Travel Guide

Anand Pendharkar tells you to pack just the bare minimals and head off to five exotic locales just outide city limits.







MATHERAN - OVERRUN, YET FANTASTIC
(HILL STATION, WILDLIFE)

Covering 7.35 km2 and placed on a high plateau at 803m (2676ft), Matheran is synonymous with its Toy Train, monkeys, viewpoints like One-tree hill, Panorama, Hart, Duke’s Nose,Garbat and lakes and tanks like Charlotte, Malet, Harrison and Simpson. With a small resident population of about 5000,the smell of horse dung,a general quietude, NO VEHICULAR TRAFFIC and superb semi-evergreen forest makes Matheran, Mumbai’s best getaway.


Resorts like Usha Askot and Brightlands, the MTDC Holiday Camp and budget places like Girivihar, Bombay View and Prasanna, provide ample variety for accommodation.Take a Karjat local till Neral Junction and then hop off into a taxi, the toy train or trek up for a life-time experience, whatever the season.




KARNALA FORT & BIRD SANCTUARY (ADVENTURE,WILDLIFE, HISTORICAL)

A pinnacle thumbs you down while you drive 12kms from Panvel towards Goa. A huge fort, about 1560ft from sea level is seated overlooking 4.48 km2 of lush semievergreen and deciduous, teak dominated forests. With 140 bird species like the Golden Oriole, Crested Serpent Eagle, Shama, Hornbills and several form of butterflies, lizards and amphibians, the Sanctuary established with the efforts of the Late Dr. Salim Ali (BNHS) also houses barking deer,sambar, langurs and an occasional leopard! The Forest Rest Houses, Kshanabhar Vishranti and Hotel Woodland are ideal nighthalts, with Ekvira providing some local flavoured cuisine.


SILVER SANDS, MOTORBOATS AND AN ANCIENT FORT
(BEACH, WATER SPORTS, HERITAGE)

Just over 108km from Mumbai, the silver sands of Alibaug, Kashid and Murud, coconut laced Kihim and 300 year-old Janjira Fort are an extended getaway to unspoilt beaches, water sports and heritage. Make the luxurious MTDC beach tents your base, especially in Alibaug, the headquarters of Raigad district, for their old-world charm and water-sport facilities.Take a launch from Gateway of India to Mandwa Port (1hr) and jump into a local bus to reach Alibaug. The Kankeshwar Shiva Temple, Kolaba Fort, Chaul with historic Portuguese ruins, Buddhist caves, a temple, a church and a Synagogue are must-sees in Alibaug. Make stopovers enroute to Murud-Janjira at the Ganapati Temple (Nandgaon), Janjira Fort, the Nawab’s palace and Lord Dattatraya’s shrine. Beachwear, informal outfits, caps, shades and lots of sunscreen keep you cool.


JAWHAR - AN UNPARALLELED HILL STATION (HILL STATION, TRIBAL ART)

At 518m (1725ft), Jawhar, popular as the ‘Mahabaleshwar of Thane district’, is a former tribal kingdom and an exotic hill station, around 180km from Mumbai on Nasik-Trimbakeshwar railway route. The rich forests and equable climate (25-30C) dissolves the Mumbai’s grind and the palace of Jai Vilas (tribal lords) and relics of Bhupatgad transport you to a mysterious world.

Oozing with scenic charm, the Dadar Kopra Falls, Hanuman and Sunset Points are must visits. However, Jawhar is really famous for Warli paintings made traditionally from rice paste depicting their daily life, on walls of huts, as wall hangings and T-shirts. Park comfortably at the MTDC’s Holiday Resort with decent rooms and excellent meals. Loose cottons, sunglasses, cameras and rolls are the bare-essentials here...



HOLY FORESTS OF BHEEMASHANKAR (RELIGIOUS, WILDLIFE, ADVENTURE)

Famed for being one of the 12 sacred Jyotirlinga temples of Lord Shiva, Bhimashankar enclosed in the folds of the majestic evergreen forests of the Western Ghats and 260km from Mumbai is placed at and attitude of 2100-3800ft. Spread over Pune, Raigad, Thane districts, you can approach the Bhimashankar Wildlife sanctuary by a 7hr drive via Pune, or by a steep trek from Khandas Village, via Ganesh Ghat, reached by train from Karjat. The Wildlife Sanctuary is famous for harbouring Maharashtra’s State animal,the Malabar Giant Squirrel,besides a sizeable variety of medicinal herbs, rare frogs and snakes, birds like the Malabar Grey Hornbill, Green Pigeon and Black Eagle. Book in with the MTDC or with the pujari of the temple and enjoy spiritual bliss in this moist evergreen forest.