[Travel] A Trip to the Western Ghats

Road trip - Hyderabad to Mahabaleshwar and back

19th August, 2022

It was time for another road trip. Had not taken out the Ecosport for a spin since almost 2 years. And it just felt right to take it out on a Western Ghat journey during the recent independence day extended weekend

Onward Road Trip

Hyderabad → Zaheerabad → Humnabad → Omerga → Solapur → Indapur → Baramati → Nira → Khandala → Wai → Panchgani

Approx distance - 570 kms. Covered it in 12.5 hours with ~50 mins break.

The total journey crosses 3 states - Telangana , Karnataka and Maharashtra.

The part in Telangana is about 110 kms, around 80 kms in Karnataka and the rest in Maharashtra.

We started at around 5.10 AM. I took the NH 65 road while starting from Hyderabad. NH65 connects Vijaywada and Pune. Once you cross Zahirabad (in Telangana) , 15 kms post that you cross the border of Telangana to enter into Karnataka border. there is a marked difference once you enter the state of Karnataka. The greener pastures which increase the moment you enter Bangalore and the road quality. Though the roads were less wider than Telangana - they were in a better condition.

Humnabad was the 1st town to come in Karnataka. After about 80 kms of blissful roads, we entered Maharashtra - the 1st town of entry was Omerga. I thought to myself - such a unique name of a city - rhymes with Omerta. The roads were quite bad - with a lot of potholes and just single road patches in many places. It was not the ideal welcome to Maharashtra - I was expecting Nitin Gadkari to have done a better job around here. However, later I learnt that he contested for Nagpur - and it was way farther than the place we were at - so it made and didn’t make sense at the same time.

The roads did become better after crossing Omerga. After driving for another 110 kms, we reached Solapur at around 9.30 AM.

Solapur was the 1st point where I took a larger break for breakfast (not including the fuel pitstops we had to make in the way). So within ~4 hours I had traversed about 280 kms - avrg speed of ~75 kmph.

Now Solapur seemed like a big district/junction - since I crossed many flyovers around here. When I researched about it - I got to know that there are a number of medium and small-scale and medium industries found in the district, and it is one of the prime centers of the handloom and powerloom industry, cotton mills and the beedi industry. Solapuri chadars and towels are famous not only in India but also at a global level. Solapur also has Asia’s largest spinning mill. Pomegranate farming is done on a large scale in Solapur too. Solapur is also very well connected - there are many NH’s that pass through Solapur. It connects the Southern part of India with West and North West.

After a quick breakfast that we were carrying, and some stretches, we pushed for the road to Pune, reaching Baramati after 150 kms of decent roads (NH 65 still continuing). We stopped here for a sumptuous lunch - fish fry, rice, kokum etc. I had kokum after a long time and liked the taste of it after so many years. Baramati seemed like an important centre - there were many colleges and schools we crossed on the way. Later I came to know that it falls under the Pune district and Piaggio, the Italian major which produces Vespa has its major 3 wheeler plant in Baramati. Another fun fact is Supriya Sule has been the MP of Baramati. I have liked how Supriya Sule has given her parliamentary speeches - so it was good to find that connect.

After about 70 kms drive from Baramati, came Khandala. The ghats road started some time before Khandala came - at the onset on Nira. We didn’t stop here since we had to cross the ghats soon before it gets dark. Though we did take the time to play the song “Aati kya Khandala” when we arrived here (couldnt have missed this, right). Incidentally “Aati kya Khandala” song became such a big hit that Rani Mukherjee was called the Khandala girl. This song was also first in a spate of songs sung by actors in Bollywood movies. “Apun bola” sung by SRK was inspired by the Khandala song.

After about 30 kms further driving south, we reached Wai, a town in the Satara district. Wai has historical significance as a prominent town in the Peshwa era. Rani Lakshmibai who belonged to the Tambe family was born in Wai. Modern day Wai is a popular location for filming bollywood and marathi movies. Omkara, Bajirao Mastani were all shot here.

Finally we reached Panchgani - the hill station which was originally developed as a retirement places by the Britishers.

When we reached Panchgani, it was raining cats and dogs. We had booked a hotel quite interior and upon reaching there we realised that the hotel was not good. We decided to change hotels for the next day. Fortunately, there was a homestay whose owners I had kept a connect with. I had loved their place but couldn’t book it since they were not available owing to the high demand during extended weekend. We were in luck when we got to know that 2 rooms were vacant as the guests couldn’t arrive due to the rains. All of us, reluctantly hopped again onto the car - to go check the hotel the very same night - so that our transfer the next day is seamless. But when we went, the rains were lashing out - the driving truly needed some meditative focus at that time. Darkness all around, just our car at 9.30 PM at night, the rains and wind lashing out outside. We felt safe inside the car. I was secretly hoping nothing happens to the tyre of the car which had given me some troubles in the past - but all was good. In fact it turned out to be an adventurous drive through the hills of Panchgani late at night, amidst torrential rains. Quite an experience.

The next day we explored the nearby locations in Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. Most of the locations though were overcast with clouds - so we couldn’t enjoy much of the vantage points. However the off roading experience on the roads was pretty good. The roads to Pratapgarh fort from Mahabaleshwar were quite bad. Plus the inclines made the job a little more complex - I had my adrenaline rush.

We went up to Pratapgarh fort but couldn’t go all the way till the fort since it started raining heavily. Later on while I was researching about the fort, I came to know that the Battle of Pratapagarh was fought between Shivaji and Afzal Khan, which Shivaji won. This victory set the precedence for establishment of the great Maratha empire. I wish we had more time in this fort to internalise the historical significance of the fort. It seemed like there was a lot to unpack here.

Anyway, we went back to the hotel to unwind and have some lip smacking hot khichdi to unwind the day.

The next day we explored the Mapro garden - there was nothing outstanding that struck me about the place except the fact that Mahabaleshwar produces 85% of the total strawberry production in India - 80% of which is consumed fresh. Brings into perspective all the strawberries we order/have off season in the plains, ain’t it ?

Trip to Kaas Plateau

We started our descent from Panchgani onto the plains of the Satara - close to 50 kms away from Panchgani. From Satara, Kaas plateau was about 22 kms away. While driving to Kaas, I had a feeling of deja vu - as if I have come here earlier. The roads looked very similar to the roads between Shillong and Mawlynong during my trip to North East.

Kaas plateau is otherwise called the valley of flowers of the Western ghats. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site and home to about 850 different species of plants.

However because of the cloud cover, we were unable to experience that beauty in totality. Nevertheless, we did a small hike amidst the clouds in the Kas pathar area - leading our way to a small water body. The pristine environment out there and the surrounding silence overcast by clouds was a moment to experience.

May be we return some day to experience the beauty of this place again - but who knows - there are so many places in India to cover.

Return Road Trip

Kaas → Satara → Koregaon → Mhaswad → Pandharpur → Solapur → NH 65 Hyderabad

We left Kaas at around 3 PM after some nice lunch and started our journey to Satara , Koregaon to Pandharpur. The road I took was the 548 C state highway - I must say they were the worst roads I saw during the trip. My average for a good 30-35 kms stretch of the road from Satara was about 25-30 kmph. But the silver lining to the dark cloud was that the scenery was just amazing. The roads were going through frequent topographic changes - at one time I am crossing a valley with vast stretches of greenery both to my left and right. Another time, I am crossing a ghat , after 10 minutes I am crossing a tunnel - so definitely will keep one hooked onto the roads and surroundings - very gripping for a driver.

We reached Pandharpur at around 8 PM for a quick halt and a fuel refill. Later in my research, I got to know that Pandharpur is a major holy place in Maharashtra and is also called the Dakshin Kashi of Maharasthra - famous for the Lord Vithhal temple.

We reached Solapur from Pandharpur after about an hour (9PM). After a quick dinner at a Mc Donalds we started the last leg of our journey - the 5 hour ride to Solapur using NH65. The roads of NH 65 were good so it didn’t feel like a stretch till Zaheerabad (Telangana). We reached Hyderabad at around 2.50 AM concluding a 1300 km round trip to the Western Ghats.

One for the record.