Exploring Bhaje Caves

Lord Indra engraved at the Surya Gufa

              A holiday calls for a new exploration. We all had a holiday for Ganpati festival, so we had plans of going out. After going through a list of places, we finalized Bhaja Caves. So as usually we looked up for the route on google maps. There were 3 routes in total to reach the caves. One was via Lohagad, via Pimpri Chinchwad and via Talegaon Dabhade, the latter two connect to Lonavla via the old highway.

            We decided to take the first route as it less kilometre wise. We left around 11:30 AM. First we went through the hustle and bustlem of the city, but as we crossed Paud, we were treated with lovely scenic land and mountains. The whole route till Bhaja was filled with lush green mountains, rice fields and potholes. Yes the whole road was filled with potholes. We had to drive very slow because of it. We reached there around 2:30, it took us almost three hours to reach there. At first we did regret our decision of taking that route, but when we saw the lovely scenery, Pawana Lake, Lohagad Fort, we felt good about choosing that route.

scenic view on the way

              When we were about to reach there, it started raining. So when we reached, we waited in the car till the rains stopped. Then we started. The caves are in a village called Bhaje on a mountain. There were small waterfalls on both the sides. There are steps (208 steps) to reach the caves. However, there is not much of climbing. As we go higher, its like one step then a long path to walk, then another step and a long path to walk, so it isn't very tiring. There is a ticket window halfway, with tickets priced at ₹15 for adults and ₹200 for foreigners.

ticket window

               As we walked, the clouds disappeared the sun started scorching on our heads. After about 20 minutes of climbing, we reached the caves. It was a modern marvel of the ancient times, I must say. So basically, these aren't actual caves, instead, they are excavations. These caves were used by the Buddhists as a meditation centre. At the entrance there is a stone with some basic information about the caves. Apart from this there are also well informed guides that you can hire to know about the caves.

cluster of stupas

               The caves are datable back to the 2nd century B.C. to 1st century A.D. All over the mountain there are 70 excavations, a main meditation hall with a Stupa, a cluster of Stupas, a kitchen and water storages. I called the caves a modern marvel because of the precision. Now 2nd century is a long long time ago & obviously there wouldn't have been all advanced technology and tools back then. Yet the excavations, the stupas were made with such precision. People back then had some serious talent.

              The main meditation hall is right in the centre. The excavations are everywhere on the mountain. They were compact and dark. The kitchen was a simple room with water storage on one side. The Buddhist used this for meditation, so there wasn't anything much to see apart from these few things. Though there are 70 excavations, they all are the same.

excavations

              The view of the caves and from the caves is equally stunning. Visapur fort and Lohagad fort can be seen from here and due to the rains the Bhaje village also looked lovely and green.

             We were done exploring the caves. It was time to go back home now. In about 10 minutes we reached down. We now decided to take the highway route. We reached home in about and hour and a half.

A day spent exploring is a day spent well.

waterfall at one end of the caves

I even vlogged our exploration. You can watch it here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lt62-V4UZXg

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A Place For Picnic, Named Picnic (Not Literally)

       
        I remember my childhood was awesome. My parents would take me to the nearby parks, I would play there and enjoy myself to the fullest. But kids nowadays, they all are always glued to phones or tablets. Parents should take initiative and take their kids out to play. There are many parks for this, one of them is in Bhosari. Behind Ankushrao Landge Sabhagruha in Bhosari, there is Bhosari Sahal Kendra developed by the municipal corporation of Pimpri Chinchwad. Sahal means picnic, so this place is literally named picnic.

        The tickets are priced at ₹5 for kids and ₹10 for adults and the timings are 12:30 PM to 8:00 PM. Once I entered the park, at a distance, there was a big circle with statues of three birds ready to fly. On the left side their was a mini train which has a track that covers the whole park. So if you are too lazy to walk you can simply hop in the mini train.

ticket prices

entrance

mini train

          On the right side is a gym and a swimming pool for the health conscious. Enter in, a track goes along the whole park with grass and trees on both sides of the track. And the best part is that we can sit or walk on the grass.

walking/jogging track

         There are equipments like slides, swings, etc. for children to play. They have also made a fort like structure with equipments inside as well to play. There is also a small stage with steps to sit.

children play area

fort structure

small stage

         Apart   there is also a small lake. So this place can be a good place for kids, teens, adults and elders. So when the government takes initiative to give us good parks we should make use of the them.

lake

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A Life Sized Dinosaur At The Dinosaur Park

  Just opposite to the Pimple Gurav bus stop in Pune, there is a park, Rajmata Jijau Udyan, it is famously known as the dinosaur park. When I was in college, I paid a visit to my friend who lives in Pimple Gurav. She had taken us (me and the other friends) to the Dinosaur Park. After that I never visited that area, either for work or for leisure, so I never happened to visit the park ever again.

        Now since I've started writing blogs, I was scrolling through the places in Pune that I can visit. Since it wasn't raining, I thought that I should go somewhere far than the usual & I suddenly remembered the Dinosaur Park. I realised I have been there just once & it is quite far from where I stay, so it'll be a good place to visit. So I started looking for the timings, the distance and all that stuff. There wasn't any exact mention of the timings of the park, so I was wondering when should I visit as mostly parks and gardens remain close till 4 o' clock.

      Then I thought that I'll visit the park in the afternoon post lunch. It'll take almost an hour to commute and I'll reach there by 3PM, if the park is opened well and good or else I'll go to that friend's house till the park opens.

       So after 5 long years, I decided to re-visit the Dinosaur Park. I reached the Pimple Gurav bus stop with the help of the maps & the park is just opposite to the bus stop. So it was easy to locate.

The timings of the park are from 5AM to 9AM & 12PM to 9PM. So its opened for almost the whole day, unlike the other parks which open at 4 and close at 8. The tickets are priced at ₹5 for a kid and ₹10 for an adult. As I walked in I was trying to recall the park I had visited 5 years ago, nothing much had changed.

      There is a fountain at the entrance, which is still in non working condition. There are bushes which are cut in different shapes. As I walked in, on the right hand side is the main attraction of the park, a 40 feet high, life sized dinosaur statue. This statue is the main attraction which attracts people to the garden from all over Pune. 5 years ago, this statue could be seen from a distance, but now due to the buildings it is not visible from far. 

There is a big jogging track which covers the outer circumference of the park & one track inside the park. There are places for seating, benches & shades are places all over the park for people to sit. There is an artificial waterfall on one end and a small artificial canal that flows on one side of park. There are slides and other equipments for kids to play.

                            

First when I had visited the park, it was overly crowded with many people and kids, but now there were hardly 10-15 people in the park. Maybe because of the timing that I visited the park (in the afternoon when punekars usual sleep :-P) or either because now the park is not as new as it was then. However, its a good place to hang out.

       The park is well maintained. In fact when I went in the park, there were people cutting the extra grown grass. Overall the park is good for kids and adults. So next time if you don't have anything much to do and have some spare time, you can think about visiting the Rajmata Jijau Udyan or the Dinosaur Park.

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Where Mythological Stories Are Told Through Thousands Of Statues- Neelkantheshwar

        About 25 kms from Khadakwasla Dam via NDA road, lies Neelkantheshwar- a place that depicts mythology through statues. It was a Sunday morning, when I and my mother decided to have another day trip. Since my mom is always busy with her work, she hardly gets time to visit a new place. So, whenever time permits we both go out on an adventure. My brother suggested us about Neelkantheshwar the previous day. So after getting ready, we left for it. The rains had no mood of pouring that day and the skies were clear. The climate was pleasant, but we kept our rain gears, just incase we would need them. 

         We left. Since we didn't know the route, I sat behind looking at the maps & my mom rode as I told her the path. We reached Khadakwasla, there was no water to the dam. We moved forward and approached to NDA road. The road was cutting through the lush green mountains. The pleasant weather and the beautiful view made our ride more comfortable than tiring. after riding for about and hour we reached near a sign that said Neelkantheshwar 8 kms. We took a left and from there started the real deal. Now we know that the roads have so many potholes on it during the rainy season that we don't understand whether there are potholes on the road or whether the road is in the potholes & that is what we faced here. A stretch of 8 kms filled with potholes, mud, water, etc. There were fields all along and the sides were still green, but, those 8 kms were the worst ride that we've ever had.  

         Somehow we managed to reach the parking of Neelkantheshwar. We looked around and there was nothing much there, just a small temple. We saw people climbing up a mountain. So we asked the parking person, where were the people going? He said the temple is up on the mountain and there are even statues up there. How far is it? we asked, he said about 1 km. I looked at my mom. She has this problem of vericos veins, in which the veins of her legs swell if she stands for a long time. She said we'll go taking halts. We started climbing at 1 PM. Taking halts as we got tired we reached half way. We asked a few people coming down, how far it was & they answered that it has just begun, there's lot more to go. I suggested my mom to wait while I go up and come. But she refused, she said when will I come back to see all this, now that we are here, lets go. Slowly we again started walking. 

          After about 35 minutes of walking, we saw something at a distance. Much to our relief we were about to reach. Our footsteps now got bigger and faster & finally we reached the main destination. We took a sigh of relief and sat down on the stairs. After we gained our energy back, we got up to see the place. There were many people up here. Some had come for a trek, some as an outing, some had even bought tiffins and sat amidst the statues to eat. 

          The mountain is filled with thousands of statues. We began counting, but lost track of it as there were so many of them. Each section had a depiction of a mythological story. The statues told everything from Draupadi Cheer-Haran to Samudra Manthan. Apart from mythological stories, there were statues of saints, Gods & Goddess. There was a temple dedicated to Mahadev. There are even rooms where devotees can stay. We offered our prayers and continued with looking at the different depictions of stories. We had been walking for so long that eventually we both got tired and decided to leave the remaining part half way. We knew that there are mythological stories. I don't know if we missed something, but we were just too tired to go further. There was a small restaurant up there. We went in as we were both hungry. We had the best wada pav and misal there. As we ate we were thinking whether the statues we built up here or were the built and then brought up here. 

        There were no boards or no person who could give us information about it, so, we were asking each other questions and trying our best to give answers according to our imagination.  After we finished eating, we started to walk back down. Coming down was much easier than climbing up. The view was something to die for- green mountains, paddy fields and Khadakwasla reservoir. As we got closer to reaching the parking, it started raining. We quickly came down and put our rain gears on. I then took the front seat to ride. & OMG! the road was so slippery. It was actually scary, but we somehow came down the mountain and passed through that rough patch of road. We took a halt at Khadakwasla to eat sweet corn and then came back home only to be tired yet satisfied. 

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The Largest Japanese Garden Outside Japan- Pune Okayama Friendship Garden

          When you approach towards Sinhagad road from Dandekar Bridge, you are most likely to meet slums, street hawkers & lots of traffic. But, on this same road lies the largest japanese garden outside Japan- Pune Okayama Friendship Garden or Pu La Deshpande Garden as it is famously known. 

         Basically, japanese gardens are built to bring people closer to the nature. They are the most developed gardens. According to Wikipedia- Japanese gardens are traditional gardens that create miniature idealized landscapes, often in a highly abstract and stylized way. The gardens of the Emperors and nobles were designed for recreation and aesthetic pleasure, while the gardens of Buddhist temples were designed for contemplation and meditation. Pune Okayama Friendship Garden is based on one of the major gardens in Okayama city 'The Korakuen Garden'. Since the Friendship Garden is based on the garden in Okayama and is in Pune, it bridges the gap between the two cities giving people of India a small insight of the Japanese Garden, & maybe, thus the name Pune Okayama Friendship Garden.

           The garden offers a variety of natural elements from luscious green meadows to calmly flowing streams. It is based on the Yin Yan philosophy. The garden characterizes the composition of fire, harmony, spirit world and water, it thus, expresses the various elements to speak about light and darkness, soft and hard, stillness and motion, warm and cold. The garden recreates the spirit of Zen. 

         The entry fees for the garden is ₹5. There is path on which visitors can walk in the garden. There are benches all over for seating. The garden has green meadows, a flowing stream and different kinds of plants. Many species of birds and insects can also be found here. There are caretakers all around the garden who stop people from walking on the lawn which is strictly not allowed in the garden. Photography and videography is also strictly prohibited, but there won't be a single person who will follow this, each one can be seen clicking pictures. A scene from Salman Khan's Bodyguard was also shot at this garden. 

          This garden depicts the spirit of Japanese gardens. It is a pure form of nature and helps people come closer to nature. The most important thing, unlike other gardens, this garden is maintained professional and very well which helps restore its true aura.

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A Paradise For Nature Lovers- Osho Garden

           When someone decides to turn a wasteland into a nature trail, it is an absolute paradise for nature lovers & that is what exactly the Osho Garden offers. Osho Garden or Osho Teerth Park as it is called, is situated between lane 2 and 3 of Koregaon Park. When one enters Koregaon Park, it will be hard for them to believe that somewhere amidst the lanes with clubs and high end hotels, lies a place so calm and serene.

      There was a piece of barren land with a dirty stream flowing from the middle somewhere in Koregaon Park. This 12-acre of wasteland was later converted into a beautiful nature walk. This garden is located between lane 2 & 3 of Koregaon Park. This garden is divided into two parts on each side of the road. When I entered the first portion, there was a statue of Rajnish Osho. An unpaved track with lush green bushes and trees leads you in to the garden. There is a stream of water with bridges to cross it. I'm sure one won't mind getting lost here.

           On the other side of the road was the other part of the garden. This has more space for seating than its first half portion. There are different statues here. A stream flows here as well. This garden has nothing much to offer than trees, greenery and a stream, but still when you enter in, you'll have a feeling that you don't need anything else in life. 

      There are many things prohibited in the garden. Some of the many things includes outside eatables, talking or laughing loudly and clicking photographs. I kind of cheated and secretly took photographs because I wanted to show the place to everyone who haven't seen it and to those who won't get a chance to see it anytime soon. 

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Kanifnath Temple via Bopdev Ghat

      Since I am not a very big fan of getting wet in the rains every time I go out, I decided to go somewhere nearby for my blog. So, I went to the Kanifnath Temple in Bopgaon via Bopdev Ghat. The ghat is about 5kms from Katraj and the temple is 21kms. I left my house at about 11:30 AM. The Katraj-Kondhwa road had its share of traffic, then I took a right turn from Khadi Machine Chowk to commence to Bopdev Ghat. 

Bopdev Ghat

       Bopdev Ghat has many hotels and Sinhagad and Trinity College at its foot & as I went up I got a complete view of the city. Its all green during monsoon, but it was just the beginning of monsoon so there was still all dried up grass or hay on the mountains.

view of the city from the ghat

       I then reached Bopgaon and after going further on my left I saw the entrance gate or the 'kamaan' as called in Marathi of the temple. Then I had to ride for almost 15 minutes to reach to the foot of the hill on which the temple is located. The road up the hill is a bit on the rough side. I then reached the parking area.

stairs to go up to the temple

      Right opposite to the parking is the view of Saswad and the surrounding area from the hill, on one side of the parking is a Dutta Mandir, then there is an open space with a small canteen and flower vendors. To the other side are 100+ steps that take us up to the Kanifnath Temple. After climbing up the stairs on the left hand side are statues of a huge elephant and a few saints, which is a part of some story. Then I entered the temple. Now the temple is such that there is an open space where worshippers can worship, but, the main idol of the deity is inside the 'gabhara' and only men are allowed to go in. They have to wrap a orange (bhagva) cloth and crawl in from a tiny space. The orange cloth or 'bhagvi lungi' to be precise is available with the trust office in the temple premises. Many devotees claim of their wishes coming true here.

devotees have to crawl in the small space like this

       In the temple premises are other temples dedicated to Vitthal Rakhumai, Hanuman, Kal Bhairav, Mahadev & Kaleshwari. The temple also serves food to its devotees from 12 PM. I worshipped all the deities and started my journey back home.

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My First Trip As A Solo Traveller | A Trip To Silvassa

      After all the difficulties or struggles I faced, it was finally time to take my first solo trip (to Silvassa). It was the morning of 10th of June. I woke up at around 6 AM as I had a train at 7:15 AM. I was nervous and excited. I got ready. My brother dropped me at the station. The train (Deccan Queen) was on the platform. I had travelled by Deccan Queen many times before, so I was aware of the journey. The whistle blew and the train left the station. I watched the scene through the window thinking about what beholds in the further journey. Thinking about it, I fell asleep. I got up some half an hour before Dadar. The stations passed by, I then got up from my seat as Dadar approached closer, as I had to get down there.

       I got down and not being used to the local trains of Mumbai, was obviously confused. Then after enquiring and taking the ticket, I boarded a train to Bandra. I being a Punekar was amused by the way people in Mumbai keep on rushing. I had been to railway stations before, I had even been in a local train before, but this was the first time I was alone and doing it all by myself. I heard the train lady say, 'next station Bandra'. I then stood near the door as I was aware of the struggle to get in and get off a local train in Mumbai. My luck I must say, Bandra wasn't much crowded and I got down easily. Again I had to obviously enquire about where to go and how to go to take my train to Vapi.

before boarding the train to Vapi

        After enquiring I got to know that I'll have to go to Bandra Terminus which I guess is 1-2kms from the station. I took a sharing rickshaw and reach the terminus. The terminus was the least crowded so it was easy to walk around. I then finally got into the train Paschim Express. My seat was reserved so I went directly to my seat. It was 11:35 AM, time for the train to depart, but it got late by 10 minutes. I then watched the stations and the dry patches that passed by. By around 2 PM I reached the Vapi station & yes I couldn't go further without enquiring. I was a bit hungry, so I had a paratha at a nearby hotel and asked them about how to reach Silvassa. The waiter then called an auto driver from the auto stand which was just opposite to the hotel. The driver said that he'll take ₹170 to drop me to Silvassa. I found that very pricey and asked him about the bus. He was kind enough and said the bus will charge ₹15-20 and he can drop me to the stand if I want. I agreed and he then dropped me to the Vapi Bus Stand.

Tribal Cultural Museum

           Silvassa is 18kms from Vapi. It took the bus almost an hour to reach Silvassa. The hotel that I had booked, Hotel Woodlands Inn was just opposite the Silvassa bus stand. I just had to cross the road. When I reached the hotel, there was some furniture work going on. It was a behind a small building. I had always stayed in 3* hotels before and this was more like a lodge. I had read all the good reviews about the hotel, but since I wasn't used to budget hotels, I was starting to regret my decision about a budget trip. I did all the check in procedure. Much to my surprise, the hotel was quite good from the inside. My room was nice and spacious and clean. The bathroom was a bit stained but was manageable. I freshened up and according to my itinerary went down to see the Tribal Museum. I asked at the reception where the museum and the Our Lady of Piety Church was. It was just 5 minutes away at the main cross road. I visited the museum. I saw all the tribe-related things there. I asked the lady at the enterance if I could meet the tribal people, she said there are some tribes in Dudhani village, you can meet them if you want. I then visited the church and then returned back to the hotel. I had my dinner and went straight to bed.

Our Lady Of Piety Church

         The next day I woke up at 3:30 AM. I did my morning routine and at around 4:45 AM left for the Swaminarayan Temple. The earlier day, the hotel travel desk told me that it takes around 15-20 minutes to reach the temple by foot. I started walking. It was still dark. There were people on the road, but since I was alone, there was a slight sense of fear at the back of my mind. After walking for about half an hour I reached near a board sign which read 'BAPS Swaminarayan Mandir'. There was a gate there, but it was locked. It took me almost 10-15 minutes to figure out the entrance to the temple. I went in. I spent almost 3 hours at the temple and then took a rickshaw back to the hotel. I had my breakfast and since there was nothing else to do, I decided to take a nap.

BAPS Swaminarayan Temple

          After waking up I had lunch and spent the afternoon watching TV. Then in the evening, I went to see the Vanganga Lake Garden. It was 6 kms from the hotel, so I had to take an auto. While going there I read a board that said 'Hirwa Van Garden', as this was on the way I decided to go there as well while returning from Vanganga L.ke Garden. After these two gardens I went to Nakshatra Garden which was just besides the Swaminarayan Temple. After visiting all three gardens I went back to the hotel. I wasn't much hungry, so I ate the puris that my mom had given while I watched television. I then went to sleep.

Vanganga Lake Garden   Hirwa Van Garden        Nakshatra Garden

           The next day I got up a bit late. I had my breakfast, I got ready, but I was feeling a bit too lazy. I guess because it was a Sunday. I then went back to my room. After relaxing for sometime I said to myself that I wasn't here to relax. I went down had my lunch and went to the Lion Safari at Vasona. I had to take 2 risckshaws that dropped me to Rakholi and Vasona respectively. I had to walk 2 kms to reach the Lion Safari & after these efforts taken all I got to see was two sleepy lions. I was so disappointed. Moreover, like a moron I  even payed ₹100 to film the lions which was a complete waste of money. My main purpose of a solo trip was meeting the locals. So after the Lion Safari I had plans of going to Dudhani. Luckily, I got an auto which dropped me at the crossroad. There I was waiting for an auto to reach Dudhani, but no one was ready to go there. Then a lady who was waiting for a bus told me that no auto will go to Dudhani, she said that I will have to take a bus. She then guided me and we got into a bus which was completely crowded. Private buses run more than government buses here & they keep on taking people in due to the shortage of buses. 

sleepy lion at Lion Safari

          After the crazy bus ride, I reached the Dudhani cross road. I got down, there were a few houses, but it didn't look like a village to me. So I asked a shopkeeper where Dudhani was. He told me that it was 2kms from that stop. He asked me where I was waiting, when I told him Silvassa, he said that there is a bus now that will go to Silvassa, after that there will be no transport to go back. I will either have to stay in the village then or take an auto which will charge me ₹300-400. But the experience of not getting an auto while coming said that I shouldn't trust that I will get an auto. The bus arrived and the shopkeeper said 'go this is the last bus'. I got in. I then asked the conductor about the buses. He said there are mostly private buses, they start running at 7 AM and run uptill 4:30 PM. He then asked me about my purpose of visit & then told me to come in the morning when the first bus departs. I then reached Silvassa, I went to the hotel had my dinner, watched TV & then went to sleep.

Madhuban Reservoir

        The next day was my last day in Silvassa. I had to go 40kms, then come back 40kms & then go 18kms to Vapi to take the train. So I woke up early. I got ready and went to the bus stand. As the clock was ticking I was thinking what if I miss the train, what if I can't reach in time. It then clicked me that there were many small villages on the way to Dudhani and there was also a lovely view point, so I thought instead of going to Dudhani, I'll get down at that village. That way the main purpose of my trip will be fulfilled without any worry. I got in the bus. It took me an hour to reach that village, it was Wagh Chauda & the lovely sight was of the Madhuban Reservoir.

Lekshi Bhai & Prabhu Bhai

         I met Prabhu Bhai & Lekshi Bhai the locals of Wagh Chauda. They told me about their lives and the problems they face because of the Madhuban Reservoir & how villages are set on the mountains. The main purpose of my trip was fulfilled. I then returned to Silvassa. I had already done the checkout procedure in the morning as I wasn't aware about when will I return & I obviously didn't want to pay extra charges. I then had my breakfast and left for Vapi. 

        I reached Vapi at 12:30 PM. The train Jhansi Bandra Express was at 2:30 PM. I had no option other than waiting. I wasted my two hours there, I could have taken a look around but there was nothing there. The train got delayed by 15 minutes and finally arrived at 2:45 PM. I reached Bandra Terminus at 5:30 PM, from there I took a sharing auto upto Bandra Station and then a local to Dadar. I then went to the Dadar ST stand. At almost 6:45 PM I got a bus to Pune. It was getting late so I did not ask and directly got in. The bus was not non-stop and took a halt at every stand. It reached Pune at 11:30 PM. My dad came to pick me and my first solo trip had come to an end.

      The trip was quite good and I being a solo traveller I did not face any tough problems. Everything was smooth and I had an amazing experience on my first solo trip. 

I have uploaded a video about my trip and what I did while I visited the different places in Silvassa. You can watch it here- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2VtXU3rk3A & don't forget to hit that SUBSCRIBE button.

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