• TravelWithacouple Bindhu Unny Thoseghar
    Places

    Monsoon trips around Satara – Thoseghar, Urmodi, Sajjangad

    June 29, 2018 - By 

    (This is slightly modified version of one of our articles originally published in Mid-Day, Mumbai edition) . The past few years have witnessed an exodus of tourists to Satara’s famous Kaas Plateau. As a result, other scenic parts around Satara like Urmodi, Thoseghar etc tend to go unnoticed. During and post monsoon, this region, like most of Maharashtra, is painted in different shades of green, with multicoloured flowers, gurgling streams, and roaring waterfalls. We chose to take the lesser-driven roads around Satara that were in good condition, thanks to the work done by the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY).…

  • Urmodi Dam, Satara, Travelwithacouple
    Flora - Nature's Wonders - Places

    Monsoon Secrets of Maharashtra #1 – Roads to Nowhere Around Urmodi Dam

    October 1, 2014 - By 

    The landscape of Maharashtra gets a makeover every monsoon. As the parched earth soaks up the rainwater, the brown plateaus, hills, and valleys change to varied shades of green. That it’s such delightful scenery is an understatement. Urmodi was no different. This monsoon, we chose to explore around Satara. One of the routes we selected wound around the Urmodi dam, a magnificent waterbody fed by numerous waterfalls from the surrounding hillocks. Urmodi is around 17 km from Satara, via Parali village. The dam was commissioned in late 2000s as a major irrigation project. There are a few villages around the…

  • Flora - Nature's Wonders - Places

    The Ethereal Kaas

    September 12, 2012 - By 

    Lalu’s ears. Sita’s tears. American softhead. Coat button. Mickey mouse—funny they may sound but these are some of the ethereal beauties of Kaas Plateau, near Satara in Maharashtra. Lying underground for most of the year, these plants pop their heads up as soon as monsoon drenches the red laterite soil with elixir of life. Home to more than 400 varieties of plants, Kaas is one of Unesco’s World Natural Heritage sites where nature works overtime to weave a carpet of oft-changing colours. As the monsoon recedes, the plateau gets carpeted with a million flowers—blue Sita’s tears, purple jambhala, white pan-gend,…

  • Arts & Culture - Heritage - History - Places - Publications - the great driving challenge

    Pick Your Escape Route (Mid-Dday Feb 02, 2012)

    February 11, 2012 - By 

    If you choose to do one trip a month for the whole year, that is 12 short trips in an year. When Mid-day asked us to give us an all-year itinerary in Maharashtra for travel lovers to explore, we were only happy to do so. It was late January and so we came up with a 11 month schedule. Here it goes. The full text February: Koyna Valley (Koyna Nagar) Why should be here: Far away from the maddening crowd. Without the trappings of any hill station. Spend a quite weekend in the MTDC resort or a couple of other…