Ambenali (Poladpur - Mahabaleshwar) , for its sheer length Varandha (Mahad - Bhor) , for its isolatedness Raigad Fort : Not aware of the historical importance of the fort but it is presently in the best condition of all the forts in Maharashtra. just don't miss sunset and sunrise on this kind of roads! There were clouds all over and the visibility was a mere 40-50 ft which decreased the erstwhile speed of our vehicle from 50-60 kmph to 25-30 kmph. EDIT: Don't worry I understood the route from the Panchgani thread. As expected, Shubham was not able to eat what he anticipated and we ended sharing up that. 5. Disclamer- All the places have been visited by me personally and what I have showcased is my personal point of view which may differ person to person. We finalized a hotel r00m near Mapro Garden and parked our car inside, entered the room and changed to night clothes. The other attraction for me is the well paved highways and the entertaining ghat section where I could put the Audi A6 ’s prowess to test. This is a nice single lane road with lot of banyan trees for company. We were able to complete the full distance in a single stretch with just a 5 min stop for driver change. After a 10 min halt in front of pizza hut, wakad Pune we had poha and vada sambhar as our breakfast and moved ahead to the beautiful tamhini ghat via Hinjewadi and pirangut. Next Stop was the much anticipated Mapro Garden. This hill town is great to visit all year round. pune-nh4-nasarapur-tollnaka-khandala-toll naka2-khambataki ghat-after crossing ghat, at @5km one underconstruction overbridge for on coming vehicles-turn right under this bridge[this junction is called surul]-wai-pasarani ghat-panchagani-mahabaleshwar. Before we move any further let me introduce you to my fellow road trippers, I(Shishir)- Driver and acrophobic, Daksh- The co-driver and photographer, Shubham- The Co- photographer and foodie and Ajay- Sleeper cell member and overenthusiastic. A. Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Amboli, and Satara are some of the best places to visit near Pune for couples. It is one of the best places to visit near Pune & Mumbai and among the top places to visit in Maharashtra. The location was so beautiful that we can literally shoot a Bollywood movie song on the road itself and it will have the most picturesque surroundings. Beyond that i have no clue about how the ghats are ... well, we did that trip in my Zen. It was not our first time as this had been inherited from our previous trip of Devkund Waterfall (I will share the blog for the same, soon). One hour charging at Nerul and 1 hour charging after the ghat at Khandala and they were in Pune. could someone throw some light and the condition of the Mumbai-Mahabaleshwar route via mahad, after these rains !! * There are three ghats on the way to Mahabaleshwar. Thanks! 4] Sankeshwar to Gadhinglaj to Ajara to Amboli to Sawantwadi. Moving down from Panchgani to catch on the Mumbai-Banglore higway came a very beautiful spot which resembled the views from Parsi point, The only difference was that we had an unrestricted view and it was open form each and everywhere. Pune to Mahabaleshwar-> good road. Crossing the steel plant we stumbled upon a very beautiful River bridge and hence, stop no. Route Followed: Pune- Khambataki Ghat-Satara-Karad-Peth Naka Ghats Section: Katraj Ghat, Khambataki Ghat Distance Covered Approx: 207 Kms This is my second longest ride after Pune to Amravati cycle ride. This option also leads you to travel more on Mumbai Goa Highway which is single lane. Got to try Reliance Pump outside Pune. This place will definitely bring out the hidden photographer in you and we for instance had 2 enthusiasts, so it is safe to assume that they took the full advantage of the clear skies and again Ajay and I had to beg for our photographs. The 3 BHK Bungalow Nice homely atmosphere | clean rooms and home made food|" on Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar Rd, Metgutad, Maharashtra. : +91 7385463086 , … The names of food joints mentioned have in no way paid me to take their name and are highlighted by my personal choice as I enjoyed their tasty food. After a 10 min halt in front of pizza hut, wakad Pune we had poha and vada sambhar as our breakfast and moved ahead to the beautiful tamhini ghat via Hinjewadi and pirangut. The distance from Panchgani to Lonavala is approximately 150-155 Km and can be comfortably covered in 2.5-3 Hours (depending on the traffic in Pune). Yupp. All in all it was a very good experience and I hope that we get to drive through some of more beautiful indian roads in our coming future. The cost of Ropeway for adults is INR 300/- for a 2 way ride and INR 185/- for a single way ride(inclusive of taxes). We called it a night at 11 PM as we had the hotel booking till 9 AM , so had to vacate the place before then. Take the bangalore highway.. Generally i catch that route from Chandi Chowk.. Best Time to Visit Mahabaleshwar The calm and peaceful hill station, Mahabaleshwar is located in Maharashtra with a scenic view that is undoubtedly breathtaking. ... owing to heavy rains and boulders falling in the rail section. Looking straight in the road gave us a beautiful view of the Western Ghats but unlike the Himalayas, these mountains were forest covered. Mahabaleshwar recorded the highest rainfall in the last four days in the state with 522mm. After around 8-9 kilometres, you have to turn for Wai (Going straight will take you to Panchgani/Mahabaleshwar). On arriving at the Venna lake, it was useless to go there as the rains showed no mercy on us and nothing was visible past 75-100m. Once we got down from the ropeway, it was decided to have an evening snacks and dinner in mahabaleshwar only as we had plenty of options to eat there in comparison to raigad which is sparsely populated with very less places for decent food and it comes to me as a surprise that how our foodie aka Shubham agreed to our decision in a blink of an eye. You pass the town of Shirwal and 16 kms later reach the beginning of the Khambatki Ghat. Leaving from this spot, we were approximately 19km away from the fort and we reached there in half an hour. Considered to be one the busiest roads in India, it spans a distance of 94.5 km. As suggested by our very own Sleeper cell Ajay we should change our t-shirts as we had ample of stock for a 2-day trip and the photos, when uploaded to the social media, will make it look like different day trips. Next stop was Venna Lake. It’s the proximity that makes this hill station such an ideal getaway. Day 2 was rather a small day for us as we had to reach back home by 9 PM and we had decided to visit Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani both in the morning and will leave for Lonavala through the Mumbai-Banglore Highway for a dinner and then head home. Travelling till Hinjewadi phase 3 is literally a cumbersome task on weekdays owing to the heavy traffic in office hours but today, the feel was totally different. After getting our tummies full it was time to see the beautiful Panchgani. The waterfall is huge and is in 3 stages and approximately has a fall of 400+ft (I assume). 1-1.5 hours to reach the top and ropeway takes 2-5min. We clicked ample of photos in various pose. After around 3 kms, you enter Wai village. Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Statue at Fort. The fort has 2 ways to go up which are. Situated at the top end of Bhor Ghat, Khandala is also amongst the famous hill stations in the country. Ratnagiri - Mahabaleshwar - Pune Day 3. The paparazzo waited for more than 40 minutes to get a shot (forget perfect), but there was disappointment all around. You can expect to be driving on NH-4, the Wai-Panchgani road, Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar road and Kaas-Mahabaleshwar road. Fortunately, the descent of the bus into the deep valley was halted due to the dense tree cover. But as expected, it started raining very heavily and we could not see the place and we came back to our car. Image SourceLooking for places to visit near Pune within 200 km ? Last 45km is on SH without divider. Roads are in good conditions on highway sector. You can hire cabs for Pune to Mahabaleshwar and enjoy a day or weekend trip with your friends and family. It was 3 PM and it would take us 3-3.5 hours to reach Sunny da dhaaba. He was accompanied by Shubham for a short while until we woke him up at a beautiful bridge below which a small river was flowing. You could choose to rent a Pune Mahabaleshwar Cool Cab Service city, railway station or airport. The total distance should be around 120 kms and travel time will be about 2 hours and 30 minutes. the Roads were good, except in places where they had put diversions, and hte Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar roads were good too. We changed our clothes, got into our wheels and headed to mahabaleshwar. It is a long and winding ghat section on this route. So, it is convenient to reach Pune and then head towards Mahabaleshwar. Via Koyna is also good option, easy ghat section and normal traffic. The roads were beautiful till the tamhini ghat started and once we entered the tamhini village, everything changed in a flash. ... Mahabaleshwar is a hill town located in the Western Ghats. Head to Mahabaleshwar which is a well-known picnic spot near Pune in summer popular for its highest sunrise point – Wilson Point at a height of 4710 feet and strawberries. it was supposed to be a pocket friendly trip). Before reaching the Table land you have to pay a toll of INR 30/- per 4 wheeler and INR 20/- per head which was also present in Mahabaleshwar. The receipt provided by them got damaged due to rain in Lingamala waterfall. Hence I had no other option but to enjoy the rains. Plans were hatched over midnight coffee and I found myself with a pack of fellow riders on an early morning cruise to Mahabaleshwar about 150km south of Pune. It passes through The stairway takes approx. Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar; Pune to Malshej Ghat; Munnar to Kodaikanal; Wayanad to Coorg (Madikeri) 1) Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar. If we see the Himalayan ranges carefully, we can see that when we look at the mountain ranges in any hill station of himachal or Kashmir there are 100’s of mountains in the background and we are able to see them with decreased visibility as we go ahead which was not the case with the western ghats but this was the only time I was able to see the similarity and it amazed me to the core. We went to the waterfall and thanks to the weather of Mahabaleshwar it was all clouds around and we were unable to see even a single stream of the waterfall. As expected, the shutterbugs got back to their work and hence started a photo session of half an hour which ended with many burst mode cover photo shots and all were very very very beautiful. None of the food stuff gets wasted or thrown specially when u have cheese sandwiches, pizzas, variety of shakes, ice cream smoothies and a bunch of bachelors who stay 600+ kms away from home. Maybe it was the tiredness or the cheese, but we ended up eating a little bit more this time which shot up our bill (P.s. This expressway has reduced the travel time from Mumbai to Pune to just 2 hours. Finally!! The photocopy one's as the original's are currently at Chennai for NOC. The waterfall was visible from the road and we were tempted to stop and hence technically our first halt(thankfully we stopped). Thanks Yatin. Mahabaleshwar to poladpur -> ghat section with lot of turns and bad patches in between. This sort of marked the end of our Panchgani trip and we were all set to go to Lonavala for our dinner. The climate is usually cool and pleasant but it does get cold sometimes, so one should remember to carry their woollens. The ghat section in this Expressway is about 10 km from Khandala to Dehu. Hope it helps you. Total Distance from Sankeshwar to Sawantwadi: 99.3 km Moving to the Table land, we parked our vehicle and went to the Table land which was just a plateau structure and we can see the beautiful Dhom lake from it. Alright, I exagerrated it a bit. It is a paradise for trekkers, photographers, nature lovers and adventure seeking travelers.How to Reach: It is located at a distance of about 120 km from Pune and it takes about 3 hours to reach.Attractions: Mahabaleshwar offers beautiful scenic views. I accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy of Tripoto. Being in the vicinity of Pune and Mumbai makes this a highly visited place and the amount of tax collected did not do the justice to the existing basic facilities like cleanliness and infrastructure .I’m a firm believer that cleanliness is not just the municipality’s responsibility but a combined effort of people as well but it was clear that the efforts from the first front were missing. The route was very beautiful again and it rained in a few patches but by now the sleeper cell made justice to his name and was in a very deep sleep. Also, I'm taking my TN registered car, any issues that I may face? Day 3 - 31-March-2009 . The sun was about to set and hence it started to become dark, the visibility decreased to about 20-25ft and we were practically not able to shift the stick to 3rd gear also. Trees for company car inside, entered the ghat at Khandala and they in! Can be covered in daylight here too you cross this ghat, Khandala is good! Find a hotel r00m near Mapro Garden – 2000/- ( 500/- per head.... But no sharp turns to Sunday 9PM am not able to find a hotel r00m near Mapro Garden and preparation! Shirwal and 16 kms later reach the top end of our Panchgani trip and were. Diversions, and the bus into the ghat region of Mahabaleshwar for a couple of days, away the... Standing at the Orchard Café Sanaswadi covering a total distance of 44 kms this hill is. 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