[pjbiju]

This is our first trip in the rains this season. It had been a while since we had gone anywhere after our summer trip to Kerala. We wanted to go somewhere where we could just freak out, eat and come back tired.

We first thought of going to our favourite beach for an overnight stay - Kashid. But I was not sure what we would do if it rained the whole day. So dumped that idea.

Then we thought of Bhor-Varandha Ghat-Shivthar Ghal. Gave up this option since there are no places to eat once you cross Bhor. We simply did not want to carry the food with us. And that left us with the only other option of Tamhini Ghat. And that's where we went.

13-July-2013, Saturday was the d-day.

What a day it was. We drove through rain, we drove through mist and we drove through potholes. It was not raining cats and dogs that day, but was literally raining hippos and elephants. All along the day we felt it was late evening because of the overcast sky. We drove through wet patches only to drive into some of the heaviest showers I have witnessed around Pune. We drove all the way to Orchard Resort which is about 90 km from Pune. We had a sumptuous buffet lunch over there and then headed back into the rain and Pune. We started from Pune around 8:00 a.m. and reached back by around 6:30 p.m.

There is nothing much to write about this trip. The road upto Tamhini village was tolerable and after that it is full of potholes. So go slow and enjoy the views around. There are plenty of waterfalls along the road that you can claim exclusively as yours and enjoy.

You will also find broken bottles and other stuff at these waterfalls. So you have be to be careful. We did cross a police check post that hopefully was checking for drunk driving. it is better to go as a larger group and better to go on a weekday if you can. You will find some waterfalls occupied by hooligans sitting and drinking and dancing. It is quite alright to do these things but not at the inconvenience of others.

The route we took


And now for the pictures.

Into the rain


Breakfast stop


Sign of things to come


Free car wash


The washed car (friend's car)


My car. The Swift is not a good car to be driving over pothole filled roads. My wife ditched the Swift and moved into the Swift Dzire. She was all praises for the ride quality of the car.


The first photo-stop


Paddy fields

[pjbiju]

We had no particular destination or agenda. Well, not really. Because we did have an agenda. Stop at any place that we felt like. Get drenched in one of the waterfalls. And then have lunch at Orchard Resort. We could not stop at some of the scenic spots since there was not enough shoulder width to park all our four cars. We did not want to cause obstruction to traffic by stopping at such places. And this what exactly some people do. On our return journey we had to wait for nearly ten minutes at a turning, since people had parked their vehicles on either side of the road and the MHSRTC bus going ahead of us could not cross through that patch. And the guys who had parked their cars/bikes took their own sweet time to come off the waterfall to move their vehicles and that too with an attitude that they were doing everyone a great favour by doing so.

Rains & mist. The visibility in some of the mist covered sections were hardly 12 to 15 feet or so.


With the wiper switched off for a couple of seconds


Taking in the beauty


Exploration


A hidden waterfall and lake


Fenced greens


I tried my best to get the water drop in focus. The auto focus simply kept hunting. And I gave up.




Office outing?






The huge trademark rock of Tamhini waking up from its misty sleep


The grand canyon of Tamhini




An Italian beauty comes to Tamhini


Our own waterfall


Area surrounding the waterfall


Trekking up the falls


Rains again. Our waterfall turned muddy for a few minutes.

[moralfibre]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line (The "Assembly Line" Forum section) to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[ampere]

Beautifully captured Biju as usual. Green is the most refreshing colour of the season? Nothing like it of course !

[SDP]

Fantastic captures Biju! Loved the crisp freshness of every frame.

[phamilyman]

great captures biju. The only reason I want to ever live a couple of years in Mumbai is the opportunity to witness these parts of Maharashtra in the rain. Simply gorgeous greenery all around

[pjbiju]

Another of the numerous waterfalls. This one was on the ghat section


A view of the ghat


Green carpet


Alex enjoying his rainy freedom




We are not the only ones enjoying the rains


Wildlife? Not really. But we found an emu on the Tamhini road. The poor thing was just wandering around. In fact there were two of them. I guess they might have escaped from some farm.


Sedan class - for the larger families


Hatchback class - for the smaller families


The green streaked bamboos


More rain


Life on bark


A couple of more emu pictures


Wonder how long they will be able to survive here. Will the forest department do something for these if we inform them?


Mist


Walking the rains


Reminded me of Kerala


Good weather to think about hot food


And then go back to the falls

[Jignesh]

Hello Pjbiju,

Wonderful pictures, never new of such a beautiful location so close to Mumbai / Pune. Your photographs have bought out the colors very well.

I was exploring options for a one day monsoon trip from Mumbai & bumped on to your thread. The place seems to be very good for one day family outing or T-BHP drive meet. I did a quick search on Google maps & it showns Tamhini Ghat at 160 kms from western suburbs of Mumbai.

By the way, are there any stay options there or Lonava will be a best place to stay & explore nearby places line Tamhini ghat? Also how are roads in general & are bad roads are limited to particular sections?

Thanks,

[pjbiju]

Somewhere before Hinjewadi (from Paud)


Pothole Effect


Small pothole effect


Trails


Orchard Resort - Rain


Sample 2 bed room Villa next to Orchard Resort - This project is already sold out.


Distances


Wildlife Art




Flowers


The group at their falls


Another fall


The ride


Before the rains


After the rains

[desertfox]

During the monsoons the entire area of the western ghats and konkan range is so beautiful that it is a pleasure to drive around. What a pity I live so far off in Delhi, wish I had a few days to drive with family and friends in these parts.

[darklord]

Soothing pictures; although you have destroyed my concentration at work and got me to daydream .

The emus might be from the "burst bubble."

Emu rearing bubble bursts, farmers turn backs on birds

Not only Maharashtra, I read similar stories about TN emu farmers as well.

[Rahulk76]

pjbiju very nice set of pictures very refreshing I guess will go around that area in coming weeks
Thanks.

[amitwlele]

Wonderful pictures Biju.

I still cannot make myself ready to go to Tamhini Ghat on a weekend. Heard stories that it gets very crowded and not a very safe place to go with family in tow.

By the way how is Orchards Resort. I am assuming they would be having stay facility as well?

[pjbiju]

Finally time to get back.


Orchard Resort


A family snap


Another of our stops


The little swift taking in the beauty


The group getting ready to go berserk


That is until the rains


Alex, happy to pose without his waterproof hat


Time to be little kids again. The kids wanted to roll on the wet grass. The parents gave them a stern look and a loud "NO". Clean car interiors are more important than a bunch of dirty but happy kids.


It's getting dark - and a group of trekkers


And the final set of pictures. Time to bid Tamhini bye


Getting ready for home. Swift with a Dost


Bye to the waterfall


Bye to the Orchard Resort


Bye to the praying mantis


Bye to the canyon


Another failed attempt at auto focus


Bye to the green bark


Bye to the mist


Bye to the rain


Leave the beauty behind and carry the memories back


I really wished to have gone to this place in an open Jeep, where one can get drenched in water, play in the mud and then simply hop on to the Jeep without bothering to clean oneself up. With carefree abandon.

Thanks everyone for reading.

[pjbiju]

@ampere & SDP - thank you.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

great captures biju. The only reason I want to ever live a couple of years in Mumbai is the opportunity to witness these parts of Maharashtra in the rain. Simply gorgeous greenery all around

Very true. Monsoon brings magic to these areas. And luckily around these parts there are usually no landslides causing damage to property and life. Hope your dream comes true.

Originally Posted by Jignesh

Hello Pjbiju,

Wonderful pictures, never new of such a beautiful location so close to Mumbai / Pune. Your photographs have bought out the colors very well.

I was exploring options for a one day monsoon trip from Mumbai & bumped on to your thread. The place seems to be very good for one day family outing or T-BHP drive meet. I did a quick search on Google maps & it showns Tamhini Ghat at 160 kms from western suburbs of Mumbai.

By the way, are there any stay options there or Lonava will be a best place to stay & explore nearby places line Tamhini ghat? Also how are roads in general & are bad roads are limited to particular sections?

Thanks,

The best plan would be to stay in Pune and then travel to Tamhini or Varandha Ghat. There are roads connecting Lonavala to Tamhini. But I am not sure how good those roads are. In fact if you start early from Mumbai, you can get back to Mumbai on the same day by night. The roads are quite ok for the first 40 km or so. After that there are potholes in plenty which will continue to get worse as the monsoon progresses. You will have to drive slow either because of the rains, or because of the mist or because of the potholes or because of the views. Generally the roads are repaired after the monsoons.

Originally Posted by desertfox

During the monsoons the entire area of the western ghats and konkan range is so beautiful that it is a pleasure to drive around. What a pity I live so far off in Delhi, wish I had a few days to drive with family and friends in these parts.

And sometimes I so wish to be somewhere near Delhi so that I can travel to UK, Kashmir, Leh, Ladakh etc. Anyway do make a plan to visit these areas in the monsoon with your family. Even if you can afford 3-4 days, it would be enough to bring you back again.

Originally Posted by darklord

Soothing pictures; although you have destroyed my concentration at work and got me to daydream .

The emus might be from the "burst bubble."

Emu rearing bubble bursts, farmers turn backs on birds

Not only Maharashtra, I read similar stories about TN emu farmers as well.

Thanks for the news link about the poor Emu. I really felt sad for them. Now I feel sad for the owners as well. I hope these birds survive in this habitat. Some of the folks were honking madly to make the poor emus run, so that they could video shoot them.

Originally Posted by Rahulk76

pjbiju very nice set of pictures very refreshing I guess will go around that area in coming weeks
Thanks.

Man, when you keep going to places like Pangong Tso and other far off places, this is just like walk in your backyard. And your Safari will make light work of the bad roads. I really had wished for a Safari while negotiating those bad roads.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

Wonderful pictures Biju.

I still cannot make myself ready to go to Tamhini Ghat on a weekend. Heard stories that it gets very crowded and not a very safe place to go with family in tow.

By the way how is Orchards Resort. I am assuming they would be having stay facility as well?

We started early from Pune. And we avoided going via Chandini Chowk, Pirangut to avoid the crowd going towards Lavasa etc. Yes weekends do see a sizable number of people going towards Tamhini. There are college crowd, going on two wheelers, both male and female. There are all male groups going topless, blaring music and drinking. And there are also a good number of families. But I have not heard of any untoward incidents happening during the day in the recent past. I have been going there with family for the past few years. Many of these people travel for about 40-50 km and then turn back. The number of people traveling beyond Tamhini village are not too many. If you can go on a weekday, nothing like it.

I think Orchard resort does not have any stay facility. But I am not sure about it. I will share their numbers tomorrow and we can check with them. They have lunch buffet which is quite reasonably priced and tastes good. They have both veg and non-veg options.