The Pataleshwar Cave temple and the Jangli Maharaj Mandir are located next to each other on J M (Jangli Maharaj) Road in Shivaji Nagar. it is surprising that you can find such calm places in the midst of the city chaos.
If you are asking for directions, ask for Jangli Maharaj Mandir, as not many know the existence of Pataleshwar temple. This is rock-cut cave temple dedicated to God of the underworld. the main shrine is inside a cave and has a shivling inside. The construction of this cave temple was left incomplete, but the original plan was to build something on the lines of elephanta caves. The entrance to this complex is not clearly marked. You enter onto an open area with a huge banyan tree which also serves as a cool respite from the madness a few metres outside on the road.
Jangli Maharaj Mandir is the places where the samadhi of Jangli maharaj, a disciple of Swami Samarth has been kept. There is also a way to go to pataleshwar from inside the JM temple.
Spent a great weekend on the konkan coast covering Murud, Kashid and Akshi. We got up early just to catch the sunrise from the Murud beach. Sunrise, while on the western coast, is great for photography as the light is behind you when you face the sea. Enjoy the photos.
The original plan was for a trek to Purandar fort with everyone from the management team. At the end, that too after last minute threats, we were a group of three guys and a 5 yr old kid. But this didn’t stop us from having fun. The 5 yr old was on his first trek and he enjoyed it.
If you want the route to Purandar from Pune and more details on the trek, go to my original post on the trek i did during the monsoon. Though it was well past the monsoon, the weather was very pleasant for the short climb. We started at 6 from Pune and at around 7, when we started the climb, the top of the hill was covered in mist.
The little one kept us entertained. the highlight was this comment that he made. His dad (Copy t-shirt) kept on saying “See, that is very easy” before every slope or gap that needed to be crossed. After a while, the kid got frustrated and commented, “Stop saying so. it may be easy from your point of view, but not from mine!”. of course, he was constantly asking whether there would be tigers inside the bushes!
Once on top of the plateau, we took a small break before intending to embark on the further 30 min walk to the fort. What started as a break turned out to be the end of the trek. After 2 attempts, i am yet to visit the actual fort. On both the occasions, my last stop has been the chai shop! So, this was the issue. We start off with a chai and then go on to a Bhel and then to a Kandha Bhaji plate and then close it with a chai. By that time, we start discussing that we have had enough and it was time for us to return. It happened on both the occasions. Maybe next time, i should skip this shop. The video below shows how the kid managed the trek easily and also how Nikhil almost caused a landslide.
