A delayed
monsoon last year had turned all our travel plans topsy-turvy, deep in the month of July
our favorite destinations were still under the spell of an extra hot summer,
and the scenery which would usually be green and beautiful was still brown and
grassless, but finally rains did come by the end of July and the next month saw
a transformation of dull brown earth into the magical wonderland of misty
monsoons.
As soon as
the torrential rains were able to transform the scenery we decided to put our
delayed travel plans into action and the month of August was spent in visiting
Pavana Dam, Bhaja Waterfall, Rani Sati Temple Lonavala, Balaji Temple Ketkawle,
Narayanpur Datta Mandir, Mulshi Dam, and Tamhini ghat.
We had
planned a visit to Kaas plateau to see the wildflowers in the month of
September, but somehow we could not make it and we ended up without any trips
in the whole month. October was here and the weather had turned warm, and we
decided to finally tick off Kaas from our trip list as this was the last chance
this year to see the flowers that Kaas plateau is famous for.
The D day
was second October and destination for
the day was Kaas Plateau , I had
estimated a journey time of max three hours to cover the 165 odd kms as shown
by Google maps. The day was warm, the thunder showers of the day before had not
done much to bring down the temperature. We started from home at
10 am and our first stop was Ganpati Temple and Swami Samarth Maharaj Mandir,
after darshan we started from the temple at 10.25 am and a 10 minute drive on the
Pimpri Chinchwad ring road brought us to the Bangalore Highway soon we were speeding on the four lane,
traffic was moderate but Flyover construction activity in few places had made
the roads really bad and there were also
mild traffic jams while crossing these sections, I was able to reach Katraj
tunnel in an hour which normally would have taken just 40 minutes.
After
crossing the tunnel our first break was at the Reliance petrol pump after the
toll plaza and after filling the Wagon-R we were on the highway again. Soon
hunger pangs started to trouble us ..sun was harsh….sky was without any cloud
cover…and we were looking for a nice shady tree to have a brief food break, but
the four lane had no road side tree cover anywhere nearby, i kept driving
towards the fast looming Khambatki ghat , I was sure we would find some trees
once we cross the ghat …but how wrong we were…. we could not find any place in the next twenty
kms. We were pleasantly surprised to find lovely dense copses of huge Vata
trees growing outside a small town I did not waste any time in stopping the car
on the wide roadside, and got out of the car to stretch the legs. We had luckily
landed in a very nice
spot with not just loads of trees but also a small stream flowing thru the
trees and green fields nearby. We had a nice brunch of homemade food and washed
it down with icecold lemonade. A twenty minute break did refresh us and we were
soon on the way towards Satara again.
A hours
drive brought us to the outskirts of Satara city and we followed the Gps and
google maps into to the city and took the road towards Kaas from Powai Naka . The
majestic Ajinkya Tara fort looked down on us from its lofty heights as the
Wagon R ran forward on the Kass road close to its base. Satara is located in a
very picturesque location, surrounded by green hills, and as we left the city
behind and started climbing the narrow ghat road towards the Kass plateau we
could see lovely vistas of Satara city nestled at the foot hills of green
hills.
As we were
climbing higher and higher.. and moving towards
Kaas scenery was getting better and better and soon we were driving thru a beautiful green meadow with the
road lined with tall coniferous trees, the exceptionally beautiful surroundings
and green grass tempted us so much that we
could not miss a photo op here and soon
the Wagon was parked by the roadside and we got down with cameras and it was
photo op time. We walked to the edge of the meadow and the valley below
presented beautiful and relaxing sight, with hardly any crowds around and sun
playing hide and seek, the cool breeze made us spend a relaxing half hour here.
We clicked a lot of pictures and just
took in the lovely scenery.
After the
break we moved forward towards Kass which was just a few kms away from this
spot and after ten fifteen minutes we hit the kass phata where we have to
purchase entry and parking tickets to enter Kass Plateau. The road passing thru
the plateau has been fenced off on both sides since this has been declared a
Bio Diversity zone by UNESCO, and there is no designated parking spot for the
huge number of cars which visit this place every day during the flowering
season. All the cars were parked on the roadside and I could see line which was
at least a couple of kms in length. Since the nearest parking was available at least
a km away from the two entry gates into the park area..we were in no mood to do
a km long walk in the harsh sun and then spend another hour looking for
blooms…I was pissed …looking at my expressions the kind soul manning the entry
gate suggested us to go down to the Kaas lake and come back later so that we
may find a parking spot nearby. I grabbed his suggestion immediately.. in fact
I was ready to do anything to escape the prospect of hiking around in that blazing sun, and a vision of cool waters
of a lake were the perfect medicine for my frayed nerves after a long
four hour drive. I dint loose a second and after thanking the guard I
moved the car forward and now we were officially driving in the Kaas Plateau and its famous wild flowers.
But where
were the flowers??? We could see hundreds of visitors ….long line of cars….but
only a sprinkling of flowers here and there…there was no landscape covered with
thousands of blooms of multi colored wild flowers … as pictures on internet suggested. I was dejected looking at the scene…. but more
about it later…for now I was looking forward to visiting the Kaas lake.
Kaas lake
is just ten minutes’ drive from flower area, and the narrow steep road has some very tight twistys
which may become quite difficult to handle if you meet a truck or bus on a tight turn…as I did when I
barely missed a scrape with a huge red ST bus moving up fast and occupying the
whole carriage way , and I had to go down on the rocky shoulder to avoid being
hit, the scene could have been much worse if it was raining and the ground
below turns slushy giving less traction to the wheels. But this is what
adventurous are like ….the testing of your driving skills during such emergencies
is good for the driver, but for the passengers it may be a harrowing experience…
so to maximize the driving pleasure of all the occupants it’s better to avoid
or at least minimize such incidents all together.
We were
pleasantly surprised to see big parking space at a place which we guessed would
be the entry point to the lake. With the
Golden beauty safely parked under a shady patch , we started our small walk
towards the lake shore. Thankfully the clouds had fully blocked the blazing sun
and was lovely to take that short walk. We passed few shacks selling eatables
and some nice food joints, and reached the lake shore in ten minutes. The road was quite wide and we
could have easily brought Waggy down to the shore. It was three o’clock when we
were finally standing by the beautiful lake. The cloudy weather had increased
the beauty of the place, we could see quite a few people frolicking in the cool
lake waters or just relaxing on the lake shore. We too spread a chattai on the
ground and relaxed for an hour, clicked pics of the lovely vistas and had a
picnic lunch….this indeed was the highlight of today’s trip. I guessed after
seeing the lovely green meadows and the beautiful lake I would not be missing the Kaas flower show
any more….but kya karein ye dil maange more.
After spending a relaxed one hour at the lake it was
time to move on to the final and the main destination of the day Kaas Patthar.
After the short walk to the parking lot and a few more clicks on the way we
were soon sitting in the waggy and soon near the Kaas garden. The number of
cars still looked the same and we decided to move forward to find a empty spot
which we soon did and thankfully it was just hundred meters away from the
entery gate. Here on the plateau the sun was blazing as hot as ever but we knew
it will soon be its time to call it a day and so we hurriedly entered the tiny
gate in the fence after depositing the tickets with the gate keeper.
The whole
area was milling with hundreds of tourists, everyone was trying hard to find
the flowers. We had already read on various forums that there were very few
flowers this year due to the delayed monsoon….but the seen in front of us was
really pathetic. Firstly we could barely see a few pink flowers here and there
in tiny patches, and it was sad to see the plants getting mercilessly trampled
under the unforgiving feet of over eager tourists. If only the paths could have
been properly marked it would have prevented most of the damage these delicate
plants were going through.
We walked
till the edge of the plateau in search of the flowers but it was the same
everywhere. So we decide to return back and clicked a few shots of the tiny
delicate flowers to remember Kaas by.
With the
wild flower tour over we were soon in the car but there was one more spot to
cover today, Ghatajai Devi Temple near the plateau. Just a km away from the Kaas
Phata gate we found the turning for the temple, the lonely narrow road went on
for four km. before we reached a temple gate, we could not see the name of the
temple anywhere but decided to try our luck. Navratris were going on It was the
auspicious day of Ashtami and this would be our first visit to a Devi temple
this Navratri. We started climbing the stars going inside the dense woods, the
feel of the place was very ancient, we were still discussing if we were on the
right path…and how long it will be before the we reach the temple… when we
heard deep sound of a temple bell nearby
…it was as if Maa herself was calling to us and banishing all our fears and doubts.
Another ten fifteen stairs brought us to a clearing and we could see two
temples beyond. I was over awed moving in the presence of of Maa as I Walked
towards the temples. I could hear chanting of mantras….the low evening
light…and the dense surrounding forest made the whole atmosphere so alive with divine
energy. Later I heard the pujari maharaj telling us that the two temples were
dedicated to Waghjaai Devi and Ghataai Devi. The murti of Ghaataai Devi was
swayambhu and is growing bigger slowly. He also guided us to the tree which has
naturally formed shape of Ganpati Statue on its trunk, it looks as if Bhagwan
Ganesh is coming out of the the tree trunk. A
mandap is also being constructed in front of the Ghataai Devi temple as
at present there is no shade for the devotees from rain and sun.
After
darshan we felt blessed. We clicked few photos of the temple and of the surrounding wild
flowers for remembrance, and we were soon moving down the steps towards the Wagon
R. In the fading light we were soon moving back towards Satara, but as we were
passing through the green meadows again we could not escape the allure of its
magical beauty in that twilight hour, the coniferous trees and the mesmerizing light
of the setting sun. The Wagon R was soon parked and we clicked some lovely
parting shots of this lovely trip..the best we have had this monsoon season.
After a
twenty minute break we were soon rushing back to Pune by 6. A uneventful drive
brought us back to the outskirts of the
Pune city and as we moved ahead on the Bangalore highway we found traffic jams
in the spots where the roads were full of huge craters, and the Wagon did take
a few rough bounces due to my heavy foot on the accelerator while overtaking
the slow moving trucks and busses whenever I got a chance. After struggling with
the traffic jams and super bad roads for an hour we finally made home at nine
forty five pm…..very tired…. but very very satisfied.
This Kaas
trip brought the curtains down on this year’s Monsoon road trips, and it was a great finale to the season. Even though we did
not see Kaas in its full bloom, but the whole trip itself was awesome...and
well rounded…we saw green meadows, lovely lake, some cute flowers, a new
enchanting temple and a super duper Sunset….top all that with a long drive in
our beloved Golden Beauty….this indeed was the best road trip we did this
monsoon season, looking forward for winters to set in, and some new and old
places to explore then.
Ciao!
