Le Monde - A Poetic Travail » Mahabaleshwar

Lady with an umbrella

Nisha — Wed, 28 Sep 2011 10:15:10 +0000

Picture of the moment: Lady with an umbrella
Picture of the moment is a weekly series exhibiting pictures from around the world.

It was monsoon season and we were holidaying in a hill station. It was heavy fog & slight drizzle when we went out for a walk. Then I noticed this woman, holding an umbrella and standing still. Her umbrella threw some color in an otherwise dull day.

A lady with umbrella

First, it looked to me as if she was waiting for somebody. But no.
When we went past her, we realized she was marveling at the thatched house. Is not that intriguing ?

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Venna Lake, Mahabaleshwar

Cuckoo — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:23:00 +0000

While coming back from Panchgani, we stopped at Venna Lake for some boating. It has changed its face since we visited it last time three years back.

The Venna Lake is a great attraction to everybody with its dazzling sight, boating, fishing, newly came up dam and stalls for games and eatables. It is within walking distance from Town Mahabaleshwar.

It also supplies drinking water to the town. Venna Lake has an area of 28 Acres and average depth of the 10 ft.

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Mahabaleshwar – II

Cuckoo — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 19:20:00 +0000

The first points we saw were Panchaganga Mandir and Shri Shankar Mandir.

Panchaganga Mandir

As per the Hindu mythology five holy rivers Krishna, Venna, Koyna, Savitri & Gayatri show their token appearance here in five springs flowing closely. They are seen flowing in five stone conduits & joining in one horizontal half channel leading to the Goumukhi (cow face) spout. Through the Goumukhi it falls in the cistern below.

Shri Shankar Mandir
The Mahalinga of the lord Shiva is of Rudraksha shape & believed to be ’self-bodied’ (swayambhoo). This Mahalinga is considered to be superior to the twelve jyotirlingas. It is called Trigunatmaka for the presence of Brahma-Visnhu-Mahesh. According to the locals, Shivaji had weighed his mother Jeejabai by gold in this temple & then the gold was distributed in charity.

We found this cat in the temple premises; there are plenty of photos of this cutie cat. We all followed her for quite sometime before proceeding towards some of the other famous points.

Wilson Point: This is the highest point at 4710 ft above sea level. Also called Sunrise point. It is a vast plateau. There are three masonry round platforms to see the sunrise.
Kate’s Point: It is said that some king’s daughter named Kate had committed suicide from this point. Needless to say, another name for this point is Suicide point. It offers breathtaking view of Krishna valley & deep waters of the Dhom dam.
Elephant Point: From southern side it looks like an elephants head. And in between elephant’s trunk and face there is a hole which is called Needle Hole point.

The whole place was so muddy, slippery and full of moss that once looking at the mesmerizing beauty of nature, I lost my balance and slipped around 2 meters along the scary cliff. But still I did not leave my camera. Luckily my sister was there to hold me.

This photo on right is from the same cliff.

Echo point: Near Elephant point, there is also an echo point. Yes, whatever you say, it’ll come back to you after echoing through the mountains.

On way to Pratap Gadh fort, we stopped to have our lunch at a dhaba serving good maharashtrian food and that was the best food we had in Mahabaleshwar overruling all restaurants and hotels.

Pratap Gadh Fort

The majestic Pratapgadh is 25 kms from Mahabaleshwar. It houses the tomb of Afzalkhan at its toe. The fort was built and belonged to King Shivajiraje Bhosle. Yes, that is the full name of Shivaji. The entry gate of the fort was made after a good thought process. It is not seen unless one comes very near to the fort. So, to find out where is the entry, the enemies had to come in the vicinity of the fort and thus risk their lives. There is also a temple of Bhavani mata, the idol of worship of King Shivaji. There is a statue called Bale killa of Shivaji Maharaj inside the fort. The total no. of steps are around 450.

By seven in we started going back to hotel. Throughout the journey to PratapGadh fort it was raining very heavily. So, very little pictures of this place. I’ll paste some from my previous visit to this place.

Had dinner at the hotel itself. Next day we were to go to Panchgani and Venna Lake.

Glossary - Mandir = Temple
Dhaba = Kiosk

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All Green in Mahabaleshwar

Cuckoo — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:52:00 +0000

Last weekend of July, people around me were planning a visit to Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani, small hill stations amidst the heights of the Sahyadris mountains, about 120 km south of Pune. Fortunately I was able to plan my time so that I can travel with them. Though I had been to both these places three years back during summer, I wanted to see how different it looks in monsoon. The photos in my last post are from the same trip.

Situated at a height of 1372 m, Mahabaleshwar is one of the most popular and picturesque hill resorts in Maharashtra. The magnificent hill resort is a paradise of the tourists and honeymooners; also famous for weekend getaway. Mahableshwar has the highest rainfall in monsoon in Maharashtra. It was the summer capital of Bombay province during the British era.

Traveling in a big group has its own advantages & disadvantages. First was the hotel booking. During monsoon season, many of good hotels close down for various reasons. So, we zeroed down to MTDC. There, all the family suites & family rooms were already booked (I wonder why then some private hotels close), hence had to settle for cottage rooms. Each room had occupancy for 3 persons plus a guest at extra charge. We booked 3 such rooms at Rs 900/- per room per day. It was at 50% discount because of something called Monsoon Dhmaaka discount ! That was quite a bargain. This is how the mornings were inside the MTDC hotel complex.

He is Kamble, standing in front of the MTDC office. All in one, very helpful and punctual person.

And below is MTDC hotel complex, it becomes extremely foggy during monsoon and winters. More on this later.

Next was mode of transport. Since most of us wanted to be together, specially the kids (all between 12 to 16 years), the best option was to go for a Volvo bus. We did try for a mini bus all to ourselves but couldn’t succeed. The one way Volvo fare to Mahabaleshwar is Rs 400/- per person. The nine hour bus journey was quite comfortable with an hour break in between. AC Volvo buses are known for their comfortable airplane like seats and latest movies. Friday night at 10 we left and reached there on Saturday morning by 7 AM. By the time we took cabs to the hotel & formally checked in, it was 8 AM. From market to hotels (within 2 KMs) is flat rate of Rs 40/- per taxi. It was drizzling throughout the journey.

By the time we all freshened up, had breakfast and negotiated the taxis to take us to various points Mahabaleshwar is famous for, it was well above 11. The deal struck for Rs 1200/- per taxi to show us two temples, three points and Pratapgarh Fort on day one and take us to Panchgani & back on day two. Quite reasonable, I must say. If you don’t have your own vehicle, hired taxis are the best option.

Mahabaleshwar’s famous “points” offer breathtaking views of valleys that are full of evergreen forests and lush undergrowth. Springs and water falls abound in the area offer lovely picnic spots. Many of these points have good motorable roads. A drive around Mahabaleshwar, the winding rides through thick foliage are an experience & most pleasant. One can also see the generously sized bungalows of another age. However, the landscape is fast changing with modern architecture.

If one really wants to enjoy nature in all its placid glory, it is a must for every visitor to take leisurely walks along these paths.

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