Come the rains, Malshej Ghat, just three hours away from Mumbai offers a sublime experience to savour the beauty of the monsoon magic.
Everyone should visit Malshej in the monsoons atleast once – but not on a weekend when it is full of drunken louts misbehaving and littering the place with their broken bottles. Having said that,if you visit mid-monsoons mid week, it is paradise on earth.Post monsoons, go for the wildflowers and butterflies. From Dec to March go for the birds. But monsoon reveals the true glory of the region.

Mumbai to Malshej Ghat (Distance : 140 Kms):

Take Eastern Express Highway upto Bhiwandi and then state highway road to Malshej ghat (Mumbai – Bhiwandi – Kalyan – Saralgoan- Malshej Ghat)

Fun at Malshej Ghat

There are many trails that are ideal for a long walk in the rains. There are plenty of awe-inspiring sights of mountains and valleys as you walk. Sometimes, the dense fog means you cannot enjoy the views. Instead, you can enjoy the walk in the mist. If you do not want to follow any of the offbeat trail, walk on the road itself. The Malshej Ghat road in itself offers excellent views of waterfalls. However, it gets too crowded on Sundays.
It rains heavily in Malshej Ghat and the fun is actually in getting drenched and soaking oneself in one of the waterfalls. There’s nothing better than these simple pleasures of life. There are millions of waterfalls and finding the one that is right for you at Malshej Ghat should not be too difficult.

Malshej offers a unique phenomenon – the mountains are so aligned that the wind speed is very high. Owing to this, there are plenty of places where water rises upwards instead of falling down as a waterfall. Locals will tell you that when the velocity of the wind is too high, 50 ft of natural water sprays are formed.

The most famous guests of Malshej Ghat are the Flamingos. Myriads of pink-legged European flamingos arrive during the monsoon and breed in the waters of the Pimpalgaon-Joga Dam. It is just 4 kms away from Flamingo Hill and worth the visit to watch the mating dance of these birds. Apart from flamingos, many species including the Alpine Swift, Purple Moorhen, Pitta, Quail, Whistling Thrush, Green Pigeon, Pied Crested Cuckoo can be sighted in and around Malshej Ghat.

For those into trekking, Harishchandragad offers an excellent climb. To start the trek, reach Khubi village at a distance of 7 Kms from Malshej Ghat. It is advisable to hire services of a local guide. Peak monsoons may not be the best time for the trek. It is generally more enjoyable during winters.

Get on and get moving to Malshej Ghat and enjoy the next rains.

I’ve been to Matheran twice now in the past 6 months and still wouldn’t mind going there again and again. The place has a totally different feel to it. The first two things you notice when you are there is the fresh crisp air and the lack of any ‘noise’. The best thing is that it takes just about 90mins for me to get there by bike
I think i’ve visited almost all the points out there, out of which Panaroma Point, Monkey Point & Charlotte lake are my favorite. Have not spent a night out there but i really wanna do so this coming monsoon. Who all in??

About Matheran
Matheran was discovered by Hugh Malet in 1850. The British developed Matheran as a popular tourist resort. At an elevation of around 800m (2,625 ft) above sea level Matheran is a hill station located about 100 km from Mumbai. Matheran literally means jungle on top. All vehicles (Except emergency vehicles) are banned here.The roads are not tarred and are made of red laterite earth.
The only modes of transport are on Horseback, by man-pulled rickshaw, or on foot. Every one living in cities needs this sort of change once in a while.
Old British-style architecture has been preserved in Matheran and most structures are now heritage structures.
Matheran has been declared an eco sensitive region by the Union Environment Ministry (GoI).  The name Matheran means either “forest on top” or “mother forest”.There are lots of lookout points that provide spectacular views of the surrounding hills and valleys. Matheran has a reasonably dense forest cover.
There are around 38 designated look-out points in Matheran, including the Panorma Point that provides a 360 degree view of the surrounding area and also the Neral town. From this point, the view of sunset and sunrise is breathtaking. The Louisa Point offers crystal clear view of the Prabal Fort. The other points are the One Tree Hill Point, Hart Point, Monkey Point, Porcupine Point, Rambgh Point, and more.
Read The Full Story…

Was sitting on my throne this morning and wondering about How i should start updating my blog and which place should i start with..
Naturally i’ll start with the place i 1st took my bike too and the place i’ve ridden the most number of times too.. Lonavala & Khandala
We’ll start with a small brief about the place..
For me,Nature always accompanies us in its different manifestations & any place that receives nature’s bounty becomes a well-known place. Lonavala & Kandala are such place where nature is present in all its splendor,specially during the monsoons.
Lonavla is a city and a hill station in Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is about 64 km away from the city of Pune & 96 km away from the city of Mumbai. It is famous throughout India for the hard candy sweet known as chikki and fudge

Places of interest around Lonavla and Khandala:

Rajmachi Point
Rajmachi Point is located about 6.5 km from Lonavla. This point commands a view of Shivaji’s famous fort, Rajmachi (Royal terrak7ouioce) and the surrounding valley. Regular State Transport buses ply between Rajmachi Point and Lonavla from the State Transport Bus Stand. The famous Vaghjai Dari is also located here.

Ryewood Park & Shivaji Udyan
This is an extensive garden situated in Lonavla. The garden covers a lot of ground and it is full of tall trees. There is an old Shiva temple in the park. The garden has plenty of place for children to play. Read The Full Story…