A brief photologue: Amba Ghat, Manoli Dam, Pawankhind

I

Ibn.Battuta

New Member
Dear BCMTians,
For past couple of years I have enjoyed reading hundreds of amazing travelogues posted by members of this community. Thanks for creating and running this place. Here is my first travelogue/photologue for all of you.
warm regards,
Ibn.Battuta


Last week me and my family did a quick trip to Amba Ghat, a beautiful (especially in beginning of monsoon) area in western ghats near Kolhapur. I takes around 5 hours from Pune to reach (about 250 KMs). You could start on NH4 towards Kolhapur and near Shahuwadi, turn towards Ratnagiri on state highway 204. It's a small and quite place
nestled in Sahyadri with a nearby dam (Manoli) and historical places Pawankhind and Vishalgad (more about this in
next posts).

Directions from Pune: https://goo.gl/maps/WXQbzmayD3z
1.jpg
2.jpg
3.jpg
4.jpg
5.jpg
 
I

Ibn.Battuta

New Member
We started early morning around around 6.30 am from Pune towards Kolhapur. After a couple of hours drive, before reaching Karad, stopped at Kamat's for breakfast. This place comes at a right time for breakfast if you are starting from Pune. Better compared to the other options on the highway at least for vegetarian food. Another option is to take a halt at Karad but you will have to leave the highway and enter and exit city.

After breakfast and tea we crossed Karad and called the resort manager for further directions. He told us to turn right at 'Kale'. These intersections are not clearly marked and in addition there is a lot of road development works are going on NH4. So ask locals whenever in doubt. For your reference here are the names of towns/villages en route: Pune - Satara - Karad - Kale phata - Undale - Kokrud - Malkapur - Amba. One of the resorts from Amba Ghat called 'Pawankhind Resort' has put up many signs along the road. You can follow them as well. One you leave the highway, the route is beautiful. No heavy traffic, greenery, paddy fields and cloud crowned mountains in the distance. These mountains host many mighty forts of strategic importance for Maratha empire such as Panhala, Vishalgad and Gagangad.

6.jpg
7.jpg
 
uturn

uturn

Super User
IceAge said:
What does that Jeep does with those sitting arrange at top ?
Click to expand...
Its like jungle safari they take you to pawankhind where baji prabhu deshpande faught its a big rock valley with narrow path where fight was impossible & difficult for enemy.

They also took around for sightseeing & inside jungle on jeeps rooftop even they play recorded commentary about baji prabhu & surroundings.

Nice place to visit with good food & barbecue inside jungle with chilled beer is mouth watering.

Sent from my SM-N920I using Tapatalk
 
I

Ibn.Battuta

New Member
We reached the resort around 12.30 pm. Resort name is 'The Amba Resort'. Checked in, freshened up and requested lunch. Rooms were clean but don't expect luxury. Need to carry your own towels and toiletries. In 15-20 minutes we received a call that lunch is ready. Lunch was good and was modestly priced.

This resort is on the main road itself and is quite a small property. Nothing more than a 2-storey building, a small lawn and children play area, a small hut with
a seat out, and defunct swimming pool. Their restaurant opens on main road and accepts all diners, not just resort guests.

There are other resorts which are a bit away from main road but are much bigger properties and will keep you closer to the nature. Please do your homework on resort selection if you decide to visit.
8.jpg
9.jpg
10.jpg
 
I

Ibn.Battuta

New Member
After lunch, we asked the resort guys where could we visit in the evening and whether we should hire the safari jeep right away. He suggested visiting a nearby dam called 'Manoli dam' in our own car for the evening as it's accessible to regular cars and hire the safari jeep for next morning to visit Pawankhind etc.

Manoli dam area is beautiful in the rains and the dam itself is pretty small - more like a bund and a small lake. There wasn't much water though as it
was just the beginning of the monsoon. There were some guys swimming and couple of families just roaming around.

There was a boat anchored on the shore so it looks like there might be boating available when the water levels are up.

11.jpg
12.jpg
14.jpg
15.jpg
16.jpg
17.jpg
 
I

Ibn.Battuta

New Member
After spending couple of hours near the dam and driving around we came back to the resort by 7 pm. We told manager that we will have dinner around 9 pm. As I mentioned earlier this resort is on main road itself and just nearby there is a small market area with few shops, restaurants and convenience stores. So we went for a walk in the market and had vada-pav, pakodas and tea.
There were a lot of people selling jack-fruits in the market. Once we came back we had dinner and it was time to get some much needed sleep.

Next day early morning we got tea in the room itself and hurriedly got ready as we thought safari jeep might start early. Went to the dining hall for breakfast and also enquired about
when can we hire the jeep. They said the driver will arrive by 9 am so there is no hurry and the cost will be Rs. 1500/- for all 4 of us. Almost every resort there will have something similar to this jeep. In our case it was Mahindra Invader. The arrangement on top was actually amazing. Our entire family got on the top and we had a blast cutting through the fog. Also you could see some animals (gaur, deer etc.) if you are lucky while driving through the jungle. We didn't see any though. When you hit heavy rains, you just climb down and get into the jeep. We did multiple rounds of up-down due to intermittent rain. This is really fun. Don't skip this if you are visiting. However it's not a like a safari in national parks with sure animal sightings or off road drive.

This beautiful drive took us to Pawankhind. Pawankhind has a special place in the history of Maratha empire. Originally called 'Ghod Khind', this is where a brave maratha sardar Bajiprabhu Deshpande fought till death to block soldiers of general Siddi Jauhar. This battle created a safe passage for Shivaji Maharaj to escape siege of Panhala fort and reach Vishalgad, which is
about 6 kms from Ghod Khind. It was renamed Pawan (sacred) in memory of all these brave soldiers.
Read more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shivaji#Siege_of_Panhala_and_Battle_of_Pavan_Khind


5.jpg


20.jpg


21.jpg
22.jpg
23.jpg
24.jpg
25.jpg
26.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top