Most of our trips were towards the east pune and towards banglore highway, this time we wanted to cover some places towards PCMC and Mumbai highway. We chose Prati Shirdi at Shirgaon. Our determination to visit Shirgaon was tested by
Showing posts with label places near pune. Show all posts
Showing posts with label places near pune. Show all posts
Birla Ganapati/ Mangal Murti Morya Ganapati Temple
It was way back in 2014 while travelling to Talegaon I first saw the Ganesh Murti. The idol sits near the old expressway providing blessings to the people who are about to start their journey. A visit to the place had been in my list so long.
We planned to visit the Birla Ganapati temple along with Prati Shirdi. After visiting Prati Shirdi we visited Birla Ganapati. One can see the murti from the highway but to reach it we need to take the road towards Shergaon. There is a road towads left side that takes you to the temple. The road is very small. There is parking place near the temple. There are quite a number of steps leading to the top. Need to take care of elderly.
On top there are few shelters and benches to sit. If interested you can do Pradakshina too as there is space around the idol. There is a small park behind but it is closed. The view from the top is good. By the time we reached the temple it was raining, luckily we were prepared for it hence no problem. The kids enjoyed the open place.
We planned to visit the Birla Ganapati temple along with Prati Shirdi. After visiting Prati Shirdi we visited Birla Ganapati. One can see the murti from the highway but to reach it we need to take the road towards Shergaon. There is a road towads left side that takes you to the temple. The road is very small. There is parking place near the temple. There are quite a number of steps leading to the top. Need to take care of elderly.
new season begins: Bhuleshwar, Theur & Ramdhara
The arrival of monsoon triggers a dormant zone in case of travel enthusiasts. Be it planning for weekend, searching for locations, and of course food n pics....we welcomed this monsoon with a trip to Theur, bhuleshwar and ramdhara.
The trip can be easily covered in a day.
Ghat road: Easy
Child friendly: Yes
Food: we took home food, but hotels are available alongside solapur highway
Ramdhara: Far from the maddening crowd
We have been planning to visit Ramdhara from long time, finally made it this Sunday.
Ramdhara is picturesque location near Loni Kalbhor, which is maintained by forestry department. It is mainly a temple with lake surrounding it and hills standing behind it. It is a good picnic spot. The canopy of tress is refreshing.
You can even have a glimpse of life that is seen in villages. The traffic dwindles once you enter Loni village. The lands after Loni village are deserted except for few shepherd camps.
No hoarding is provided for directions..I couldn't find any, purely relayed on GPS.
Whatever effort the travel takes is nothing when
Ramdhara is picturesque location near Loni Kalbhor, which is maintained by forestry department. It is mainly a temple with lake surrounding it and hills standing behind it. It is a good picnic spot. The canopy of tress is refreshing.
You can even have a glimpse of life that is seen in villages. The traffic dwindles once you enter Loni village. The lands after Loni village are deserted except for few shepherd camps.
No hoarding is provided for directions..I couldn't find any, purely relayed on GPS.
Whatever effort the travel takes is nothing when
Nighoj and many more..
Potholes..pandavas..hot sun..bairavanath..U might be thinking what is the relation between all these..our trip on a single day..:)
Route Plan
From Pune: Pune-nagar road ->Ranjangaon->Nighoj->Ganeshkind->bhairavnath->Daryadevi->Dokeshwar Takale-> Pune.
If you are travelling in mar-April season you can skip Ganeshkind to Dokeshwar part. These places are worth visiting in monsoon, but it is your choice. We visited all of them in April.
The other plan will be
Pune-nagar road->ranjangaon->nighoj->spend till evening in Morachi chincholi
I think the second plan is best for Mar-Apr and the first one in monsoon.
Nighoj
Nighoj is less famous for its natural potholes and more famous for the miracle
Land of Strawberries
Mahabaleshwar, much awaited place. I have been waiting for an year to visit this place. We visited this place a month after visiting Trimbakeshwar, in Jan..thanks to my brother's visit.
Mahabaleshwar is famous for many scenic points, temples and mouth watering strawberries hence the name Land of strawberries...
We started from Pune and reached Mahabaleshwar via panchgani around 11:00 am. Enroute we found many industries thriving on Strawberries.
From Kates point we went to needle hole point, i would prefer it as Elephant head point :)
Mahabaleshwar is famous for many scenic points, temples and mouth watering strawberries hence the name Land of strawberries...
We started from Pune and reached Mahabaleshwar via panchgani around 11:00 am. Enroute we found many industries thriving on Strawberries.
Kates point
Supporting a Marathi saying "Santh vaahate Krishnamaai" which means "quiet flows Krishna", the river here appeared very calm. The view from Balakwadi dam is spectacular. The serene blue water competes with sky in colour.. |
| Balakwadi dam view from Kates point |
Needle hole point
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| Elephant head..view from needle hole point |
Trimbakeshwar
Famous for: Jyotirlinga and starting point of river Godavari
How to reach: From Pune, the travel will take around 4.5 to 5 hrs. From Nashik it will be about an hour. Good way is to stay in Nashik for a night or opt for night travel as the road between Nashik and Pune will not allow you to even overtake a vehicle Start from Pune in the evening you will reach Nashik by night. Start for trimbakeshwar early in the morning, as the day proceeds the visitors may increase. After Darshan you can spend the evening in Nashik, visit all the places near Panchvati and return to Pune.
i think this will be my shortest blog..as it is more of religion than of nature..
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| Bhramagiri, the starting point of river Godavari |
The pundits where very helpful. Whoever wishes to perform special puja(we did abhishekam) has to wear traditional dresses. Since only men will be allowed
Panchavati (Nashik)
Famous for: Panchavati and Godavari ghat, Dudhsagar waterfall, Trimbakeshwar and Anjaneri
How to reach: From Pune, the travel will take around 6 to 8 hrs depending on traffic. Good way is to stay in Nashik for a night or opt for night travel as the road between Nashik and Pune will not allow you to even overtake a vehicle Start from Pune in the evening you will reach Nashik by night. Start for Trimbakeshwar early next morning, as the day proceeds the visitors may increase. After Darshan you can spend the evening in Nashik, visit all the places near Panchvati and return to Pune.
We went to Nashik via shirdi, we started from Shirdi in the afternoon, en-route to Nashik we found many road side stalls selling onions(it was a time when prices were high!!)...You can find many wind mills harvesting the wind energy. The road from Shirdi to Nashik is a single lane and the traffic was horrible after crossing Sinnar. (Later i found a site with alternate route http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/route-travel-queries/96581-pune-nashik-alternate-route.html)
To avoid heavy traffic our driver has routed through the camp area in Deolali(near Nashik). It was nearly evening by the time we reached Nashik. We wanted to cover the areas in Nashik on that day itself, so we went directly to Panchavati
How to reach: From Pune, the travel will take around 6 to 8 hrs depending on traffic. Good way is to stay in Nashik for a night or opt for night travel as the road between Nashik and Pune will not allow you to even overtake a vehicle Start from Pune in the evening you will reach Nashik by night. Start for Trimbakeshwar early next morning, as the day proceeds the visitors may increase. After Darshan you can spend the evening in Nashik, visit all the places near Panchvati and return to Pune.
To avoid heavy traffic our driver has routed through the camp area in Deolali(near Nashik). It was nearly evening by the time we reached Nashik. We wanted to cover the areas in Nashik on that day itself, so we went directly to Panchavati
Bhimasankar..revives your senses
Bhimasankar is one of the twelve Jyotirlinga. Route to Bhimasankar is a diversion from Pune-Nashik highway.Till rajgurunagar(from Pune) the road will be good after that you can't expect a smooth ride..
We did google a lot to know what are the places to be visited. One was hanuman point and the other was gupt bhimasankar. We started early on a Saturday The route was very beautiful, the road side ground was covered with yellow flowers and small
streams of water flowing from the hills...
The temple of Bhimasankar is on a hill, there is ample parking spot provided. Bhimasankar is listed mostly in the south indian tours along with Shirdi. We found many tourist buses in the parking and thought that we may not get darshan soon..may be there might be long queue..!!!But it was destined otherwise.
We did google a lot to know what are the places to be visited. One was hanuman point and the other was gupt bhimasankar. We started early on a Saturday The route was very beautiful, the road side ground was covered with yellow flowers and small
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| it's yellow everywhere... |
streams of water flowing from the hills...
The temple of Bhimasankar is on a hill, there is ample parking spot provided. Bhimasankar is listed mostly in the south indian tours along with Shirdi. We found many tourist buses in the parking and thought that we may not get darshan soon..may be there might be long queue..!!!But it was destined otherwise.
Purandhar..walk in clouds..
Purandhar is one of the good weekend getaway near to Pune.
We started on Saturday morning for purandhar...it was the time when palki procession has just left hadapsar..
We started on Saturday morning for purandhar...it was the time when palki procession has just left hadapsar..
...when we reached near to saswad we found that we were traveling on the same route taken by palki..we met the procession midway..the massive organization of the procession amazed us...we diverted our bikes through the village lanes...the villagers were very friendly & helpful...
The diversion towards Purandhar can be identified with the help of the Shivaji statute at the junction and a petrol pump on the opposite side...it being monsoon season as soon as we have taken the diversion to Purandhar we found the mist engulfing the hills..my favorite sight..
The diversion towards Purandhar can be identified with the help of the Shivaji statute at the junction and a petrol pump on the opposite side...it being monsoon season as soon as we have taken the diversion to Purandhar we found the mist engulfing the hills..my favorite sight..
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| misty hills |
we traveled hoping that it won't rain
Bhigwan...tyrst with the birdies
history was replaced by ornithology...
we planned to visit Ajanta and Ellora last weekend but it didn't work, but we headed for Bhigwan.
We started at 6:00 am in the morning..I felt a bit cold but waved it off thinking that within half an hour through the journey i would be fine. But i was wrong..i was shivering till i reached Bhigwan...i had a tough fight with the weather to have some photographs..Even at 7:45am in the end Feb one could see mist hovering over the ground.
Bhigwan is on Pune-Solapur highway. It is an easy route, no diversions till Bhigwan village. After crossing the village take a left turn(if u r coming from Pune) go straight may be for 3 or 4 kms..then you will find the two roads, first on left and then on right. Take the right road. After a km or 2 u will find kutcha road leading to the lake.
I saw only few birds and was disappointed. we went a bit late..good time to visit is in Dec and Jan..we went to bid farewell to the remaining birds ;-). We were not sure
Rajgad, the mighty one..
one thing we generally hate to do is to wake up early on a weekend..but that became necessary when we planned that on the entry of monsoon we shal visit nearby beautiful places.
..all we thought of was to have a change on weekend but we didn't expect to be awestruck...
Since we didn't keep up with our aim to wake up early we searched for all kinds of shortcuts to reach the destination...having a smart phone is sometimes helpful..:). we traveled through all kinds of roads highway, local, ghat, even kutcha roads..we found peacocks in the fields nearby
..all we thought of was to have a change on weekend but we didn't expect to be awestruck...
Since we didn't keep up with our aim to wake up early we searched for all kinds of shortcuts to reach the destination...having a smart phone is sometimes helpful..:). we traveled through all kinds of roads highway, local, ghat, even kutcha roads..we found peacocks in the fields nearby
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| road less travelled |
we were enthralled by the beauty of the hills and the greenery. we slowly began our journey towards 'chor darwaja
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