Wai Satara(Dakshin Kashi)
On the way to Panchgani and Mahabhaleswar there is a small town which is located on banks of Krishna river, which is not only famous for its seven ghats, more than 100 temples but also famous for Bollywood film shooting. Wai is popularly known as the ‘Dakshin Kashi’ of Maharashtra as it has more than 100 temples to be visited. The place has good connectivity to all the means of transportation.
Distance of Wai from Pune is around 90 kms and from Mumbai it is 230 kms. Buses ply regularly from Mumbai and Pune to Wai.
Accommodation:Sayaali Lodge ,Anand Lodge,Magnus Caverns Resort.
We stayed at Anand lodge which is very near To Dholya Ganpati temple.Cost was around 1200 rs per one day and room was good.
Best Place to Eat:Sidhagiri hotel,Abhiruchi Garden Restaurant,Shiv sagar family restaurant.
We had our dinner at Sidhagiri hotel which is around 5 mins distance from Wai Bus stand towards panchgani road. We tried Mutton thali which was speciality of hotel and cost was around 270 rs. and taste was excellent.
First Point of attraction reaching Wai is Dholya Ganpati temple and Kashi Vishweshwar temple located on banks of Krishna river on Ganesh Ghat.
Menavali ghat is the most popular sightseeing destination in Wai apart from the backwaters of Dhom dam and the famous Dholya Ganpati temple.
The Dhom dam is around 19 kms from Wai. It stands 50 feet tall from the lowest foundation and runs a length of 2,478 m. The water capacity of the lake is 14 TMC while the basement electricity house of the dam is designed to generate 4 MG of electricity. The Dhom Lake is formed by the backwaters of the dam and is about 20 km in length. The Dhom dam attracts tourists in large numbers because of the beautiful natural surroundings and boating activities. For enjoying water sports activities, tourists can hire water scooters, speed boats, banana boats, and motorboats from Sahyadri Boat club near the dam.
The Dhom village was earlier known as Virat Nagar. The place is famous for its scenic beauty and the temples on the river banks.
One can also enjoy night stay at Magnus Caverns resort for beautiful view of Dhom Lake.
There is another piece of our Glorious history i.e. Dhomeshwar temple and Shri Laxmi Narasimha temple, which is located at a distance of 10 kms from Wai Ganapati temple near Dhom dam .Both the temples are located in one complex. Both these temples are much-visited place and is a preferred locale by Bollywood for film shooting.
Climbing the steps are three arches behind which is the Garbha-griha.
Opposite Shiva Temple on Left is a circular construction. It is the Laxmi-Narasimha Temple.
Unique here is that there are two idols of Laxmi-Narasimha back-to-back. Narasimha here is in its two forms, with Goddess Laxmi sitting on his left thigh. One form is of Ugra Roop (Angry Form), with Hiranyakashyap lying on his thighs & Lord Narasimha tearing his stomach with bare hands. The other form is the Shanta Roop (Peaceful form).
A Face Scuplture of Paandavas can be seen in temple complex. Four faces are on the sides, facing outwards & fifth face is on top, facing the sky.
After visiting temple we reached to Menavali village which is around 4-5 kms from Wai. Bhavan Rao Trymbak Pant Pratinidhi of Aundh and Raghunath Ghanshyam Mantri (Satara) bestowed the village of Menavli to Nana Phadnavis in December 1768.
Nana Phadnavis settled the village and built his residence complex here. It had a Wada (A mansion with an inner courtyard), a Ghat (steps) leading from the mansion to the Krishna river and two temples, one dedicated to Lord Vishnu and another to Meneshwar Lord Shiva. The architectural combination of a Wada-type residence, a Ghat on a water-body and a Temple was typical of Peshwa era. This construction was completed around 1780.Entry fee for Wada is 25 rs and Videography is not allowed inside.Menawali ghat and Nana Phadnavis wada is famous for Bollywood film shooting. More than 300 films were shot at this point.Swades,Mrityudund,Gangajal,Omkara,Jis Desh Mae Ganga Rehta Hae,Bol Bachchan and many more.
It needs 2-3 days to cover all the major points in Wai. If one has sufficient time they can visit Pandavgad Fort,Wai Caves,Mandhardevi temple and Kenjalgad fort.
For more details on Wai ,Plz watch my video about Wai Satara on my channel
