Round trip to Plateau of Flowers- Kaas Pathaar

Greetings Wanderers….

Welcome back..!!!!

Monsoons have been awesome this year and I hope every citizen has quenched his thirst of getting drenched in rain.

This year has been really amazing, all the festivals had back to back arrivals leaving September – the month to enjoy post monsoon trips.

We had planned a Bike ride to Kaas Plateau – Satara (Plateau of flowers) which turned out to be a Car drive.Greetings Wanderers….

Welcome back..!!!!

Monsoons have been awesome this year and I hope every citizen has quenched his thirst of getting drenched in rain.

This year has been really amazing, all the festivals had back to back arrivals leaving September – the month to enjoy post monsoon trips.

We had planned a Bike ride to Kaas Plateau – Satara (Plateau of flowers) which turned out to be a Car drive.

On Saturday 9^th September, we left Mumbai with 12 people i.e. 2 cars and 1 bike.

Since it was an overnight trip, we had kept ourselves equipped with tents and mosquito nets.

Dattaguru snacks was our breakfast point with Missal Pav and Batata Wada.

We had our route marked on a different way… we decided to move via Pali khopoli road where our 1^st halt was Sri Ballaleshwar devasthan, Pali on the Pali khopoli road, Sarasgad is right 

behind this temple.

Sarasgad

Sri Ballaleshwar Devasthan, Pali

From there we were cruising across scenic village roads that went till Mangaon junction and going ahead towards Mahad.

brief halt to recharge ourselves

To the right were GandharPale Buddhist caves. 

Gandharpale or Pala caves are situated on a hill near Mahad- Konkan across the Mumbai-Goa highway at the confluence of Savitri-Gandhari rivers. There is also a mention in an ancient Greek text 'Periplus of Erythraean sea' dt 247 BC where Pale is mentioned as Palaipatyai and Gandhare village.

There are total 31 caves. They are mostly Buddhist viharas located on a hill top. There are stone steps that take you to the top and can be accessed in hardly fifteen minutes.

view from Top

 The caves have a few small stupas located in prayer halls called chaityagrihas.

viharaas

Chaityagriha

There also exist a few carvings of lord Buddha the Bodhisatvas along with attendants on the vihara walls and pillars, but they seem to have abraded with time. There is also a shilalekh in the brahmi script carved on the wall of one cave. 

Inscriptions in Brahmi language

The ambience surrounding these caves is awesome, especially in the monsoons, when the entire hillock gets wrapped by a green blanket and is adorned by several rivulets and water cascades.

We stopped for lunch at local hotel and had Jhunka Bhakar, However we were running behind schedule and got separated so we had our lunch at different places.

We were greeted with unexpected rains near poladpur that delayed our schedule more, but since the roads were in good condition we managed to cover most of the lost time there and reached Pratapgad fort. 

From here the Right turn takes you to Pratapgad Fort and Left towards Mahabaleshwar.

reaching the junction point for Mahabaleshwar and Pratapgad

About the fort: Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj commissioned Moropant Trimbak Pingle, his prime minister, to undertake the construction of this fort in order to defend the banks of the Nira and the Koyna rivers, and to defend the Par pass. It was completed in 1656. The Battle of Pratapgarh between Shivaji and Afzal Khan was fought below the ramparts of this fort on November 10, 1659. 

We reached by 4.30pm and were greeted by dense fog where we were unable to see the person standing beside… it was truly a sad state, but we decided to visit the fort, atleast whatever is visible.

Suddenly the fog started to disperse atop and we were able to get the clear view of the tower and the epic picture that represents Pratapgad fort.

the Tower

Southwest side of the fort

the other side

A 17 feet high equestrian bronze statue of Shivaji was unveiled by Jawaharlal Nehru, then Prime Minister of India, on the 30th of November 1957, the same year a road was constructed by the Public Works Department from Kumbhrosi village up to fort. 

Around 6.30 we started our journey back towards mahabaleshwar and decided to have dinner there. The Hotel was Horrible, ambience was so enchanting, but the food was really disappointing.

Nilesh had arranged for stay at Mahu village and we reached there by 11.30. it was dark and we somehow settled and slept in the house.

Farm house

Early morning started with typical village life, birds chirping, old ladies doing their daily chores, kids playing around, greenery around and it was like a “REAL FARM HOUSE”

 With a group selfie we started towards Kaas plateau.

It was almost 66 kms from Mahu via Panchwad and  into Satara. By 10.15 we were near kass plateau. The blooming season had just begun and we were able to capture some stunning images of the shrubs that possess medicinal qualities.

Terda

Malabar Lark

Others were dissatisfied as they were unable to spot the flowers, Me and Nilesh were roaming around with our Cameras while others enjoyed at Kaas lake. 

By 1pm we ramped up and started towards Wai to Visit MahaGanpati (Dholya Ganpati) 

Wai dholya Ganpati devastan

Sri Kashivishweshwar -Wai

Deepstaambh

For lunch we were looking to enjoy the “Tambda Pandhra Rassa Thaali” and hit the Satara Pune road.

We were back in Mumbai by around 10.30pm.

This trip will always be exceptional as the nature has its own role to play. No one can alter the course of nature of blossoming of flowers as per their will, there will be excitements, surprises and disappointments as well. However we have to accept Nature as it is and enjoy it in every form. 

Wo shaam suhaani

Would like to Thank all the people who made this trip a wonderful and memorable one.

Yours WildWanderer
Sumya