My TripAdvisor Review No.133: Dholya Ganpati Temple, Wai, Satara District, Maharashtra.

“Maha Ganpati at Wai, a Must Visit en route to Mahabaleshwar.”

Reviewed 17 October 2015NEW

This Maha Ganpati temple, also known as Dholya Ganpati, because of its large size, is situated on the banks of the Krishna River at Wai. Wai is a temple town, about 35 km from Satara, en route from Pune to the famous hill stations of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar. It is just about half a km from the Wai ST Bus Stand. There is ample parking available near the temple, if you are coming in your own vehicle.

The Lord Ganesh idol here is very large and brightly painted, and looks very cheerful and happy. It will make you happy too, just to look and pray to him. After the darshan do take a walk around the idol (parikrama) to get his blessings. There is strict security and you are not allowed to take any snaps of the Lord Ganesh.

After emerging from the sanctum, walk behind to see the streamlined shape of the temple. It is designed in the shape of a fish to reduce the pressure of the flowing waters if there is a flood.

Next to the Ganpati temple is the Kashi Vishweshwar temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has a beautifully carved Nandi bull and a nicely decorated Shivling.

This temple is a must visit for the spiritually inclined visitors of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani.

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Visited October 2015

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My TripAdvisor Review No.132: HoneyWood Holiday Homes Hotel, Mahabaleshwar.

“Laid Back Forest Retreat.”

Reviewed yesterdayNEW

HoneyWood is beautifully located on one of the back roads of Mahabaleshwar, the Duchess Road, which snakes its way from Old Mahabaleshwar to Kate’s Point. It is a thickly wooded road in the jungles, with hardly any traffic, and it would indeed be very scary to walk alone on this road at night. But that is exactly why we chose to stay here for 4 days at this secluded Forest Retreat.

The Chinoys (owners) were very welcoming and offered us the best rates for off-season weekdays. They sent us an email with details and maps of how to get to their resort immediately after our enquiry.

We decided to visit during the last week of September, during mid-week. So we got to choose our room, at the best off-season rate. The rooms were spacious, comfortable, and well furnished with some antique wooden furniture. In fact, we had the whole resort to ourselves, since we were the only ‘honoured’ guests. We could laze on the lawns with our morning cups of tea and breakfast, as well as evening cups of coffee.

However, their ala carte menu for lunch and dinner was a bit limited and priced on the higher side. Since we went out during the day we did not bother to order lunch, but on a couple of occasions we had to place our dinner order 2 hours in advance. We quite liked their preparations of ‘alu-gobi’ and ‘parathas’ and the quantity of their servings were sufficient for the two of us. They serve non-veg dishes too. During the weekends and season time they offer the buffet option of dining too.

HoneyWood is about 6 or 7 km away from the Mahabaleshwar market, in a remote location. So you do need your own transport to best enjoy this resort. But this is exactly what we liked about it. As soon as you step out of the resort you are in the deep woods. We enjoyed the best solitary morning walks on Duchess Road listening to gurgling streams and the birds twittering in the dense forest.

We would certainly visit this wonderful ‘Forest Retreat’ again, the next time we want to get away from it all!

Room Tip: There are Villa and Suite rooms available for larger families.

See more room tips

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• Stayed September 2015, travelled as a couple
  • Location
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My TripAdvisor Review No.131: Mapro (Restaurant), Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra.

“Best Garden Restaurant Serving Vegetarian Fast Food.”

Reviewed 13 October 2015NEW

Mapro serves probably the best vegetarian pizzas and grilled sandwiches in all of Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. And you can actually see your order being prepared in front of your eyes. They have a wood fired oven for baking their pizzas and taste wise these pizzas easily match up to the ones you get from the Dominoes and Pizza Huts in the big Metros. They serve delicious juices, punches, shakes and ice-creams too. Do not forget to have something with strawberry as an ingredient. Mapro specialises in growing and processing strawberry in Mahabaleshwar.

They have a huge alfresco seating area next to their beautifully landscaped gardens on the Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani Road. They have recently developed a huge free parking area which is thankfully off the main road. It is a self service restaurant and you have to select your requirements from their menu boards, make the payment and submit your token to the chef. Then you can either watch your food being prepared right there in front of you, or take a seat at one of the many glass topped tables and chairs and wait for your token number to be announced.

You may find the prices of some items to be on the higher side, but there is no compromise on the quality of the ingredients. Payments can be made by credit cards too.

You can also take a tour of their strawberry farm and processing unit, and buy some of their products from the factory outlet located in the same premises. There is a small chocolate factory too. Mapro is not just a restaurant but a cool hangout place with friends and family. Your children will enjoy this outing too, as there are many brightly painted gadgets and vehicles lying around in the gardens to run around and play with.

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• Visited October 2015
  • Value
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My TripAdvisor Review No.130: Mapro Garden, Mahabaleshwar - Panchgani Road, Maharashtra.

“Excellent Picnic Spot, Without Having to Carry a Picnic Basket.”

Reviewed 12 October 2015NEW

Earlier we would never stop at Mapro Garden while travelling between Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar because of the traffic jams caused by the cars and buses parked on the road. But this time I was in for a surprise when I found out that they have developed a huge free parking lot, off the main road, where the tourists can park their vehicles.

So this time we did visit Mapro Garden, and we were not even troubled by a single ‘Jyotishi’ (Fortune Teller) who could make us a ‘lakhpati’ before entering, to have money to buy whatever jams, juices, chocolates and squashes and other products which Mapro manufactures here.

As you enter you are greeted by a giant strawberry and their chocolate factory. They make arrangements for a guided tour of their jam and squash factory, and their well spread out strawberry plantation. There is a small garden with a rockery and fountain, and a playground with colourful three wheelers, where small children can play around. The garden overlooks the Krishna Valley, and if it’s not cloudy you can clearly see the 'Elephant’s Head' near Kate’s Point in Mahabaleshwar. It is a good place for photography enthusiasts too.

After spending some time strolling in the gardens and enjoying the natural beauty of their plantation, we decided to have our picnic lunch. No, not from a picnic basket, but from their large alfresco restaurant which serves excellent wood fired oven pizzas, grilled sandwiches, soups, juices, milkshakes and ice-creams. You can, however, bring an empty hamper to fill up with your shopping of jams, crushes and squashes to carry home with you!

They have good, clean washrooms too, so travellers coming from faraway places generally take a break at Mapro Garden for a quick bite, and get refreshed for the last leg of their journey to Mahabaleshwar or Panchgani. Do keep in mind that this place is so popular that it is always overcrowded on weekends.

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Visited October 2015

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My TripAdvisor Review No.129: Kaas Lake, Satara District, Maharashtra.

“Serene Waters.”

Reviewed 9 October 2015NEW

The Kaas Lake is about 2 km further down the road which takes you to the Kaas Plateau. At times you may find the Plateau overcrowded with people mesmerised by the beauty of the flowers on the Kaas Patthar. Then the better alternative would be to drive down to the Lake.

You can get a bird’s eye view of the lake as you are descending down from the Plateau, and you would want to stop and take a few snaps from up here. As you descend further you will find the car park to the right amongst some buildings where you can stop for a cup of tea and some refreshments.

Park your car and walk down to the lake to enjoy the pristine beauty of the cool blue waters of this serene lake. You can even bathe in these waters, but do remember that this lake also supplies water to the city of Satara. If you missed the flowers on the plateau you can also find many of them here. You can even sit down with your picnic basket amongst the bushes and trees near the lake, but do remember to clear your trash, and some more which other thoughtless picnickers would have left behind.

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Visited September 2015

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My TripAdvisor Review No.128: Kaas Plateau, Satara District, Maharashtra.

“Kingdom of Flowers.”

Reviewed 8 October 2015NEW

The Kaas Plateau is gaining in popularity as a tourist attraction day by day. In 2012, Unesco recognised Western Ghats (Sahyadri Mountains) of India as a World Heritage Site, and Kaas is one of the 39 sites in the mountain chain that was given this status.

Flowers start blooming on the rocky plateau after the onset of the monsoons from July to early October, and the plateau becomes a riot of colours. You can see purple, yellow, pink and blue flowers spread out as far as the eye can see. The sight is indeed beautiful and mesmerising.

We took a day trip starting at 10 am from Mahabaleshwar and going down the Medha Satara ghat route to Kaas. We reached Kaas at 12 noon, after covering a distance of about 80 km. We did it on a week day because we had already heard that the narrow road near the plateau gets jammed due to the weekend crowds from Mumbai and Pune. The route itself was very scenic affording beautiful views of the hills, valleys and lakes in the hilly areas. Even though there were sparse flowers this year we quite enjoyed the drive.

There are plans to restrict the entry of visitors to the plateau on a daily basis. In future you may have to pre-book your trip through the website maintained by the Forest Department. But as of now you can pay for your entry on arrival, at Rs.10 per visitor and Rs.40 for your car. Once you arrive on the plateau you have to step down and walk past the fenced enclosures to the open areas beyond. People are advised not to litter and trample on the flowers or you may soon have some floral names on the list of the endangered species of living things!

One can easily spend an hour or two walking along the laid out pathways leading into the bushes and small trees, admiring the natural beauty of the flowers and greenery. The Kaas Lake and the nearby hills covered with mist and cloud on a rainy day add to the magical surroundings. All in all it is a place worth visiting at least once, on a weekday in the months of July to October.

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Visited September 2015

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My TripAdvisor Review No.127: Ganeshghule Beach, Ratnagiri District, Maharashtra.

“Isolated Beach Paradise.”

Reviewed 27 September 2015 NEW

This beautiful beach is in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. It is about 20 km south of Ratnagiri town along the Konkan coastline. About 1.5 km after passing Pawas there is a right turn and you have to travel through a narrow village road, passing some green fields and farms with cow sheds, for about 4 km till you reach this pristine uninhabited paradise of a beach.

The tree lined crescent shaped beach is very beautiful with golden yellow sand, bounded by small hills at both ends. There was not a single shack or stall on the beach, and the only signs of life was a stray dog and some crabs. Since we visited in the monsoons we did not venture into the sea, but the clear blue water looked very inviting indeed. The long stretch of sand is a jogger’s paradise.

After taking a leisurely stroll on the beach we walked back to the nearby ‘Ocean-o-Pearl’ Resort for lunch.

You need your own transport to visit this jewel of a beach.

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Visited August 2015

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