Travelogue of Maharashtra esp Chikhaldara, Lonar, Ajanta, Ellora and Aurangabad

23.10.11

we started very early in the morning as we had to board the 6.15 am Geetanjali express. So got up at 4 am, and we were out of the house by 4.45 am. We reached Dadar comfortably and in 15 mins, Geetanjali express arrived. We got into our compartment and into our seat. We were a bit hungry now so had our food, and promptly went to sleep. The train was chugging along. We got up at aroound 12 in the noon, and then on were trying to sleep but could not. Our destination was Shegoan, which was supposed to arrive at 2.30 pm. So we were playing games and passing our time, which quickly passed. The train reached Shegoan at right time.

We got off the train and took an autorickshaw to the temple. The autorikshaw person dropped us near Bhakt Niwas, which is where all the pilgrims stay. As were also on a pilgrimage, we too decided to stay here. We went to the office which is at Bhakt Niwas bldg no 5. There we had to fill up the form, and was allotted a room in Bhakt Niwas bldg no 6. We settled in our room and after refreshing ourselves decided to go to the temple.

The darshan at the temple was quick. This temple is built in the memory of Gajanan Maharaj, who was a saint in early 20^th century. The best part of this temple and the hostel is it is a spic and span place. There are hundreds of volunteers who are always cleaning the temple premises and the hostel premises. The rooms that we were staying were also a very clean and freshly painted. We were told that the cleaning volunteers are from the Shegoan town and work for free. The place where we keep footwear is also free. It is prominently written everywhere that one should not try to bribe anyone. Over all it a well managed place where you really feel soothing. No bribery, no priest running around you to perform some pooja, nothing, but pure serenity. I had heard about this place, but experienced it first hand about its holiness.

After the darshan, we decided to go to Anand Sagar. It is a vast garden built by the temple trust which is around 4-5 km away from the temple. There is a regular bus service which is run free of cost, and takes us to to Anand Sagar. So we were at Anand Sagar, got a ticket which costed us Rs 90/- for all four of us. Once we entered we saw a large statue of the Saint Gajanan Maharaj. And surrounding that was saints of different places and religion. Here too the place was clean and well maintained. Then we went to aquarium. When we came out of aquarium, we saw a toy trains and kids wanted to have a fun ride. We did so, and then went to an open air auditorium where musical fountain is played

It was 7pm and we were all tired. So we got into the bus again, got down at the Bhakt Niwas. Food was available at the canteens of the trust. In one canteen a thali was available at Rs 20/- and in other it was available at Rs 40/-. We decided to have a thali of Rs 40/-. As always this canteen was also super clean, and the food was also served in a squeaky clean plate. The food was a bit spicy, but we had it. Bottled water was available at Rs 8 only. The entire thing was run on an non profit basis and was still very well kept. We retired for the day

24.10.11

We got up early, and after having breakfast were ready to go back to Anand Sagar. We got in the bus, and in 20 mins were at Anand Sagar.. So today we had almost the entire day with us at this place. We started with a view at the open air theatre. Saw the various statues of great Indian warriors here. From then on we went to Dwarka Bet, a small island created to replicate Dwarka. We had some ice-creams here, and were on the was to Dhyan Mandir. This is a replica of Swami Vivekanand smarak at Kanyakumari, but without the statue of Swamiji. It has a wonderful place for meditation. We meditated for some time and were back on trail. Form then on we went to have our meals. Here too food was available at Rs 20 only and water for Rs 8 only. After having the meals we relaxed in a tent created for relaxation with a chatai and pillows provided free of cost. After some time of relaxation we were at the play park where the kids were frolicking there time out. They were having a blast on the different play things and we were just keeping a watch. Now it was also evening and at 7 pm the musical fountain was supposed to start. We all went to the open air auditorium to have a view of the spectacle. It was a wonderful experience, was one of the best musical fountains we have seen, and we saw many in this vacation. This show was over in 15 minutes, and we were out to get into the bus. But now there was a large crowd waiting for the same. So we decided to take an autorikshaw to our room. It costed us Rs 5 per seat to get there. We were in a hurry because the next day we had a train to board at 5.30 am, and hence had to get up at 4 am. We had food and were quickly into the bed, retired for the day.

25.10.2010

We got up early at 4 am. After getting ready to go to that station, we checked out of the Bhakt Niwas. We hired an Autorikshaw to go to the railway station. On reaching Shegoan Railway Station we waited for some time. After the train arrived we boarded it and were soon fast asleep. The train reached Amravati at around 8 am. We quickly proceeded to the bus stand and got a bus to Paratwada. This is a town which is close to Chikhaldara. We reached Paratwada at 9.30, but there was no bus to Chikhaldara till 10.30am. So we waited and passed our time playing games. When the bus arrived at 10.30, we boarded it and were soon on the way to Chikhaldara. We were at Chikhaldara at around 12 noon. Then on we searched for good hotels and finally settled for Pundalik Niwas,(Phone 9011871774), which is a MTDC approved stay. It has a nice homely atmosphere.  On checking in we had our food and though to relaxing for some time. We thought of going for a stroll and exploring Chikhaldara on foot. We went to the Forest Garden which is  a walking distance. We had some fun there, and it was dusk now. We retracted and went to the Chikhaldara Information centre. There were some fantastic photos displayed here. By now it was pretty dark. We went back to the stay, and asked the owner if he can arrange for a vehicle to go to the Melghat forest, and all the points in and around Chikhaldara. Mr Pundalik took us to a vehicle owner and Rs 2000 were decided for a two day getaway in his Tata Sumo.

We had our food and retired for the day

26.10.2011

On getting up we had our bath, had a full breakfast, and were in the Vehicle for a spin in the Melghat forest. In this time of the year it is a lush green forest. The forest is made up of Teak trees. We saw a huge Owl, but it flew away before we could shoot a photo. Then on we went to Kolkaj, which is a small place in Melghat forest. It has a wonderful forest rest house. If we had known, we would have booked this place for our stay. Well, we went to a small machan, which is a watch tower, to keep a watch on wild animals. We had a few photographs there. There is a small shack which cooks food for the visitors. We had a wonderful lemon tea there. We were back in to the vehicle. The driver took us to place where Jungle Safari starts. It is closed in this season, and was supposed to open in December. We just had a glimpse of the same, and were back in the vehicle. From there on we went to Semadoh, which is a small place in Melghat forest. They had all the numbers where we could book the Jungle cottage to stay, and other useful information.

But the staffs were a bit non cooperative as they didn’t open up the museum there for us to see. They said it opens at 3 pm, and it was a bit quirky, so to say the least. After taking a look at the place we were back into the vehicle. The driver was now supposed to take us to some points at Chikhaldara. The points were good, were not so extraordinary to talk about.

Today was Laxmi Poojan, a very auspicious day in Diwali, and we had a problem. All the hotel there were closed and we were wondering what to have for dinner. We talked with a few people there and found out that someone prepare Tiffin here. We contacted him and he was ready to prepare Tiffin for us. We don’t know his name but his phone no is 9175603376. He prepared food according to our liking, and we were happy having it. Then we took a stroll in the Chikhaldara town, and took photographs of the beautiful Rangoli that was drawn in front of almost all houses. Now it was late, and we were in our bed.

27.10.2011

Today we had to have a look at the fort at Chikhaldara. The fort is Gavilgad fort. So we got ready in the morning and were in the vehicle on the way top the fort. On the way we stopped at the Devi Point, which has a wonderful temple and a small stream that flows adjacent to it. When we entered the temple, water was dripping from everywhere. This temple is in a cave. It has a wonderful scenic view. From then on we went to the Gavilgad fort.

Gavilgad fort is all ruins with a few notable structures remaining inside. We could not hire a guide as no guide was available as it was a New Year day of Diwali. We just roamed inside, walked almost for an hour, but there were no tourist around, and we were very lonely. We were back at the gate of this fort in one and a half hour, and called our driver of the vehicle. He came, picked us up and dropped to our hotel. We relaxed for some time and then went to a small lake at Chikhaldara where there is boating facility. But after hearing some horror stories of the boats, just enjoyed the scene of the lake, instead of riding a boat. In some time, after taking some photos, we were back to our hotel. Having had the dinner, we were fast asleep, as had to get up at 5 pm. The first bus from Chikhaldara to Paratwada was at 6 am.

28.10.11

Having got up at 5 am, we were ready to go. The bus was at right time, and we were in it at 6 am. The bus was to Amravati, and we decided to go to Amravati, and then on get into the bus to Hingoli We were at Amravati in 2 hours time. From there we got into a bu to Washim, as direct bus to Hingoli was not available anytime soon. In 2 hours we were at Washim. It was almost 11 am now, and the bus stand as it was bhau beej in Diwali. We has to let go 2 buses to Hingoli, but struggle to get into the third bus. It was a one and a half hour drive, and the journey was fairly comfortable. Once at Hingoli, I called my relative on phone, and he picked us up from there. For that day and for the next day we were stay put at there residence, hence would not like to elaborate on it.

30.10.11

Today was our plan to go to Lonar. We got into a bus to Risod. From Risod, we took another bus to Lonar. We got down at Lonar, and straight away proceeded by an autorikshaw to the place where we could walk down to Lonar Lake. We walked down to Lonar Lake and it was a breath taking scenery. The water was all green, and we walked down to the temple of Kamljadevi Temple at Lonar. We had some refreshment there, the ones we were carrying, and without polluting the environment in any way, were back to where we started. We went to temple of Gomukh, from where the water was flowing down into Lonar Lake. This place was also called as Kada. We were there for some time and were back to bus stand. We missed on Daityasudan Surya temple, as we really didn’t know about it. It is said to be a mini replica of Khajuraho temple. Once into the bus, we were on our way to Buldhana, as Ajanta was close from there. It was late evening and getting dark when we reached Buldhana, and decided to call it a day here. It was a bad decision, as we could not get a single decent Hotel here, and the food too was very pathetic.  But we had so spent our night here, which we did.

31.10.11

Early in the morning we were on the bus to Ajanta. But once in the bus the conductor told us that it was Monday today and Ajanta was closed. The bus left us on the highway to Aurangabad, and soon we were on the bus to Aurangabad. By mis noon we were at Aurangabad, and checked into the room at 1.30 pm. The hotel where we checked in was Hotel Sai Plaza. We hired a room there for Rs 600/- only. The rooms were decent, with a large 32 inch TV, but the owner was a big fussy guy. He was so fussy that we stayed there for three days still he refused to keep our luggage for a few hours and demanded some more money as Cloak charges. I thought it was very mean and unprofessional on his part, so would caution regarding the same.

Once we checked into the room, we thought of what to do. We had the entire day to our disposal and nothing to do, as wife’s mommy and day were to arrive the next day, and we had planned and outing with them. So just roamed around, relaxed and went to be.

1.11.11

Today Ellora was closed, as it closed on Tuesday, and my MIL and FIL were supposed to come by around 2 pm. So on kids insistence, watched Ra one in a theatre close by. As the movie ended, it was almost 1 pm. We went to our room, and relaxed for an hour. In an hour MIL and FIL arrived. We had our lunch and quickly got into a bus to Paithan. The road to Paithan was really bad and a journey that should take one and a half hour took us two and a half hour.

On reaching Paithan we went straight to the temple of Saint Eknath Maharaj. It is a wonderful place with lot of history attached to it. There is a beautiful Godavari flowing behind, and that adds to the serenity of the place. From there on we went to the place where Saint Dyaneshwar made Ox to recite Vedas. This place is also called as Nag Ghat, and again a very serene place. On the way back we also went to the place where Saint Eknath lived which is now converted into  a temple. From there on we went to the Garden at Paithan. It is a huge garden with fountains, and a musical fountain show is held at 7 pm. We watched this musical fountain show, with a puppet show, and then were back into the bus to Aurangabad. On reaching Aurangabad, we had our food and retired for the day.

2.11.2011

Today was our plan to visit Ellora, and other places in Aurangabad. We had hired an Aurorickshaw for Rs 650 for 4 of us, another one at the same cost for MIL and FIL. He was supposed to take us to all the important places in Aurangabad. So we started with Daulatabad Fort, also called ad Devgiri Fort. It is a wonderful fort, almost like the red fort of Agra, but not as grand. We had a look at the Bharat Mata temple, the minar, Andheri Gupha, or dark alley, chini Mahal, the palace of Nizam, and Bardari of a palace with twelve doors at the summit of the fort. There is also the Samadhi of  Janardhan Swami who was known to be the guru of Saint Eknath.

From there on we were back in to the Autorikshaw. We went to Bhadra Maruti Temple, where Hanuman is seen as sleeping. This temple has a beautiful mirror work all around and is like a sheesh Mahal. From there on we went to Grishneshwar temple which is a very holy place and one of the 12 Jyotirlings. Dedicated to lord Shiva, is has intricate carvings on the inside and outside. After visiting this place we were on our way to Ellora. We were just eager to see this great place which is a world heritage site. We went straight to the cave 16 which is the best and most elaborate cave in the entire Ellora. We spent almost 2 hours in this one cave alone. This temple is carved out of a mountain and was constructed from up to down. That also means that the entire complex is in one piece stone. With the carvings depicting Ramayana on one side and Mahabharata from the other, it is one of the wonders of the world, how such grand structure was conceptualized and then made almost 1200 years a go. It took almost 200 years for this grand structure to be made. It is really very surprising, that the artisan with very rudimentary tools could accomplish such a beautiful art form and that too spanning around 200 years, which means almost 8 to 10 generations. This is a true masterpiece that would make any Indian proud of its heritage. Then we quickly saw all the other caves some of which are good, and some of it, in bad shape.  There are some Buddhist caves and some Jain caves. Cave no 32 is also a good one, and not to be missed. A photo journey can be taken by visiting the picassa site. Now it was late and we were back to our place. Next day was allotted to Ajanta.

3.11.2011

As Ajanta is around 100 kms away from Aurangabad, we decided to an early morning bus, so that we can reach early and have enough time to have a look at the world famous caves. So we started early, and reached the foot hills of the caves. He had some meals here, and proceeded in the government bus to Ajanta. On reaching Ajanta, we started to have a look at one cave after another. Because of the deterioration of the paintings in the caves, a very low intensity light is focused in the caves. It takes some time to get adjusted to this light, but once adjusted it becomes easy to enjoy the spectacle. The local caretaker of the cave can be hired as a guide at a very nominal cost and he gives a very interesting piece of information. The best mural paintings are found in cave no 1, 2, 16, 17, and 19. The best sculptures are found in cave no 1, 4, 17, 19, 24 and 26. These caves are seen to be believed, so without elaborating on it, I would conclude the day here. We got a bus from the foot hills of Ajanta back to Aurangabad and soon were in the comforts of our room.

4.11.2011

Today was the day when we had a train at night at 11.45 pm. So we had our entire day at our disposal. We started at around 9 am after having our breakfast and visited the Pan chakki, a Water mill build by a Muslim saint some 33 years back. From there on we went so see Bibi Ka Makbara, a mini Taj Mahal, built by the son of Aurangzeb in the memory of his mother. It is a nice structure, but if you compare it to Taj Mahal, if is a very simple structure. But it is considered to be one of its kind structure in Deccan Region. By 12 in the noon we were free and came back to our room. We had to check out from the room at 2 pm, so we relaxed for some time. At 2 pm we checked out, and went to the Siddharth Udyan, which is next to the Central bus Stand. This is a zoo and a garden. So we went there, and MIL and FIL taking care of our luggage, went to have a look at the Zoo. The zoo is nice with Leopards, Lions, and Tigers in it. The tigers and Lions are kept in open enclosure, so it is nice to see them frolicking. We had a nice look at these animals and were there till 5 pm. At 5 pm, the zoo was closed and we came to the park. We had fun in the park till 8 pm, till the time of closing of the park. Once the park closed, we went to a restaurant to have food, and then proceeded to the railway station. We waited for our train, and once it arrived we into it and back to our favourite place our SWEET HOME.

Thus ended our wonderful tour to a part of Maharashtra. I Hope after reading this travelogue, some of you might be be tempted to visit this place.

Take care and Happy Journey
The photos of the journey are available at https://picasaweb.google.com/sndarvekar/Maharashtra2011?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJuW6ISRsIDwJw&feat=directlink