It wouldn’t be surprising for us to plan such an impromptu trip with no road map or any prior bookings except for one. Undoubtedly it was nothing but a Road Trip to explore the magic that our own State holds. Being born and raised in Mumbai, we often search for far off places to plan a holiday, forgetting that the actual beauty lies within our state itself which are so divine and natural. Being travel enthusiast, we did have an unbelievable experience during these 5 days. Let me give you a glimpse of the most magical yet memorable excursion.
Day 1: Spiritual Run & Breaking the Journey
We left our home at 5.30 am looking forward for the much awaited self-driven trip with a clear agenda to explore as much as we can. At the crack of dawn, it was gloomy and 3 sloppy heads were all set for the adventure. It took us 3 hours to reach our first destination i.e. The Dharmachakra Tirth. It is a holy place and pilgrimage spot for Jains. This temple is located near Vilholi adjacent to the Mumbai Nashik Expressway. We surely had an amazing start to our trip by witnessing the awesome architecture and experiencing peace of mind post darshan. After offering our prayers here and finishing our breakfast, we finally headed towards our 1st destination. But destiny had some other plans. While I was just googling some info, I was surprised to learn that the most famous Sula Vineyard was just 20 mins away from our current location. We quickly changed our plan (perks of self-driven trip) and headed towards this massive Vineyard spread over a gigantic space. It was long due on our list, but as it is correctly said that good experiences come to you when you least expect it. As we were entering inside the gate we were welcomed by blanket of grape trees spread over the farm on our right and left. We spent almost 4 hours inside the winery and believe me it was a perfect picnic spot while we explored attractions like wine making process, winery tours, gourmet dining options, and clicking lot of perfect pictures. When at Sula do surely try the pizza, it is simply delicious. Wood fired with smoky flavor and lots of veggies just made our day. In short it was a perfect field trip like any other industrial visit for us as we learnt so much information on the history of this brand along with understanding the entire process of extracting, storing and packaging.
We then moved further to reach our 1st destination, Lonar where we had planned to break our journey for a night halt. Unfortunately, it was pitch dark and late when we reached this place as it took almost 4-5 hours’ drive, hence we changed our plan and decided to visit the most famous Lonar Lake the next morning. We had a comfortable night stay after the day’s long journey.
Day 2: Exploring the Unexplored.
Listening to birds chirping, feeling the warm and pleasant breeze touching our face and the earthy smell was a perfect start to our day in this tiny village - Lonar. Most importantly, at night we could see and count stars which we can’t do in the city.
The fresh revitalizing air gave a feeling of refreshment although we slept hardly for 4-5 hours.
Soon after relishing the local Maharashtrian breakfast of peanut poha and upma, we quickly got ready to visit the spectacular Lonar Lake which is a lake of lagoon in Buldhana district of Maharashtra state. Lonar Lake is the world's third-largest crater formed by a meteorite hit in less than a million years ago. It is also the largest impact crater in India. It is said that a crater that was formed over 52,000 years ago was due to the collision of a meteorite hitting the Earth. The lake, which was formed due to the meteorite, has attracted scientists and tourists from across the world. My son had read about it and he was the most excited one among us to visit this lake. He was all the more excited to witness this place because of his love for mythology as it has been believed that when Lord Rama was flying overhead on his way from Sri Lanka to Ayodhya, which was his capital, he showed a place to his beloved Queen Sita. Researchers opine that Lord Rama was referring to this lake at Lonar. The sights of this magnificent crater lake surely gave wings to our imagination.
After savoring the views of the gorgeous Lake, brightly lit sun, and the beauty beneath us, we were informed by the locals to visit few famous temples around. Hence we visited a sleeping Hanuman Temple and Daitya Sudan Temple. We were baffled to see the architectural style and the structure of these temples as it was totally untouched giving it extremely rich and magnificent picturesque look. Each temple had some unique unheard story which made us feel even more connected to our roots. We had a quite decent experience in this small town/village where people live a very simple lifestyle, totally away from the hustle and bustle.
It was now time to move ahead with the 2nd part of our road journey to reach our next destination. After 1.5-hour drive from Lonar, we reached one of the most ancient Jain pilgrimage site revered by the Jain Community only to witness the most divine idol of Antiriskh Parshwanath at Shirpur. The idol known for its exquisite beauty and captivating presence kept us awestruck as we couldn’t believe seeing this magical idol with our naked eyes. Only till now we had heard or read stories about it. Based on a true story many years ago, the idol remained suspended in mid-air under a tree, approximately seven hands above the ground. People passing by could walk beneath the idol on horseback or carry water pots on their heads. Due to this extraordinary phenomenon, the idol came to be known as "Antariksh Parshvanath," signifying its celestial position. Currently the idol is one finger above the ground. We were elated to seek blessing from this divine which is still in the same position. We quickly ate our meal, took bath and changed into clean Pooja attire to perform certain religious rituals. Couldn’t imagine capturing the image of this magical idol with our eyes and sticking it forever in our hearts. Devotees usually take hours waiting in queue to take a glimpse of this idol, but we were lucky to visit this sacred site, witness the idol's extraordinary suspension, and experience the divine energy by walking in straight and sitting right in front of the idol for hours.
These captivating moments made us quite behind our scheduled target timeline, but it did not bother us to reach our next stop. The highlight of our trip started here where we experienced and enjoyed our super smooth 6 -hour drive on the Hindu Hrudaysamrat Balasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg to reach our next destination: Tadoba Tiger Reserve which is near Nagpur. We had pre booked our early morning safari for the next day at Moharli Gate, hence we decided to stay overnight in Moharli itself. We had to book our stay at the last moment for which we chose a homestay. When we were enroute to Moharli village we were informed that the gates leading to the forest are closed by 10pm. As soon as we took an exit from the highway towards Moharli, our core adventure began as the roads became narrow and our excitement wider. It was pitch dark, with dense forest, smooth meadows and deep valleys on both sides. Feeling of fear and thrill both struck together but driving along with infinite stars in the clear sky helped us pass those feelings. It was all together an exhilarating moment experiencing the best of nature and its gorgeous creations. Finally, after vigorous 2-hour drive in the thicket, as expected we were welcomed with closed gates of the jungle as the deadline to enter the forest premises had already surpassed. Like any other reserve, we had to stop at the entry gate to the transition zone so forest authorities could note our itinerary and accommodation details. This is just a way for them to do crowd control in the villages and buffer zones of the forest, and also restrict noise pollution. Making best use of our convincing skills, jugaad tricks and of course some good luck, we managed to finally enter the “Land of Tigers”. It took us 6 hours from Shirpur to reach Moharli which is a place in Tadoba Wildlife Sanctuary. As soon as we reached our homestay, our hearts started to yearn for the jungle safari. The adrenaline rush got us so high that none of us grabbed even a single bite, we slept for few hours, woke up next day at 5 am, packed little snacks in our bag, got into our car to reach the jungle gates for the safari tour which was to start at 6 am.
Day 3: Unlocking our Destiny – Meet with Big Cats in the Mighty Jungle.
Loud Alarm at 4.30 am, cold weather and a hot mug of ginger tea by our courteous homestay owner Mr. Suleman Baig gave us a good kick start to our safari voyage. The ginger tea gave a nice soothing sensation to our throat. It was so refreshing! As planned and since we had our own vehicle, we headed straight to the entry of Agarzari Gate which is a buffer zone of Moharli region where we were joined by a guide for the morning safari. The gates opened exactly at 06:30 am and we were in. Guides are assigned according to their roll call and cannot be booked beforehand. Trust me the forest in the early morning mist looks amazing.
Off-roading from here in a open gypsy got us all fired up and we soon entered the buffer zone. A herd of deer grazing along the road were well camouflaged. The sighting was exceptional! It was a great start of the day on our first safari. On the way, our guide spoke about the famous different tigers and tigresses and how females and males mark their territory with urine. Further dirt roads took us around the buffer area of Tadoba – Andhari Tiger Reserve. We soon came up to an area and waited here for a while hoping to catch a glimpse of the tiger but unfortunately nothing appeared through the thickets of forest in front of us.
In sometime our guide received a call from another guide. He told us to hold the vehicle fast because they were about to drive like crazy. Why? Because a tiger had been spotted. By the time we reached the spot, there were around 6 other vehicles already waiting for the tiger to come out of the dense area. Suddenly it became cloudy and we experienced few droplets thinking about how the rain will ruin our safari. On the other hand, our guide noticed some movement in the bushes on the left and looked very carefully in that direction. After confirming, he asked us to concentrate in the region to see a tigress walking away from us.
We quickly aimed our cameras to capture the big cat. Unfortunately, we did not get the shots we desired. But we kept looking at it enjoying its magnificent presence before it again disappeared into the dense forest. The guide informed us that this tigress is a new one, hence was being shy. She was hiding and finding out ways to escape from the 6 jeeps. But unfortunately she had no option than to face it. She built her courage and immediately ran in front of us to cross the road by giving us a big Roar. This was my life’s first tiger spotting in the wild (sort off), and it was WILD!
Believe me the sighting was exceptional in spite of weather not being in our favour! The thrill of chasing stripes. I think, this is part of the whole excitement and I enjoy it when done correctly and in proportion. Following proper etiquettes is necessary to have a memorable experience. Post our sighting, it started raining and this brought an end of our morning safari and soon we were out of the gate. It is true that nature evokes a million feelings in us all, and no matter how many times we view it on TV, seeing it live, on a safari, is breath-taking.
Our mobile phones were handed over to us from the box and we were headed straight to our homestay. We were all drenched and craved for some hot beverage and snack. Mr. Suleman served us mouth-watering Maggi and piping hot tea / coffee. As we were having conversation on several topics, we were lucky to meet Shahanaz Baig (wife of Mr. Suleman)– the first woman guide in Maharashtra and has, therefore, lots of experience guiding safaris in Tadoba. Her unbelievably inspiring story left us completely awestruck. Her incredible work to empower and encourage other women clearly spoke thru the numerous awards she has won. This was one more highlight of our trip as I felt myself immensely lucky to be a women and to meet the person in reality who has been an inspiration to the women community. Her stories uplifted my spirits high to work harder in life to chase my dreams. She also guided us on how to reach our 2nd safari which was 2 hrs. away from Moharli. Seriously she is no less than a Hero. After having some good conversations and comfortable stay, we bid adieu to the lovely hosts, as we had our evening safari already scheduled.
Little did we know about the distance between the two gates while booking our safari, we had no option but to travel for 2 hrs. without any halt. We exactly followed Mrs. Shahanaz’s instructions and reached just in time at Kolara, Shirkheda Gate where our 2nd safari was booked for 2.30 pm.
As we entered the gate, our guide introduced himself and the safari journey starts again. Based on the 1st safari spotting, our expectations had no bounds this time. Within a span of 15 mins of our drive inside the jungle, we noticed 5 jeeps already waiting at a spot savoring the views of a massive big cat dozing off far off on a rock in an open area. We were informed by our guide who seemed quite experienced and senior that she is “Choti Rani”. I felt astonished and excited because I couldn’t imagine myself getting lucky twice in a day. It seemed like my long lost dream came true all at once. Except for 1 gypsy, rest all waited for half an hour at the same spot only to see her wake up. Super clear views of the tigress right in front of you made the sighting even more memorable. After almost 25 minutes, gradually, the tigress started moving and hinted us “5 more minutes”. Finally, she was up, changed her sitting position and took all possible yawns widely, made few stretches and did not fail to give gracious poses to capture. I wonder it is amazing how wildlife photographers spend days, and sometimes nights, with so much patience and perseverance to take astonishing pictures of wildlife. On the other side we sighted a huge sambar gazing on the grass. It is said that these striped creatures (tigers)are extremely sharp. Choti Rani immediately sensed her prey nearby. She looked around and spotted the innocent Sambar. Very strategically she scanned all around to plan her attack and make arrangements for the dinner. Alas, she got up, jumped from the rock and slowly started walking towards her kill. Our guide explained us, how the Big cats usually take different routes and attack from behind. Choti Rani did exactly the same. The engines started again and we all rushed ahead to notice the Kill. For a moment I remembered the national geographic channel and how photographers capture amazing kills in their lenses. I was excitedly putting myself in their place. Our guide and driver were little extra smart. They halted at a place, very confidently knowing she would take a round and come out from the spot where we halted. We were eagerly waiting to witness the kill, but unfortunately the sambar sensed something wrong and gave a call by making weird sound. This clearly indicated that the tigress is nearby and would anytime pounce on the creature. With SLR’s in hand positioning our lens, all of us were ready to capture the precious moment. Sadly, after lot of planning, hard work and execution, things were not in Choti Rani’s favor. The Sambar escaped smartly with his gang. That moment I could only relate to life’s simple lessons: “Don’t be discouraged if something is not in your favour. Better opportunities are waiting ahead.” It was evident how simple it is to understand nature.
We ventured further into the forest to chase this dynamic tigress (Choti Rani) and believe me this was our first ever encounter that lasted for 25 mins moving parallel along with this fearless stripped creature. When one of the gypsy started to rush too close to her, Choti Rani turned her head in response. We felt a tinge of fear, but we knew we were safe inside our vehicle. We also understood that neither Choti Rani nor the observers were interested in disturbing each other's harmony. After approximately 25 mins of chasing and moving along with her, Choti Rani walked inside her natural habitat to meet her cubs. It was the greatest natural sight we had ever seen, and we bid adieu to the experience. We strolled for some more time inside the jungle. It was then getting too dark and all the vehicles had to get back to the gate before 06:30 pm. And it was the end to our wonderful safari. This safari undoubedetly ended on a high note, with a lot of curiosity to see more of the wild animals in our upcoming safaris.
Tadoba to me will always have a sweet spot in my heart as that’s where my mind was blown with watching stripes and spots so close to me yet wild and free. It will always be on the top of my list for Tiger reserves to visit. It was quite dark at 6.30 pm and next on our list was to reach Nagpur City. It took us 2.5 hours to reach. In spite of the sky turning dark, we enjoyed the scenic landscape along the way. Ahh, good roads all the way were such a blessing.
Day 4: Unwind & Relax
“Surprises come to you when you least expect it”. This quote perfectly suited my son that moment. Little did he know that we had planned a surprise for him. A stay at a lavish 5-star property on the outskirts of Nagpur city. He was stunned to see the amazing stay at this gigantic property. Of course, with all the hard work and managing super busy schedules, all three of us deserved this only to rejuvenate our mind, body and soul.
Nagpur also called the heart of India made us first head to witness the same at” Zero Mile” which is the Centre Point of India. Zero mile is a monument built by the British to measure all distance. In other words, the city of Nagpur lies geographically center to all the four major metros of India, viz. Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and New Delhi. During the day we visited the Maharajbagh Zoo as well.
After savoring the local delicacies at Halidram’s, we explored the city which has always known best for its Oranges by visiting the orange market widely spread across a huge area with vendors selling variety of oranges. These oranges were neatly cleaned and stacked according to their size and quality. Indeed, we hopped from vendor to vendor to taste and relish the sweet and succulent oranges which pleased our taste buds. After buying truckloads of oranges, we headed back to our hotel.
Our last leg of the journey was a grueling 14+ hrs. drive from Nagpur to Mumbai. In order to get back on the wheels next day morning, it was now time to have relaxed good night sleep.
Day 5: Gliding over the clouds
Finally, we fulfilled our wish of driving on the Hindu Hrudayasamrat Babasaheb Thackeray Maharashtra Samruddhi Mahamarg aka Mumbai Nagpur Expressway. For your information. there are no tolls on the main carriage ways but only on exit lanes. This provided us a seamless travelling experience end to end. It was an extremely slothful drive back home. Long winding highway in front of us just asking us to push our machine but we were already doing 3 digits on the speedo. Exceptionally awesome wide 6 lanes with brilliant engineering proved that this will be India’s most advanced expressway till date. We were relaxed from the last night and enjoyed every bit of our drive with music and short talks. On our way back we took a halt at Shirdi to seek Sai Baba’s blessings for our peaceful and safe journey throughout. After consuming little food, we continued our drive to reach the bay. Even after easily gliding over the smooth tarmac of the expressway we were able to outdo Google Maps by around 2 hrs., the whole credit goes to maintaining the three-digit speed all over with great support from our car. It was showing 1.15 am on our screens and we had already reached back to our sweet home just some 13+ hours post departure from Nagpur. It was all so surreal, having crossed the full breadth of Maharashtra within the day and yet we were so fresh...
Its rightly said that at times destinations choose us. For no other reason than to imprint themselves on our memories. There are times when the chaos and stress of city life begins to get to us. We just want to escape the madness of it all. In times like these, the wild with its beauty, purity and calm is just what we need to recharge and rejuvenate our senses. Even today, almost a month later, when I close my eyes, I can smell Lonar’s still air and feel the cold surface of the basalt rock temple floors under my feet, I can still not believe Lord Parshvanath’s magical idol floating in air, I can still view the scene of frivolous tigress walking with us like a queen and I cannot forget all the little things we learnt in this trip.
After all holidays spent with family or friends refreshes and re chargers your mind, body and soul because you pick out experiences that excite you, stay at places that are truly unique and chart out every day, at your own pace, on your terms.
Adios till our next Adventure awaits!
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