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Published: March 13th 2006
Western Ghats , Lonavala
Breathtakingly beautiful...It was the autumn break in our girls’ school, which brought us to Mumbai on Saturday, the 8th of October 2005. We left for Lonavala (a sleepy resort in the Western Ghats) that same day in a Toyota Innova. The ride was comfortable and the road great. Actually the road was unbelievable and I often found myself ranting about it! You could for a moment forget you were on the Mumbai - Pune highway and instead talk yourself into believing you were on a long drive through Ohio or Pennsylvania! The hilly terrain was similar except for the fact that highway drives in autumn in the north eastern United States were more breathtaking as the leaves on the deciduous trees would change into vibrant hues of color and their owners would be at their flamboyant best. On that autumn day in October, it didn’t matter that the trees along the Mumbai - Pune highway were lackluster. The fact that they were present and that nature was preserved in its original best was enough for me to believe that it was going to be a great start to a relaxing vacation!
‘Far from the madding crowd’ of Mumbai city, lies this
Western Ghats , Lonavala
Lush green forests and rolling hills... little town of Lonavala famous for its chikkis (peanut jaggery cubes) Almost all the shops in the market place had big signboards advertising them. Our scheduled stay was at the Fariya’s resort and we were shown our duplex suite. It was spacious with two full bathrooms and a walk out lower level into a very private patio. The walls on either side of the patio were replete with ivy and this gave it a very gardenlike feel. The upper level had a balcony that overlooked the simple and subtle landscape. The next day after breakfast, the girls went down to the water park (which was on the resort premises) and enjoyed the clean water slides and pool. It was a pleasant day and a good one for outdoor activity
Later that afternoon we were out on a scenic drive through the countryside. Our driver, who was quite familiar with the area, informed us about ‘Ambi Valley’, the vast and exclusive neighborhood developed by the Sahara group for its super exclusive residents. Visitors were an absolute no-no and one had to obtain permission from Mumbai and cough up about Rs 10,000 just to enter the premises. We were for our
Karla caves, Lonavala
at the entrance stands the Ashoka pillar with its carved lions on the pedestal part just happy to be driving on fine roads built by them. We got off alongside the road and did a bit of trekking. On our way back we stopped and bought some mementos from a little shop called ‘My Home’ that had a wonderful assortment of collectibles.
Next morning after breakfast, we went out to see the ‘Walwahn Dam’ built by the Tata group. It was a restricted area and all we could enjoy was a little walk uphill on a long and narrow road. From there we went onto the Karla caves. There was a temple atop the mountain alongside the cave where Buddhist monks used to meditate. The climb to the top was a tedious uphill task as the hundred odd steps were very steep and uneven. The cave itself had a lot of artisan work and had the stupas too.
Later that evening we drove to another resort town called Khandala, from the Aati kya Khandala (famous line from a Bollywood movie) fame; and went to a little park alongside the road. A guy enticed us into seeing Bollywood star Shahrukh Khan’s house through his binoculars including other filmy locales. The girl’s then had their caricatures drown by an artist who worked for the Sahara Times. When I tried to do some bargaining on the price he reminded me gently that his rendering of the sketches was an art!
On Tuesday morning we were scheduled to drive back to Mumbai. Our sojourn in Lonavala and Khandala was brief but will go down in my memory annals for its rustic charm and quintessential peace, a great place to unwind for the over worked and stressed -- a true vacation in every sense of the word!
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Deepa Kulkarni
non-member comment
Great blog!
Hi Asra: The blog was great! reminded me of the good old days when we visited Lonavalaand Khandala with my dad. you really have a way with words and I for one enjoyed reading it as it bought back a lot of wonderful memories of the trips we had there with my dad! Deepa