Having heard a lot about the Kaas Plateau in Indiamike and other
sources, I decided to visit Satara during the Ganesh Festival in 2013.
The trip was for 2 days on a Sunday and Monday (the first day of the
Ganesh festival).
The route is the Mumbai Satara highway through the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
Our first stop was for breakfast near Shirval at Shri Ram Wada. It is well known for its Misal Pav and Wada Pav as the name suggests.
After breakfast we took the road leading to Wai. Wai is a town on the banks of river Krishna and many temples are located on the ghats along the river in the town. Wai is also on the foot hills of Panchgani / Mahabaleshwar. On the way we could see villagers selling turmeric at road side stalls among other things. The first stop at Wai was the Mahaganpati temple. There is a huge Ganesh Idol inside the temple. Photography inside the temple is not allowed. The temple looks like a inverted ice cream cone. Right next to the Mahaganpati temple is the Kashi Vishweshwar Temple. There are a couple more temples in the same compound both dedicated to Shiva.
Mahaganpati Temple
The next stop was Dhom Dam. Inspite of the monsoon season there was not
enough water in the reservoir. We could not go on top of the dam and had
to see it from the base. However we saw a couple of vehicles on the dam
which probably were of the staff working on the dam.
The next stop was Menavli. This place is a well known place where quite a
few movie scenes have been shot. Swades, Bol Bachchan, Gangajal,
Kaksparsh are some of them. There are two temples located in this ghat,
one for Shiva and the other for Vishnu. The Vishnu temple is mostly
closed and it open for some particular period. The Shiva temple is open
however there was no priest in the temple.
One can also see a bell outside the Shiva Temple which was from the Cathedral of Fort Bassein under the Portugese. This is a five alloy bell dated 1707 and has a bas relief of cast of Mother Mary and Infant Jesus.
Right on the banks of the river Krishna there is a mansion of Nana Phadnavis who was one of the ministers of the Peshwas of Pune.
One can see villagers washing clothes and utensils in the banks of the river.
After Wai the next stop was in Satara. We saw the rooms in Radhika Palace and Rajtara and decided to stay in Rajtara. Both these hotels are located in New Radhika Road near the bus depot. After having lunch we moved on to see the other spots of Satara.
In Satara most of the spots that I chose to see are divided in a ‘V’. There is a common road which is divided by a tunnel. To go to Kaas one has to go straight and to go to Thoseghar one has to cross the tunnel.
The first set of places on the menu on the first day was Kurneshwar Temple, Thoseghar, Chalkewadi and Sajjangad.
Once you cross the tunnel take a left to reach Kurneshwar Temple. This is located around 100 meters on the left hand side from the tunnel. There are 3 shrines in this complex dedicated to Ganpati, Dattatreya and Shiva. Once you park your vehicle and enter the gateway one has to climb down around 30 steps to reach the temple complex. The Ganpati temple is also known as Khinditala Ganpati. This is the “Gram Daivat” (Town Diety) of Satara. The first shrine is for Ganpati, followed by Dattatreya and then Shiva.
Khindatal Ganpati Kurneshwar Temple
Then we went towards the tunnel and drove straight towards Thoseghar. Once you park your vehicle in the parking lot, one will have to take a ticket for the person, camera and pay for parking your car. Then there is a descent to reach the gallery from which you can view the waterfalls. One will also see the road forking towards “Small Waterfall” and “Big Waterfall”. Take a right from the division to see the “Small Waterfall” and go straight to see the “Big Waterfall”.
The next stop was the windmill farm at Chalkewadi. The road is in a pretty bad condition in the last 200 meters to reach the place. When we reached Chalkewadi the windmills were playing hide and seek with us due to fog. We could see them and then they would disappear. Junior was enjoying to see them appear and disappear. My son asked me "Papa why are we waiting here. I can not see any thing". Just then the fog moved and he saw the windmill. He shouted "Papa kitna bada fan (what a big fan). I also want one in my house). There were around 4 vehicles there and I could hear one of the group say this place was better than Kaas.
After this we were on to the last spot of the day Sajjangad. This was
the final resting place of Swami Ramdas the spiritual guru of Shivaji
Maharaj. One has to climb around 800 steps to reach the main entrance of
the fort. You can see quite a few Hanuman idols while you are climbing.
We were just in time to see the sun set from the fort. You can still
find people living in this fort and the main doors are closed after
10:00 pm. The sun had already set while we were in the fort. While
climbing down it was dark and thanks to the street lights on the way we
were able to climb down and board the cab to retire for the day.
The next day we set out early in the morning at 6:30 to go to Kaas Plateau. It was around a 45 minute drive through beautiful scenery to reach the plateau. We reached the ticket counter which was closed during the time. Without taking the ticket we spent some time in the plateau. The flowers were in bloom however we came to know later that this was start of the blooming season. More flowers would have been seen in the next few days.
We thought of returning back to plateau later in the day. We then moved
towards Bamnoli lake. On the way to Bamnoli we saw a board for Vajrai
Waterfall. It is said to be one of the tallest falls in India. We
inquired with the locals and they informed that there in no point in
going there since there is no water at the falls. One can avail boating
at Bamnoli lake here. When we reached there the boating was also closed.
We spent some time soaking in the tranquility. There is a Bhairav
temple near by. One would find numerous bats on the trees at Bamnoli.
Bats on tree
A few views enroute to Kaas and Bamnoli
The Mrs was a bit upset since I and my sister were busy taking photos in the plateau and she was left alone with junior who would not understand why his father was taking snaps of flowers every now and then. The Mrs said that next time if she sees me leaving them unattended she would not come to any trips. In order to avoid that scenario when we went to Kalaghoda festival I handed over my old Cannon to junior and he was happy that he could imitate his papa. Seeing junior taking snaps the Mrs was with him telling him which snaps to take.
On the way back we halted at Pisani village to have breakfast and tea.
We had freshly made poha and tea. While the poha was being prepared I
saw a temple across the road.
On the way back to Satara one can also see Yavateshwar temple. They are 2 nandi statues in front of the Shiva idol here. In the same complex there is a Bhairav temple also.
This trip can be done either with Mumbai / Pune or Satara as your base. An overnight stay is a good idea. Also if you have a car is will be helpful since there are quite a few photo ops on the way to Kaas and Bamnoli like the one's posted here. One could also combine Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani along with Satara. So if one wants to plan only the place that I have mentioned here then 2 days is needed. If one wants to club Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani then at least 4 days are needed.
The route is the Mumbai Satara highway through the Mumbai Pune Expressway.
Our first stop was for breakfast near Shirval at Shri Ram Wada. It is well known for its Misal Pav and Wada Pav as the name suggests.
After breakfast we took the road leading to Wai. Wai is a town on the banks of river Krishna and many temples are located on the ghats along the river in the town. Wai is also on the foot hills of Panchgani / Mahabaleshwar. On the way we could see villagers selling turmeric at road side stalls among other things. The first stop at Wai was the Mahaganpati temple. There is a huge Ganesh Idol inside the temple. Photography inside the temple is not allowed. The temple looks like a inverted ice cream cone. Right next to the Mahaganpati temple is the Kashi Vishweshwar Temple. There are a couple more temples in the same compound both dedicated to Shiva.
Mahaganpati Temple
Kashi Vishveshwar Temple
One can also see a bell outside the Shiva Temple which was from the Cathedral of Fort Bassein under the Portugese. This is a five alloy bell dated 1707 and has a bas relief of cast of Mother Mary and Infant Jesus.
Right on the banks of the river Krishna there is a mansion of Nana Phadnavis who was one of the ministers of the Peshwas of Pune.
One can see villagers washing clothes and utensils in the banks of the river.
After Wai the next stop was in Satara. We saw the rooms in Radhika Palace and Rajtara and decided to stay in Rajtara. Both these hotels are located in New Radhika Road near the bus depot. After having lunch we moved on to see the other spots of Satara.
In Satara most of the spots that I chose to see are divided in a ‘V’. There is a common road which is divided by a tunnel. To go to Kaas one has to go straight and to go to Thoseghar one has to cross the tunnel.
The first set of places on the menu on the first day was Kurneshwar Temple, Thoseghar, Chalkewadi and Sajjangad.
Once you cross the tunnel take a left to reach Kurneshwar Temple. This is located around 100 meters on the left hand side from the tunnel. There are 3 shrines in this complex dedicated to Ganpati, Dattatreya and Shiva. Once you park your vehicle and enter the gateway one has to climb down around 30 steps to reach the temple complex. The Ganpati temple is also known as Khinditala Ganpati. This is the “Gram Daivat” (Town Diety) of Satara. The first shrine is for Ganpati, followed by Dattatreya and then Shiva.
Khindatal Ganpati Kurneshwar Temple
Then we went towards the tunnel and drove straight towards Thoseghar. Once you park your vehicle in the parking lot, one will have to take a ticket for the person, camera and pay for parking your car. Then there is a descent to reach the gallery from which you can view the waterfalls. One will also see the road forking towards “Small Waterfall” and “Big Waterfall”. Take a right from the division to see the “Small Waterfall” and go straight to see the “Big Waterfall”.
The next stop was the windmill farm at Chalkewadi. The road is in a pretty bad condition in the last 200 meters to reach the place. When we reached Chalkewadi the windmills were playing hide and seek with us due to fog. We could see them and then they would disappear. Junior was enjoying to see them appear and disappear. My son asked me "Papa why are we waiting here. I can not see any thing". Just then the fog moved and he saw the windmill. He shouted "Papa kitna bada fan (what a big fan). I also want one in my house). There were around 4 vehicles there and I could hear one of the group say this place was better than Kaas.
After this we were on to the last spot of the day Sajjangad. This was
the final resting place of Swami Ramdas the spiritual guru of Shivaji
Maharaj. One has to climb around 800 steps to reach the main entrance of
the fort. You can see quite a few Hanuman idols while you are climbing.
We were just in time to see the sun set from the fort. You can still
find people living in this fort and the main doors are closed after
10:00 pm. The sun had already set while we were in the fort. While
climbing down it was dark and thanks to the street lights on the way we
were able to climb down and board the cab to retire for the day. 
The next day we set out early in the morning at 6:30 to go to Kaas Plateau. It was around a 45 minute drive through beautiful scenery to reach the plateau. We reached the ticket counter which was closed during the time. Without taking the ticket we spent some time in the plateau. The flowers were in bloom however we came to know later that this was start of the blooming season. More flowers would have been seen in the next few days.
Bats on tree
A few views enroute to Kaas and Bamnoli
We returned to the plateau after visiting Bamnoli. The ticket counter
was open now. So we purchased tickets for the people and camera. The
entire plateau is fenced and they are gates at certain intervals which
are open so that the visitors can have a closer look at the flowers. The
car has to be parked at Kaas river and then one has to walk around a
kilometer to reach the plateau. It was not crowded as we were there on
the first day of the Ganpati festival. I had specifically chosen that
day to avoid the crowds. I was told it was too crowded on Saturday and
Sunday.
The Mrs was a bit upset since I and my sister were busy taking photos in the plateau and she was left alone with junior who would not understand why his father was taking snaps of flowers every now and then. The Mrs said that next time if she sees me leaving them unattended she would not come to any trips. In order to avoid that scenario when we went to Kalaghoda festival I handed over my old Cannon to junior and he was happy that he could imitate his papa. Seeing junior taking snaps the Mrs was with him telling him which snaps to take.
On the way back we halted at Pisani village to have breakfast and tea.
We had freshly made poha and tea. While the poha was being prepared I
saw a temple across the road.
On the way back to Satara one can also see Yavateshwar temple. They are 2 nandi statues in front of the Shiva idol here. In the same complex there is a Bhairav temple also.
This was a morning well spent. We were in time for lunch at the hotel.
Near the bus depot we purchased Kandi Pedha, famous in Satara. Before
leaving for Mumbai our last stop was the Natraj Temple. We could not
take the vehicle there since the area was cordoned off. The temple was
closed as is the case with most South Indian temples in the afternoon.
We took a parikrama of the boundary walls and then spent time in the
market.
Thus ended our 2 day trip to Satara. Satara should not be missed during
the monsoon and specifically during the Ganesh festival when the flowers
are in bloom at the plateau. It was an easy paced trip with enough time
for relaxation and for seeing the sights.
This trip can be done either with Mumbai / Pune or Satara as your base. An overnight stay is a good idea. Also if you have a car is will be helpful since there are quite a few photo ops on the way to Kaas and Bamnoli like the one's posted here. One could also combine Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani along with Satara. So if one wants to plan only the place that I have mentioned here then 2 days is needed. If one wants to club Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani then at least 4 days are needed.
