Malshej Ghats! Mother Nature at her best!!

Link to Shivneri Fort.

Namaskar!

It was a hot summer and we were sweating hell. The rains arrived on time (2 days before infact!) and an itching for a plan had begun. The plan was finalized with my bachelor college group. Since we had 2 days in hand, the spots were finalized accordingly; Malshej Ghat, Shivneri fort and Bhimashankar.

I had been to Mahabaleshwar, panchgani, lonavala, kolhapur, kaas and other monsoon hotspots. But Malshej ghat was pending. Long due since we always had a hard time adjusting a bike.
After 3 weeks of rains, the scene was transformed to lush green. Mother nature was just opening up and was a right time to visit Malshej.
 

The date was finalized. 22n-23rd June.

The first section, i'll cover Malshej ghats.

We begun our journey at 8 am. A hour of travel on a newly made tar road, we took a brief stop for a Chai and Snack break at 9am. It was a half hour run ahead for malshej.
 

Meanwhile, we clicked some mouthwatering delicacies. Keep drooling on keyboard.

The Dahi Wadas! PS: Dahi is missing!

The Missal!

After having Dahi-wada and Missal in our tummy, we headed towards the splendid malshej ghats.

Just a few kms to go, we were stopped at a local check naka for scrutiny. So, if you are planning to carry booze, beware.. The authorities literally asked us to get down and scrutinized the whole vehicle for suspicious articles (read as alcohol). After the clean chit, we were let off.

The ghat begins with a series of small waterfalls. You can recognize the site as there will be vehicles parked roadside and people hanging around the waterfalls. As we have had enough of waterfalls (our college was at bhivpuri, and we used to go to bhivpuri waterfalls every monday!!), we were not amazed by the joyous faces of people. The next stop was the small shani temple. This is where your vehicle gets a nice shower as the water falls literally on the road.

Few pics from the journey.

The Awesome road!

Just before the ghat starts.

Overpowered by fog!

The ghat begins with a fog. Thankfully it was not raining. So we could enjoy the views outside.

Lord Hanuman temple

The Shani Dev.

This is the temple were water falls on the road drenching your whole vehicle. Yes, it comes with a force. So if you are attempting to take a ride through it on your bike, you are indeed stupid.

Some views.

The Ghat Roads!

No traffic!

The Famous tunnel!

Tunnel in a silhoutte!

 Once you cross this tunnel to the other side, there is a make shift point where the sahyadris opens up. On a clear day, you can see peaks of Matheran from a distance. Malshej has been a vantage point during the hay days of Maratha empire.

Fog me!

The point!

Amazing views of Sahyadri Valley!

With some individual photographs, we bid adeau this place.

Tips:

1) Dont ever think of boozing at Malshej. The authorities are damn strict these days.

2) Dont litter. Say no to plastics.

3) While on the point, look out for slippery rock faces.

4) Spare some time lonely and feel the nature.

After half hour of photography, we headed to our Mecca, Shivneri fort!
Contd.... Shivneri Fort. My Mecca