Solo ride to "MONSOON LONAVALA" and back to Mumbai.

Start to Lonavala:- Petrol Fill  at Prabhadevi at 0630 hrs.

Over the decades since childhood have passed through Lonavala numerous times during my travels across India  but strangely had never visited  Lonavala during the monsoon season. Lonavala which is only 90 kms by road from Mumbai is the most popular hill station of concrete jungle Mumbai and a must visit locale during the Monsoon season.During Monsoons the highway roads deteriorate into large Moon shaped craters and the nasty fall from my "Bajaj Wind -125 CC" bike  on the  Khopoli Lonavala Old road in 2004  during my maiden solo ride to Pune was a fresh warning in my memory. Once bitten twice shy.That ride ended in disaster with me requiring extensive  hospitalization and post operative recovery for a fractured left shoulder.

Reached destination Lonavala at 0830 hrs.

                                                                                                                                              With my  Royal Enfield "Bullet Standard  350 CC"  had broken my own personal barriers of motorcycle fear psychosis realizing that i did have the talent and skills for long distance motorcycle cruising. Ahoy ! Monsoon Lonavala was to be my next solo motorcycling destination and the gambler/investor decided to risk tooth and limb riding  through one of the most treacherous Monsoon short cruises.
Monday(12/8/2019) :- Woke up early as usual and today was my "Swimming Holiday" as well as  a public holiday being the Muslim festival of "Bakri-Idd" Hence  decided to ride to Lonavala as the rains had also  reduced in intensity .

View of Bhor Ghat on  Old Khandhala/Lonavala  Road

                                                                       We seafarers are default gamblers by profession as weather plays a important role in sailing the seas irrespective of a ship being built in 2019 or during the era of Vasco Da Gama ! At 0630 hrs drove out of  my building and fueled my tank at Prabhadevi petrol pump.It was a now familiar route  through the Mumbai -Pune highway  and encountered the worst crater pot-holes after crossing Panvel. Weather was excellent with no rain  but the pot-holes nearing Khopoli made me think twice of returning back to Mumbai.Realized my motorcycling skills were excellent thanks to daily cycling and with great skill made it to the inclined slopes of the Old Kandala Ghat route.

Follow "Arrow Indicator" to discover "Monsoon Lonavala"

                                                                              There was a slight drizzle on ascending the famed "Bhor Ghat" of the  Sahyadri mountain range (Western Ghats) .The greenery and cascading waterfalls on view was what the doctor recommended for my cure of "Writers Block" syndrome. Finally at 0830 hrs reached Lonavala main town located at a height of 625 meters (2050 ft) above sea level  , a feat that could give my hero Valentino.Rossi a complex in obstacle course motorcycling. On reaching  Lonavala city inquired of directions to Lonavala lake and was directed onto the right road which has "Sunils Wax Museum" as its landmark. Riding the entire length of  this road  led to all the major viewpoints of this tiny hill station of Mumbai city.
I will now give a pictorial essay of my travel motorcycle  cruise in Lonavala.

At 0845 hrs was at the scenic "Lonavala lake"  filled to the brim with monsoon rains . Swimming is strictly forbidden and there is a patrol guard  from "I.N.S Shivaji" to prevent tourists and locals from entering this vast lake that seems like a large swimming pool but dangerous to swim .During peak summer in April/May this entire lake is almost dry  which is unbelievable when viewing it at its maximum capacity.The lake vicinity is a excellent "Birder's" paradise during January and February as the lake dries up and a "Twitter(Birdwatcher)" can literally walk across the bed of this now overflowing Monsoon lake.Reminded me of the cool weather of Europe, cloudy with intermittent rainfall.

At 0920 hrs  riding a distance of  3.8 kms up the inclined hill highway from Lonavala lake  reached the famed signature tourist locale of "Monsoon Lonavala"  called the "BHUSHI DAM".This Dam was  built in the late 1860's on the Indrayani river  by the British  for the purpose of water supply to the steam engines of the "Great Indian Peninsular railway".The lake formed by this dam overflows over a series of steps during peak monsoon as seen in this photo and is a major tourist attraction .The lake created by Bhushi Dam is also used for power generation by the "Tata Power Co Ltd".

A view of "BHUSHI DAM" from a snack stall situated on the outside boundary of the steps. The gush of the flow of water is tremendous and although harmless  on viewing is extremely dangerous if a person slips on these slippery step as the force of the gushing water is tremendous. Lots of food stalls on either side of the dam steps for tourists .
NOTE :- THIS IS A SIGHT SEEN ONLY IN PEAK MONSOON SEASON 

From "Bhushi Dam" it was a long treacherous 7 kms  uphill drive  past the iconic "I.N.S Shivaji"  and a few pothole roads to "SHOOTING POINT".Encountered  thick fog which made driving conditions next  to impossible for a two-wheeler.Visibility was reduced to barely 25 meters  and adding to the visibility danger was a few potholes on the narrow mountain highway. Finally at 1100 hrs  in dense fog was at "SHOOTING POINT" in Khandala . The intensity of the fog can be imagined through this photograph reminding me of the "Hound of the Baskerviles" setting although this was not Dartmoor  in England but "Monsoon Lonavala" barely 90 kms from concrete jungle Mumbai.On a bright day  this locale offers a view of the Rajmachi fort and the flowering valley below.Numerous films have been shot in this locale and hence its name "SHOOTING POINT". But today i could barely see 100 meters away  and felt i was on a film shooting set of my favorite detective novel , "Hound of the Baskervilles" !

After a short walk around "Shooting Point " locale rode back towards Lonavala and just a short ride away came across the  entry gate of "TIGERS LEAP POINT" also called "LIONS POINT". The point got its name due to its shape of a pouncing tiger when viewed on a bright day.Entrance to the main park was closed to tourists as it had rained heavily a few days ago which posed a danger to tourists and i had experienced the same while riding my motorcycle up this inclined hill.Tourists including me entered the park by jumping over the small park barricade and once inside this was the only view visible in the thick mist and fog enveloping the entire hill terrain.I have photographed the main viewing platform for tourists and there is a sheer steep drop of  650 meters ahead in the mist. Barricades are erected along the boundary of this hill-top to prevent accidental falls. Strangely saw a brown coloured local stray dog sitting boldly at the edge of the precipice totally at peace with itself .Visibility was zero in the dense fog and a human or a animal could unwittingly walk into the mist thinking a path lay ahead and fall 650 meters below.This stray dog that understood and knew this foggy hill terrain and  although not a Great Dane breed eerily brought back memories of the "Hound of the Baskervilles". This point is famous for its Sunrise and Sunsets on clear days.

After the brief tour of "Tigers Leap Point" began my downhill ride back to Lonavala and en-route admired the scenic monsoon beauty of this tiny hill station. Greenery and lakes visible from the hill which would be a different topography in summer.

Finally at approximately 1200 hrs reached Lonavala  and had a photo shoot at  its iconic newly renovated railway station.Co-incidentally due to the heavy rains  in the past week the trains from Mumbai to  Pune were all cancelled  due to landslides near the approach to  Lonavala and hence arrived at Lonavala by motorcycle and not a train.The Pune to Lonavala local trains were functioning and a train had just arrived from Pune  bringing back memories of passing along this station numerous times when travelling on trains.The fastest time travel by train from Mumbai to Lonavala is by the 17017 Rajkot Junction Secunderabad Junction Express in 1 hr 33 mins while all the other trains take over 2 hrs .My Royal Enfield "Bullet 350 Black BS IV"  did it in under 2 hrs in extremely bad road conditions .During monsoons i advise travelers to use 4-wheeler vehicles or  either travel by train  or other public transport .Unless a "Adrenaline Junkie" like me its not worth the time ,money and trouble of travelling on a 2 wheeler to this unique monsoon hill station of Mumbai.Public transport is much cheaper and safer as also 4 wheeler private transport in a group.

From Lonavala Station decided to ride 35 Kms to Pawna lake as i presumed the road to be normal with the occasional Monsoon crater holes . After just 3 Kms of riding from Lonavala station on approaching Kusgaon village came across this road that had nothing but crater holes.Presumed that this obstacle course would be a short road torture but the entire length of this highway road was as shown in this photo.Parked my bike and  inquired about the condition of the road upto Pawna dam and to my horror was told that just 4 to 5 days back this entire village road of Kusgaon was submerged due to flooding  and hence the Moonscape topography.Ahoy !  I was not a contestant in a "BIG BOSS" cross country motorcycle obstacle race and  gambling common sense prevailed and  decided to call it quits cutting short my travel losses and headed back to Lonavala city .Was  also pleased that i had passed the "Motorcycle obstacle course" in Lonavala. Bizarre and true.

On returning back to Lonavala city after  the worst road ride in my life  stopped at "MAGANLAL CHIKKI" shop situated opposite Lonavala railway station.Since childhood  during all my travels by train or bus  my parents and later myself always purchased the famed "LONAVALA CHIKKI" sold by hawkers  on the trains  or bus rest stop restaurants. I was finally realizing my childhood dream of tasting  chikki prepared by the "Real McCoy" chikki inventors of Lonavala  which is the shop shown in the photo."Maganlal Chikki" has been in business since 1880 and  was the first chikki shop set up by Late Shree Bhewarji Agarrwal in the name of his son Maganlal.  The rest as they say is "Maganlal Chikki " history which now exports various types of "CHIKKI" to many Country's and also has other branded name competitors in the Chikki business.Tiny Lonavala  has numerous different Chikki shops. YES, THE CHIKKI HISTORY BEGAN FROM THIS TINY SHOP IN LONAVALA..

After purchasing" Maganlal Chikki" at approximately 1330 hrs began my homeward ride back to Prabhadevi in Mumbai. A view of the landmark "Sunil Wax Museum" which also houses a shopping complex and a McDonald's cafeteria. 

In the afternoon although cloudy the mist and fog had cleared offering a scenic view of the Sahyadri mountain range while descending the Bhor Ghat near Kandala. In the morning thick fog and mist had reduced road visibility to just 25 meters let alone panoramic mountain views from "Tigers Leap Point" and "Shooting Point" in Lonavala.

A stop on Bhor Ghat at Kandala and a photo shoot outside the landmark palatial "Bawa Villa" owned by hotelier Mr G.S.Bawa and having a panoramic view of the Sahyadri mountains.As a voracious writer/ reader  had read about this bungalow and  presumed this iconic Kandala bungalow was a "BIG BOSS" reality television set. Later realized it was the locale for the grand wedding of Bollywood actress Shilpa.Shetty bizarrely attained instant world wide fame in 2007 through her "BIG BROTHER " participation  in England which created a International uproar on racism .From being a normal  Bollywood actress Shilpa.Shetty became a overnight Worldwide sensation and later married one of the wealthiest Indian origin resident of England Mr Raj.Kundra. Their marriage in "Bawa Villa"  put this scenic bungalow onto the celebrity map.Today in 2019 Shilpa.Shetty is the poster model of the fitness Industry for women in India  creating awareness on the benefits of yoga and a natural food diet  with proof of  her ageless body statistics ."Big Brother" is the Americanized name of "Big Boss" in the Western World where the reality T.V series originated before being a mega hit in India under the licensee name "Big Boss .Hence the confusion in my memory bank ! From "Bawa Villa" it was a long steep descending inclined ride to Khopoli.

On reaching sea level in Khopoli  it was akin to experiencing "Jet lag" as there was  a abrupt change in weather with bright sunshine and  had to negotiate the same pothole moonscape after exiting Khopoli  .The highway after this short obstacle course road was excellent upto Panvel with me cruising at highway speeds and experiencing  occasional drizzles along the course.After exiting Vashi checkpost in New Bombay  there was a long traffic jam due to "Police Nakabandi".After passing through the Nakabandi checkpost it was a pleasant ride to home in Prabhadevi which also houses the iconic sea facing bungalow "Beach House" owned by the Old World Industrialist Wadia family of "Bombay Dyeing" fame .This short obstacle ride to Lonavala and back home to Mumbai broke my "Fear Barrier" of "Potholes" and boy am i ageing as a motorcyclist like "Old Wine in a New bottle".