Tripping through Malshej Ghat

Monsoons have proved to be pretty elusive this time around. The season is about to end and the umbrellas and ponchos are missing out on all the action. So we decided to take things in our hand. One fine Saturday morning we set out to look for rains – And our destination was that one place which we knew won’t disappoint us. The Queen of Monsoons – Malshej Ghat.

Waking up on a Saturday morning is one of the toughest task ever. But you got to do what you got do. It was time to take my Classic 350 for it’s first outing. Post 4 months of notice period and additional 2 weeks for the first servicing, it was long due to take her out.

Anyways, we set out from Powai at 6 in the morning. Eastern Express Highway merged into NH222 and in no time we found ourselves on one of the best circuits in Western Ghats.

 

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,
Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;
And charging along like troops in a battle
All through the meadows the horses and cattle:
All of the sights of the hill and the plain
Fly as thick as driving rain;
And ever again, in the wink of an eye,
Painted stations whistle by.

The roads, like serpents, cut through the forests, springs and hills. And the moment you leave the city and
first rush of wind runs across your face, you realize that sacrificing your sleep was indeed worth it. With green meadows and blue sky stretching till the horizon, we made our way to the Ghat.

As soon as you enter the Ghat, you will start seeing mini waterfalls all around, which leads the way to the major ones as you go further. While there are many beautiful points to stop by and savor the view, there are a few hidden gems, out of sight of the common junta, where you can relax in solitude, away from the hush of the tourists. One such place is this mini plateau right above the waterfall which is the biggest attraction of the area. All you need to do is to find a trail to the right of the waterfall and follow it until you reach this place.

Move along, take a lot of pit stops, get drenched in the rain, have some hot tea and jump back on your bull.

While you might be wondering that this place is all about waterfalls,there are other historic and religious spots too which deserve your visit. Shivneri Fort, the birth place of the great Shivaji, and Ozar Vighnahar Ganpati Temple being such places.

And a day well spent by needs to end well too. Get into an explorer’s shoe and find the route to the Pimplegaon Joga

Dam. Watch the twilight take over the green land as you lay back and see the changing colors of the surroundings.

By the time we were set to leave for Mumbai, it had started raining really hard. Around 3 hrs of ride to Mumbai, and the rains didn’t hold back even a bit. We went looking for rains and it came back with us. It’s been raining since Saturday and as I sit here, penning it down, it is still raining. The rainbow has come back into the scheme of things.