Lonavala – The Travel Bug Has Bitten Me!

The traveling bug has bitten me finally. I always used to think that being 44years old and a mother of two it is really not possible for me to take a break from regular family life and get away. But no, someone has rightly said it is all in the mind. Where there is a will there is  a way. So my trip to Alibag has left me with the travel itch. So now any small time that I get for myself or any small holiday I am busy planning for a holiday, a getaway. On one such impulsive moods I set out to explore the locales of Lonavala. I have been to Lonavala umpteen times, but to go there just all by yourself and enjoy the lovely surroundings is another experience altogether. Nisha, my friend, is a fashion designer and often goes to Lonavala on work. She has a client there who calls her over for business conferences. So along with Lavina, and Sandra I decided to have a weekend stay over with Nisha in her bungalow in Lonavala. Travelling is a disease. It makes us learn to accept people in our lives without any inhibitions and experience the comfort of home outside in the world. Though we are thrown out of balance in our lives due to travel yet we welcome the change temporarily. The air, nature, the water and the ambience all are different and we feel happy to experience the exotic and the untold.

Lonavala is like second home to most Mumbaites and I still regret the fact that my husband did not buy a summerhouse here. He should have I mused as I got into the car along with Lavy , Sandy and Nishy. The climate was perfect as it was monsoon time and the light drizzle just set the mood to go. “Aati kya Khandala” was playing on the FM radio in Nisha’s car and we all sang in tandem. The beauty of nature completely resplendent with the falling drops of rain on the windshield, and the light pitter patter of the rain outside on the road, the policeman in his yellow raincoat guiding the traffic all made us feel so at ease and relaxed that it was a joyous friends group that set out ultimately.

Lonavala along with Khandala was the favorite hill station of many in Maharashtra. The area gives a lovely view with its stupendous waterfall fed by the incessant rains of the State. Perfect romantic getaways for couples and the ideal rejuvenation spot for people like us. With deep valleys on one side and green verdant expanse of hills on the other, Lonavala is surely a hit with most of the people wanting to have a relaxed weekend.

We reached Khandala in an hour’s time and we had tea and breakfast at Kamaths. We refreshed ourselves and appreciated each other’s ability to get ready in a jiffy with the lightest of luggage. My kids called me from home and I told them that I was getting into an area of no network so not to panic. I was feeling a little guilty I left my kids behind but then everything always has a beginning so I decided to begin it with a Lonavala trip. The lovely Sahayadri Mountains raced with us as the car sped up the winding Ghats. The mystical waterfalls and the lovely meadows we crossed were enough to calm our frayed and tired nerves.

After a comfortable drive in the rain, the driver ensured that we snored away to sleep amidst the loud Bollywood songs that played on the radio. Nature was at its best and soon we entered Lonavala. The view from atop as we drove up was wonderful and I clicked a few photos which I said I would upload on the social networking site where I had lots of my friends interested to know what I did in Lonavala. After a considerably carefully monitored drive we reached Nisha’s house.

We got down, chattering to the dozen and making a lot of noise and entered the house with no energy left as we tired of sitting in one position in the car. I was at least lucky I sat in the front seat. The other three were having aches in their knee and ankle joints. Yet the enthusiasm to enjoy did not ebb. We just plonked ourselves on the bed and dozed off for the next two hours. The real pleasure of being away from home is we could do what we want and the way we want.

After a relaxed sleep and after unwinding after the hustle and bustle of getting out of the house in the morning, we went down and had a relaxed lunch. The house had storeys. We were in the top and there was a kitchen below. Sunita Tai was the cook in the house and she had made a lovely fare of puri , bhaji and aamti. Yum! It was delicious. After the lunch we took out the pamphlet we had brought to know where to go in Lonavala. We first decided to go to the Bhushi Dam.

We wore our casual shorts and took care not to wear jeans as we knew it would get wet. On the way out, we saw a shop selling chikki. We got ourselves some of the famous chikki and some for the house too. We drove down to the Bhushi Dam. We paid a tax there for Pollution. This was dependent on the number of people in the vehicle and the kind of vehicle it was. Then the road wound up and we went up the path. As we went on driving we saw a sign which said that we had arrived at the spot. There was no rain till we reached. As I opened the door, it poured. All of us sat inside, wore our windcheaters and got wet . There is nothing like getting wet in the rain and nothing like getting wet in the rain at Bushi Dam. We walked a little further and there were some of them like us who had come on their own and some of them through a tour. Then we came to the river. This walk to the river was around a mile. We crossed the river and thanked our brains that we didn’t wear full length jeans. There were so many of them wetting their saris, and salwar kameezes and skirts, that we were happy we didn’t have to get our clothes wet. The water in the river would have been around half a feet deep. The walk and the rain made our visit fruitful . The popular dam is a favorite picnic spot for picnickers and we saw many of them getting drenched in the rain.

From here we decided to trek in Duke’s nose. Duke’s Nose or Nagphani is also known by the name of Cobra’s Hood. This is a very famous hiking spot. A pleasure for any trekker and we were no less. We started the trek by driving all the way to Khandala. There is a place called the Fore Bay. From here we took the path that goes into the jungle. We took the gentle sloped path. Some others took the steeper sloped one. We sang songs and walked up for quarter of an hour and saw a place with a big electric pylon. This is where we saw the naval training school.

“Look,” said Lavy “The fort.” . Nisha said it was the Korigad Fort. We took a break here. We finally took the path which led to the INS Shivaji and sighted the Dukes’ Nose. This is a small hillock which is at a higher height so looks like a nose. The streams that travelled along with us seemed to be gurgling with pleasure and the entire area was filled with laughter and joy. We came to the temple dedicated to Lord Shiva on the top and had a lovely panoramic view of entire Lonavala from here.

I loved this adventure trekking and I liked it more because it did not require any basic climbing tactics. The entire thing took around couple of hours and yet we weren’t entirely exhausted. I was happy I wore my cap and my sneakers so that the entire trek was comfortable. Poor Sandra had come in her floaters and was complaining a lot of aching limbs!

We reached a hotel finally and relaxed and had some good stuff to eat. We basked in the ambience of the greenery around us and it looked as if the Sahyadri Ranges were smiling at our pleasure.

As we sat relaxing we regaled each other with how the Ryewood Park that we visited on the way down after the trek was so picturesque. With lovely lawns and playing areas for kids I was reminded of my kids and wished I had brought them. I called them and spoke to them and they seemed to be having a great time with their friends at home. It was a Friday and Sandra told me that this park was a great hangout for many during the weekends.

The next morning we hired a cycle and cycled around the area. We cycled to the Tungarli Lake. This is a beautiful water body and looked even more beautiful against the backdrop of a rainy atmosphere. The lake was filled with water because of the monsoons.

Nisha said , “ You know when I visit this lake in the summer it is completely dry.” There was a lovely garden adjoining the dam and there were people who were getting ready to relax here for a long time.

We came back to Nisha’s house and settled down for a sumptuous breakfast. We were very tired yet were happy. After breakfast and a refreshing shower, we went to Rajmachi Point. We had to drive down for some time to reach this place. It is around 7 km from Lonavala. We saw the magnificent Rajmachi fort of Shivaji and also the valley that lay around it. This was the point where the  State Buses plied.

From Rajmachi we went to see the Kune Falls. This is a lovely water body in the  centre of Lonavala. Its three tiers added to its beauty and I was happy to see the 14th highest waterfall in the world. From Kune falls we drove further 2km and reached the Valvan Dam. This dam, I knew was constructed to supply hydroelectric power to the area through the River Indrayani. Valvan Dam also supplied water to Khopoli Power Plant. I had read in the papers about this. The lovely mystical surrounding captured us and we were thrilled to experience Mother Nature at her best here.

We then drove further and saw the Monkey Hill. AS we were driving we saw a board indicating the Gambhirnath Caves. This is a great adventure we had. We climbed the narrow path on the hill and finally reached the caves. We entered the caves and Lavina said “ OOOH! Can you imagine, we are actually inside a cave.>?” Much as it sounded dubious but yes we were inside a cave and Lavy wasn’t wrong in feeling excited about it. The darkness that surrounded us in the caves and the suspense as to what we would get to see next kept our hearts racing.

We came out of the caves, laughing, giggling and teasing each other as to who got more scared. Then we drove to the Tiger’s Leap. This was an amazing cliff at a height of around 650m. From atop we could have a magnificent view of the entire place. This view was worth the visit and the whole scenic beauty here was breathtaking.

We came back to Nisha’s house and reminisced the lovely time we had at Lonavala.

“Did you know that Lonavala means a land surrounded by caves.>?” I asked. None of them did and I told them I had read it somewhere.

We had a lovely dinner and played UNO and Antakshari all night long. We didn’t want the night to end as we knew the next morning we had to be Mumbai bound and get back to the regular routine. A tired lot we went to sleep at 4 in the morning, woke up at 11 and reached Mumbai at 3 in the evening.

As I sat with my kids for dinner, we had a look at all the videos and photos that I had taken during my first girl’s weekend out at Lonavala. Yes, I enjoyed it and yes, I am happy the travel bug has bitten me.