A bungalow atop a hill makes you feel like a bird

It was a birthday celebration planned at a village near Kamshet. Kamshet is around 3 hours drive from Mumbai.

We started in the morning around 9:30 and decided to go by the old Mumbai - Pune highway. The drive from Panvel to Khopoli was very picturesque. Lush greenery everywhere at the foothill of the great Sahyadri range of mountains. After an hour we reached Khopoli and it was chai-time. We saw a cute small hotel and we had to stop there. 

The hotel was so neat and clean. The local waiter was so courteous and welcoming. We ordered for batatawada, which was delicious. The cover was so thin as compared to many Batata wadas that we get in hotels. The waiter was so nice to give us extra chutney (as there were 7 of us). Then we had sabudana wada, dahiwada and the irresistible kanda bhaji. We left the hotel and halted for a cutting chai at a small tapari on the Bhorghat.

Now our journey continued till we reached the small village after Lonavala. We drove past the winding roads and also passed the Kamshet dam. The weather was so refreshing. By lunch we reached our destination - Trikaya retreat.

This place is so rustic and eco=friendly. We had booked a bungalow here. The Yuhvi bungalow is located at the end of the valley and it has a huge balcony that extends to the valley. The staff was so courteous and helpful.

Now, we were hungry and it was barbeque time. They gave us jacket potatoes, paneer and chicken barbeque. However, we found that the food was very spicy and of average taste - not good, not bad. However, the cool wind that was blowing [it was like the natural AC was on], negated the effect of spicy food and we also had our snacks with us. Also. we had ordered a black forest cake, which was so fresh and delicious.

So, overall the day trip at Trikaya was so refreshing and we really didn't feel like returning to the hustle-bustle of the city. It felt like we were literally in teh lap of the nature