Travel : Aurangabad

Once again i set my foot on the accelerator and let myself loose on the trail of Ancient ruins.

This time, i was visiting Aurangabad in Maharashtra, India. It is a big city with significant cultural heritage. This city boasts of the heritage in all religions. The illustrous Ajanta Cave paintings, and magnificient Ellora rock cut Temples are just epitome of the Indian Architectural skills long before the Mongloids or even the Europeans showed us the revised version.

To reach Aurangabad, there are 2 routes from Mumbai.

1. Mumbai Nashik Aurangabad

2. Mumbai Pune Aurangabad.

Without any doubt, the Mumbai-Pune(NH4)-Aurangabad(SH60) route scores once again. I however started via Nashik and returned via Pune route.

We started at around 6 Am in the morning, and reached Aurangabad at 2 PM. It is nearly 370 kms from Mumbai. We decided to stay at a hotel in the MIDC suburbs of Aurangabad at Bandharpur. It was an excellent hotel for mid-budget pricing.

Since it was in outskirts, and near to the tourist spots, it was a good place to put. We could avoid the city bustle all the time.

Ellora Caves (20 kms) and Daulatabad fort(7 kms) are near to Aurangabad. Ajanta caves are however 100 kms away and would require 1 entire day for covering it.

So we decided to cover Ellora in the first day.We reached there at 3 30 PM. And we were awestruck. the pictures will explain why. The temple compound has been carved out 1 single rock or i would say Hill. They started from the top of the hill, and chiselled their way down creating one of the most marvellous engineering feat. Ellora caves has 3 different religions being represented, Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism. The most elaborate caves are the Hindu caves(no 16 being the best).

No words can describe the thrill that an eye would perceive in the presence of the huge rock pillars or 2-storeyed temples.

Since we reached quite late, we could only cover the hindu caves. The Buddhist and Jain caves are also worth a visit. So make sure you reach there by at least 11 AM.

The local guides would say, that one shoudl cover Daulatabad fort in the morning from 9-11 AM and reserve the rest for Ellora.

Anyways, the next day we ventured out for Ajanta Caves. That was a good 100 kms run from Aurangabad, and interspred with small hiccups on the road. At Ajanta, you are not allowed to take your car anywher near the caves. you have to park a good 4 kms away from the caves, and take the MTDC tourism shuttle to the Caves. It is a very wise decision, given the fragile nature of the caves and the caring attitude that visitors have towards the relics.

While Ellora was carved with top down approach, Ajanta was carved from the sides. Hence these are truly caves decorated with heavy sculptures and exquisite paintings. Since the caves have only 1 opening (the door), it was always a mystery how could the artisans paint the ceiling and wall in such low light. Here comes handy another well known principle of Light reflection. The centre of the cave (Hall actually) had a water chamber which use to reflect light from outside to inside the corners of the chambers.

The Ajanta Caves must be visited during monsoons. The innumerbale waterfalls and cascades rolling down along the cave pathway and in the valley below, makes it an attractive picnic spot too. There is a another point on the opposite hill from where the Ajanta caves was originally spotted and hence discovered. The hilly descent down into the valley offers exhilarating view of caves infront.

On return from Ajanta (by 6 PM), we decided to visit Bibi-ka-makbara , the masoleum by Aurangazeb in apparently the fond memories of the wife, or so to say. It seems to be more like a attempt to copy the Taj Mahal of Agra. In fact it looks like a squeezed version of the original. The layout is same as that of Taj mahal full with fountain path in the front and the garden behind. Bibi-ka-makbara remains open till 10 PM, so it is ok to visit this place in the evening and enjoy the sunset.

The next day we, visited Daulatabad fort. This is an unique fort sitting atop a single rock (or hillock), whose sides are shaved off vertically making it impossible to impregnate. The maze (at the inner circle of the fort) is called Andheri. This maze is so dark and full of bats, that it makes a scary adventure to explore. There are guides available who will take through the maze using a fire torch (Mashal). And then suddenly in midst of the maze, he will light out the torch. In midst of pitch darkness, you are nothing but blind. I wonder how did the soldiers in those days managed ot manouver in that maze. The maze is interesting as it has sudden opening which open into void (in short into the moat below), and the stairs are uneven and slanting at places, making it difficult to climb. Then there are places, where hot cauldron of boiling oil was poured down onto enemy soldiers from the top.

The royal courtroom is way above on the top of the hill. The stairway leading to that hall is 1000 in count, and we were all very tired by the time we hit around 750. However the view of the sorrounding hills and the city faraway is splendid.

This fort is the only place in India to host the temple of Bharat Mata (India Goddess).

Travel: Ganpatipule

Ganpatipule is pristine religious destination in Western India. Located in the ratnagiri district 370 kms South of Mumbai, this place represents one of the holiest must-visit for a Ganesh fanatic. The temple is very beautiful, with its ochre colored structured against the backdrop of a hillock and facing the sun-kissed sands and the sea. The DeepMala (tower of lamps) stands tall, and i can imagine its beauty on a Diwali night. Here is more on Ganpatipule

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I travelled to Ganpatipule from Panchgani. I took the NH4 towards Satara, and midway, i had take a turn for State highway. Amazing for an State run road network, Maharashtra highways are awesome, and besides very few disruptive patches (owing to road work), it was smooth metalled road. It wound through the hills, and forests, and quaint villages locked in time decades away. Here was Maharashtra in its natural beauty, not the grandeur that is Mumbai.

The State highway leads me to NH17 (Mumbai-Goa Highway). There , after a few distance, i took off to Ganpatipule. The drive to Ganpatipule from NH17 is boring, yet the anticipation of the glimpse of sea is exciting. It is only at the end of the drive, that there is sudden dip from the Plateau and right into the coastal area of Ganpatipule. The dip is breathtaking, and inviting too.

Ganpatipule has a few hotels, but i had booked a beach side resort called tranquility Beach resort via MakeMyTrip. That resort was awesome. Located in Malgund, 5 kms from Ganpatipule, it was right on the beach. The resort is next to Best Western run blue Ocean resort (for those who want to indulge). We had booked a Konkani ten(non-ac). Upin arrival, we were hit with the humid climate on the beach, and the tent was not enough. There were AC options, but more expensive. But this tent let us acclimatize fast, and soon, we were dipping into the cool blue sea.

Night was cool, and i would say cold for a beach. This was March, btw.

Besides the temple, Ganpatipule has a hiloock based walk through into Prachin Konkan , a series of displays depicting how Konkan life had been in early 16th century. Nearby, there is Jaigad fort (not much is left in the inner structure), and the Kanthreshwar temple. This temple was unique in its structure. Inside, it was peaceful, and hanging series of colored paper flags (red and white) made it simple yet mesmerizing.

Between Malgund and Jaigad fort, there is pictureseque fishing village. It is located at juncture where a small river ends into sea. The boats with their colourful mast are arranged along the coast and demand to be framed.

Travel: Panchgani

Made a recent trip to Panchgani, a quaint little hill station , next to the famous Mahabaleshwar hill station in Maharashtra. It is nearly 170 km away from Mumbai. And there are 2 routes to reach there.

1. NH4 (Mumbai Pune Satara Highway)

2. NH17 (Mumbai Goa Highway)

And for the sheer pleasure of driving, i went via NH4. In fact the road goes straight through Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar.

We booked at MTDC hotel, Five Hills Resort. It is slightly off the main market area, and in a peaceful place. The road leading up to that was undergoing repairs, and we had slight discomfort of a distance of 200 m near the hotel. The Hotel has its own restaurant, and a dedicated play area for kids. The rooms looked fresh, and overall a reasonable hotel for mid-budget class.

As we enter Panchgani from Wai (on NH4) , we drove by the Sydney Point. This place was awesome with Paragliding being the attractive option to be around. The point is actually on a cliff overlooking deep valley. The cliff is like a wedge into the valley.

Panchgani's most obvious tourist destination is Table Land. This flat table like structure is red earth and slight grass. This natural marvel is worth a visit for an hour, no more. There are options to horse riding out there, and the young boy guides would mostly point out the various locations in Table land where Bollywood films had been shot.

A little known tourist point is rajapuri caves. This is 5 kms off Panchgani , at the village of rajapuri. the caves are under a hillock, and the descent is via Stoned Stairs. The caves contain stone slabs having carvings of deities. Apparently, this cave is also the temple of Karthik (the only Hindu bachelor god ), Hence, not to offend the god (or rather tempt the God), women folk are not allowed to venture into the caves.

Panchgani's second most obvious destination is the Strawberry garden by MAPRO. Mapro is govt run Agro-product industry specializing on the strawberry farms. Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are known for the unique large, juicy and slight sour Strawberries. This farm has a restaurant that offers ice creams, shakes and other dollops with extra helping of fresh strawberries. The Choclate Brownies are a must try. It comes as a sizzler with the choclate sizzling around the fresh brownies. It was heavenly indeed.

Panchgani was not too hot, and the sun was bearable. However, a heavy afternoon shower turned this place cool and into truly a hill station. It was quite cold that night. It is learnt that it often showers like this when the heat goes high out there.

Last point we visted was Parsi Point. Nice place to visit with Kids. This has a good play area overlooking a valley around a lake. It was quite breezy , and view was not too clear due to dust. It is on the way to Mapro Farm from Panchgani.

Other things i wish i could do was a visit to Tapola Lake. This lake is actually the backwaters of a dam, and the boat ride is apparently full of surprises.