Wheels rolled at 530 hrs. on a cloudy morning. Traffic
was heavy, given the long weekend, right up to Kolhapur. Hit heavy rain and
slow moving trucks short of Lonavla. The Mumbai-Pune expressway and the
Pune-Bangalore NH tarmac was great. Beyond Kolhapur the tarmac is decent and
winds through green vegetation and paddy and sugarcane fields. The 420 km drive
took about 7 hours. It took about an hour less on the way back as traffic was
moderate.
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| Old diesel pump near the Sugar Factory |
Stay was at The Camp – a farm house set amidst paddy and
sugarcane fields. Dev, a wildlife conservationist, was around and patiently
answered all my questions ranging from wildlife to agriculture.
Food from The Camp’s kitchen was a super local fare with pandhra
rassa, chicken in a coconut gravy, spiced up dal, rice from farm, roti and
poha, served hot in the porch overlooking a grove of coconut and beetle-nut
trees.
While out for an early morning walk, chanced upon giant squirrels (shekru) scampering about on the tree tops.
The trek to the Morzai Plateau gave a super glimpse of
the rice fields below and the periphery of the Dajipur Sanctuary.
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| Sahyadari Spotted Flat |
The Cave Temple at Ramaling, I thought, was straight out
of a Lara Croft movie.
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| Mahalaxmi Temple, Kolhapur |
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