A ROAD TRIP TO MALSHEJ GHATS - AN ADVENTUROUS DAY IN THE MOUNTAIN PASS, IN MAHARASHTRA



Photo Travelogue :


Maharashtra has tonnes of day-trip places to escape to ( from the city ), being home to the Western Ghats/Syhadris. The western ghats stretch from the base of south Gujarat all the way till Kerala, so, large portions of it falls in Maharashtra alone. I was planning to go to Malshej ghats for a long time now, especially, to view up-close its many water-falls that appears during monsoons and falls right on the highway itself - giving multiple natural car-washes to the various vehicles that passes it. Its too mesmerising a sight, one I couldn't miss as it was monsoon when I finally got around planning it. Being a thrill lover, I don't plan anything ahead as in booking cab/hotels etc, I like to go impromptu, taking whatever public transport I get and sometimes end up hitch-hiking too, as I did on this trip. The whole trip was adventurous from the word ~ go. I had reached Kalyan Bus Stand to catch a bus to Ahmednagar - Malshej Ghats falls on this route. It was almost 12.30pm by then. I got a bus, but as fate would have it, it drove around Kalyan city only to return back to the bus stop. Whaaat! Are you kidding me? I was really frustrated. It kept waiting at the stand for over an hour, and then announced that it had some engine faults. Damn, why did you keep us waiting for an hour, then? Grrr...I was really furious, as every second mattered now. Its an almost 2+ hour long journey one-way. We got a second bus at about 1.45pm, but thankfully, it drove without any hitch. We reached Murbad after 1 hour. Bus fare was Rs.100/- one way.



kalyan bus stand just opposite the railway station ( west )..


road signs that say crossing Dahivali...coming up other places ~ like Ale-Phata etc...


within twenty minutes of leaving Murbad, we spot the mountains far away...


the roads are good on this stretch, in the plains...


my bus patiently waits as I have misal-pav during it's 15 minute break...


the food is yum, the dhaba also has a washroom with running water...

the journey resumes...

with every passing kilometre, the hills get nearer...


and nearer...( at this place also, I get a different bus on my return trip. why? read on to know... )




love the views...


cultivation ~ in an area so remote?...but then, people live everywhere...


leaving the plains behind, we start going up the hill...


lots of twists and turns here...

passing by forests too..

mystery about to get solved...soon...


come across a sign that warns of dangers ahead...we are approaching the ghats now...


the ghats-road along side the mountain, is long and winding...can see vehicles in the opp end...


this road often gets blocked due to landslides and boulder-slides, we were lucky...


can see approaching vehicles from the other end...




At this point, a blunder happens, instead of getting down here at the Malshej Ghats, the bus drove along and drops me further 2 and half kms up the road, at the MTDC resort entrance. Even though a blunder, the experience here more than make up for it. I make my mind to walk back to the ghats, but first, let me enjoy the views here. Since, it was raining off and on, quite misty, didn't quite get the views I was hoping for, but, whatever I got to see was heaven too.


MTDC resort from a distance...


entrance to the MTDC resort, the bus drops me here and goes off to it's destination...


clouds touching the grounds...scenic or scary, you decide ;-)
as for me, I loved it...they say, there's a better view from behind the resort...


an impromptu 2.5km trek...out of sheer ignorance earlier...lol

time to walk back to the ghats...


had I known beforehand this is a leopard hot-spot, I wouldn't have been as confident walking it...


reaching Malshej Ghats again...

can you see the tunnel? look closely, its there...we have to cross it...


it gets foggy as I reach the ghats...a half-hour walk almost...


see what I mean? all headlights on...although, its just 4.50pm, in the month of June...


a hanuman and shani temple, both side by side, beneath the giant rocks held by iron nets...


this is a place only to be experienced by yourself...the sheer thrills of it...


I looked at my watch, it was time to head back...and then...


ENCOUNTERING SPOOK AT MALSHEJ GHATS

Many buses came along the way, all heading back to the city, but to my amazement, none would stop. It was getting late, and as I hadn't pre-booked any vehicle, I thought, I'd stop a passing bus. All buses would anyways go to the city via Kalyan. But those damned things would simply not stop! I waved at them, tried to stand in front of them, called out to them ~ shouting 'ruko ruko' 'thamba thamba' ( in marathi ), but, they just turned deaf and blind to my pleas. Even if an empty bus was coming, it would not stop, and I simply couldn't understand why. It got freakier by every second minute now, scary too. What would I do if no bus stopped here? How will I get back? Slowly, my confidence was fast turning into panic. But no bus would stop, no matter what I did - even if I danced in front of it, or laid down on the road itself, lol. I didn't do those, but was surely tempted. I thought of walking and started to do exactly that. It was a long way, I didn't know what else I could do. It was starting to get dark, very soon, it'll be night too. I kept walking, away from all the people there...hoping, to get a bus to stop once I reached the plains atleast. I wondered, if they didn't stop because of boulders coming down, if they did, they feared perhaps. The place was famous for that. Or maybe some 'omen' attached, not to stop at the ghats.

As I walked, further and further away, a faint whistle slowly started to follow me. I could not understand where it was coming from. Because, I was all alone, walking that stretch of the road, all by myself. The whistle kept playing and I got bit uneasy. Faint footsteps now accompanied the whistle. Was someone following me? I turned around - there was no one. Not a soul! I had left the crowd far behind. A chill ran down my spine, wondering, if it wasn't some human making that whistle and footsteps sound, rather some 'unworldly' being instead. It was after all an accident-prone site where numerous lives had been lost. Was someone alerting me? Warning me not to go ahead? I stopped in my tracks. I decided not to go any further. I waited few moments looking around, the faint whistle continued playing ( the foot-steps had stopped ) till I turned back and started walking the path I had come, rapidly - till I could see people again. The whistle didn't follow anymore, nor, did the footsteps. Strange, they played only when I was alone. There were only a handful of people left now. Everyone was leaving the place as it'd get dark soon.

Again, I tried stopping few buses, but to no avail. They ignored me and went past. Just then, when I was giving up hope, wondering if I'd have to spend the night there - at the malshej ghats ( I didn't like the idea of it at all, considering the spooky experience I just had ), a vehicle passed by me and stopped little afar. A boy got down and was waving at me. I thought, he was mimicking me - so, I ignored at first, but he started coming towards me and said he had seen me stopping buses and could drop me at Murbad ( where he was going ) if I wanted. I was not sure whether to go, after all, he was a stranger. But from my past experiences, many strangers did turn out to be helpful in the end, so, I decided to trust him and accepted his offer, especially, when he said that no bus ever stopped in the ghats, and that it was of no use waving at them to stop. I got into their vehicle and saw there were few of them inside - all had come to enjoy the ghats. They said, they had seen me walking from the resort itself. So, they were indeed God-sent for me that day.


the spot where the 'spooky' whistling and footsteps occurred...
I noticed a t-shirt hanging in one of the branches far above? whose was it?
( few days after I was back, there was a huge accident in Malshej Ghats, the spot I had visited )

'

bus ride back home...


back in the plains, back to reality...

Though, the boys in that car had offered to drop me in Murbad, we spotted a bus mid-way ( once re-entering the plains ) and I decided to get down there. It was going to the city. However, it had a flat tyre so the passengers were waiting for another bus to come by. This time, another bus did stop and took all of us till Murbad. I changed bus in Murbad and finally reached the city late at night ( almost 11 pm ) in another bus. Phew...what a trip it was...!


Malshej Ghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range in the Thane-Ahamad Nagar Road of Maharashtra, India. The site is nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats ( wiki ).

Address : Malshej Ghat, post - Khubi , Tal - junner, Dist - Pune, Thitabi Tarf Vaishakhare, Maharashtra 421201
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