Travel With a Couple

If getting out of Mumbai means Lonavala and Khandala for you, then read no further. Not that Lonavala and Khandala aren’t beautiful. They are indeed. But then, let us grow up.

Here are five weekend monsoon getaways from Mumbai.

1. Go beyond Malshej Ghat. Malshejghat is a regular and hugely popular monsoon weekend getaway. Misty mountains and unlimited waterfalls. An MTDC resort facing the valley. Most people from Mumbai travel to Malshejghat via Kalyan for a day trip or a weekend trip. Here is another alternative: Hit the Mumbai–Pune expressway and take a left at Wadgaon to Chakan and then proceed to Narayangaon and Junnar. Stay overnight at Junnar. Spend the evening at Shivneri fort. Leave early morning. Junnar to Lenyadri and then to Malshejghat. The drive from Junnar to Malshej ghat is simply awesome. Stop for lunch at Malshejghat. Laze around and reach Mumbai by late evening.

2. Saputara. Saputara is a tiny hill station in Gujarat, at the Maharashtra–Gujarat border. Snuggled in the tribal district of Dangs, Saputara has some interesting drive through the forests and by the rivers. Take off to Nashik from Mumbai and then via Dindori and Vani to Saputara. A total of over 250 km. Stay overnight at Saputara. Gujarat tourism has hotels and there are a few private hotels as well. Walk to the sunset point. And to the sunrise point the next morning. Once again a circular trip. Return via Waghai, Vansda, Chikli and Valsad (a total of 345 km). Stop by the massive Gira waterfalls before Vansda. Vansda National Park is closed during monsoons.

3. Igatpuri via Jawahar. Igatpuri is also well-known and popular weekend destination. However, for the monsoon driving pleasure, take this longish route. Get on to the Western Expressway. About 60 km from Borivali is Manor. Take a right and via Vikramghad, reach Jawahar. At about 1,800 ft above sea level, Jawahar is also a mini hill station. Either stay overnight at Jawahar with some local sightseeing thrown in or head straight to Igatpuri. Igatpuri too has some options to stay. Return via Shahapur, Kalyan and Thane.

4. Coastal ride to Guhagar. Take the Mumbai–Goa highway till Khed. At Khed, get out of the highway and take a right to Dapoli. From Dapoli to Dhabol. Take your vehicle across the river on a boat and head to Guhagar. Guhagar is one street village/town with clean beaches. There are hotels, but look for some homestay. Every one in the village knows each other and someone will guide you. Next morning, head to Velneshwar beach and then to Chiplun. From Chiplun head back to Mumbai through the Mumbai–Goa highway.

5. Coastal ride to Harihareshwar via Murud–Janjira. Mumbai to Alibaug and then to Murud. One option is to stay overnight at Murud. Though the beach is clean, it might get overcrowded on weekends. A better option might be to continue to Hairhareshwar on the same day. Take the narrow roads through various villages to Srivardhan and then to Harihareshwar. Harihareshwar has a nice MTDC resort. There are a few private resorts as well. Head back to Mumbai next day around lunch time.

Every trip of ours in Maharashtra reinforces MTDC’s marketing byline ‘Maharashtra Unlimited’. Be it treks, road trips or backpack trips. Numerous options that emerge from the combination of the long coastline and the Sahyadris running parallel to it, in fact gives one an unparalleled experience. Not to mention about the options in Central Maharashtra, which we are yet to touch.

Last Christmas, we did a road trip that featured kissing the beaches, then climbing the hills, and hugging the clouds. A 4-day road trip with spur-of-the-moment detours, searches for a place to stay, warm hosts at homestays and much more…

It helps that many from Mumbai knows only beaches such as Kashid, Ganpatiphule, and of course, the ones in Goa. The lesser-known ones such as Guhagar, Harnai, Velneshwar, etc, are left for those who take the roads less travelled. Yes, Guhagar is turning touristy. And for the hill stations, Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, and Lonavala are good enough to vet the appetite of many. Koyna Nagar hardly appears in any one’s itinerary.

On the Mumbai-Goa highway, take a detour at Khed to Dapoli and get into the coastal road. Harnai is a few kilometers away from Dapoli. The Dapoli-Dhabol road breaks at a jetty and a boat will ferry your cars to the other bank, where the road continues to Guhagar. More pristine beaches and villages within 15-20 km of Guhagar and we are off to Chiplun. From Chiplun starts the climb to Koyna Nagar. A few hours of drive with breathtaking views on both sides, and our homestay in Koyna Nagar waits for us at the top of a hill.

Click here for the photo story of the journey.

Guhagar, being 320 odd km away from Mumbai means fewer crowds. Or so we thought. We forgot that Pune was probably only 200 km away. We reached Guhagar a little late in the evening, around 7.30. We were a bit overconfident that in these little not so known places, hotels, lodges or home stays would be easily available. But as always Murphy has the last laugh. All (two or three) known hotels were full. People indeed are traveling. We drove a few times up and down through the main street knocking the doors of a few hotels and a few houses where they have put up a couple of extra rooms for guests. No luck. Most people could talk only Marathi. Our friend who could speak Marathi reasonably well was getting highly irritated since the responsibility of talking and finding a place fell on him. His concern was that his Marathi was not so good that he had to think, pause for the right word every time, and talk. But it was better than we staring at people without any words. Finally, an elderly lady checked at the local temple hall, which again to our bad luck was full. She then made a couple of calls to some families and at the end found a place for us.

We spend the night with this traditional marathi family, who gave us some space and mattresses in their living room. They could not make food; so they called up a nearby restaurant and ensured that our dinner was taken care of. The family runs a small shop and a distribution setup for some soft drink brands.

And they are setting up two rooms for guests. Next time, we are sure to stay there.