Kavdi bird watching point

It is that time of the year when the sky is painted red with Flamingo's. I was not interested to travel till Bhigwan, hence I was searching for any nearby places which I can visit. Then I found a bird watching point near Manjri. I couldn't find much details on searching except that

Parks of Pune -III(Butterfly Garden)

I never thought that Pune has a butterfly park. So i was surprised when i found a butterfly park while searching for some other place on Google. On a weekend we thought of checking out the butterfly park. My kid was super excited, he kept chanting 'butterfly park'

picnic @ hadashi Temple

It is that time of the year when I was yearning for a picnic. I was looking for a place where kids have open place to play and outside food is allowed. I want to pick a place which I was planning to visit from long back. Hadashi temple looked like an ideal choice. 

Kid friendly : Yes

Outside food Allowed: Yes

Washrooms Available: Yes

Route : Medium

Hadashi temple is maintained by Sri Satya Sai trust, one can find Rukhmini and vittal mandir on the first floor. There is a bhajan room for Satya Sai baba and Shirdi Sai baba. We went to have a look, the thought that silence has to be maintained took back seat. As soon as kids entered with us they were shouting and running and we were anxious to keep them quiet. It was a tiresome task so we exited the room fast..:) There was store just beside the meditation room where organic sugar, organic peanuts were sold. We were told that they were harvested from the fields belonging to the trust. There was also garlands for decoration purpose.

There was provision for canteen too, but it is closed. I read in other blog that the canteen serves good snacks, lets hope we can have a taste later.

There is a small pond behind the temple where boating is allowed. We strolled along the pathways for sometime and settled near a nice shady spot to have our lunch. Their is also a small pond filled with lotus flowers. We spent some time in the lawn till evening and tried boating. The boating experience was good. 
If you have visited in a large group then you can opt for a large motor boat. We chose peddling boat. They also provided life jackets and the cost was nominal.

There is also a museum in the same premises. You can find it first after coming from parking area. We opted not to visit the museum.
If you are interested you can visit nearby places(Pavana Dam, Tung Fort) too on the same day.

Nice place to visit for a one day picnic.

Someshwar wadi, Birla Ganapati and Prati Shirdi

Rain or shine we decided to cover Prati Shirdi, Birla Ganapati and Someshwar wadi.
We started with Prati Shirdi then to birla Ganapati and then to Someshwar wadi in the evening. We have started at around 11:30 am and reached home by 7:30pm including a stop at Falahaar for their famous Jamun shots:).

Route: Simple and straightforward
Food: Mahaprasad @Prati Shirdi  or else you will have many options on  NH48 or Baner
Kid friendly: Yes
Must Have: Rain gear


Route map

The route we have taken pretty straight forward. Goradeshwar cave temple can also be included as it is near(Before toll Plaza) to Birla Ganapati temple. As it was rainy heavily we couldn't visit it.

Prati Shirdi Shirgaon

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

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.

Someshwarwadi Shiva Temple and Gram Sanskruti Udyan

An evening at Someshwar wadi near Pashan is well spent with a visit to the temple and village park. The village park aka Gram Sanskruti Udyan in Someshwarwadi is a best way to reminiscence your childhood days.

Main Attractions:

1. Shiva Temple

2. Dwadasa Jyotirlinga temple replicas

3. Gram Sanskruti Udyan

Shiva Temple

The temple is small but peaceful, the sanctum sanatorium is a few feet below the ground level. The Shiv linga here is Swayambhu. There is another Shivalinga placed in the temple where devotees can perform rituals. The temple has around 700 years of history behind it. This temple was famous since Shivaji Maharaj period. It is said the Shivaji's mother Jijabai used to visit this temple. Inside the temple on the dome are the pictures of gods presiding each direction. The entry wall into main temple is painted with war scene. The temple is very clean. The premises also boast of a havan mandap and bhairavnath temple. 

When visiting during monsoon season raincoats and umbrellas are a must. We completed the visit and were strolling around when a light drizzle has started.The temple has a small lawn adjacent to it. Good place for kids to enjoy in summer. The temple premises has huge peepal and other trees. From the temple premises you can see the miniature replicas of various jyotirlinga temples.

Dwadasa Jyotirlinga temple replicas

The work is in progress. The replicas are beautiful but there where no indications about the temples, we googled to know about the temples. When we enquired we were told that the work is still going on. The concept will be a instant hit once its completed. We could get to know the temple details and architecture right here. It would be great if they include the temple location and its prominence.

Gram Sanskruti Udyan

The park contains everything that one expects from a village. If you have experienced village life before you can correlate. Nice place for kids to enjoy and learn. The craftsmanship is good. the features are life like.

The statues are sculpted to depict all the professions, you can find a goldsmith, a tailor, a weaver, a merchant and many more. Even minute details were taken care while developing these..like the gate used for cow shed is the similar one that we find in real life scenarios. The way water is drawn from the well, the pressure exercised while drawing water from well. The torans on the door or the photos displayed on the wall, they are of same type and are displayed in the same way which we see at a village house.

All the festivals we celebrate, all the professions we follow are covered. I couldn't remember anything that was missed. 

Overall an evening well spent.

Marigold Balaji Temple

This weekend after a nice snack of pakodas and sweets, we wanted to go out. With kids and time constraints we want to go to a nearby place. Many options were thrown in, among them I was surprised to hear that there is a gold Balaji Temple in Pune.

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

wai..

been a bit lazy..delayed posting  ;). 

It was August and time for Krishna puskaralu..

I was searching for a place where we can go for this Krishna pushkaralu(This is my fisrt time). As I was not interested to go till Mahabaleshwar my search ended

Parks of Pune - I

                                                           

                                                                        Sambhaji park

searching for kid friendly places, I zeroed down to Sambhaji park. The park is located on JM road. The entry to the park is free. It has ample greenery and various varieties of outdoor play equipment for kids. It also has a small aquarium.

We visited the park on Sunday and OMG!!!

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

An evening @Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park

We recently visited Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park.
But there weren't any good collection. it was more of a park with huge canopy of trees. They have routine collection of snakes, tortoise and crocodiles. We didn't have the opportunity to see bear, i think it might be sleeping :). Monkeys were there, but they were ordinary. The deer's collection was good. They are in good number and i think they have got habituated to the onlookers. We had a good view on deer's. Then there was wolf according to the display, but i don't think it's a wolf, it must be fox. Reading picture books along with Praneeth has taught something..
Only tiger and elephant were balance. We thought of visiting the elephant first so that kids will enjoy seeing the jumbo..but