Thoseghar - The 'Mota Dhabdhaba' - Our Adventure to Satara - Part 2

Previous - Sajjangad

The whole of Maharashtra state takes a new refreshing look during the monsoon. Hills get covered under lush green carpets, the peaks are hidden behind mystifying clouds and the rainfall gives birth to innumerable number of waterfalls which pierce through the slopes like a sliver jet.

Thoseghar, our next destination from the Sajjangad, is such a place if you are in love with the waterfalls. Nestled deep within the jungles and hills in Satara district, far from the madding crowd and din and bustle of the town, the gigantic series of waterfalls can be enjoyed at its roaring best during the monsoon season (July – September).

Thoseghar can be visited as a day trip from Pune. A drive to Satara can take around 2.5 hours one way and then the waterfalls are located around 25 Kms from the main city. One needs to drive through the serpentine roads through the hills, enjoying the pristine and raw beauty of nature for around 1 hour or so.  From Sajjangad it took us approximately 45 minutes or so in the heavy rains.

Road map from Pune to Satara can be found in the Sajjangad post.

Here is the road map from Satara to Thoseghar.




Sajjangad to Thoseghar road map (the route which we took)




On the road there would be a lot of stopovers for the photography freaks. Colorful flowers, green undulating slopes and the circuitous roads combine into a scene to die for.  Not to mention, waterfalls will come at various sizes on the way – from the tiniest to the large ones – as if to provide a trailer as captivating as the movie.

There is a small signboard indicating ‘Mota Dhabdhaba’ or ‘Big Waterfall’ put by Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, to advise the torurists of the location of the falls. As soon as you get down from the car, you can hear the thundering roar of water at a distance. From this point the cascade is not visible but there is a narrow path through the woods which will guide you along with the sound.

The moment the waterfalls appear at the front, it is bound to take one’s breath away. The scene in front of you is simply jaw-dropping. At your right there are a couple of white streams falling down around 60 feet below while at the other side there is a humongous waterfall hitting the stony ground with raging ferocity. The impact is so deep that the water droplets are being converted to a cloud of water particles instantaneously. And naturally, a small narrow river originates from the never-ending source from above. The roar of the raging stream will obviously silence all other petty sounds.


The first look

The picturesque beauty of the surrounding will definitely make one forget about the concrete jungles of the town. The whole area covered by dense forests provides a wild look adding to the rustic atmosphere.

The unique selling point for Thoseghar is, in my opinion, its location. The cliffs were so steep that it is impossible to go near the waters unless you are a pro and avid trekker – so naturally bathing and adventure sports are scarce, almost impossible. May be this is how nature tells us that not everything can be conquered or spoiled.

Thoseghar may not be not as famous as the more renowned waterfalls in Maharashtra – Lingamala (Mahabaleshwar), Kune (Khandala), Lonavala (Lonavala), Randha (Bhandardara) etc to name a few – yet it offers an pure raw beauty of its own and surely does not lag behind any more renowned ones.

The place is truly recommended for a day outing during the monsoon season.

Next - Chalkewadi and Ajinkyatara

Sajjangad - The Fort of Good People - Our Adventure to Satara - Part 1

Maharashtra has something to offer to every kind of tourists. If you are a history freak - you have too many forts and caves to relish your history quest. If you love to be on the hills - hill stations are plenty. Wanna relax on a sea-beach and enjoy the sunset - the full Konkan region welcomes you. Or if you are simple nature lover you have too many places to explore. Satara is one of such places. It not only has one of the best natural beauties in Maharashtra, but also there are flavours of history.

September - October is the best time to visit Satara, in the rains. We also planned a weekend there in the monsoons. We had a plan to visit a number of places - Sajjangad, Thoseghar Waterfalls, Kaas Plateau, Kaas Lake and Bamnoli.

So we set out to fulfill our wish one Saturday morning. It was a gloomy day, there was no sign of the sun even at 7.30 am, it was completely engulfed by the cloud. Soon we were on the Mumbai - Pune Expressway and the rain started. We crossed the junction from where one can take a right towards Panchgani/Mahabaleshwar and headed straight to Satara.

Here is the road map to Satara.

Satara to Sajjangad:


View Larger Map
We reached to Satara around 10.30 am and checked in to our hotel Pooja Residency. The cordial and smiling staffs welcomed us and showed our rooms which were very decent. We quickly got freshened up and were ready for the day 1 itinerary - Sajjangad, Thoseghar waterfalls, Chalkewadi Windmills Farm and Ajinkyatara Fort.

The rain was a spoilsport today. Not that we mind the rains very much, but it was really maddening. It was pouring non-stop and did not subside for even one second. Anyway, as usual we were not bogged down and started as we planned.

Passing by the Ajinkyatara Fort, it looked humongous from below. There was a gate (see pic below) which one needs to cross and take the immediate right to reach Thosegarh while Sajjangad comes on the way if a small detour is taken.



Ajinkyatara Tunnel



We headed towards Sajjangad first. It was a hilly terrain through which passed, the roads were winding up with valleys at one side full of greenery while at the other side the cliffs were covered under the green carpet. The whole ambience was so pleasing to the eyes. We stopped our car at quite a few places to have some wet photo sessions.



One of the many tiny waterfalls



Green Valley

 It was raining so incessantly that the visibility were near zero. Once we reached at the base of the fort, we parked ourselves there and set out to climb through the stairs once we covered ourselves under the protection of the waterproof jackets. Once we stepped outside the car it was evident in a moment that the the protections were simply not enough, because there was a strong wind blowing which would drench you within the twinkling of an eye.

We started climbing and passed through the stone gates of Sajjangad, not knowing what to expect above. We came towards a place where the stairs are finished and the temple complex started.



Temple on the way



First gate - Chhatrapati Shivaji Gate

Second Gate - Shri Samarth Gate

Strong Door

At the top there were a couple of temples. It was raining so much that we had to take a shelter in one of the temples, the Ramdas Temple. Sajjangad literally means the 'Fort of Good People'. This fort was given to Shri Ramdas Swami,a saint and social reformer in 17th century India. His Samadhi (final resting place) is also here.

Ruins

Presently the maintenance of the fort is taken care by Ramdas Swami Sansthan, a trust since the 17th century. We had a life saving simple but sumptuous meal there, and that too free of cost. That was the Mahaprasad, which is served everyday to the visitor during the lunchtime. The meal was great but there was a typical ritual - the males have to remove their shirts while eating!!! The wind was chilled and I was quite wet so I was literally shivering with cold even before I started to eat. So you can guess how enjoyable it could be for me, even if the meal was too delicious. But that Rice, Sambar, Payasam were fantastic. There was nothing else where one could eat, so plan accordingly if you intend to visit Sajjangad while on the way to Thoseghar.

This building is the lunch hall, which saved our lives

After the meal, we went to the backside of the temple. The place was littered by bottles and other garbages but we made our way through a narrow trodden path towards the edge of the hills. The view from the edge of the cliff made our day. It was gorgeous. The valley down below was engulfed by a thin misty fog and a river found its way through the valley as gigantic serpent. The cliffs and the valley were covered  by lush green carpet. So soothing was the scenery that it was impossible to move away but we had to as we were running short of time as our primary destination was something else.

We started descending through the stairs, the views through the woods were pleasing to the eyes. So serene and peaceful was the place we easily understood that in the days gone by, it was the ideal place to medidate.

We came back to our car and now, bidding farewell to the Fort of Good People, we started driving to the Thoseghar waterfalls, but that will be a separate post.

A Naughty One

The Way Back

Next - Thoseghar Waterfalls

Veni Vidi Vici - Purandar Fort Conquered

After we made our unplanned and unfinished trip to Purandar Fort, it seriously deserved another visit. So we backpacked and started towards Saswad through a now familiar road on a Sunday morning during the Ganesh Festival.

The road description can be found at my earlier post. The same ever-so-new greenery and natual beauty once again enthralled us and we were into the lap of nature.

The road towards the fort after the diversion was full of lush green and a cool wind was breezing to soothen the visitors. We reached the Purandar village, paid a small donation to the local Ganesh Puja and proceeded towards the parking of the fort. The narrow road was winding up with hair pin bends through the thick flora. The smell of the wet trees and unspoiled earth gave birth of a typical rustic charm which is surely not to be found in the concrete wilderness.

Once we reached the parking, we headed straight towards the trek route, towards the right from the Shambhaji tomb building. The path was narrow, zigzagging through the forest. After a short and not-so-difficult climb, a cluster of stairs led its way towards the main entrance of the fort.

We halted for 5 minutes here before we proceeded towards the fort. The entire valley through which we travelled was visible - even the tar road appeared at a distance with its serpentile motion. The fortification and bastions were now visible from these point below, under a layer of the monsoon greenery.

After a series of steep stairs we came across the second entrance. Entering through the second entrance on your right will lead you towards the Purandareshwar Temple while walking towards the left you will reach the end of the 'machi' of the fort. From this point Vajragad was also visible with its pride on the adjoining hills.

We proceeded towards the right seeing that majority of the crowd were heading towards this direction. Having passed through the second entrance, we came across a plainland. it was evident that time has taken its toll on the fort. All the fort has buried under the earth and only the fortification and bastions were still standing tall. The valley was covered with small thorny bushes, with wild floweres nodding their heads in the wind, as if they were inviting the crowd to explore the faded glory.

There was a small pond on our way which were used as a drinking water source during the days when the fort was habitated. The trek to the topmost point of the fort, the temple, was a long and arduous one.

The valleys on both the sides were absolutely breathtaking. One can simply sit here and stare down the valley and a do a soul searching as long as possible.

The most of the fort, as I said earlier, is ruined and buried under the earth, so there were not much to see at the top, apart from the boundary walls.

We came back to the second entrance and decided against going towards the end of the machi at the other side, since it was evident that there was abolsolute nothing to see as well. But the machi itself looked gorgeous and splendid from a distance - it was like a scorpion's tail, fully covered beneath a green carpet.

We started descending, again through the same narrow path. We were hungry by the time we came down at the parking place. There was a small tea stall at this place where we had some life saving vada pav and bhel and a much needed bottle of water was consumed.

It was a good 4 hours of relaxing break from our monotonous routine lives. We stopped once again outside the main boundary, to see the fort getting hidden behind the aggressive and fast engulfing fog. From this point the valley down looked marvellous and very alluring for a trek. The roads were running through the heart of the hills, like a gigantic reptile.

Again with a heavy heart, contemplating the schedule about to start from the next day, we bade adieu to Purandar Fort and within an hour we found ourselves confined by the concrete walls.