Koyna nagar - A Weekend two day trip from Pune in Monsoon.

 It is considered almost a sin to stay in your house on weekends during monsoon season in Pune.

So I have crafted this two day weekend trip from Pune that takes you to the religious town of Chafal, reverse waterfalls of Sadawaghapur and to the town of Koynanagar that hosts Maharashtra's largest dam. 

We have started from Pune in the morning and reach Chafal as our first stop-

Chafal is famous for its very beautiful Shri Ram Temple that is situated amidst the nature. The temple is associated with Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami, the spiritual guru of Shivaji Maharaj.The temple is made up of Sangamarmar and apart from Shri Ram temple also hosts a temple & dhyan gufa of Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami.This Cave is the special attraction of the temple and also historically important as Shivaji Maharaj used to have meetings with Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami here. The cave is narrow and pitch dark and require a torch to visit and an adventure in itself, a must visit place.

Chafal also hosts two out of eleven maruti temples Daas Maruti & Veer Maruti established by Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami.One of them Veer Maruti is just at backside to Ram Temple and Daas Maruti just in front of Ram Temple.

There is ample parking space in temple and temple closes for an hour in afternoon from 12.30 - 1.30 PM. Do not forget to get down to the river ghat bordering the temple for some wonderful pictures. After spending one hour at temple, we started our onward journey to the Sada Waghapur Plateau to enjoy its beauty and to soak into the waters of reverse waterfalls.

How to reach: Chafal is 155 KMs from Pune on Mumbai-Bangalore Highway,take detour from Umbraj after Satara. Temple is 11 KMs from Umbraj and Roads are good. 

Sada-Waghapur : Reverse Waterfalls, I have been hearing this term since some time and was looking for a place where I can feel its real rhythmic power.

This plateau is situated deep inside in the hinterlands of Sahyadris and in the sugar bowl of Maharashtra. The name is Sada-Waghapur and it's 150 KM from Pune and 25 KM from Umbraj. This place is not known to much and have very less crowds and google maps some time deceives. Hence, the directions are required from the local people.

The roads are in pretty good condition but powerful cars are recommended as there are some steep curves that required to be crossed to reach this vast plateau.

Once you reach on the plateau, you will find yourself in the company of hundreds of windmills churning energy for nearby Suzlon Power Plant. To reach the reverse waterfalls, you need to put your car onto the muddy fields (follow the tire marks left by someone else or wait for some local car to accompany you).

There are numerous reverse waterfalls on the edges of the plateau and it feels heavenly to drench in the water oozing out from reverse waterfalls. Be extra careful while clicking pictures and videos as sometimes the reverse waterfalls surprise you with its power that is based on the heavy wind blowing in these area. There are no shops or restaurants here, so take your water and snacks with you and be ready to spend a gala time here.

Then we bid adieu to this beautiful plateau and started our journey towards Koynanagar. We also stopped for a photo-op at another plateau before Patan.

Koynanagar is a place where river Koyna that originates from Mahabaleshwar has been caged by India's largest Hydro electric dam. This small hamlet is strategically located just before the descend to Konkan Coast. Nature has bestowed Maharashtra with western Ghats and the beauty of this area is just beyond explanation during the monsoons. This is only dam which discharges water both in Arabian sea as well as to Bay of Bengal through Krishna River.

This town is located 200 KMs from Pune and a good weekend hideout during monsoon. This place is having very few overnight stay options and most of them remains sold out months in advance during rainy season. Almost all are situated on Humbarli hillock that overlooks the reservoir of the dam and offers wonderful natural views.

We reached Koynanagar in the evening after visiting Chafal and Sada-Waghapur.After check-in at the resort,as usual I started chit-chatting with the resort staff for a hidden sightseen spot, if any.He suggested me to visit 'Manai Devi Temple' and a nearby Shiva Temple,which is located at the dead-end of one of the very narrow roads of Humbarli Hillock.The temple is located around 10 min drive from our resort and a well paved staircase from here goes towards a more scenic Shiva Temple which offers unexplainable beautiful views of Dam waters.A small waterfall is also located in the temple premises. After visiting this scenic temple, we retire in our rooms with an early dinner as there is nothing to do here after the dark.

We woke up early as suggested by staff as the dam is almost full and it opens it all gates during mornings to discharge the excess water. 

The nature was at its best during the early morning here and we have decided to visit the nearby resorts as well to feel and see the views offered by them for our next trip. We were welcomed by all of them inside their premises and they told us that we can roam freely inside their campus. It was a nice experience to see the mighty Koyna dam disburse water from all its six gates with full force. The view of dam from this hillock is quite magical and you can even sip your tea from one of the resort balconies and feel the thunder of mighty dam releasing the water. Its like watching a movie from a balcony seat when you sit atop and not stretching your neck to observe the proceedings.

After having breakfast, we checked out from the resort and left for Ozarde Waterfall which is 10 KMs from here. This is a major tourist attraction here and require an arduous 30 min trek to reach a view-point from where you can feel the power of this waterfall and get drenched. No one is allowed to bath and go near the waterfall. Though there is a well paved path and stairs to reach the top but some are damaged because of incessant rainfall. One can see different views of waterfall from the many viewpoints along the way. 

This 30 min trek is very adventurous and you need to cross many small waterfalls and many water puddles. But in my view, the best view of the fall can be seen only from the entrance from where this trek starts. So if you are having trouble in walking or having lack of time, you may give a miss to this trek but you will surely miss the thrill of feeling the waterfall from up and close. Entry fees to waterfall is Rs.30.

Nehru Garden-

While returning we have also visited the Nehru Garden. This is a large garden situated on the banks of the dam and it offers a good museum and shows a very good 25 min documentary on the construction and the usage of Koyna dam. Your Koyna trip will only be deemed as complete only after watching this documentary. As this is the only way to understand the gravity and the hard work done by our engineers to construct this engineering marvel. Entrance fees is Rs.20 to the garden.

This was the last point of our trip and we asked our driver to take us directly back to Pune and we dozed off.

Where to Stay-

Koyna Lake Resort.

Gursale Resort.

Wind Chalet Resort.

Presidency Highland Resort.

How to reach- Take Pune-Bangalore Highway till Umbraj and then visit Chafal ,Sada waghapur and reach Koynanagar via Patan.