I wanted to walk the heaven's...I went to Malshej Ghat !
Come rain and a long weekend and you can be sure that half of Mumbai would be chilling out at lonavla or Mahabaleshwar.
However, our group - a group of 7 enterprising people decided that this time around we would celebrate our long weeekend at a different location. A place whose serenity and solitude is unmatched , where the ills of commercialization do not bother us and where the rustling of leaves, the song of the brook and the whistling of the breeze and the pitter-patter of the rainfall are the loudest and purest sounds you can hear !
We thus chose Malshej Ghat - a place pure and unspoilt from the vagaries of humankind.
We hired a tata sumo and all the seven of us began our eventful journey. On our way, at Kalyan we came across the devastation that the recent flood had caused. Uprooted trees, overflowing water-bodies and filth and garbage were a common sight. The road however was surprisingly clear and hassle-free. We reached Murbad and halted at the outskirts to treat ourselves a hot and sumptuous breakfast of vada-pav and cutting chai. Cool breeze, slight hint of rain in the air , a plate of hot vada pav and cutting chai !!! Life cannot get any better than this. J
After about an hour from Murbad and we reached the ghat. Mountain tops covered with palls of misty clouds was a sight to behold ! Soon the tata Sumo was lost among the wispy clouds and the visibility tapered down to almost zero. Driving among the clouds was an amazing experience. The fact that visibility was a zero on the ghat road with a treacherous drop on one side of the road made the drive even more adventurous and enthralling.
At one point on the road we could see clouds rising from beneath the mountain. It was as if we were up and above the clouds on the road that seemed to take us through paradise. We could see at least seven waterfalls from one point. It was truly amazing. We then saw a board by the roadside that said MTDC resort, however the resort was nowhere to be seen with dense clouds all around us. Somehow and by some sheer luck we saw a silhouette of what seemed like a building right out of a Ramsay movie.It was an eerie sight. Not a single soul around, a large and long compound wall with barred gates. It seemed that we had come across what seemed like a graveyard. However we soon saw a guard walking towards us with a large rifle stylishly slung across his frail shoulder. A rather gruff voice greeted us and informed us that this was indeed the MTDC resort and not a spooky graveyard. We suspected otherwise until we actually entered the resort gates only to find families and kids hanging around the green environs of the resort. I cannot describe or rate the resort as it was totally under a thick cloud cover. We however did hang around the place only to lose ourselves in the mist. It was a strange experience to get lost in a forest with thick clouds all around. However, after a lot of deliberation and feedback from each one of us, we finally found our way back to the resort. After having a nice cup of hot cutting chai we started off towards Shivneri fort. The road to Shivneri fort aint the best one to drive on. But we did manage to reach the base of the mountain and then trekked up the fort. It was an exhausting experience for some of the fellows not used to trekking. The mountain top holds the dilapidated ruins of the fort that is said to be the birthplace of Shivaji. An uneventful journey of 3 kms from there took us to Lenadri village that has an ashtavinayak Ganpati temple. You again need to climb the hill as the temple is situated in the caves on the mountain top. Lunch at Lenadri is highly recommended as you get to eat sumptuous village food at a good deal.
We then returned to the misty mountains of malshej and this time stopped near a waterfall to enjoy bathing in the cold and freezing water battering down through the slope and the rocky terrain.
Malshej is a fantastic experience and an ideal place to visit in the countryside. Water everywhere, greenery, rapids, brooks the birds and bees - all there with the most crucial elements - Lack of commercialization and pollution that grips Khandala and Lonavla and very few people to boot.
For the trekkers, theres this road over a HUGE reservoir that leads up to Harishchandragadh mountain.
This is still the right time as all those who have not been there yet, please do visit before it stops raining !.
How to get there - Malshej Ghat is about 160 kms from Mumbai. The best way to get there is by road.
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