Tourist Attractions and Places near Pune and Mumbai

Tamhini ghat is famous for its waterfalls and endless greenery during monsoons. (See this post for photos). Some of the waterfalls are very tall that you may not even be able to see the top of the fall. The one above is not so tall, but very grand in everything else.

This waterfall is actually beyond the tamhini ghat stretch. Once you cross tamhini ghat, you will come to a fork where the road on the left goes towards Mangaon & Raigad, whereas the one on the right will take you to Kolad. take the one towards kolad (right) and keep going until you reach the village of Sutarwadi. A small right in this village will take you to Hans adventure resorts. Park your vehicle near the resort and you have to go behind the resort. Then, you have to cross the river (may not be possible when the river is in full flow – ask for any local to guide you) then climb down a narrow path and you will see the view in the photos. I went with a local – paid him 50 Rs. the river crossing is tricky as the water may be more than knee-high and the path down to the fall is very narrow and the slope is steep on either side. It seems that there is waterfall rapelling arranged here in the post-monsoon months when the water flow reduces. if you keep going along the road , it ultimately reaches to a dead-end at a small village. From this village, you can have a jungle-walk down to the Kundalika river (We did this!).

if you have Google earth (any wanderer worth his salt should be using this), use this kmz file to see the exact location of the waterfall on Google Earth. I spent a lot of time near the waterfall enjoying its force and trying out various shutter speeds for the photos.

written by Rajaram S

With the recent boating accident in Panshet dam, most the boat clubs were closed on the weekend we went. But we never had the intention of going for boating. We went for a monsoon drive to enjoy the scenery and we got what we wanted.

While Khadakwasla dam is more famous as an evening hang-out place for most Puneites, who come there to swim and have butaa, Panshet dam has always been famous for its boating scene. The backwaters of Panshet extend for a long distance and has high cliffs on the other side. So, even if you don’t go boating, there are lot of viewpoints of Panshet dam where you can have a nice picnic.

While Khadakwasla dam is more famous as an evening hang-out place for most Puneites, who come there to swim and have butaa, Panshet dam has always been famous for its boating scene. The backwaters of Panshet extend for a long distance and has high cliffs on the other side. So, even if you don’t go boating, there are lot of viewpoints of Panshet dam where you can have a nice picnic.

How to go to Panshet Dam from Pune(Magarpatta): Go towards Swargate i.e. on Solapur road vis Big Bazaar. When you reach the end of this road beyond Swargate at a T-Junction, turn left. Take the immediate right (there is a signal and there is a mahalaxmi temple on the left). The road on the right is the Sinhagad road. Keep going on this road crossing Parvati and towards Khadakwasla. You dont need to turn anywhere. This road will take you straight to Khadakwasla. Once you cross Khadakwasla, keep going on this road for another 10-15 kms and you will see signs for Panshet dam boating. Follow those signs and you should be climbing the hills on the other side of Panshet.

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There wasn’t much water in the dam backwater because of the poor rain in June and July until now, but the greenery was very much visible all over the place. We stopped at a place where we could walk over to the edge of the hill sloping gently towards the water. There was few house strategically built on the edge and i can imagine the kind fo view they must be having during the monsoons

We had been there with few friends and their kids. The kids had a gala time posing for our photo requests. The photos with the visibly darker green colour are from Sunil’s camera. All my photos are little bit on the overexposed side.

Akshara wandered all over the place and was up to her usual antics. It was difficult explaining to her that her request to go “keezha” (down the slope) was not something that can be done

Most of the time was spent on experimental photo sessions with us and the kids. It was a good day, could have been better with the Neelkanteshwar visit if only we had been prepared for the rains. More on neelkanteshwar in a separate post.

written by Rajaram S

Nighoj village comes alive during Janmashtami when lakhs of devotees throng to witness a miracle, that of an earthern pot of water coming out of a well in the village. The rest of the year, it is just another sleepy village in the rural belt of Maharashtra. So, it is but obvious that the villagers find it surprising that tourists (mostly the ones with cameras on their necks and not the drunken ones who go for the waterfalls on the ghats) come to this village all year round.

The tourists are not interested in the village, but in a riverbed 3 kms away from the village. The river kukadi flows near the village. At one particular point , near a temple , the river forms a deep canyon which has resulted in huge pothole like structures carved in the rockbeds because of the natural erosive action of the water and the rocks carried by the river.

Route to Nighoj village from Pune: Go to the Nagar road, travel towards Ahmednagar. Cross Shikrapur, then Ranjangaon. If you have time, stop over at Ranjangaon and visit one of the Asthavinayak temples. After a while, you should see en exit for Shirur. Do not take that road into Shirur village. The Shirur bypass (the highway) goes towards the right. The moment you cross Shirur, you should cross a bridge over Khod river (Khodnadi or Ghodnadi). Immediately after the bridge, there is a junction where you take the first exit (left) which kind of looks like going back in the same direction you came from. Keep going on this road for around 18-19kms after which you will reach Nighoj. Just as you enter the village, you will see an arch on the left. Take the road under the arch and keep going for another 3 kms when you will hit a river (with a temple). This is the place you are looking for. In case you get lost within Nighoj, as for Kund (which is what the villagers call the potholes).

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Summer is the best time to see these potholes as the water level goes down in the river. But i am sure that it will be equally impressive in early winter with many mini-waterfalls forming between the potholes. Have to plan a visit sometime in June/July for this.

There is a temple on the banks – Kund Mahuli Devasthan. You can even buy stuff to offer to the god at the only shop at this place.

Akshara seemed to like the place a lot and wanted to play in the smaller potholes. In fact, in the first pic below, we had to watch our step and take care in getting to that place as there were deep crevasses on either side. But, Akshara was not satisfied with this location and kept on mentioning “keezha” (“down”) asking her to take her further down!

Some more photos..

written by Rajaram S