, and Shivaji Udyan, Valvan Dam, Ryewood Park, Della Adventure Park, Duke’s Nose, Tiger’s Leap and Lohagad and Visapur forts.
If you dive into the history of Lonavala, you will find that it was a part of the Yadava dynasty. Khandala is another hill adjacent to Lonavala, both of which were discovered by the then Governor of Bombay Presidency, Lord Elphinstone. The Maratha and Peshwa empires played a prominent historical role with its Malva warriors. But its history is not the only reason to visit Lonavala.
Lonavala is 96 km away from the city of Mumbai and only 64 km from the modern city of Pune. It falls in between the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, thus making commute all the easier. And if you can’t find a rental car, then you have buses and trains to rely on.
Train journeys are comfortable and filled with lush green passages, especially during the monsoon.
End of The Great Western Ghats, India :
PACK YOUR BAGS..
Completing our visit to Lonavala, we were back to Sarata. Here, we met one of our family friend who cooks superbly. We visited their house as a surprise. At that time itself, she did something very differently in her cooking. It looks like a crispy vada by the taste was totally different and yummy. It was an hour time of visit and we left their house, entered Satara Town and taken room.
05 Oct, 2019 (Saturday) :
The next day morning, we packed all our things and our baby looks ready for a long continuous drive. We left Satara City and started to drive throughout the day towards Coimbatore. It was an 18 hrs journey for us. For breakfast, we halted @ Shri Gajanan Restaurant in Karad. This restaurant serves unique breakfast foods and combination’s. We can’t able to find which fills our stomach with good tasty food, as we don’t have previous experience in this restaurant. There, we met a Tamil guy from Tirunelveli in next table, who helped and guided us in opting the food. He was working in Karad as an IT Professional. He also suggested to have tea in a nearby location (Talaf Chai & Lassi), which serves specifically Tea and Coffee items only and will have good taste too. Completing our unique style of breakfast, we thanked the man and visited the tea shop. We had a cup of tea and also got filled our hot flask with that tasty tea which might be useful during upcoming long travel hours.
For lunch, we entered Haveri around 2pm. Among some options available in search of good restaurant’s, we opted with Hotel Green Court. Followed by dinner, we opted with Udipi Grand Veg restaurant, which is at the entrance of Bangalore Highways and the City. Completing our dinner around 8:30pm, we continued driving. In between, we met a person from whom we got a parrot to pet in Pravin’s House, as a gift for his mother, as her birthday was nearing.
06 Oct, 2019 (Sunday) :
Around 2:30am, we reached Coimbatore. Reaching Coimbatore, we had some tea in a tea shop, followed by dropping our tiredness on the bed in Pravin’s House. Around 10am, we all waken up, had some superd Idly, accompanied with Chutney and Mutton Kuruma done by Pravin’s mom. Completing our breakfast, we thanked and said bye to Pravin and his family, and also Coimbatore. We took our Chevy Beat and came back to Chennai around 10:15pm. In between, we completed our lunch on the way @ Ambur, Star Briyani.
TRAVELING ? IT LEAVES YOU SPEECHLESS, THEN TURNS YOU INTO A STORYTELLER
When You Go for a Road Trip, the Trip Itself Becomes Part of the Story. Do Not Follow Where the Path May Lead. Go Instead Where There Is No Path and Leave a Trail. I Travel a Lot; I Hate Having My Life Disrupted by Routine. A Ship in Harbor Is Safe, but That Is Not What Ships Are Built For. Investment in Travel Is an Investment in Yourself. The World Is a Book, and Those Who Do Not Travel Read Only a Page. At the End of the Day, Your Feet Should Be Dirty, Your Hair Messy and Your Eyes Sparkling.
I don’t know who said this, “Once in an year, go somewhere you have never been before”.
This became the baseline for my own quote, which I use to follow. i. e,
“Once in a travel, go somewhere which wasn’t available in Google Maps.” and “Better to see some location once, than to hear about it a thousand times.”
Hope all felt interesting and got some information for your next exploration. Contact for any travel related queries or guides anytime. Signing-off from this exploration. BON VOYAGE..!!
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