Finally the sweat and the scorching heat of Mumbai were relieved with the romantic season’s arrival in Maharashtra - The Monsoon. Since this is a perfect season to start our travel journey, we three traveler friends were ferreting as to which location to go to have a weekend plan within Maharashtra. We were perplexed that out of three places Bhandardhara, Saputara and Mahabaleshwar which location do we have to streamline with, finally after heated discussion we summed up to go to a beautiful and majestic location Nestled among the Sahyadri Hills, Bhandardhara.
वीएव ऑफ़ भंदार्धरा
We did our backpack and started our journey by road from Vashi at 9am which is about 150kms drive, you need to turn right just a few kilometers after Igatpuri and enter Ghoti. Just few kilometers away from Igatpuri, the city called as ‘Fog City’ was truly breathtaking. As soon as we entered the location, the entire 2 kms of the belt was surrounded by Fog. The road was covered by the scenic view of fog and cars have put on their Parking lights. We got down for having the perfect view of that city with the mountains covered with fog and greenery. This small town leads to a long narrow road, which cuts across the lofty mountains and ascends to the marvelous retreat. Although it is just about an hour’s journey, the sights are spectacular. Fluorescent green paddy fields contrast with bright blue skies above and the murky brown streams that crisscross the whole land. When it rains, and clouds descend from the sky to blanket the earth, the sight is truly breathtaking!
फोग सिटी
Bhandardhara sits by the Pravara River, and is a blend of natural beauty, waterfalls, mountains, tranquility, greenery, invigorating air and pristine ambiance. The Bhandardhara Lake and the Randha falls are major tourist attractions. We reached Bhandardhara at 1 pm and started ferreting as to which hotel we have to stay, after hunting at many places we freeze in to stay at “Yash resort”, the resort served veg and non veg food and had a big recreation centre which includes table tennis, cycling, carom, basketball centre and swimming pool. We then dumped our bags in our room and started our retreat. We first went to Bhandardhara dam, where many tourists flocked and stay there for a long time to hang out in the dam unlike like other falls and dams, just a little ahead there was Wilson dam built way back in 1910 on the Pravara-River and standing 150 mts high, Wilson Dam is the largest earthen dam in India. At the base of Wilson Dam there is a garden endowed with thick greenery, streams and gigantic trees- the latter. During the monsoon, when the level of the lake rises, the dam opens its gates to release a torrent of water that finds its way down to the plains below. You could stand at the edge of the garden embankment and enjoy the cool spray, or visit the picturesque Umbrella Falls, which are another major attraction during the monsoon. As we further drove to about 4 km away from Shendi Village was the Randhaa Waterfalls - Randha Falls is the third largest falls in India. The roaring River Pravara descends down from a height of 170 ft into a beautiful gorge. Apart from these major attractions we also visited some small and small spots of waterfalls which had no name but they were truly mesmerizing. We got drenched whole day visiting all the majestic spots but still it was like why the day is setting down? On our way back to the hotel, we halted at a very beautiful location which was the backside of the Bhandardhara Dam and we didn’t want to miss the exotic view, as soon as we got off from the car the windy monsoon was hitting us and we starting shivering badly, we sat there for few minutes and it was like we are in Seven Heaven. As I was strolling in that spot I saw one location where nobody was going and the location was the Dam’s liver area which was extremely huge, greasy and slippery. I went further down taking the staircase and whoa….. In front it was an exotic view of Pravara River which I can’t take my eye off….
विल्सन दम
भंदार्धरा दम
रंधा फाल्स
Day two of our trip started with visting Amriteshwar temple, this temple was 20 kms ahead from Bhandardhara. As we were driving to reach out to this location, there were beautiful panoramic views of Sahyadris, small waterfalls coming down from mountains and Bhandardara. As we reached atop of the Bari village we saw this temple, an ancient and old. The temple was made in around the 1100 AD. The style of architecture used in this temple is hemadpanti. The exquisitely crafted temple still stands tall. This temple has a shivling wherein from below the shivling River Pravara flows, and since in rainy season you cannot see the shivling because the river water gets assembled there. There are very few options for eating out in Bhandardara. The local staple of varan bhat (dal-rice) is easily available but can be spicy. Some tandoori and non-veg food is available but should be ordered in advance or you can expect a long wait while it is prepared for you. The Maharashtrian regular fare of usal pao, misal pao and vada pao are all easily available. The area is famous for a rather sweet peda that you will find being sold everywhere. It is even used to sweeten the tea you drink at the local chai stall.
अमृतेश्वर मंदिर
Though we wanted to visit some more places like a peaceful Agasti Rishi Ashram, a historical Ratangadh Fort, there was shortage of time and Mumbai’s hustle bustle was calling us. Like all scenic spots, the magic of Bhandardara has to experience to be appreciated; if you are nature lover, this spot should definitely appear on the top of your holiday destination list.
