Vers Tamhini...!!!

                                                                                                       

   

       

                                                                                                                               By Vaish & Amu 

ENLIGHTENMENT:

The name needs no definition as it is very well known among the people of Pune and Mumbai. The most visited spot in the rains, and why wouldn’t it be, you get to enjoy abundant amount of waterfalls, trekking experiences, jungle Hiking, road trips etc. ‘all under the single roof’. 'TamhiniGhat' as we call it, is a mountaineous path near Mulshi and Tamhini and a must visit in the months from July to September owing to above described reasons.

This place is special for people like us living in Pune, Mumbai or somewhere else in the periphery. Being a working professional, not always can we manage long tours for ourselves even if those are for just 2-3 days but as “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”, Jacks’ like us need a break from our day to day hectic lives, so this place allows us to have a one-day escape from the daily hectic schedules plus the things that we get to enjoy here, makes it easy for us to chill out and get that change that we think of while working! Also, an added advantage is that you don’t even need a large group to enjoy, even if 3 to 4 of your friends manage to come, you end up spending a good quality time.

Let’s start:

   (Our energy source)

It was one lucky sunday for us where we were able to convince ourselves to move out of our comfort zone i.e our beds early in the morning and step out for some adventure! We were a group of 4, good friends as I’ll call us and with 2 Bikes, we assembled at Wakad area of Pune at my place which was on the way to Tamhini considering their place of residence. It was 08:00 Hrs in the morning and everyone was looking like they had been literally dragged out from their sleep and made to do this! As it was my plan I had to maintain their mood in a good condition and therefore I came up with the most common solution. As nowadays a way to ‘anyone’s’ heart is through their stomach, “Let’s go for Breakfast” sounded a bit appealing and also convincing! So there was this famous eatery near my house where we headed to have their famous ‘Pohe’ and Samosa chutney along with our tonic – ‘Chai’! To my relief, the taste was really good and the expressions on the faces had started to improve, which made me feel like, “yea, I’m good at this!” 

     (Lifeline)

The bill was paid, bikes were started and in no time we were on the roads as the real excitement was waiting for us 60 Kms further.

The Journey:

Is it just me or even you guys prefer bikes over cars? I mean what’s wrong with it right? It gives you a thrill inside, it is easy to traverse even on the worst roads, if you’re stuck in a traffic jam, bikes can help you move forward from every nook and corner and specially if it’s a scene where you’re surrounded by trees on the mountains who have blocked the way of clouds and there you are just speeding forward enjoying the view feeling and the winds against you! Well, at least I enjoyed it that day! Slowly and steadily, chit chatting, racing with each other when the roads seemed to be vacant, we were heading towards our destination. There were tea breaks on the way as there was a ‘Chai Sutta’ member among us!! and he needed to be fueled up as and when. Trust me you cannot argue with them or try to convince them, they just need it when they need it! 

  (Tears of joy)

                     

As Mulshi village started and passed by, after every short interval we were getting to see a group of people enjoying in the petite waterfalls, on their way, some even dancing on the songs played on their Portable speakers, taking photos, I guess Monday would be the day where everyone would’ve changed their Display Pics on their respective social media accounts! We even saw a lake on our way with people sitting and enjoying around it, groups sitting beside enjoying their snacks, some playing games, some sitting with their legs in the water. It was like our fate had organized a presentation for us as to what all activities can be done in that area! We sure were observing and also discussing about, “Yea, we’ll try this on our way back” and many more like these! There was also a couple on a bike where the girl behind was sitting facing the back! She was fun in herself, talking to strangers who were passing from their side, teasing them, shouting, trying to scare people around! It was fun to watch her, so much that for quite a long we didn’t overtake them just to watch the madness!

The Experience:

                            (Natural shower)                         

As there were number of waterfalls on our way, we just chose our favorite one and decided to stop by! There were already some people who were enjoying there and the spot seemed lovely with the fall approaching us on the road from a side and continuing its course in the valley on the other. The excitement of standing below the fall crawled up our minds quickly and we parked our bikes, assembled our bags near the bikes and headed towards the fall. The crystal clear water descending down the hill, in its cleanest form was a treat to watch. Enjoying our Bath, we too were engaged in capturing some memorable pictures, the climb on the hill being a bit easy for us we climbed for a while getting wet in the water that was descending down. As we were the first ones to try that, looking at us even some of the others followed as it feels good to be on Top!

We enjoyed there for long, getting wet, taking pictures, the weird poses, the amusement in spilling water on each other, it was a fun time.

   (Nature's Treat)

It was quite a long since we were enjoying so we had started to feel cold, therefore we descended down to the start and saw two three Food Trucks selling stuffs like corn, maggi, bhajiyas etc. As such treats don’t require hunger to be called for, just their sight is enough for the body to crave for them, without wasting further time we approached them and ordered Corn and Egg Maggi as for these items you don’t need to worry about the taste, it’s the same wherever you go but to our surprise the Maggi was better than what we normally make at home, the Cook had added some secret ingredients of his to make it all the more yumm! (Fun Fact: People like us are generally called “Khavaiye” i.e people who love to eat!!! Yea please Update your Dictionary if you didn’t know this word, to use it when you find someone like us!!) Moving on, We tried asking him about him about the recipe but he denied to tell us saying that it was his secret ingredient! It was so good we ended up ordering one more, the taste being one factor and the other one being us feeling cold, it felt satisfied to have something hot at that point. It was a Treat for us, may be if you guys are lucky enough, you would be able to find the same food truck which we found! Sorry that I cannot describe it as it didn’t have any name on it!

        (No caption needed)

                       

It was afternoon without us realizing, so we decided to go to the Lake that we had seen on our way. It was hardly a half an hour ride for us back from the fall where we were, it was near to ‘Palse Water Fall’. The Lake was a silent one with a Peaceful ambience, there sure were people around but they all were busy doing their things. It often happens when one visits any river side or a Lake side, he often tends to go into deep thoughts seeing the calmness around because normally working and living in a metropolitan city can give you all the amenities and facilities but would fail to give you this kind of a feeling or pleasure so it was new for us as well.

Realizing that instead of going all excited around it, we just sat on the bank with our Legs immersed in the water. The Cool water flowing slowly with its typical soft sound, as you just close your eyes and listen, almost takes you to another Planet in your imaginations, and you just wish for the time to stop there for a while so that you could be there for as long as you want. It helps you clear your mind and relax, almost like meditation. 

                                               

It went on for a while, but experiences like these makes you realize that Trips are not just meant to be loud and over exciting, you can also enjoy them this way being at your coolest form! We also took some photos after that over there as we wanted us to get that feeling even if we couldn’t revisit there soon so at least we could recall these moments looking at the pics.

It was almost post afternoon here so it was time for us to head back as after all the excitement, you need some rest to get yourself back to normal for you to be able to go back to your work the next day therefore, we decided to conclude our small outing there and started the return journey. As rainy season is still on its full, there’s plenty of time left till September so I would advise the viewers  to give a visit to places like these, they must be a bit underrated as not much is described about them when you search for it but they are meant for exploring. There are plenty of other options available in near proximity such as, Devkund Falls, Andharban where you could even have a Trek, Tamhini ghat, Mulshi and many more, just pick one and step out!

Travel responsibly

Lastly again, we would take the initiative to advice the readers to keep the places that you visit, clean, avoid littering as just like you there are several others who visit and also such places who are your companions and also make you happy can be enjoyed fully when they are kept clean and to their natural form.