Starting from my college in Matunga, located in the heart of Mumbai, we started our journey to surprise our birthday boy!
Since I love driving, road trip was the most preferred option! We started our road trip at 11 a.m. through the eastern expressway towards Nashik. We filled the gas and headed towards the famous Bhandardara Campsite facing a couple of tolls on the way. After taking a right turn from AH 47, the conditions of the roads worsened but were manageable and at sharp 3:00 p.m. we reached the campsite!
On reaching the campsite, we had delicious Misal Pav prepared in pure Maharashtrian style and refreshed ourselves with some tea at Bhandardara Market. These delicious refreshments gave us an idea of how amazing the trip is gonna be! We headed towards Bhandardara Dam and experienced this beautiful scenery
All of us were then excited to go to the mountain top where the actual campsite was. I started the ignition and we headed towards the mountain top!
We parked our car and stepped out and the scenery was breathtaking <3 As we enjoyed the scenery, we trekked down the hill to the lake. It was a cold freshwater lake where we couldn't resist drinking the water. After spending almost an hour at the lake side, we climbed up the hill just to have a view of sunset! And there it was!
We decided to have stroll on the mountain top and these were what we found! A farmer's hut with a scarecrow and some random rocks which proved to be very photogenic!
Post this was a night that can never be forgotten. The land of Wanderlust organised a bonfire where around 30 of us were introduced to each other, played games, sang, dance, booze and not to forget.. Hookah! We also had barbecue wars where everyone showcased their creativity in some way or the other.. I made a Salami sausage sandwich XD
Then, before sleeping in the tents, we decided to lie down under the blanket of stars. For us who live in a metropolitan city like Mumbai, lying down under a clear sky was just a dream! I thought this was the best thing that I could ever experience but nature had something more. I saw something shooting form the sky leaving a white trail behind and this is my friends 'how I experienced my first shooting star'. Concentrating on the sky, I could see a couple more on that very night! And then after enjoying to such an extent, we slept.
The next day we woke up to a beautiful view from inside the tents that is shown in the picture! I tried to take a hyperlapse of sunrise but it was around 6 degrees in the morning and my hands were shivering! Nevertheless i managed to click a picture! We then had some poha (again a typical Maharashtrian breakfast) and some tea and headed towards Mumbai. Living the fast paced life, but adding one more experience, cancelling one more destination from the bucket list!
