TTL: Panchghani and Mahabaleshwar

What do you do when you have a whole day to yourself and are itching to take a break….you go on a trip.
Thats what we, 5 of us, did. We booked a car from a local self drive car rent company and off we went to a local hill station named Panchghani and then from there on to another station, Mahabaleshwar.

We started at the dead of the night at about 0200h and reached the vast table top expanses of Panchghani right on time for the sunrise.

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Post admiring the sunrise, we had a photo session, kinda expected right, when there are two photogs in the same car :p

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From there, the next stop was the Mapro Farms on the way to Mahabaleshwar. Strawberries and pizzas and chocolates, that was our brunch.

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As we were about to leave, there was a rumble, a thunder and sets of gleaming chrome made their way  into the cafe and we were all awestruck.

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Next up, was the Mahabaleshwar temple, and the surrounding viewpoints and finally the famous fort of Pratapgarh.

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Finally, we were on our way back in the evening. In about ₹1000/person, we had an amazing trip.

Next trip….lets see 🙂

Cheers!!

Chasing the sun

There are some people out there who manage to greet the sun often, not me though. I wake up by the first rays of the sun, not before it though. So, when the plan to go greet the sun came up, it was too good to be passed over.

Before I tell you where I went to catch the sunrise, let me share some photos.
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Now, honestly, tell me, what do you think, where am I? I ll share some more…

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I can put a safe bet that a lot of you think that these have been shot at a hill station. Instead, the location is about 30 kms away from Pune. These shots are from the Singhagadh fort.
Located at the hill top at an altitude of about 1400mts above sea level, this served as a fort for the Maratha rulers. Now its a popular spot for weekend trips. Light treks and amazing natural beauty. Have a look at the rest.

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Immense thanks to Aishwarya for waking up at 0500 and joining me for the trip along with his bike 🙂
Next up, some of the best portrait photos I have shot till date. Stay tuned. They ll be up shortly 🙂

Cheers!!

Varanasi – IV (The Forts)

On the last day of the trip, we went to the Chunar Fort and the Ramnagar Fort!

The Chunar Fort was built on a very strategic point right on the bank of the River Ganga and its a perfect vantage point for keeping an eye out for attackers from all the directions. This was built by Sher Shah Suri and then the Moghuls took it over and then the British. Since the British, till date, the fort has served as a garrison for armed forces. But now, within the next 3 years, the fort will be handed over to the ASI for upkeep and maintenance. It is rumored that there exist secret tunnels to as far as the Red Fort of Delhi, some 700 kms away. There is also a big, rather huge 200 ft deep well, with provisions to go right down to the water level, used by the princess there. Jail houses and gallows are also present and the living quarters of the soldiers back then, are used as classrooms for the modern counterparts.

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These carving used to have diamonds and gems encrusted in them. Apparently, the British didnt like leaving the shiny stuffs behind while leaving!

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The 200 ft or maybe deeper well!

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A motorable, single lane pontoon bridge!

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Birds’ eye view from one of the walls!

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Now, the Ramnagar fort is more of a big house to a super rich prince. Within the fort are his cars, Ford, Cadillac were the ones I could recognize, just a few from about 15 of them. Then, there are galleries filled with guns, from smaller than palm to so big that it would need at least three people to fire them. Sadly, photography is not allowed within the gallery! This fort also oversees Ganga, but from the other side, beautiful and majestic none the less.

En route, from Chunar to Ramnagar, we came across shops selling these clay and stone stuffs. They are cheap, and can be used as souvenirs and for gifts. There are small toys, made of clay and glazed, they cost about 3 to 5 INR. Also, bargain here, you can get at 75% of the original asked price if not lesser.

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The balcony was the only part differently colored! Stood out!

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The Ganga and the other bank! Looks like much hasnt changed over the centuries.

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Found some local, friendly fauna!

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We left Ramnagar fort around lunch time! Giving me plenty of time to return back to the guest house, grab a hasty lunch and run back for one last shot at getting the shots I wanted of the Ganga Arati.
Check them out on the next part!

Cheers!!