Tourist Attractions and Places near Pune and Mumbai

Bushi Dam is located a few kilometres from Lonavala and is a very (very very) popular weekend hangout for Pune’ites. When the Bushi dam overflows, the water flows over a series of steps and then over some easily accessible rocky terrian. The terrain and the water make for a fun combination and this is why Bushi dam gets extremely crowded on weekend. So crowded, that a first time vistor (like me) would be left searching for the “steps” which everyone talks about, only to realise that every inch of the steps have been occupied.

Every open space close to Bushi dam will have a board “Bushi dam parking” and there will be guys literally peeping inside your car and turning your steering wheel towards their parking. Thebest place to park would be beyond the dam (on coming from Lonavala) om the sides of the road. Parking on the road also helps you to get out of the place faster. There are no single/double yellow lines to bother you here.

To reach the dam, you have to wade through knee-deep water (depending on the water level). There are lot of shops selling rubber slippers which are more suited to the water/rocks rather than your expensive fake Nike shoes. But, i noticed that many were well prepared and had worn the worst slippers that they could find at home.

Bushi dam is so commercialized to the extent that there are a few dozen shops in the small area next to the dam selling anything from corn and pakodas to chai. You can relax on the steps and order them and they will be delivered to you right at your doorstep.

Overall, this is a good place to visit if you love getting wet from head-to-toe.

written by Rajaram S

This was the first outing after the rains had started. Having seen the “wet green” in photographs of the western ghats, my expectations were very high. Sinhagad lived up to these expectations. It was drizzling and most of the fort was covered in mist. The sun was peeping through small gaps in te clouds making the whole scene ethereal.

This was also the first “long” trip for the Xylo. Yeah 25 kms qualifies as a long trip in Pune! The drive was enjoyable and Xylo managed the bad roads pretty well.

Route from Pune to Sinhagad fort: It took more than an hour to reach the base of Sinhagad from Magarpatta. You have to reach Swargate to catch the Sinhagad road. To go to swargate from magarpatta, go on the solapur highway (big bazaar, krome route ). Keep on going on this road and you will reach Swargate . Keep going until you reach a T-junction. On this junction, turn left and immediately you should see a mahalaxmi temple on the left and a traffic signal right next to it. At this signal , turn right and you are on Sinhagad road. The route to sinhagad passes through Khadakwasla dam. The dam was not overflowing then. Even with less water, the dam was a pretty sight with lot of revelers enjoying the waves and eating corn!

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Even with just a week or so of the rains, the greenery on the way was worth watching. Once we reached the base of Sinhagad, the commercialisation of the place became obvious with so many jeeps vying to offer you a drive to the top, if you didn’t want to go by yourself.

The road to the top of the fort is steep and the condition of the road is also not so good. Particularly, the hairpin bends have been very poorly designed with no provision of any kind of banking. It was a thrilling experience to take the xylo (with 7 adults) to the top. On many turns, i was forced to stop because of some oncoming vehicle and it was tough to start again on the curve and many a time i started to screeching tyres.

We did make a lot of stops on the way for many photo sessions. Nearing the top of the hill, mist almost covered the entire place. One particular view was amazing. The whole valley was in the shade/mist with the sun showing through only on a small area in the middle. The photo below doesn’t do any justice to the actual scene, but it can give you an idea have to start using RAW for all images from now on!

Once on the top, we had to get Akshara all dressed up, as it was quite chilly. This was our first outing with Akshara in Pune and it took quite a while to get Akshara in the sling. The last time she was in the sling was few months when she was much smaller! We didn’t spend long enough on the fort to explore it in its entirety, as we had some party to go to that evening. Anyway, this demo version was good enough to ensure that we visit again. More photos of the fort then.

written by Rajaram S

My first outing in Pune was to the Balaji temple near Narayanpur village. I didn’t take my camera with me at that time, but the place/route was good enough to make a second visit within 2 months. The balaji temple near narayanpur is meant to be a replica of the Tirupati temple in all aspects. The priests there have come from Tirupati and every “sevai” done is similar to the one in tirupati. They even give out one laddoo to every visitor!

The temple is very well maintained and if you visit quite early in the day (they open at 5 AM) , you can see the main deity in a matter of minutes whereas on a weekend or in the later half of the day, quite a queue builds up. In summer, the ground gets really hot and it can be quite an experience to reach the comfort of the shade from the point where you leave your slippers.

Route from Pune to Narayanpur: I stay in Magarpatta, so all the routes mentioned start at Magarpatta! Go towards hadapsar market. Do not go over the flyover, go tothe left of it. Once you see the hadapsar bus stand (to the right, when going from magarpatta), you have to go around it . You have to go on this quite a long distance to reach Saswad village. You will cross a Ghat section to reach Saswad. Once you reach here, you would see a bus stand (a bigger bus stop to be precise!) and also a Sivaji Statue (not a good landmark, as there are Sivaji statues all over Maharashtra, just like the statues of Mayawati and her elephants all over UP). Beyond this bus stand, you will see sign boards for Narayanpur. The moment you take this turn, you will enter a maze of extremely small streets. After crossing this village, the greenery starts to open up. This road will take you right into Narayanpur and to the Balaji temple beyond that.

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One of the landmarks you will see on the way is the structure below while crossing a narrow bridge. I somehow get reminded of Angkor Wat whenever i see this photo, dunno why!

The first time when i visited here, the surroundings were pretty dull, but everyone told me that things drastically change with the onset of the monsoons and they were right! The whole route was bathed in green with numerous small waterfalls and streams dotting the sides of the road.

A trip which should normally take around an hour one-way ended up taking almost double the time, because the temptation to stop the car and go out and take photographs was too much to overcome.

Just a few kilometres ahead of the balaji temple is the fort hill of Purandar. A small road goes to the left (with clear signs, albeit in Marathis). If yo don’t know Marathi/Hindi, look for the Sivaji photo! We had not planned a visit to this fort, but i drove towards it just to see the demo version so that i can plan an exclusive trip later. The road was in a pretty bad condition. We met one passer-by and confirmed that this indeed was the road up to Purandar. He confirmed that and said that road condition is much worser further on. It had also started raining heavily by then. So, we turned back. But a walk/trek up to Purandar (a drive, if your car is well insured) is a must on the to-do list!

 

written by Rajaram S