Flamingo and Bird watching at Bhigwan near Kumbhargaon, Maharashtra

Quote of the Post: "This place is treat to eyes and heaven for bird watchers and photography lovers." - Quote about Bhigwan near Baramati by Sachin Kumar Gupta

The place is also known as 'Bharatpur of Maharashtra'. If you are bird lover, you are at the right place. The best month to visit Bhigwan, at the backwater of Ujjani Dam built on Bhima River is Nov-Feb, and peak time are Dec and Jan months. People come from all across India to see these migratory birds during the winter. Early morning and evening is the best time for bird watching. Try to reach by 6 or 6:30 strictly, if you really want to see sunrise and listen chirping of beautiful birds.
Morning: 6 A.M. to 10 A.M.
Evening: 3 P.M. to 6 P.M.

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Birds Collage

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Group Flight Mode

Best time for getting some nice and unique shots is early morning as sunlight doesn't disturb the camera lens at this time of the day. Although we knew all of this but sleep took the priority over photography and we started bit late in the morning i.e. by 6:00, and saw sunrise on our way to Bhigwan. Luckily we got to see few birds flocking in the morning itself. 

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Painted Stork Flight Mode

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Single Birds

Bhigwan - Kumbhalgaon Bird Sanctuary - Single Flight Mode

Bhigwan is 100 km away from Pune, approx 60 km from Satara, and approx 100 km from Solapur. The place is also known as 'Kumbhargaon Bird Sanctuary'. We reached a point where very few cars were parked. There are two main famous points - Kranti Flamingo Point, and Agnipankha Flamingo Point, which offer boating services, accommodation, and overnight packages too. One can also opt for overnight stay in lakeside tents. I got to know that Kranti Flamingo Point India is registered to Maharastra Tourism in 2014 under MTDC Bhigwan. Boat service varies from 10-20 people, ranging 100 INR to 200 INR per person depending upon the location from where you start. Watching sunrise and sunset over the lake from boat would surely be a wonderful experience.
As against the earlier plan, we reached to a less crowded place, parked near the bridge and headed for photography with our armor - Nikon D5100 and Canon :) We started taking few snaps of birds flying over the bridge. At the same time few birds were flocking from one end to another. There are many locals who offer boating for 2-4 hours. We booked a boat with a local person from this place only. We also luckily got a team of 3 people who knew a lot about birds, their features, habitats, and more. They were more than the guide to us. They were even discussing and explaining which ones were male, and which female. We didn't follow other boats and went ahead to chase idle and undisturbed birds. Try to avoid Saturday and Sunday as because of crowd, birds fly quite far off at times. If you are a bird watcher, go in small group and maintain silence to enjoy treat to eyes. Its really bird heaven on earth for those!

One of the main attraction is to adore pink greater flamingos. We kept moving till the point we finally had glance of flamingos. At few points our boat-rower had to drag the boat standing in the water. We were lucky that flamingos didn't fly off by that time. We were so close to flamingos that we could take reflection images of flamingos too but all were sleepy heads by then. One thing to observed that flamingos stood on one leg and slept in a very unique manner. My Nikon D5100 with 55-300 mm lens were good enough to capture few of the flamingos. Flamingos were so lazy that they were rarely moving their neck. We waited for long for their movements to get different posture photographs. Go for higher range cameras, if you wish to take more closer photographs. We saw many people having bigger cameras and binoculars for long distance bird watching. Many people rent bigger lenses for this purpose. 'Patience' is the key, which will help you take good photographs.

Out of all the birds, I like Painted Stork the most, and they were my main models for the day. I had many reflection and flight mode images of different birds. I created few birds collages as shown above. We saw many birds, few of them were:
Asian open-bill stork
Bar headed goose
Black-crowned night heron
Black-winged stilt
Bronze-winged Jacana
Brown Crake
Common Pochard
Eurasian Spoonbill
Eurasian wigeon
Forest Wagtail
Garganey
Glossy ibis
Greater Flamingo
Green Sandpiper
Grey Heron
Grey Wagtail
Indian Pond Heron
Knob Billed Duck
Little Egrets
Northern Pintails
Northern Shoveler
Painted Stork
Pheasant Tail Jacana
Purple Swamp Hen
Red-naped ibis
Ruddy Shelduck
Small Pratincole
Spot-billed duck
The cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis)
The demoiselle crane (Koonj)
The Eurasian coot
The little cormorant
White Breasted Waterhen
White Wagtail
Wood Sandpiper
Woolly Necked Stork etc (go on and on..)

Boating in itself was fun and worth, and chasing birds adds more fun, if you really have patience. Many of the birds were seen swimming in open water or walking across waterside grasslands. Many a places the color of grass was a mix of green, light red, yellow, brown while having sunlight and cloud shadows on it. Few other smaller birds can also seen flying at time to time like Kingfisher etc. Few of them were found in small groups. A few of them were spotted romancing and a few were busy catching fishes and insects with their long beaks. Many boatmen threw fishes in the water to attract more birds nearby.
I just can't believe that we have such an amazing place to visit near Pune. It is really a paradise for a variety of native and migratory birds around the picturesque lake. Do visit before they leave i.e. before mid March. Hope to come again and chase birds during sunset.

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Ropeway trip to Raigad Fort

"This king of forts is a precious gift to Maharashtra and a must-visit place - full of natural, majestic and historic heritage." - Quote about Raigad Fort (Raigarh Fort) in Maharashtra by Sachin Kumar Gupta

Fort Raigad is much more than a mere tourist spot, it is a sacred pilgrimage. This is the fort where Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was crowned and he took his last breath. Raigad is a hill fort situated in the Mahad, Raigad district of Maharashtra, India.  Raigarh is approx 200KM from Mumbai and 150KM from Pune and approx 140KM from Satara. From Pune, one can reach here via drive through Mulshi Dam and beautiful curves of Tamhini Ghat.
From Pune - Chandani Chowk - Mulshi - Tamhini - Nizampur – Pachad Road – Raigad
From Mumbai - Navi Mumbai - Pali - Kolad - Mumbai Goa Road - Dhalghar Naka - Pachad Road – Raigad
From Satara - Mahabaleshwar - Poladpur - Mahad – Raigad Road - Pachad – Raigad

We planned our much awaited team event this monsoon. All the friends were quite excited about the trip. A motor-able road leads to Chit Darwaja, about 2kms from Pachad, the village at the base, where lies the Samadhi of Jijabai, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s mother. A long climb from Pachad takes one to the Mahadarwaza, flanked by two massive bastions and a high curtain wall. One has to climb approximately 2-3 hours with 1400-1500 steps in order to reach the top of the fort. But we opted for ropeway as planned. 

"Raigad Fort Rope-way"
Raigad Ropeway has opened a new dimension of sightseeing at the Fort Raigad in Maharashtra. There are cable cars/rope-way which take the visitors from base of the hill to the top of the fort and back. It's definitely a clever option to opt for, if you don't want to climb the full trek or don't have enough time. With this you can spend more time on the fort itself. Just near the ropeway starting point, we have small Museum  displaying artifacts which have information about Shivaji Maharaj, forts in Maharashtra and other details. Take a note that you have to wait for about '30 minutes to 1 hour' for ropeway trip in normal days, and upto 2-3 hours during peak season days. Two ways ticket for adults was 200 INR per adult and flight time is approx 4-5 minutes. 

Ropeway in itself could be thrilling experience for few and heaven for others, specially during monsoon. Raigad fort in rainy season is awesome to visit and experience of Ropeway acts like a cherry on cake. A flight through the clouds, whistling winds, full of rains, and cool foggy trip! The sun was playing hide and seek. Many waterfalls and amazing greenland views can be seen while being at ropeway. The Ropeway drops you near Mena Darwaja. The fort’s 5.12 sq. kms hill-top plateau, has three main points Hirkani in the west, Takamak in the north and Bhavani in the east. 

There are many attractions around Raigad Fort with magnificient views. Per our experience, this place can be explored in below order, in order to enjoy it the best (if you are coming by ropeway)
    Ropeway
    Meena Darwaja: a special entrance for the royal ladies and the queens.
    Hirkani Buruj: Just on the top, there is MTDC resort nearby.
    Queens Palace: Its ruins today consist of the queen's quarters: six chambers, with each chamber having its own private restroom. Each one is bigger than 2 BHK flats.
    Rajyasabha Graha
    Nagarkhana Darwaja
    Palkhi Darwaja: The convoy of the king and the king himself used this gate.
    The 12-sided two-storey towers just look awesome during monsoon, this place is must seen place of the fort.
    Ganga Sagar Lake: The picturesque place contains main water reservoir for the fort.
    Holicha Mal: It is a wide-open ground, used for annual Holi festival. There is a temple of Shirkai Bhavani, a presiding deity of the fort.
    Market place (Bazaar Peth): There are few small shops selling few snacks and drink at many places.
    Takmak Tok: a cliff point from where the sentenced prisoners were thrown to their death. This is a must visit point, but the area is now fenced off, so please be aware of while walking.
    Jagdishwar Temple: The floor of temple is super cool in monsoon, as we were bare feet.
    Shree Samadhi of Shivaji Maharaj
    Throne of Shivaji Maharaj

We also had chance to meet Marathi delicacies at one of the villager's home. It was economic and an experience in itself. Raigad Fort is worth visiting over the weekend with your family, kids (If taking rope-way) or even as part of project groups. Everyone - Gaurav, Gyanu, Paresh, Sarika, Vaibhav, Vijay had lots of fun throughout the trip. 

Raigad fort is ideal for camping. If you are planning to trek in the night, ensure that you are trekking with experienced trekkers and have good flashlights with you. One can stay overnight, at the top of the fort. We would love to go this place again, and will definitely plan for an overnight stay.

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Fort Pratapgad near Mahabaleshwar

Fort Pratapgad (Pratapgarh Killa)

If you are visiting Mahabaleshwar, and have 3-4 hrs to spare, Fort Pratapgad is worth visiting, which is approx 25 KM away from Mahabaleshwar. If you are in Mahabaleshwar for 2 or 3 days stay, count this fort in your travel list. From Pune it is 150 KM, from Mumbai it is 200, and from Satara it is approx 70 KM.

Pune - Panchgani - Mahabaleshwar - Pratapgad Road - Pratapgad Fort
Mumbai - Khopoli - Pali - Kolad - Mahad - Poladpur - Pratapgad Rd, Rajpuri - Fort

We saw many waterfalls during the ghat area on the way to Pratapgarh on the road side, which would bloom during peak monsoon season. During monsoons, visibility is quite low, due to dense fog, so drive carefully specially on turns and hairpin bends. You can reach out to parking place by vehicle, and then by walk and by climbing the stairs to reach the top. There are step numbers also marked at many places. There would be approx 400 stairs to climb but its not really tiring, when you reach on the top and see the views, these are really worth. During the stair route, there are many shops who sell souvneirs and snacks. Quite a variety of Maharashtrian food options are available at reasonable price. As Tanuj was quite inquisitive about Maharashtrian Delicacies, we tried all varieties.

This fort has a great historical significance...Afzalkhan, enemy of maratha empire came to this fort with the plan to kill Chhatrapati Shivaji, but Chhatrapati Shivaji defeated him even though he was much younger than Afzalkhan and later Chhatrapati Shivaji built a huge Maratha Empire. Thats a short history of this fort.

There is a small garden on top with a big statue of Chhatrapati situated is in the center. We bow our head in respect to the Maratha warrior king. The place was covered with fog blanket during most of the times, which makes this place more beautiful. The sun was playing hide and seek, whereas side mountains were covered with dense fog, sometimes sunlight and shadows. It feels fresh and lively, once you reach the top and with rains, it was even more beautiful. 

Fort is divided into several parts. From the fort, you can watch out below points within and breathtaking views outside the fort:

Afzalkhan Tomb
Ancient Cave (Shivkaleen Guha)
Ancient Lake (Shivkaleen Taalab)
Bale Killa
Cannon Attack Points
Chhtrapati Shri Shivaji Maharaj Statue
Jawali Valley (Jawali Khore)
Kokan Darshan
Mahabaleshwar View
Main Gate
Makarand Fort (Makarand Garh)
Pratap Garden (Pratap Garden)
Punishment Point
Royal Court (Rajdarbaar Sadar)
Royal Path
Shri Bhawani Mata Temple
Shri Hanuman Temple
Shri Kedareshwar Temple
Under Ground Tunnel (Chorwaat)
Watch Tower

Best way to cover the fort, is to stroll around the fort wall fencing which has stairs and flat areas to walk. It took us 3 hours to be back to parking place. I am not sure if Maharashtra can learn from Rajasthan on how to maintain forts and monuments; but by government, local people, and tourists collaboration and efforts, we can maintain these places. As of now, this place really requires maintenance, the bathrooms are very bad, try to avoid them. Just be careful of the monkeys here. :) I just loved this place and being with Meenal and Tanuj, it added on to the fun.

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An Ancient Temple, Karneshwar - Sangmeshwar

We have traveled many places across Konkan in Maharashtra - Arabian Sea cost from Mumbai to Goa -

Mumbai - Alibag - Kashid and Murud - Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar - Harnai - Dapoli - Velneshwar - Ganpatipule - Ratnagiri - Goa.

After exploring some of the fascinating places in Ratnagiri, Ganpatipule and Velneshwar, we visited Karneshwar temple in Sangmeshwar, on our way back to Pune. 

We took our lunch at Sangmeshwar while returning back from Ganpatipule. Sangameshwar is also a base point to visit Marleshwar Shiva Temple, a cave temple located at 17 kms from Devrukh and 44 kms from Sangameshwar Station. This railway station is also on Mumbai - Ratnagiri train track. Sangameshwar is connected to Mumbai by train also. Many travellers club these temples - Karneshwar Temple and Marleshwar Temple, while visiting from nearby places.

Sangameshwar is a taluka in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. The meaning of Sangama in Marathi is 'confluence', and so the name "Sangmeshwar". In Sangmeshwar the two rivers Sonavi and Shastri flow together. As far as history is concerned, this is the place where Sambhaji Raje, son of Chhtrapati Shivaji was captured by Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. Sambhaji was tortured and executed in Tulapur.

Karneshwar Temple, Kasaba, Sangameshwar

Sangameshwar is a coastal hamlet on NH-17. Above map will help you to reach there. This was not in our plan. But while coming back from Ganpatipule to Pune, we decided to visit this place. Karneshwar temple is 1600 years old Lord Shiva temple at 4 kms from Sangameshwar. It can be reached following a narrow street off the NH-17 road approx 1 KM. You can reach this place asking about Kasaba.

Address: Kasaba, Sangameshwar, Maharashtra

This was approx the end point of the road, where you can see some vehicles. It seems there is no designated parking area. Inside the temple premise huge trees shadow the temple from all sides. The statues and carvings of Hindu Deities can be seen on the temple walls.  The Shiv Temple is location at the center of the premises. An idol of Karna is located near the entrance of the temple. We got amazed to see this olden-golden temple. The place is full of visitors during weekends and Mondays (Shiv worship day).

We were just roaming around this temple, when we met the priest got him to narrate a few stories related to the place. As per our discussion with priest, once upon a time, there were more than 300 temples in this taluka, and this temple was build by "The Pandavas". It was named after 'Karna' the sixth son of Kunti as per Mahabharat epic.

Nivali Waterfall: A Seasonal waterfall on Mumbai - Goa Coastal highway at Nivali and popular stopover for guests travelling on the highway during monsoon season. 

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Mountain of Jewels - Ratnagiri

Quote of the Post: "A paradise that offers numerous sightseeing options which are mix of natural beauty, beaches, art, cultures, and history in Konkan." - Quote about 'Ratnagiri' in Konkan, Maharashtra - Sachin Kumar Gupta

In our endeavor to explore the coastal belt of Arabian Sea, we traveled Mumbai - Alibag - Kashid - Murud - Shrivardhan - Harihareshwar - Harnai - Dapoli, and now was the time to move to the next destination:

Velneshwar - Jaigad - Ganpatipule - Ratnagiri. 

While coming from Pune, we first reached Ratnagiri, which is in between Raigad and Sindhudurg district. This region is considered to be one of best region in Konkan. Ratnagiri is well connected by road and railways, and also has a small sea port. It is highly recommended to follow below path to enjoy most amazing sea-side views of Konkan.

Ratnagiri - Konkan Map

You can explore the landscape, art, culture and history of this magnificent land. Ratnagiri is well known for its natural beauty, and there are many places to visit in and near Ratnagiri that attracts visitors, Some prime attaractions in Ratnagiri:

Velas Beach

Bhatye Beach: For Indian Chat Lovers.

Madavi beach: This is a black sand beach. 

Thiba (Thibaw) Palace:

Ratnagiri has a palace named Thiba, where the last king and queen of Burma (Myanmar) stay in exile. This palace has their tombs and now converted into a regional museum. We were fortunate to reach the place during their Annual 3-day festival, which had series of events including Art Exhibitions, Cultural Performances by well-known celebrities and local students. I must mention, every piece of art work exhibited here was a masterpiece in itself and we were surprised to know that these were painted by students from Class V to X. The very next day, event was around the flute performance by Pandit HariPrasad Chourasia. There is scenic Thibaw Point, where you can enjoy Sunset, But I will recommend to watch sunset at Aare beach. [See image below] 

Some of the famous Indians were born in Ratnagiri. One of them is Lokmanya Tilak, an active leader in India's freedom movement. We also get the chance to visit Lokmanya (Bal Gangadhar) Tilak Smarak, and his birthplace. The house has been preserved as it is. After a long time we walked barefoot on the cowdung smeared natural flooring. Some of his personal belongings are also on display within the museum. It is sad that, many localites don't even know this place, though it's at the heart of the town. 

Ratna Durga Fort: Ratnadurga is the primary attraction of Ratnagiri apart from the beaches. The fort has the shape of a horseshoe, with a length of 1.3 KM and a width of 1 KM; with its walls standing against the vast sea on three sides, fourth being connected to land. The place is a treat to photographers, every step forward shows a different, unique, soothing and a wonderful view. We spent about an hour here, and viewed all four sides of this fort from its circumference. On one of the sea-facing sides, part of the cliff has collapsed which leads to a cave. One of the fort's bastions, the 'Siddha Buruj', still has a lighthouse. A picturesque temple of The Goddess Bhagwati is one of the important places of worship in the area of the fort. A well near the temple has steps leading down. One small temple of Hanumanji is at the entrance of the fort. After crossing the first entrance gate there is a door with ancient structure. We have to cross both of these gates while coming from the city of Ratnagiri. From the door itself we could view the entire area of the fort. At the upper fort, on the left hand side we have one Lord Ganesh deity and a deity of Hanumanji on right side. In front of this there is a beautiful temple of Goddess Bhagawati. Due to this Goddess, the fort is also named as “Bhagawati Durga”. Many localities visit this place frequently, and named it as "Bhagwati Killa". Some of the photos of this post could have been greener, had it been the monsoon season.

Nivali Waterfall: This can only be seen during monsoon season. Good luck next time. It is located between the beautiful valleys of Nivali ghats.

Jaigad: Jaigad fort is located on a cliff at the entrance of the Sangameshwar river. We couldn't visit this place, but we had Jaigad - Tasval Ferry Boat to reach Velneshwar. The jetty offers a short trip and splendid views of the sea. At some places, you may feel like you are in Kerala.

Aare Ware Beach:

The views across seaside is amazing, and you will love the drive following the sea all the times. This route is highly recommended. Seaside Ratnagiri - Ganpatipule route passes through the twin beaches of Aare and Waare and the Aare sunset point. It is the best place to enjoy splendid sunsets, pulsating palms and wonderful waves in Ratnagiri ranges. We followed the same majestic views alongwith sunset at Aare, and reached Ganpatipule. Many celebrities own land properties near to this beach. Certainly this beach will be a star attraction for tourist in near future.

Adventurous travelers, holiday makers and nature lovers are drawn to this beautiful paradise. Ratnagiri district is a paradise in India.

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