Mesmerizing Mahabaleshwar - Day 3 - Wai

Aug 15 Monday 2011 - this was the last day of our trip so we were feeling a bit sad. But since the whole day is left we wanted to utilize it to the fullest. So after having beakfast we left the hotel and started driving towards Wai.

Enroute there is a view point called 'Harrison's Folly'. Not sure what Folly was committed by which Harrison here but the place was superb and I liked it the most in Panchgani. It is also a kind of mini-table land without that din and bustle of the bigger one. Offers spectacular view, this place. And since the weather was sunny, the golden sunlight reflecting on the Krishna river gave the place an out of the world feeling. This place is deservedly used for para-gliding in the non-monsoon season.

View from Harrison's Folly



Another view - the diversion to Harrison's Folly




A small part of the endless valley



View

View 2

View 3

We again proceeded towards Wai. We had a plan to spend more time at the Dhom Dam. First we visited the famous Maha Ganpati Temple - here we could identify that many films were shot like Swadesh, Gangaajal etc. There are two adjascent temples - the Ganpati Temple and the Shiva temple. The Ganpati temple was a newer one while the Shiva Temple looked older. It was very crowded since it was Monday.




The Maha Ganpati Temple



Shooting place for Gangaajal

The Shiva Temple

Remember the first scene from the film 'Dabaang'?

After spending a good 45 minutes here we proceeded towards Dhom Dam which is further 9 Km down from Wai through interiors. The road was narrow but the simple look and feel of the rustic villages was simply a great sight to behold. We finally reached a point where we could park our car and got down. We went very close to the water. The place was glorious. The lake was calm, the weather cool and the green hills kissing the sky - you will find yourself standing in midst of the mother nature. You may feel isolated but it gives you a chance of soul searching. Just sit and soak in the nature - which we did for more than a couple of hours. It was really a great experience. What else could you ask for?

Feels like a sea, doesn't it?

Curious and strange rock formation

Amazing greenery

Nothing much is left of this trip now. We then proceeded towards Pune through NH4 - in between stopped at one Dhaba to have a late lunch (or early snacks) and back to Pune by 6.30 pm.

All in all it was a great trip which gave me a lot of memories to cherish in my heart. And nevertheless, a promise to myself that I will come back again in the lap of nature.

Adios!!

Update: Road Directions -

Panchgani to Wai:

Wai to Pune:

Kanifnath Temple through Bopdev Ghat

I may be wrong but I sincerely have started believing that the every hillock in Maharashtra has something to offer on its top to amaze people like us. I have written about the Bhuleshwar Temple, but Kanifnath Temple is yet another example of this - a drive through the hilly roads of Bopdev Ghat, a serene location and great view of the valley. In addition to that, if you are a devotee there is a uniqueness in this temple which I think you mustn't miss. 

How to go: 

I stay in Kharadi so all routes starts from here. From Kharadi you need to go towards Swargate through NH9. One the Big Bazaar and the Fame multiplex appears on the left, you have to take the immediate second left (the Prince of Wales drive) of it, i.e take the left after the one next to Big Bazaar. Go staright for few kms, once you reach at a junction, you have to take a left towards Kondhwa road. Going starting from this junction will take to the way to Katraj Park, so better check with the local guys if you are confused. Through Kondhwa Road, again go straight - there is no need to turn at any junction. Ask the locals for Bopdev Ghat if you think if you can do good with a little help for direction. You should come to a junction where you can see the hills with one road going straight through the hills and there is another going in the left. At this junction there is big restaurant on your left ( I can not recollect the name and I could not take a snap either because it was heavily raining). But anyway you need to go straight. Once the ghat section is over, after going for a few more kms, you can see a big board for Kanifnath on your left. This is a short drive (around 35 Kms) but it took us around 1.5 hours due to rains and also we were not sure about the direction so we had to stop and ask the locals.

Here is the road map:

View Larger Map

When you see the board on your left for the ‘Kanifnath Gad’ , the narrow and bad roads start here. The first section of the road is narrow and full of potholes but driveable while the last 500 meters are steep and was not fully tarred when we visited. Many people usually park before this road starts and cover the rest of the distance by foot. As it was raining to make it even worse, a couple of times I was screeching the tyres .

The first sight of the temple which also shows a glipse of the narrow road:

and a glimpse of the bad road....

There is a parking space above so there was no difficulty for us in parking. But when fully crowded during Shivaratri, it may not be the same.

There are stairs which lead straight to the temple. You have to leave your shoes before you enter the temple at your own risk, alternatively there is a shop which can keep it for you. And the shop also sells sweets to offer to the God.

The temple seemed to be relatively new, though there is not much to see at the top. It offers some great view though.

The uniqueness of the temple which I was referring to earlier is that only men can enter into the main shrine and they have to remove their shirts before entering!! If this is not enough, the entry to the shrine is not a door, it’s a hole!! You have to lie down and then crawl like a snake!!

Obviously I am no devotee to try that one. Even if I were one, I wouldn’t have tried the same.

When we were coming down the stairs we saw there are some sculptures of Lord Hanuman.

We came down and found that there was one smaller temple at the opposite side, facing the main temple.

Just before you enter into the parking there is a big gate marking the entrance. This place is like small flat plateau from where the views were really good watch.

When I carefully looked on the road through which we came (the last 500 meters as referred earlier), there are some sculptures too (at the centre of the below snap). But this one does not do justice with the steepness of the road though.

We came down and headed to Saswad towards our next stop – the Balaji Temple at Narayanpur. Ironically the weather cleared after 15-20 mins!

The road through Bopdev Ghat - not many snaps because of the rains:

Bhuleshwar Shiva Temple - Not Just A Temple

I was wondering where to go to for 3-4 hours on the next weekend without making the journey a hectic one when I came across this Bhuleshwar Temple and immediately I liked the place and decided to go there on a short trip.

One Saturday afternoon we started from our home around 2.30 pm towards the Bhuleshwar Temple. The temple is around 55 Kms from Kharadi, Pune near to village called Uruli and Yavat.

How to go: To reach Bhuleshwar temple you have to take the Pune – Solapur Highway (NH9) and have to towards Solapur. You have go through the Flyover from Hadapsar (do not go beneath it). You have to travel around 35 kms on this road. There are a couple of back to back toll plazas. After the second toll plaza, you have to go straight for a few kms and then you will see a sign on the left side of the road pointing to the right lane (marked as Bhuleshwar).  You have to take a right turn and go straight. You have to cross a small ghat section and then you will a see a small diversion on your right. There is a hillock on the right side on top of which you can clearly see the temple. So you need to drive through this diversion. The last 200 meters or so is incredibly steep and I am not exaggerating. You can also park your car before this road.

After driving through the last 200 meters I was really booming with confidence on my driving capability, but given a choice, I will try to avoid that road and park my car before this road starts.

The temple is around 9 Km from the NH9 (from where you took the right turn). The road up to the temple is pretty good. Here is the road map which we followed.

View Larger Map

The Bhuleshwar Temple is really an ancient one – probably this is built around in the 13th century by the Choula rules (1230 AD to be precise as per Wikipedia).

The first thing which will strike you once you reach there is the serenity and the calmness of the place. Though there were only a handful of people when we visited there, we hard that the whole place comes alive during Maha Shivaratri when you can not find an inch to stand.

This is the first sight of the temple:

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The temple is built with solid rocks and upon a layer of a flat base, the base it self itself is very high. There are 3 different temple-tops which vary in heights (taller to shorter from Left to Right for the below pictures)

Unfortunately there is a TV tower which somewhat spoils the ambience (though I have taken the snap without it).

The surrounding place was very dry when we went there but must be very beautiful during the full monsoon.

We first explored the different sides of the temple and circled the temple to get a complete view from all sides.

When we entered the temple, inside it was very dark but when it suited to our eyes we found ourselves in front of another door, through which could see a staircase on both the right and left sides to enter into the main temple. Little did we know about the surprises which we were about to face.

We entered into the main temple and immediately we were spellbound. There were so many sculptures and carvings in the temple which simply took our breath away. They were really magnificent. Here are some of the snaps. Most of the carvings were vandalized by the tyrant Mughal commanders under Aurangzeb. This is also a proof of the temple being so old.  There are ample opportunities for photography due to natural 'light-and-shadow' effect. Some of my amateur tries:

The place was so airy and cool inside that you do not find yourself having the desire to leave. The place is to just sit and relax. You will forget your stress, your pain and all your day to day petty problems once you come here. On this note, you are bound to think of how the place looked like during the old days when the civilization was too far to spoil the serenity.

In the main shrine there is an idol of Lord Shiva. There is a saying that if you are a true believer, then the offerings (sweets) will disappear as the Lord Shiva will consume them by Himself!!! We did not try it though.

There are carvings on the side of the walls through the stairs as well as outside the main entrance. There are Ganesha statues which appeared to be of a female form which is very interesting.

Outside, there is a cluster of stairs through which you can also climb from the downhill.

In the close vicinity, you can see remnants of a fort from which it is truly evident that the temple used to belong to the boundaries within this fort. This fort was called as Mangalgad. Nothing much is left of the fort though. Mangalgad was constructed during 1634 by Murar Jagdev to keep a watch on the Pune area. Legend has it that in 1630 this Murar Jagdev looted Pune and then completely destroyed it. Needless to say that I climbed on top this sole structure.

Apart from this historical significances, the temple has a mythological importance too. It is said that Devi Parvati danced for Lord Shiva and from here they went to Kailash and got married.

The best thing about this temple is that there is no photography restriction like many religious places in India.

The Bhuleshwar Temple is not just a temple in my opinion – it is a place where you can just enjoy the blissful calmness of the nature and even do a soul searching. You do not need to be a hardcore devotee. I am an Atheist, but even I found the place truly amazing and it was me who did not want to leave the place, such was the magnetic attraction of the place!!

After spending a couple of hours in the peacefulness we came back to the din and bustle of the city by 7 pm.

This is the photo of the ghat section in between:

This place is truly and highly recommendable to anyone. We certainly wanna go there again!!

Caution - on the top there is no place to eat or stay.