Sajjangad,Thoseghar waterfalls biking trip in monsoon

Dear Readers,

I would like to narrate one more biking trip this weekend to Pune-Sajjangad-Thoseghar-Satara and back to Pune.

I started around 9:00 am in morning from Pune and reached Sajjangad around 11:30 am and thereafter around 3:30 pm,I left for Thoseghar and around 5:45 pm,I left for Satara,had some look of this city full of tradition, purchased some Kandi Pedhas(A sweet popular here) and left for Pune around 7:00 pm.

The biking experience from Satara to Thoseghar was a memorable one with dense clouds,mild to heavy rain,greenery everywhere and small to big waterfalls seen falling from mountains and pleasent cold breeze blowing,clean and good motorable road.In short,Conditions suitable for a passionate biker

Sajjangad:

This place is a sacred place in Maharastra due to samadhi of great saint Swami Samarth Ramdas,The Spiritual Guru of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

This fort during time of Shivaji Maharaj was also called as Parli fort.After this fort was conquered by Marathas,Shivaji Maharaj invited Ramdas Swami on this fort and requested him to stay here.

Hence due to the staying of a great saint here,this fort is a very sacred place.

Sajjangad is located 12 kms west of Satara.Plenty of ST buses ply till this place from many places in Maharastra.

Sajjangad is situated on Satara-Thoseghar-Chalkewadi Road.

There are two ways to go to Sajjangad.

1) From Satara city,Powai Chowk,take a left turn,cross the small tunnel and take right,this road continues till Thoseghar.

The other way to Sajjangad is proceed from Highway towards Karad,after 6 kms from Satara,take right turn from highway towards Shendre village and follow straight road till 5 kms backside of Ajinkyatara fort.This road will take you till the tunnel.In front of this tunnel,take left turn to join Satara-Sajjangad-Thoseghar road.

After 7 kms,This road starts to climb up slopes in mountains

After 5 kms in this Ghat,there is a point where this same road straight goes to Chalkewadi/Thoseghar and right turn up slope towards Sajjangad.

Continue through this right turn road in the dense forests till 1 km.You will reach the steps.

From here,Harldy 100 steps takes you to the entrance of fort.

Sajjangad has few water tanks on its top but not good for drinking.It has a Ashram and Samadhi of Ramdas Swami.

There is open space over hill,from where one can have a glance of Urmodi Dam built on Urmodi river and mountains surrounded from all sides and also strong and cold wind blowing in monsoon.

Thoseghar:

It is famous for its waterfalls in monsoon.There are two gigantic waterfalls falling from great heights into the valley.The mountains nearby are surrounded by clouds all over in monsoon, Mist spread everywhere due to the waterfall and heavy rains.

From Sajjangad,proceed further 15 kms through hills towards Chalkewadi,you will be able to see large windmills over a flat mountain top(Project by Enercon India LTD)

This motorable road will take you in Thoseghar village.

From this village,again proceed 2 kms ahead.To your left you will see a Dhaba(it is named as "Hotel Waterfall" in Marathi) and Thoseghar police checkpost in front of it.This is the point which leads to Thoseghar waterfalls.

Park your vehicles in front of that Dhaba and proceed through the steps.

Actually there is no board regarding information given about the waterfall,So you have to ask the local villagers after you get into Thoseghar village itself.

The below photograph is a scene of the area near waterfall

There are protection fencing all over the waterfall side and since there is slippery conditions in rainy season,Avoid stepping over the other side of fence.It is Still very very pleasent to watch waterfall by remaining within the fencing boundary so no need of doing any adventure.

Also avoid to get into small bushes in this area because there are leeches in the forests.

Chalkewadi is situated 3 kms ahead of Thoseghar with pleateau over mountain top.It is situated at heights of 3500 feet and has large windmills sperad all over.

Many people says that from this mountain top,one can see backwaters of Koyna.I was not fortunate to see because of clouds and very very heavy rain

I would like to say that this places are worth visiting in monsoon

I have added a Video of Thoseghar.Please excuse me because I have taken it from my mobile hence it is not of that good quality.I have taken one video from my camera also but its size is above 50 mb.Hence due to size considerations,I will post the video taken from my mobile.

More than I telling you any more,Please visit this place.

Konkan coast in Maharastra.Information about Some good places

Dear Readers,

Maharastra has 700 kms of coastline from Dahanu to Tarekhol.It is worth visiting clean beaches,spend a weekend and relaxation from the hectic metro life of Mumbai and Pune.

Konkan area is blessed with evergreen forests,coconut and beetlenut trees,rice fields and clean beaches all around

There are many beaches but I would like to tell the beaches which are not crowded by tourists

For a clean beach you will find them from Alibag onwards.But my favorite beach is Diveagar.Cleanest of all.

6 kilometers long beach,clean white seashore surrounded by evergreen trees.It is pleasent to take a morning walk there.

Also Diveagar is famous for Golden Ganesh idol and also for migratory birds in winter.

Nowadays there are few good resorts coming up there.

Places nearby Diveagar are

1) Murud Janjira fort 24 kms.

2) Shrivardhan 17 kms (Marine drive from Diveagar to Shrivardhan is fantastic.A 16 km road parallel to sea is worth travelling by car or bike)

3) Harihareshwar beach 32 kms

3 days trip plan must be done since 5 hours are spend in travelling

Pune to Diveagar: 160 kms

Route: Pune-Paud-Mulshi-Tamhini Ghat-Mangaon-Mumbai Goa highway-Goregaon take right turn-Mhasala-Borli

Time to visit: November to March

Nearest Railway Station:Vir near Mahad

Dapoli: It is famous for its pleasant climate.It is called Mini Mahabaleshwar of Konkan.

Places nearby Dapoli:

Harnai Suvarnadurga fort 28 kms

Anjarle Famous for its beach and Ganesh temple 16 kms

Kelshi beach is a calm and quiet beach with lush greenery all around.It is really marvellous.It is 20+ kms from Harnai but road is not that good to reach there.

Distance :Dapoli from Pune is 200 kms, and Mumbai 230 kms

Nearest Railway Station: Khed

Time to visit: November to March

GanapatiPule:It is again famous for its Ganesh Temple and Beach.There is a MTDC resort adjoining beach.Water sports are also conducted here.

How to reach there: Mumbai Goa highway via Mahad,Khed,Chiplun,Nivali and take right turn to Ganapatipule.There is a very good waterfall near Nivali.Its good to see a big waterfall falling in valley with lush greenery everywhere

Distance: 330 kms from Pune(8 hours),160 kms from Kolhapur via Amba Ghat(4.5 hrs)

Nearest Railway Station: Sangameshwar(80 kms from Ganapatipule)

Places nearby Ganapatipule: Jaigad famous for its long beach is 30 kms from here

Time to visit: November to March.

Definately these places are worth watching.They are acessible by road and rail in all seasons.

And I will keep posted later because I have many details.

Biking trip to Diveagar beach

Dear viewers,

This time with a new post.About Diveagar,Shrivardhan,Harihareshwar and Raigad trip

After a long and tiring hectic work schedule I was looking for a vacation where I can get relaxed and planned a trip for 4 days

Being a biker,I Usually like to go for a 1 week vacation every year on Bike and believe me on my bike I have toured lot of Maharastra from Nasik to Kolhapur,From Alibag to Goa very very comfortably on my TVS Victor GLX 125 cc bike since 3 years

This time I planned this trip on Bike

I decided to stay in Diveagar for 2 days.You can getMTDC cottages/private rooms after reaching here.Since these place is not very crowded,you can get accomodation easily here

One wonderful morning,I started my bike,already my friends were waiting at one meeting point and we started heading towards Diveagar.

The road from Pune till Tamhini Ghat is very excellent and smooth.No problem at all while driving.

It was a good scene in morning with mountains everywhere and waters of Mulshi dam spread all over and grenery everywhere and pleasant breeze blowing early morning.Very soon the bad road started and there was a uphill road(Not as steep as Varandha Ghat).Very soon,we started seeing valleys towards Konkan,slopes climbing down the ghat with ocassional small waterfall(since it was last week of November).We climbed down the Ghat and had a small halt near Nizampur village.I turned back and had a look at the mountains.The scene was breathtaking.while climbing down We didnt realize the huge mountains of Tamhini ghats but its vast structure was visible from the Konkan area.

Soon we joined the Mumbai Goa highway near mangaon and from there almost 12 kms on highway there is a village Goregaon from where we took left turn towards Diveagar.It was still 65 kms away

The road here was somewhat difficult to drive because it was full of turns,curves,ups and downs and through dense forests and no village/ human settlement nearby.After a difficult drive of 36 kms through such roads, now some small villages started approaching.Typical Konkan houses with mangalore roofs, rice fields everywhere and the pleasant smell of rice from the fields throughought the road since it was the harvesting season.It was very delightful scene.

This smell was so good that I forgot all the exhaustion of long drive on bike and I didnt even knew that I was in Diveagar village.

It is a small village with lots of coconut and betelnut  trees everywhere,small but well built houses.

We got a good place to live in reasonalble cost(1000 rupees per day for a house where 8 people can easily stay) and that too very near to Beach

We were delighted.After having lunch and some rest,in evening we went to beach.It was a marvellous scene.A very very clean beach,not a bit of paper spread on it believe me and it was 6 kms long beach

I enjoyed walking/running/Jogging on this beach

In Morning the scene was more pleasant.There are more migratory birds on the beach seen early morning.The climate is also very nice.

In these days of pollution,this clean beach is very much appreciating.All the credit to be given to the villagers

Another attraction in this village is the 'Golden Ganesha Temple'

In 1997 on the day of Sankasthi Chaturthi,this golden idol of Ganesha was found in a farm while digging.From thereon it is placed in this temple

From there I proceeded to Harihareshwar,a worship place and also famous for its beach.

From there climbed a hill facing towards sea and had a breathtaking view of Bankot fort on the opposite banks of Savitri river meeting Arabian sea.This river divides two districts Raigad and Ratnagiri

From there back to Diveagar and had a stay.

Next morning I headed towards Raigad fort.The fort which I was very eager to see

Reached Mahad and from there proceeded to Raigad 28 kms ahead through small roads,surrounded by mountains from all sides

Now there is a ropeway which takes you on the top of fort in just 1 minute.The other road is through 1200 steps which took 2.5 exhausting hrs

But after reaching the fort one can recognize the vastness of this fort and great vision of Shivaji Maharaj for choosing this fort as his capital.

The main reason was that this fort is not visible and easily accessible from anywhere since it is medium in size,surrounded by straight rocks from all sides which is impossible to climb and surrounded by difficult mountains from all sides.The only way to enter this fort is through Mahad,so Enemy has only one way to enter and gets trapped from all sides.

Second point is that from Raigad,all forts nearby like Torna,Lingana,Pratapgad,Rajgad can be viewed easily so it was possible for him to keep watch easily on other forts

Shivaji Maharaj was crowned as Chatrapati on this fort.There is a small pool of water on fort which contained waters of seven rivers in India brought for coronation ceremony

Samadhi of Shivaji Maharaj is also located on this fort

This fort is king of all the forts in Sahyadri mountains

You can get much information of this fort from a local guides who are frequently available on fort and will give you lots of good information.

Accomodations from MTDC are available on this fort

After this I departed to Pune via Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar

One of my memorable Biking trips I had.

Total distance

From Pune to Diveagar: 156 kms

Diveagar to Harihareshwar: 36 kms

Diveagar to Raigad: 85 kms

Places Nearby Diveagar:Murud Janjira fort 28 kms,Alibag

Precautions to be taken:

At Diveagar please try to maintain cleanliness of beach.Avoid plastic materials on beach

At one end in Diveagar there is a small river meeting sea.This is a marshy area.Please be careful while stepping forward.My suggestion is to avoid this place

Shivtharghal,Varandha Ghat

Dear Blog viewers,

With this blog,I am introducing the beautiful part of Maharastra,The great Sahyadri mountains running from North to South,full of historic tales of the great legend Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj,Great saints and places of religious and historical importance

I was always fascinated by the great sahyadri mountains from my childhood and so developed habit of trekking and visiting various tourist places.The main objective is to learn lifestyle from the villagers,knowing various cultures.

I would like to start my blog about of the great place called Shivtharghal located near Mahad(Raigad district Maharastra) .

Introduction:This place is a sacred place and abode of great saint Ramdas Swami,the spiritual Guru of Shivaji Maharaj.He used to reside in the cave located at the footsteps of mountains and he wrote a book in this cave called "Dasbodh".It is a calm and quiet place surrounded with massive hills from all around with huge waterfalls in rainy season.

All these surroundings makes this place as a worship place,challenging place for trekkers and for those people who like visit excursion spots for gaining peace and ambience and take some time from their hectic schedules

How to Go to this place

From Pune this place is 115 kms

The road is from Pune to Bhor and from there you join Bhor-Mahad Road.While driving through this road you will always see clean and fresh waters of neera river towards your left with huge mountains of Raireshwar-Wai-Mahabaleshwar range further left and Huge Varandha ghat and Rajgad fort mountains to your front

Further 25 kms from Bhor there is a big dam on neera river and in front of it you will see huge Raireshwar pleateau mountain.This pleateau is famous for its very huge table land and yellow symthia flowers in monsoons,This pleateau is larger than Panchgani table land

The varandha ghat starts 10 kms from this dam and you will encounter steep climbs and slopes,dense greenery all over the hills and backwaters of neera dam towards left.This heavenly scene is undescribable.I think that more than I telling you,it will be better that you must experience it yourself(especially in monsoon season)

After driving for around 20 kms now the climb up slope become more steeper and now the backwaters of dam is not visible.You will see a pass in this ghat(Khind in Marathi language) called dwarmandap pass.From here the view changes.You will see very very steep valleys facing towards Konkan with curved roads climbing down and deep valley around 3000 feet,Torna and Rajgad fort to your front and if the climate is not foggy,you will be lucky to see the King of all forts 'Raigad'

Further the road climbs down and we reach a point in Ghat where nearly all tourists definately halt to have tea and kanda bhajis/pakodas.This spot is called Waghjai point.From her we can have some view of shivtharghal and in rainy season we can see awesome huge waterfalls

From this point Shivtharghal is 9 kms through a small approach road for two wheelers and cars and 24 kms by a good road.but be careful because I dont recommend this road unless you are a hardcore driver/biker to drive through this road.This will be full of adventure because you will have to drive through really very bad road with steep slopes and curves and through dense jungles(Please note that this road is suitable for bullock carts and only for those who like walking in jungle treks)

The safe road which I recommend is straightway climb down Varandha ghat into Konkan and reach Barasgaon and from there Shivtharghal is 15 kms.This good road will take you through banks of Shivthar river and huge mountains in front to Shivtharghal

This place is in cave located with huge hills from all sides,dense forests.There is a Math near this cave called 'Sundar math'

After reaching this place you will come to know why Ramdas swami choose this place for his meditation and writing dasbodha

In rainy season you will see a huge waterfall in front of cave

The cave is not very big but good  for meditation and peace of mind.

You will find yourself relaxed after sitting in this cave for a while 

From Mumbai/Konkan area the approach to this place is quiet simple

Reach Mahad through Mumbai Goa highway,take left towards road going to Pune,reach Barasgaon and from there as mentioned earlier follow the road till Shivtharghal.

Best season to visit: July to November(For trekkers and bike freaks)

For those who loves spirituality/Adhyatma,there is no season to visit this place

Care to be taken:Please maintain sacredness of this place while visiting this place,dont talk in loud voice to disturb others,After having prasad(Khichadi) from the Math,please remember to wash your own plate and keep it in its place.

Please check that you have enough fuel in fuel tank,check brakes and headlights of your vehicle

There is no fuel station between 75 kms.In The 30 kms area,rarely there is a village

Staying:In this village there is a 'bhakta niwas' where you can stay (with discipline) or else in the village also you can get accomodation at reasonable rates.

Places nearby to see: Mahabaleshwar & Pratapgad via Poladpur 85 kms,Harihareshwar 80 kms,Diveagar Beach 75 kms,Raigad Fort: 45 kms

For Trekkers: Jungle Trek from Shivtharghal to Madhe Ghat to Torna fort 27 kms

I also will be coming with new posts about new places specially about tourism and some hobbies/crafts

Thankyou all for reading this huge blog.I recommend you to visit this place