Gaganbawda

Located 55 km from Kolhapur, this small hill station is unheard of, and not for the ones who want great public amenities and development. However, for lush greenery, small thrills and Nature in its total splendor read on. As soon as the bus dropped us here, the first thing we saw was this

Almost in the clouds, but not quite

With clouds just 50 metres above our heads and small hamlets dotting the road, it felt we had come to the  wrong place. After replenishment of our energy through freshly cooked mirch pakodas, we found a good path to go on. The rainy season just in, the entire landscape was green. All we could see was a green carpet for miles amid gentle hillocks. About 1.5 km down, we reached the base of Gagangiri Ashram. One thing you must be careful of here are the monkeys who will snatch away any perishable items you have! The fierceness with which they fight can be seen through broken limbs many have. However, those monkeys (and humans) who overcome this hierarchy of needs can find total peace, especially at the samadhi, located on a point where the whistle of the wind blowing reminds you of many Bollywood movies of the 70s.

Samadhi at the Ashram

Though this felt really rejoicing, we were still lacking something, the feeling of not scaling the mountain; because at this point the challenge we had was

Our Lakshya - To scale that peak

The mosque at the top was apparently isolated, and this challenge along with the slopes fresh and slippery from rain, made us all the more wanting to scale the peak. I wouldn't say my heart was not pounding during the final bit; a broken road and 70 metres of climb, but as an ad puts it - darr ke aage jeet hai. I suddenly found wisdom in those words, because no sooner had we reached the top, we were greeted by this view

The view from the peak - 1

The view from the peak - 2

Just multiply the first view with a 30kmph breeze blowing at your face, the odd eagle flying and making its screeching noise, and suddenly you felt transformed into a totally different world!

This trip is worth a one day visit. If you can leave from Pune/Mumbai or Bangalore the previous evening, it takes about 5 hours to reach Kolhapur from Pune and 14 from Bangalore. From Kolhapur you can either take a rickety government bus (Rs.55) or book a cab (Rs.1500 round trip). If you go by bus, be careful of the return times as the last bus leaves at 5.45 PM. In Kolhapur you can shop for the famous slippers or visit Rankala lake. Talking to locals, we found that the best time to visit to enjoy the lush greenery is during the rains (July-October)

Special Thanks for this trip - Sourabh Mundhra