So this blog comes exactly one month after I actually did this trip. I was stuck fulfilling some personal commitments and was not able to finish it. So here I am sharing my small trip experience from Maharashtra
It was the last weekend of 2019 and I wanted to spend it doing what i love the most - Drive and Travel
Since it was a New Year weekend (which means expensive hotels and stays) and my plan was impromptu I decided to go on a drive to my Uncle's holiday home in Wai
Wai is an adorable little Hamlet in Satara district of Maharashtra
It is also a very popular destination for shooting. Many Bollywood & Marathi movies have being shot here, including - Dabangg, Singham, Bajirao Mastani, Swades, Gangajal
Mahabaleshwar, a popular hill station in Maharashtra lies 44 Km from here
Day 1:
Wai is located at a distance of 230 KM from Mumbai which is approximately 5 hours drive (Including Breaks)
To reach Wai one needs to take the NH-48 that will take you through some of the most picturesque locations of Mumbai, Pune & Satara district
The roads are smooth and wide. The occasional tunnels, valley and river crossing makes the drive a much better experience
It was a winter morning and the temperature was low. After negotiating the usual Mumbai rush we were on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway, ranked amongst the best roads in the World
If you are driving from Mumbai, you need to cross 3 tolls - Khalapur, Talegaon & Khed Shivapur. The total expense on Toll would be Rs 320 for one way
We reached the Khalapur Toll Naka at around 9:30. The journey started getting better once we were reached the world famous Khandala-Lonavla ghat famous for its Pleasant climate, Hill station and Chikki. The view of Valley and cool breeze eased out the frustration caused by the vehicle traffic
If you are going to Wai, I recommend you to stop for a breakfast at Food Carnival which is located just after Talegaon Toll on the left hand side
Reason for this is that the Food Mall after Khalapur Toll is usually very busy and you dont get proper place to sit. Even the loos are full.
Here in Food Carnival you will get less crowd, variety of food, proper place to seat and clean washrooms
After a quick breakfast break we were on the move again. Thanks to heavy traffic in Pune and its outskirts we were able to reach Wai at around 2.30 PM, well past our estimated time of 1.00 PM
My uncle's home is located 8 KM from Wai in a village called Asale. Its a peaceful place with very few people living around which makes it a perfect getaway from the chaotic city life
Most of our day was spent in getting the house in order, clicking a few pics of Sunset and the farm near our house. For lunch and dinner we decided to go to Shree Bhagwati Annapurna in Panchwad which was a 5 minutes drive from our place. They serve one of the best food in this area. If you are a lover of non vegetarian food then do try their Kala Masala Chicken which has a unique taste
In and around Wai
As mentioned earlier, Wai is a favorite shooting spot for Bollywood and Marathi movie industry. So we decided to explore Menavli Ghat which is 12 KM from our place. The drive to Menavli is smooth with good roads and helpful people to guide you to the spot
We got to know from locals that Bollywood alone has shot more than 60 movies here in the last 20 years itself. During the time of shoot the place is redesigned to depict scene set in Bihar, Rajasthan, UP and other places. You can check out movies like Swades, Singham 1 and Bol Bacchan. You will find this spot clearly in those movies. I recommend you to visit this place atleast once if you are in and around Satara.
After this we visited a Ganesh temple famously called as "Dholya Ganpati". This place is 2 KM from Menavli Ghat. Again a peaceful place with less crowd which means you can pray peacefully
We decided to head back home once we finished exploring the place. But not before buying our stock of Indrayini Rice. This rice has a typical pleasing aroma that doesn't exist in any of other variety of rice. Its is especially grown in and around Pune District. Cook it along with Desi Ghee and serve with chicken on a winter night and I assure that you will have one of the best meals you ever had
All set and done we headed back to Mumbai. I recommend that you take a stop at Hotel Ajinkya for lunch. Its right on the junction of left road which leads to Mahabaleshwar (while coming from Mumbai side).
It serves one of the best "Pithla Bhakari" which is a typical Maharashtrain dish. The Pithla is a spicy curry and Bhakari is basically Roti made out of Rice. And for all tea lovers this place also serves one of the best teas.
Journey back home was pretty smooth as we left early afternoon which meant we didnt get much traffic at Pune and were able to complete our drive within 5 hours.
We are still enjoying the aroma of Indrayini rice every time we cook it and hoping that we make a plan to go again soon so that we can fill our stock again.