From Tungarli, it is a two hour trek to the twin forts. A great place to get away from it all, fellow tourists are as rare as duckbill platypuses. The location is virtually undiscovered by most (including, thankfully. postcard sellers).
Built some seven centuries ago by Muslim rulers, the forts were captured by the famous Maratha warrior, Shivaji. Cannon holes and the remains of living quarters cut into rock are visible. As are natural rock pools, evidence of the efficient plumbing used by the soldiers.
The view from the forts is spectacular. It's a great place to camp overnight. The temple at the foot of the hill is hospitable, as long as you don't cook meat.
*Kondana:**:
*Bhaja:**: Bhaja caves
These Buddhist caves are located off the Pune-Lonavala highway.
Mahayana Buddhists, in the first century AD, established numerous retreats in remote caves around the countryside. Bhaja is one such ascetic site. The caves provide a feel of a Buddhist meditation getaway.
Bhaja village is situated 10 to 15 minutes away from Malavali (accessible both by road and train. Trains stop between Lonavala and Pune every half hour). A flight of steps, beginning at Bhaja, lead one to the subterranean monastery. Alternately, there is a gently-inclined, rough path going up to the caves.
The caves include Buddhist features like prayer halls and cubicles and, unusually, carved wood beam supports for the rafters. A waterfall nearby and the Lohagad fort are added attractions.
The trip takes half-a-day. Alternately, camp in the caves overnight. You could also stay either at Lonavala or Khandala.
Both Khandala and Lonavala swarm with tourists trying to escape
the madding crowd in Bombay throughtout the year. In the monsoon,
Khandala is very picturesque. Book yourself at a motel overlooking
the ravine where you can watch the mists float by (you could do
likewise at Bhaja).
*Kanheri:**:
A less stunning version of the Ajanta and Ellora caves, Kanheri is the place to head if you don't have time do the A & E tour.
A chain of caves covering almost three square kilometres, Kanheri offers a full day's sightseeing. If you are short of time, take in the caves at the start of the complex. They abound with sculptures, carvings, some frescoes and a chance to see Buddhist prayer halls and living quarters. Various carvings and paintings illustrate both the life of Buddha and episodes from the Jataka Tales. The largest monastic Buddist settlement of ancient India the caves date from 1st century BC. The views from the furthest caves of the surrounding jungle ravines and sea are impressive
Located at the periphery of the Borivali National Park, there are two ways of reaching the Kanheri caves. Take a suburban train on the Western Railway route to Borivali. At the Borivali station, you can either take a bus or a rickshaw to the caves. Alternately, you can drive down; the trip by road can take a tiring two hours. Park is open from around 09.00 to 17.30 daily, but studiously avoid the weekends and holiday. Must start early to beat the heat.
*Mahuli:**:
It's a place for the young at heart. The location, a confluence of three rivers, gives one a chance to splash about in the water, wade and do some swimming helped along by the gentle rapids. An ideal day's getaway in the monsoon.
Mahuli village is minutes away from Asangaon, which is located both on the Nashik-Bombay highway and the Nashik-Bombay rail line. To reach there by car, take a left off the Nashik highway when signs for Asangaon appear. The road continues from Asangaon almost up to Mahuli and, from there, it is a five kilometre walk.
Mahuli has a cute little temple of its own, also worth a look. The fort-in-ruins nearby dates back some 700 years.
*Ambernath:**:
This fourth century Shiva temple located in Ambernath town is relatively unvisited and fairly unknown. One can either drive to Ambernath from Bombay (a two hour drive) or catch an Ambernath- bound suburban train from the Victoria Terminus Station.
*Matheran:**:
Despite the Nikon-laced crowd and the Bombay yuppies blasting
on their boom boxes, Matheran retains a unique charm. This quaint,
old fashioned town is off limits to cars and a cute toy train
up the hillside (grab a window seat) is one way of getting here.
Perched 800 metres above sea level, on a ridge of the Sahyadri mountains, Matheran has some fantastic lookout points. The sizeable Parsi population maintain most of the lodges and hotels.
By road, Matheran is hours from Bombay. You will be forced to abandon your cars at Dasturi Naka, walk the remaining two kilometres or hire a horse or a hand pulled rickshaw. A more enjoyable option is to board a Pune-bound express train(the 6.45 am Deccan Express, for instance) at Victoria Terminus, disembark at Neral and take the toy train. Roughly, a three hour train ride from Bombay.
*Pune:**:
Maharashtra's second most important city, Pune was established as summer capital for the Bombay Presidency by the British in the 1820s. A hill station and now a trendy, upcoming industrial town, the city offers all sorts of possibilities for a holiday. Do check out Rediff Travel's<"http://www.rediff.com/travel/1996/pune.htm"> Pune city guide. *Murud:**:
Murud is a serene, coastal hamlet -- not that far from Alibag -- with a beautiful, unspoilt beach on which one can rent accommodation. Bullock cart races take place on the beach, on Saturdays and Sundays, from 4 to 6 pm. A quaint version of what goes on at the Bombay turf club across the bay, the event has a carnival atmosphere.
There is a fort nearby, at Janjira. From Janjira jetty (a short rickshaw ride from Murud), one can hire a boat to the Janjira sea fort.
Murud once belonged to the Siddis, who were Muslim slave rulers from Abyssinia. Janjira is one of the few forts (it has 15 metre high walls) that the celebrated Maratha king Shivaji was unable to capture. The fort has all the features of a Mughal fort of 16th century vintage.
The crumbling Nawab's palace overlooking the sea is still owned by descendants of the Siddhi rulers. The caretaker may allow you to walk about this fantastic, but eerie and cobwebbed building. Accessible by road from Alibag (take the ferry to Mandwa from the Ferry Wharf, Mazgaon, Bombay). It is a two hour drive from Alibag.
*Mandwa:**:
The Malibu of Bombay, this beach -- located close to Alibag -- is some 10 kilometres across the bay from the Gateway of India is the playground of Bombay's rich and famous. Beach cottages - built on strips of beach front property that are going for $150,000 an acre - vie with each other for originality and showiness. Many have pools and beach side bars a bit too reminiscent of the film Cocktail. And yachts bob at the Mandwa jetty.
However Mandwa possesses a nice, pristine beach and solitude unheard of on other Bombay beaches. It is possible - with quite some wangling - to stay at the Bombay Sailing Club guest house at the beach edge. (there is no other accommodation available). For this contact the secretary of the Royal Bombay Yacht Club, tel # 2021948 or better still have a member of the Yacht Club arrange it for you.
Mandwa is accessible by road and is a four hour drive from Bombay. However ferries service Mandwa jetty on the weekends from Gateway of India. They make hourly trips in the morning and evening from the Gateway of India from where it is a 45 minute journey. Better still go by the newly begun catamaran service which plys between the Gateway and Mandwa daily. Alternately one can catch a boat for Mandwa from Ferry Wharf, Mazgaon. Or hire a boat from the Gateway (round trip Rs2400 or so).
Interestingly over 30km north from Mandwa on the coast is Chaul (accessible by road in 15-20 minutes) and the site of a few picturesque Portuguese forts now eroding away. Alternately if you drive two hours along the coast south you will hit the not very over-populated beach resorts of Alibag, Kashid, Kihim, and finally Murud Janjira.
*Manori:**:
If your agenda for the weekend calls for nothing more energy-consuming
than some sunbathing at a beach, head for Manori, located about 20 minutes away from Madh Island. The best option
is to take the ferry from Marve, which is accessible by road from
Malad (on the Western Express Highway). Manori and the nearby Gorai are quaint hamlets that faintly remind one of Goa. The population of East Indians -- a particular group of Catholics native to the Bombay area -- is high in these villages and hence high visibility of roadside chapels and churches and women in 'frocks'.
This weekend, in our view, is not on unless you get a booking
at the Manori Bell resort. The Dominique resort next door is okay
(drop in for a meal if you have time to spare) but Manori Bell
is the place to stay. Opt for a cottage near the sea (many are
booked all year long. Contact their office in Bombay at 5/6, Botawalla building, 7/10 Horniman circle, Fort, tel # 022-2691301.
*Elephanta:**:
Elephanta is an easy distance away from Bombay. On arrival at
the island, one is overwhelmed by photographers (ready to take
your pix with the monument), touts, souvenir sellers, guides,
palanquin bearers, cold drink vendors, beggars.... and the going
does get tough. However, Elephanta remains a must see on a visit
to Bombay.
An hour's boatride from the Gateway of India, Elephanta is a cave temple situated on a serene, green island in the Arabian Sea. The Portuguese named the island Elephanta because of the stone elephant that once guarded the entrance of the cave (this elephant can now be seen at the Victoria Gardens zoo in Bombay). The locals call the island Gharapuri (city of Ghara priests).
The Trimurti (three-faced Shiva) that occupies part of the main cave (reached by climbing a hundred steps) is a fine sample of Indian sculpture. The other carvings are equally interesting.
Take a luxury boat from the Gateway (one leaves every hour from 8.45 am to 2 pm; the best timings are 8.45 am, 11 am and 2 pm because a guide goes with the boat. Alternately, ask for a guide at the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) office at Elephanta. You can book your ticket at the MTDC office, Madame Cama Road in Bombay, for Rs 50. Luxury boats do not run between June and September.
There are lodges on the island for an overnight stay. The MTDC Chalukya restaurant at Elephanta offers adequate refreshments, including beer. In February, the MTDC organises evenings of Indian classical music and dance on the island.
*Bassein:**:
Just crumbling mossy ruins remain of this palm-shrouded fort, which was in the 16th century a seat of power for the Portuguese (the Court of the North), from where they administered their northern territories. Originally a Muslim fort that belonged to the Sultanate of Gujarat, before it seceded to the Portuguese and then the Marathas, the fort has literally been "ravaged by history". Interestingly each of her conquerers have made distinct changes to the fortress and the various eras in its history are alive and well within the eroding walls of this stark, silent monument, located on the Ulhas River. However the ruling monarch of the fort is Mother Nature and its remanants are gradually being engulfed by weeds and other overpowering flora.
The ruins of Portuguese churches, convents, hidalgos (homes of Portuguese noblemen) make exploring the fort a unique experience. The nearby Bassein fishing village, also once ruled by the Portuguese, has Goa kind of atmosphere that is an interesting side feature to the place. The site does not receive that many tourists and hence the reassuring absence of souvenir hawkers and touts.
Bassein is accessible by road from Bombay (two hours during non-rush hours) and is some 10 odd kilometres off the Western Express Highway. Alternately a commuter train from Churchgate Station will take you to Vasai Road station in one and half hours, from where it is a 11 km autorickshaw ride to the kila. It is advisable to avoid the rush hour traffic. *Konkan Coast:**:
Bombay is on the Konkan Coast and hardly an hour or two out of the city by road you will begin to hit the peaceful beach towns of Western Maharashtra. Do check out our Konkan Coast Guide
Inputs for this section are from Indrajit L.Panjabi
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