Sula Vineyard trip

                “Wine is a drink that should start and end with a smile”, a thought aptly put across by William Sokolin. Maharashtra presently flaunts its own winery, the famed Sula Vineyards at Nashik. Situated at a distance of 180 kilometers from Mumbai city, Nashik fitted an ideal destination for the weekend traveler looking to dwell into a variety of sweet, dry, tasty wines at the winery. 1997, was the birth of the winery and in a period of 14 years till date, has grown to be the largest wine player in Indian market and a recognizable brand worldwide.

                 Initially, the plan was made for visiting the town of ‘Igatpuri’. As we approached closer to the date of travel, we realized Sula Vineyard is an hour away to the north of Igatpuri. Since none of us had been to Sula earlier, the plan was readily agreed. A weekend road trip to the cool, hilly climate of ‘Nashik’ with wines at our disposal to taste, in the midst of the rainy season were reasons enough for 4 of my friends to gear up and leave for Nashik on the 14^th of August, 2011. It was a rare long weekend for us, one that extended onto a Monday as it was a national Holiday being Independence Day; 15^th of August, 2011. The trip was the one of the easiest to plan, considering the distance to be covered and secondly, the transport; Shishir’s car, serviced and readily available for the drive. A gleaming, fully serviced, mean looking ‘Maruti 800’.

                The day was bright and sunny, a complete contrast of the season in which we decided to travel. But, nevertheless, Clive and Jude met Shishir at Vile Parle, who took out his car and picked me up from ‘Chembur’ at 10.30 AM. Thereafter, a non-stop ride by the Eastern Expressway until ‘Kalyan’, whereby a quick check-up of the car tyres was needed. Continuing ahead, we stuck to National Highway 3 (NH-3) via ‘Vasind’ and ‘Shahapur’ towns rather than via ‘Murbad’ town. This was primarily because the NH-3 route was quicker in reaching the destination than NH-222. The enthusiasm of taking the Murbad route was eminent, but upon realization of the route being lengthier, opted for the former. NH-3 didn’t disappoint with slight drizzle just as we hit the ghats/ climb section. 

                    Beautiful roads with scenic views kept us on the edge throughout the drive. We passed the town ‘Igatpuri’ and stopped for a quick lunch at a highway joint around 50 kms prior to our destination. Lunch with a couple of beers prior to the wines was ideal way to start off the trip. Proper signboards are put up to reach the place, though it isn’t exactly close to the city. 

                 Sula Vineyards is not a place that is known amongst the locals. Muted responses were aplenty. Rephrasing it as an alcohol manufacturing joint helped convey the message across to them. It’s a straight road along NH-3 until you pass “Moharir Ford showroom” on your right and “Hotel gateway” on your left. At that junction, a left turn needs to be taken leaving NH-3 and joining State Highway No 27 (SH-27). Approximately 8-10 kilometers down the road, another left turn needs to be taken when you pass “Shakti mining Equipments Private Limited” on your left. A right turn needs to be taken again after 1 km. Continuing forward for approximately 5 kms, a left needs to be taken. Here, you will notice the change in surroundings as you start passing a lot of vineyards on either side. The scenic paradise with slight drizzle amongst the hills was the best mix of weather and nature. The thought of tasting some good old wine was exciting, atleast in this weather. The driver of the car needs to be really careful with the narrow bumpy roads and most importantly watching out for drivers who are on their way back, all boozed up. An unfortunate incident when a speeding “Tavera” car travelling at 60kms/hr in those narrow roads hit the mirror on the driver’s side and was completely shattered. 

                We finally reached the place at 3.00 PM. The place was bustling with the weekend travelers, music and lot of wine flowing. Finding a suitable parking spot was a tough task. Once inside, we immediately hit the counter for two bottles of wine. The cost, as expected, was much lesser than what we would pay at Mumbai or at a retail wine shop. Quite a variety of wines were available and being an amateur wine drinker made that choice a little difficult. We decided on "Sula Chenin Blanc" and "Sula Mosiac Chenin Sauvignon", both being white wines and the cost being in the range between Rs. 200/- and Rs. 300/- each. We tasted the "Madera" wine as well. Cheese and fruits with the wine was a perfect blend. A wine cellar threw light on the variety of wines available, the process of brewing and the successful launch of Sula in 1997. 

                      A vineyard tour for Rs. 250/- was available between 11.00 AM and 4.30 PM, but was sold out for the day due to the heavy number of people who had already enrolled themselves for the 14^th August, 2011. The wide open balcony provided a clear, unobstructed view of a section of the vineyard. We ended up having quite a bit of wine and it was an experience to savour. With the evening light diminishing rapidly and nightfall imminent, we left to search for accommodation for the night, with a heavy heart but, quite happy. Wanted to spend more time, but finding accommodation was the next priority.

                 We headed towards Nashik town as that was the best bet considering the time involved in travelling and the cost involved. We tried our luck at a couple of hotels/ lodges just on the outskirts of the city. “Hotel Annapoorna” was decided at first, but seemed difficult to locate. Ultimately reaching the hotel, the caretaker was adamant on not letting us stay claiming it was booked out. The hotel/ lodge though wasn’t out of the ordinary, but definitely gave the creeps with not a soul in sight. Moving on, we found a highway joint with a decent room to stay for the night. It wasn’t a surprise that couple of the guys dozed off as soon as they hit the bed after a tiring and enjoyable day. On the eve of our country's Independence Day, it was relaxing to watch the movie “Sholay” before dozing for the night. A tired, and lazy Monday, 15^th of August, 2011 beckoned us for the return trip back to Mumbai. Quickly, all of us headed back to Mumbai with the rains imminent and certain other commitments for the rest of the day.

                The ghats provided the extra thrill with visibility of not more than 10 meters and heavy rains. A quick breakfast and we reached Mumbai at 12.30 PM. An exciting weekend road trip successfully done and complete enjoyment. Costing was minimal as the car was my friend’s and so only fuel cost was divided which came to Rs. 500/- per head. Wine expenses came to Rs. 300/- per head for quite a bit of wine divided amongst 4 of us. Room rent was minimal at Rs. 600/- a night. Breakfast, lunch and other sundry expenses can be added or adjusted according to your requirements. We parceled a couple of wines for home. Never was a wine connoisseur, and still wouldn’t say I am! A truly enjoyable experience and lots to savour. Cheers!

Kolad white water rafting

In the words of Robert Louis Stevenson “I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel’s sake. The great affair is to move.” With this thought, the two public leaves that were available to us back-to-back during the last week of August provided a time to retrospect on which activity to indulge in and the place to travel to. A trek seemed an amazing option, but was immediately stroked out due to the possibility of other interesting options.

Activities such as trekking, as mentioned above, waterfall rappelling, road trip were given a thought. But, the best part was an activity zeroed upon, which was always on top of my bucket list, was to raft. White water rafting; the name does give out its usual fearful questions and the most accompanying questions of ‘What ifs?’ followed mostly the unaware one such as ‘Is it possible in Maharashtra?’

Kolad, a small fishing township located on the beautiful, scenic Konkan strip of Maharashtra. It falls on the Mumbai Goa National Highway No. 17. Located at a distance of approximately 150 kms from Mumbai gives it a feel of a not so strenuous road trip as well as providing for some exhilarating white water rafting experience. The plan didn’t take long to be finalized upon as none of our group had rafted earlier.

We contacted ‘Sai Farms’, a beautiful scenic resort off Kolad for a day package keeping in mind the weather and a place to recuperate before heading back to the city. August 31^st was the day when our group started the trip by car at around 3.30 AM from Malad. Enroute, a couple of my friends and myself alighted at Chembur and headed towards the national highway. The odd hour is one that is very much necessary mainly for two reasons; the distance to be covered and a sumptuous breakfast awaiting us at the resort and secondly the rapids at Kolad are not of a natural source, but by manual intervention. Rapids here are generated when the dam to the ‘Kundalika’ river is opened up dedicatedly each morning at 9.00 AM. This excess water flow generates rapids of Grade 3 along the 20kms river stretch.

Initial plan was to travel by train or ST bus, but after substantial coordination with the resort owners and online forums, I came to realize that a hired vehicle would fall cheaper than actually travelling by public transport. This is because the stretch from the railway station or ST bus stand to the resort, stretch from the resort to the rafting start point which is around 20 kms, to head back to the rafting start point after the rafting experience to gather our luggage and to head back to the resort would each result in rickshaw travel with a fare of approximately Rs. 400-500/- each way. This would mean Rs. 1600-2000/- just being expended for travelling within the location. Hired car gives us the comfort of having our own vehicle to commute as well as not running against time which is a major factor coming back to Mumbai after a day’s travel.

‘Innova’ car was what was chosen for the travel and an excellent car with 6 of my friends this time and the driver. All our enthusiasm was cut short when we got stuck in traffic at ‘Penn’ village for more than an hour between 6.00 AM to 7.15 AM. Thoughts of actually not reaching the rafting site on time were fast becoming a reality with the traffic mainly due to the chaos of people exiting Mumbai for the two day mini holiday. Two public holidays back-to-back ‘Ramzan Id’ and ‘Ganesh Chaturthi’ was enough reason for the mass exodus of people. Rafting, as instructed to us, would sharply begin at 9.00 AM due to the dam opening time and missing the deadline would mean missing the activity altogether. Vague rumours were floating all around with cops posted on the roads informing us that the traffic extended all the way to ‘Ratnagiri’. Traffic eased down completely once we passed ‘Wadkal Naka’ which was around 8.30 AM. Bucking up speed, we reached the venue latest by 10.30 AM. Since, it was a public holiday, we were informed that the dam would be opened up in two phases; one at 7.30 AM and the other at 11.00 AM. I would count us to be lucky to catch the 2^nd cut-off timing for the day on time.

A quick 20 minute safety gear and rafting rules alongwith our rafting instructor; Mr. Amar got us all excited as we finally boarded the raft and out onto the calm stream before the storm. Quick team shout and last minute reminders and we were off. Initially, everything seemed calm and some of us were getting a bit fidgety. This was because of the considerable heat that was bearing down upon us. A while later, everything was mayhem; right at the centre of rapids and one of my friends and myself being at the head of the raft were going at it. Huffs, puffs, instructor shouting out instructions, you would grapple to just sit relaxed and enjoy the view. We knew what to expect and we were right in the epicentre. A sudden rain storm took over and made the rafting that much more exciting. Mr. Amar quickly acknowledged that we were the most vocal group that day, with constant innovative team chants; primarily to keep us calm and dedicated and secondly to intimidate the other rafts of our presence.

Unique way of remembering the rapids that we covered were that all were named. Names such as ‘Fisherman’s Clove’, ‘Morning Headache’ and ‘Johnny Walker’ were assigned based on their difficulty. It was not much of a surprise that ‘Johnny Walker’ was the toughest of them all. ‘Morning Headache’ also preceded the rapid ‘Johnny Walker’. Keeping the raft in control was a big difficulty with quick continuous rafting. Credit of control of the raft should be truly given to our instructor Mr. Amar, who has been employed at Kolad only for the last 4 months, prior to which he used to raft on the rapids at Manali and Rishikesh which are of Grades 5 and 5+. Rafting, as he put it, requires a sense of calm and determination, losing any one results in the whole purpose of rafting being lost. As a neutral, I would never recommend white water rafting as an adventure sport, but for only those who look for that extra tinge of adventure and excitement. The final leg of 2-3 kms of the stretch, our group decided to swim with the strong current as a measure of relaxation and dwelling on what we experienced.

Reaching the place is quite easy though. You have to reach Panvel and hit the Mumbai- Goa national highway. You have to pass ‘Karnala Bird Sanctuary’. A left turn at ‘Wadkal Naka’ puts you on a straight route towards Goa. Various factories would be passed en route such as the ‘Johnson and Johnson’, ‘Jindal Plants’, and ‘Reliance’ over a distance of 30 kms. Ghats section of approximately 2 kms would be encountered after which the village ‘Khamb’ would be passed. ‘Kolad’ is the village to reach. Post ‘Kolad’, at a distance of around 1.5- 2 kms, a green signboard on the left hand side which reads ‘Pune-117 kms’ and ‘Vilhe- 21 kms’ would be sighted. At this juncture, you would need to take a left and head towards ‘Vilhe’ village which is at a distance of 21 kms. Immediately, on taking the left from the highway, would you pass a railway crossing. Moving forward, at the end of 21 kms at the village centre, a right needs to be taken and ‘Hotel Deep Sahyadri’ would be spotted on the right hand side which is next to the office of ‘White Water Rafting’. The direction to reach the resort would be tracing back to ‘Khamb’ village. Post ‘Khamb’ village’, at a distance of 1.5 kms, a left needs to be taken and red signboards of ‘Namrata Garden’ would be noticed. 8 of these signboards would need to be passed. The signboards are pretty illustrative in this region and keeping a watch out for the smallest of signboards is mandatory. 5 kms of travel and a signboard which reads ‘Dr. farms or Sai farms- 1 km right turn’ needs to be taken.

Overall, the experience was exhilarating and high adrenaline pumping one. Keeping in view that a person is closest to nature at these resorts; cell network coverage is very poor to not having any network at all. Other activities such as ‘Kayaking’ are also carried out on the river. My next target would be conquering the rapids up north in India. An exciting day finally comes to an end when we reach back to the city at 11.00 PM.

Total Cost per head:

Rafting: Rs. 1200.00 (Cost could vary- seasonal)

Day room package with food: Rs. 500.00 (Cost could vary- seasonal)

Hired car: Rs. 12.00 per kilometer (Cost could vary)

It would approximately come to Rs. 2200.00 to Rs. 2400.00 per head.

Ganpati Garad trek notes

In the quote of Jeff Rasley “You got to get lost before you can be found”, the same applies to this wonderful place that we decided to trek and explore on the 23^rd of July, 2011. The planning started when the rains decided to open up in the city of Mumbai over the entire week; the excitement of trekking was too strong to resist.

Two days later, four of us were on our way to this wonderful place called Ganpati Garad. A place situated approximately 2.5 hours from Kalyan station in Mumbai. A discreetly located place, not frequented by many people, that piqued my interest when I stumbled upon a couple of snaps put up by some trekkers. Not many blogs are available online pertaining to this trek. The trek is comparatively easy to complete, but reaching the place via public transport is a strain considering there is no direct transport to reach the base village ‘Sonavle’. Private transport at your disposal to do this trek would be a boon considering the distance to be covered and the time taken to travel the same.

Four of my friends decided to trek Ganpati Garad and all of us decided to meet up at Kalyan station at 7.00 AM. Two of them camped out at Chembur as it wasn’t feasible to travel from Malad to Kalyan by the early morning trains. Reaching Kalyan, we were greeted by a small drizzle that was enough to remind and check the packing of our stuff and electronic equipment, though that consisted only of the cellular phone.

The starting point for our trek was Kalyan bus depot, which is right outside Kalyan station. From here, State Transport buses (ST buses) to Murbad are available. Buses are very frequent to Murbad and with a fare of Rs. 24/- and a travelling time of approximately one hour, it is an awesome way to catch up on a quick nap or to revel in the scenic village views once the bus leaves the town limits. From Murbad, share rickshaws; named ‘Tum Tum’ are available to the village called ‘Mhasa’, fare being Rs. 12/- for a distance of 20 kms. Tum Tum’s are these wide rickshaws running on diesel having a cramped up capacity of 15 people on the inside. A third changeover onto a private vehicle; ‘Sumo’ car; operating as a cab in ‘Mhasa’ will take you all the way to the village ‘Dhasai’. The driver of this car ferries kids who hang on the outside of the private vehicle, trying to return home after school. Direct ST buses are available from Murbad to Dhasai, but lack of clarity on the time of bus and time constraint, we decided for the former route. Mhasa to Dhasai takes about 30 mins with a fare of about Rs. 25/- for a distance of 12kms. Since we were pressed for time, mainly for the time we still had to cover up and secondly, due to the number of people still to take their seats (11 more people; total capacity was 15 people in a ‘Sumo’ for each trip) before the driver starts his trip; we decided to hire the entire cab agreeing to pay Rs. 250/- to the driver to take us up to Dhasai. The sights of Sudhagad and Naneghat, all flash across menacingly when travelling from ‘Mhasa’ to ‘Dhasai’.]The final leg from ‘Dhasai’ to the base village ‘Sonavle’ is at a distance of 7 kms and covered in 20 mins approximately by a ‘Tum Tum’ for a fare of Rs. 10/-.

Once at the base village, the caves of Ganpati Garad can be viewed giving an indication of the place where we were headed to finally. Some of the villagers warned us about the trek route indicating that there were quite a many rogue paths leading into the forest and it wasn’t a difficult way to actually wander off track unless we knew the path perfectly. This threw us into a tentative and speculative meeting at the end of which we decided to go in for a guide. The decision to not hire a guide was made instantly when the charge of Rs. 200/- was quoted to us.

The trek through the village finally started at about 11.40 AM with a possible time frame of 1 hour to 1.5 hours to reach the caves. Though, the caves were our destination, it was situated at a height of only 1/4^th the size of the mountain. This mountain according to locals needs a full 1 day of trekking by a different route all together with a small village located on top. Coming back to the trek, it started wonderfully; cloudy skies throughout our journey, walking through rice paddy fields, and the seemingly unknown task of trying to figure out the trek route in front of us. It was wonderful for the trek to finally materialize from a possible group of 12 people to finally end with up with 4! It was a trek of firsts for a couple of reasons as well. One of our friends was coming with us for the trek for the 1^st time and secondly, the trek was not the top of the cliff, but 6-7 caves located on the face of the mountain.

Legend has it that the caves used to accommodate Luv and Khush, the two sons of Lord Rama. Shivaji Maharaj in his pursuit to have an exit strategy in place for contingencies built a tunnel from the back side of the cave temple all the way to somewhere close to Pune. This tunnel, though, has been blocked and unfrequented. Considering that only about 4-5 groups of trekkers carry out this trek a year gave us a sense of pride as well as optimism. Pride for being amongst the lucky few and Optimism for the trek and the challenges that lie ahead.

Luckily for us, we came across a village boy named Mr. Yogesh who was herding his cattle and agreed to take us to the foothill giving us a clearer picture of the route to take to reach the caves successfully. He was kind enough to not charge us for the effort. But, as a token of appreciation, we did provide him a bit of cash. Continuing ahead, our endeavours of ‘Chasing the monsoons’ was becoming a kind of cumbersome task with no rains in either of our earlier treks. This was just before the rains decided to finally open up. The trek seemingly became easier to carry out once the rains started. The path was easy at first until the foothill and then, it turned into a gradual climb and a steep climb for the entire distance. Though, the distance is approximately 1000 feet above sea level, the views and the streams we had to cross and the final ledge walking just before reaching the caves gave us enough steam to believe that this trek though easy, was challenging enough. The site of a massive waterfall falling right across the face of our cave greeting us was simply fabulous. ‘Nature has its own ways!’ one could have added. The very idea that this trek was not frequented by many trekkers also got us involved close to nature in this beautiful season with only the sounds of nature to communicate with. The scene from the movie ‘Apocalypto’ will definitely be worth a mention.

The path to the caves was a bit tricky, but we always kept to the right. Passing two beautiful streams could be considered landmarks to consider that right route is being followed. Trekking during a dry weather wouldn’t be recommended, but a beautiful trek nevertheless to complete. The caves; a total number of around 7-8 are small and tricky. But, one cave which is the temple is massive and spacious and is regularly swept clean by the villagers.

Resting for a while after soaking in the sights from the caves, we had to leave back down considering the last ‘Tum Tum’ from the base village to Dhasai was at 4.00 PM. Though, this was a slight bother, we needed to reach the village on time. On our way down, the sight of rain and a small waterfall, changed our plans and in a jiffy all of us were in that waterfall. We were still halfway down at 4.30 PM when we decided that camping out at the village in case we miss our transport wasn’t a bad idea considering the next day was Sunday. But, as all our trek winds up, we lost our way, thanks to one of my friend who took a seemingly known wrong turn expecting us to lead us to original path quickly. Instead, it lead us deep into the forest in double quick time. In this, we also crossed an extra stream twice. With the rains now lashing, daylight on its fag end and no torch or light available with us, we bucked up our speed to reach the dam of Sonavle village. Once crossing this dam, we came across a farmer who pointed us that we were on the right track; just had taken the alternative route and had to just follow the road down. We reached the village at 6.00 PM to find one villager waiting for the ‘Tum Tum’ to take us back to ‘Dhasai’.

From ‘Dhasai’ we caught another ‘Tum Tum’ that took us straight to ‘Murbad’, from where an ST bus to Kalyan. An eventful and tiring day but worth the effort and the time involved. The trek, if being done would be easier if you start very early in the morning considering the distance and the change of transport to finally reach the village.

A beautiful one day trek, approximately 2.5 hours from Kalyan, away from the hustle and bustle of the city with a 1.5 hour trek is a complete stress buster and worth a recommendation to each one and all.

Trek Start point and route: Kalyan bus depotà Murbadà Mhasaà Dhasaià Sonavle

Base Village: Sonavle

The Total costs: Rs. 200 - Rs. 250/- per head (Based on the transport we ferried by-From Kalyan depot)