A day trip to Little Kashmir !

The month of December was here, monsoons had come and gone, and we had not yet taken any trip out of the city this year. Winter was knocking at the doors, midday  Sun had gone pleasantly warm….ideal time to be out of doors, and preferably in the hills.

So one early December morning we packed in our Wagon R and moved out of the city towards the lovely hills that surrounded Pune. It was a lovely day when we set out in the direction of Mahableshwar, our destination Tapola or Mini Kashmir - as it was popularly called - was 28 kms from Mahableshwar. The drive was nothing but very enjoyable, the 4 lane NH 4 took us to the turn towards Wai within no time and soon we were on the twisty road going to Mahableshwar and gained height rapidly as we moved  forward. The vistas of the surrounding plains as seen from the high hills were beautiful.

Our first halt was for breakfast just after Panchgani  at Mapro’s where we took a break and feasted on Grilled Sandwiches, Pizzas baked in wood fired ovens and topped up these tasty goodies with thick Strawberry Shakes.

 It was strawbery season and vendors lined up the road outside with fresh juicy strawberries coming straight from the numerous farms in the surrounding hills. What do u do when u are getting farm fresh strawberries at half the city prices? ..well I don’t know about u but we obviously gorged on them, also bought the sweet berries to take on our trip ahead and back home, and soon our car was heavier by few kilograms of fresh strawberries.

Once we had our tummies full it was time  for some photo shoot in the picturesque Mapro compound. After the photoshoot there was only one task left…buying sweets, candies  and juices Mapro is famous for and we did spend quite some time on choosing and buying various flavours and types of sweets. Mapro is one place where young and old enjoy alike.

After spending one and half hour at  Mapro it was time to move forward to Tapola via Mahableshwar town. A fifteen minute drive brought us to Mahableshwar and after paying the Rs.175 Ecotax we entered the town and were soon on the narrow road going towards Tapola.

The way to Tapola is really very lovely, the narrow road moves through dense vegetation and down the mountain, the scenery along the way is very beautiful, specially towards the end of the ride when you drive down tip the mountain towards the huge water body which surrounds the mountain on 3 sides. The lovely golden grass along the black tarmack and the evening light made the whole scenery extra beautiful.

 Tapola is a small quite place with a huge lake and if u get fedup with the highly commercializd and crowded Venna lake  you will love to spend a day here. Tapola village also acts as the base camp for famous Vasota trek, which is a must do treks in Maharashtra  for trekking enthusiasts. The beautiful Kas Plateau which comes to life with wild flowers during the months of August and September is also nearby. Monsoon rains also bring to life many waterfalls in the nearby hills.

Finally the ride ends near the Shivsagar  Lake, this lake is 90 kilometers long and is in fact the reservoir of Koyna Dam - one of the largest dams in western Maharashtra.  We parked the car and moved towards the lake shore. 

Shivsagar  Boat Club is quite well known for water sports and we also saw few tourists trying them, but the place was not very well kept and hardly had any crowd around, probably it gets more visitors during the week end. There were water scooters, small boats and bigger launches but none of them looked well maintained or new, so we decided to give the rides a miss. With the huge  expanse of water available for water sports activities, a better infrastructure and equipment could easily make this place one of the better tourist destinations, but the rapid commercialization will also be the end of the lovely idyllic surroundings where one could sit for hours looking at changing colors of the Shivsagar lake in peace and quite...no honking of traffic, wild crowds, ponywalls or vendors occupying every nook and cranny.

 We  sat near the jetty and enjoyed the scenery, while the setting sun played well with the shimmering waters of the huge lake, the whole experience made the long drive well worth the trouble and time spent.

 We did not explore the place as we had to return back to Pune and don’t know much about the staying options there but we did see sign boards of some resorts along the lake which may be able to offer some interesting staying options.

After spending an hour and half at the lake and enjoying a hot cup of tea with some home made puri bhaji we decided to return back. The sun was already sliding fast behind the mountains and as we climbed  the road back the vistas had taken a more magical golden hue which generally happens at sunrise and sunset and we could not stop ourselves from stopping at the sunset point to capture the sun and its ethereal magic light in that twilight hour.

After capturing few sunset shots, and when sun was finally hidden by the peaks we decided to move on. It was a fast dash to Mahableshwar market. The weather had turned quite cold and we spent a couple hours shopping and eating in the quaint little Mahaby market. The small market is amix of old and new buildings, some buildings are of British era and gives u a good idea of the times gone by, and it’s a good place to walk around and shop or just window shop.

My target…. as always... was  to enjoy famous Strawberry Cream  and thats what we did as soon as we were free of the enticing shops. The tall glass of Strawberries smothered in fresh cream is my favourite and I never miss having it whenever I am in Mahableshwar. I still remember having Strawberry Cream everyday when we visited Mahaby for few days in 2011, but since then the prices have doubled and the affordable 75 rupee glass is now quite expensive Rs.150…not only heavy on your stomach but also heavy on your wallet, but then thats the price we all have to pay for inflation.

 The weather was getting colder as the night grew older, and as we finished gorging on the good food it was time to say good bye to Mahableshwar and start the long ride back to Pune city.

The night drive along the empty ghat roads was a real pleasure, the well marked black tarmac shined in the beam of my cars headlights, and the twinkling lights down below looked like a reflection of stars from above. While someone turned on the deck and put on some music.... I just looked at the road …the  dark sky and the twinkling lights below and smiled at my self …I felt so one with the car running in solitude... on those dark twisty roads. Our journey was about to end as we entered Pune...but the memories of this lovely road trip will live on in our mind for a long time to come.