Ask Arts for Mind: 2012

One fine day while discussing about what our next trip destination should be, we came up with an idea to tour Satara and Kaas plateau. We decided that we would visit Satara on the weekend of 17th and 18th September, with a plan to cover Kaas plateau, Bamnoli, Sajjangad, Thoseghar and Chalkewadi windmill farms and if time permits Satara city itself.
Finally myself, Swapnil, Sinai, Sagar, Abhijeet and Satya (our ace photographers) were confirmed and we set out towards Satara in a hired Tavera (thanks to Swapnil for making the necessary arrangements) on the Saturday morning (17th Sept). Though we had planned to leave early by 8 am, however due to some reasons we could not start as early as 9am (thanks to our driver Ashok – a character who surely needs a mention here). Our plan was to visit Kaas plateau and Bamnoli on Saturday, and Sajjangad, Thoseghar, Chalkewadi and Satara city on Sunday.
Satara is located in western Maharashtra and was the capital of Maratha Empire in the 17th century. It is about 140 kms from Pune (travel time about 2.5-3 hours) with an additional 30 kms from Talegaon Dabhade (from we set out).
To reach Kaas plateau, we need to take NH4 towards Satara, go beyond the Mahabaleshwar exit for about 30 kms, where we come across with a junction (phata) which takes us through the Satara city. Once we cross the Satara city, we come across a junction, bifurcating into two roads – left (the road through the tunnel) which takes you towards Sajjangad and Thoseghar, while the right leads towards Kaas and Bamnoli.
Kaas plateau is about 24 kms from Satara and is famous for variety of flowers that bloom on the plateau between September and October, which is treat for photographers and tourist alike. It takes about an hour to reach Kaas plateau from Satara and once in the plateau area, we were treated to lush carpet of flowers in yellow, blue and red hues on both sides of the road. Parking of the vehicle on the road stretch where flowers bloom is not allowed, hence vehicles need to be parked a few kilometers before or after the road stretch covering the plateau. State transport buses ply to and fro from the plateau to parking area each half an hour. We halted a few kms before the plateau to take a few snaps. The atmosphere was truly mesmerizing with a slight drizzle and cloud cover. However the intensity of rain increased and hence we decide to go towards Bamnoli first which on the same route about 15kms ahead and halt back at Kaas on our way back to Satara in the evening.
On the way towards Bamnoli we took a few small pit stops to enhance our photographing skills! Also since the road being narrow and a bit slippery due to rains, it took around 1.15 hours to reach Bamnoli. Bamnoli is a small village on the shore of Shivsagar lake which is formed due to backwaters of Koyna dam. The view was simply breathtaking with vast water body surrounded by mountains and greenery on all sides. Bamnoli offers a lot of boating options at affordable rates to places like Tapola, Vasota, Triveni sangam (place where 3 rivers meets), ride around the lake itself etc. We chose the ride to Triveni sangam. The best part was that since we were in group of 6 people, we could have the complete boat for ourselves. The to and fro journey from shore to Triveni Sangam takes around 1.15-1.5 hours. After the ride we had our lunch in the shore side small restaurant where delicious homemade food is served and left back towards Kaas.
The ride back to Kaas took around 40 mins. We got down at the start of the plateau and asked Ashok to park the vehicle in parking zone. The drizzle was still on with clouds, but that could not dampen our spirits and we set out to capture the beauty of nature in its purest form. Kaas also known as ‘Maharashtra’s valley of flowers’ is home to around thousands of different varieties of wild flowers which typically bloom in the period between September and October in patch of about 4-5 kms creating an illusion of colorful carpet spread across the entire area. We went about capturing as many snaps we could. We had hardly spent an hour or so, when the intensity of the drizzle increased again and we had to rush back to our vehicle in order to protect out camera and other equipments from rain. Finally we bid adieu to Kaas and started our journey back towards Satara city with a promise to come back again next year.
On the way towards the Satara city, we were greeted by a beautiful rainbow spread across the whole city. On reaching the city, we started looking for accommodation (which took a lot of time, since most of the lodges and hotels were already full being the peak season). But thanks to Ashok (who himself was a Satara native) we finally got ourselves rooms in ‘Hotel PRAKASH Regency’. The rooms were quite spacious with provision for hot water and television sets at very affordable rates than what we had earlier enquired in other hotels. We checked in to our rooms and asked Ashok to pick us next day at 7.30 am. We had our dinner at a nearby hotel and returned back to our rooms to settle in for the day.
The next day we started early at 8 am. However we were in for bit of surprise. While on our way back towards the bifurcation as mentioned earlier, the traffic police stopped us. Reason – we were travelling through a ‘No entry’ zone. Was really amazed by the efficiency of the policemen to be on duty so early in the morning. If the cops throughout the country could be so efficient……Alas after paying the fine we resumed our journey back towards Sajjangad.
To go towards Sajjangad we need to take the road through the tunnel (left road). Once you pass the tunnel, we need to take the road towards right. It is about 15 kms from Satara city and is considered as a pilgrimage site since it houses the Samadhi (final resting place) of Shri Sant Swami Ramdas who was the spiritual guru of Shivaji Maharaj. Vehicles can be parked at the bottom of the fort and we need to take about hundred steps to reach the fort top. One important thing to note for the visitors is that the fort door remains closed from sunset to sunrise. Being a holy and spiritual place no irresponsible and bad behavior is allowed within the fort premises in order to maintain the sanctity of the place. We spent about an hour and half exploring the fort and its surroundings along the way capturing few good snaps. We returned back to the fort base, had our breakfast and tea and set out towards Thoseghar waterfalls.
Thoseghar lies about 4-5 kms ahead of Sajjangad fort along the same route and famous for its waterfalls. A 1000 feet waterfall makes it a very special place for the tourist in the rainy season. It took around 15 mins to reach Thoseghar from Sajjangad. As soon as we parked the vehicle we could hear the sound of water gushing through. From the parking area a small way (about 70 odd steps) through the trees takes us towards a platform from where the waterfall can be viewed. Just the view of water rushing downwards through the hill and the sound accompanied with it sends shivers through your spine. You just have to see the might of the waterfall to believe it; it can’t be expressed in words. The entire place is surrounded by greenery and natural beauty. One advice for the visitors, don’t try to be too adventurous, many a people have lost lives trying to be adventurous. We took quite a few pics and made our way towards Chalkewadi windmill farms.
Around another 4-5 kms from Thoseghar waterfalls, we can see a lot of windmills operating on the hill top. This area is known as Chalkewadi windmill farms. The area in very windy and hence suitable for windmills. This windmill farm is one of the windmill plant providing power supply to Satara city. As soon as we got out of the vehicle, the first thing we notice is a large windmill blade coming downwards exactly above us which nearly scared the shit out of us. Only when the blade started going back upwards, is when we realized we won’t be experiencing a Final Destination kind of scene! After this realization had subdued, we went back to our usual business of taking photos. We spent around an hour taking pics and gauging the enormity of the windmills and finally made our way back towards Satara city.
By the time we reached back to Satara, it was around 2 pm. So we decided we will explore the Ajinkyatara fort, which is located within the city itself before lunch. The mountain on which the fort is built is one of the seven mountains surrounding the city of Satara, and hence the name ‘Satara’ (seven stars). A small road through the city takes the vehicle directly to the entrance of the fort. We set out to explore the fort. However, just when we had covered a few distance suddenly the cloud cover darkened, threatening to rain heavily anytime soon. This sudden change forced us to leave our exploration of the fort mid-way and return back to our vehicle.
On the way back through the city, we bought ‘Kandi Pedha’ (a sweet) for which Satara is famous for. Finally we had our long impending lunch at one of the dhabas on the NH4 and started our journey back towards Pune.
All in all this was one of the best trips we had and will surely cherish these memories for a long time to come.