Ashish Kumar“The sunrays on our back, two fists in the wind and the horizon teasing us farther down on the a great road.Nothing can be compared with the pleasure of Riding a Bike.“
Mumbai with its dynamic environmental and fast paced lifestyle can leave anyone feeling trapped and helpless due to the pressure and repetition of everyday life,so to relieve ourself from hastle and relive the pleasure of life we planned for bike ride to Panchangi & Mahabaleshwar during the last month of year.
We set off early around 3:30 am in the morning for Panchangi .It was about 6 hr journey from Mumbai. I was accompanied by Ayush, Ansu, Suhas, Ravi, Raghunandan and Akash. Ayush started his journey a day before only as he was supposed to come from Vapi (Gujarat). Ravi, Raghunandan and Akash met us at Katraj (Pune) early morning.
Road trip to the highest hill station in the western ghat is one of the most amazing experience. Though the Mumbai- Pune expressway route is a marvelous ride. Two wheeler are not allowed on this route, so we took old mumbai -pune expressway.
Me ,Ayush , Ansu and Suhas started early to avoid heavy morning traffic. Koparkhairane (Navi Mumbai )to Panvel is a signal free over flyover.After Panvel , NH17 is typical two lane highway it’s in fairly good shape. Early morning that road was a pleasant stretch, lined on both side with forest. Hitting upon the open road was a fine experience in itself . You not only get the freedom to stop at any scenic location of your choice but also get to explore its uniqueness in a holistic way.
NH17 route was the adventurous with its rugged road , unexpected turn and not too many traffic.Within an hour we reached Lonavala .It was equipped with a chilly breeze within the warm clothe we can feel quite cold early morning.
No early morning drive is complete without a stopover at a Chiawala on the highway. So we stopped at snack stall on the highway also chilly breeze of Lonavala was permitting the same. Since it was weekend we found a lot of bikers in packs heading out toward ghats. The Ghat Section is a entire stretch has many crazy and dangerous curves with people zipping away at high speed.
After the non stop riding for an hour and half we reached Katraj (Pune) where our other friends namely Ravi, Raghunandan and Akash were waiting for us. After short n quick meeting once again we started our journey ,our next stop was Wai for breakfast. Meantime we had crossed Khambati Ghat. The ride till now include the Golden Quadrilateral road smooth and easy .
Temperature started to soar as the day progress on the highway as last 50km ride was tiresome and boring climbing up the hills but Wai got us some respite in the form of refreshing sugarcane juice from local vendor .Still we were supposed to cover to another 15 km from Wai to reached our first destination Panchgani. Around 11:30 am we reached Panchgani and directly headed towards our hotel .We had lunch together and move on to our room for powerful nap.
Panchgani, also called Paachgani, is a hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra, India. There are five villages around Panchgani named Dandeghar, Khingar, Godavali, Ambral & Taighat and River Krishna flow in the valley . Panchgani attracts many tourists throughout the year. It is also renowned for many premier residential educational institutions.
In the evening we explored table land , it was offering stunning view of the mountain landscape .We explored the plateau and found horses around offering riding , Since it was sunset time it relish us with the breathtaking color of nature. After that we visited Sydney point and Parsi Point .Sydney Point is a famous tourist attraction that treats the travellers with charming views of the Krishna Valley.
At night we explored the market area of Panchgani .The Panchgani Main Market was one stop shop for souvenirs like fruit crushes, wooden toys, footwear, handicrafts, decorative showpieces, and of course, strawberries.
Next day early morning around 5 am we started for Pratapgarh fort. It was built by the great Maratha King Shivaji. The spiral roads made by cutting through the mountains, the forests of Western Ghats and the cool breeze offered memorable experiences.It was around one hour thirty minute drive from Panchgani .We climbed the stairs to reach the top of the fort. The views of the route through which we reached the fort from the fort top looked really awesome.
After spending sometime over Pratapgarh fort we went to Mahabaleshwar . The city of Mahabaleshwar is a pinnacle of greenery views. The beautiful hill station in the western ghats left us spell bound with its ever changing weather,cool winds,sudden misty clouds,winding roads and wonderful views of lush green hills and valleys.It is greenery every where.
We visited some of the points such as Lodwick Point, Arthur’s Seat and Babington Point, all of which offer spectacular views.I can say the perfect place for photography.The air was fresh ,just walking in the town center was pretty relaxing. It was best place to hangout with friend .We had plenty of things to do like horse riding, boating and plenty of shopping but the weather was cold .
Our last stop in Mahabaleshwar Panchgani road was Mapro Garden. It was a stopover for refreshments or a meal, a shopping spot to pick up jams, squashes, juices and chocolates.Their large alfresco restaurant which serves excellent wood fired oven pizzas, grilled sandwiches, soups, juices, milkshakes and ice-creams.After spending some time strolling in the gardens and enjoying the natural beauty of their strawberry plantation we started our journey back to Mumbai.
This was an amazing experience with all of you, hope to plan up something similar very soon to recall those mesmerizing memories and add some more to it.
Hoping for the same.. Let’s plan out!!!!!
Heyy… Looks like you had an amazing trip😻😻
Yup we had amazing trip.Thanks for comment