Panchgani….An experience worth remembering

World voyaging brings you another place near mumbai to be visited and make worth the adventure.Panchgani a ‘Land of five hills’ is a distinguished Hill station located in Maharashtra.Located far away from Maharashtra, Panchgani promises its visitors a trip to remember. It was in the mid-term of September when our group of friends took a tour to Panchgani. Thinking back it was an unplanned trip without any discussion of sightseeing even though we had heard about the place.Although the journey was bumpy, once we reached Panchgani, our excitement knew no bounds. We were tired from the long ride but, once showered, we couldn't sit still in our room and decided to rent a cab that would take us around the hill station. The first place we visited was St. Joseph's Convent, where my travel partner was a former student. From there, we drove up to Table Land for the most breathtaking views I have ever seen in my short dull life.

Table Land

Table Land is said to be the highest point in Panchgani, a fact I had no idea about until that very moment, Table Land is extremely windy, crazy cold and has the most stunning scenery I have ever seen in my life.Based on my previous visits to any other place before which is the highest I had gone was the roof of my 4 storey building, there was nothing more beautiful to me than standing at the edge of the plateau and looking at the horizon, breathing in the amazing sight that I was lucky enough to behold.

Despite being followed by relentless horse keepers who urged us to take a ride on their horses for a nominal fee, the two of us managed to walk the entire expanse of the plateau without breaking a sweat. Granted, we couldn't sweat because of the cold wind but the sights and the air was refreshing and kept us from getting tired. We clicked a lot of pictures while we walked – of the distant hill, the monkeys, the horizon, the horses and their keepers, the mini lake in the middle of Table Land and even the grass that was sprinkled with pretty little white flowers. Before long, we started freezing and the urge to empty our bladder began to take over our decision to build a home on Table Land and live there for the rest of our lives. So my travel partner, with a thin joke-of-a-shawl hanging on her shoulders, and I, in all my sweater-less, shawl-less glory, slowly trudged down the path, trying to ignore the freezing cold and holding it in with all the control that we possessed. I remember looking back once and saying that we would visit again the next day.

Mapro Garden and Chocolate Plant

The Mazaana chocolate factory in Mapro Garden was the one place where we didn't need time to ogle and brood at all. We took a quick tour of the plant where we discovered how chocolate was made and then promptly made our way to the back of the plant where hundreds of tempting Mazaana chocolate boxes graced the shelves. Dark chocolate, white chocolate, hazelnut chocolate, raisin chocolate… it was like an Eden for chocolate lovers! Ignoring the desire to buy out the entire store, both of us purchased two boxes each and proceeded to walk around the Mapro garden while we dug into those boxes with zeal. The place was divided into 4 areas – the chocolate factory; the garden and seating area; the area where they featured and sold Mapro products (jam and syrups, etc); and the dining area, where we eventually found ourselves, awaiting our order of an exorbitantly priced sandwich. Despite leaving a hole in our pockets, the sandwich turned out to be pretty good and we soon realized, mostly from the wonderful smell and from looking at the people dining around us, that all the recipes were delicious and worth tasting at least once. But we had already splurged on the chocolate boxes, so, like good little girls, we finished our sandwich and left Mapro, inwardly resolving to visit again should we ever come to Mahabaleshwar in the future.

Venna Lake

Our cab driver, a patient man, took us to Venna Lake next. From what I learned, it is a manmade lake and a popular tourist attraction. We sincerely wanted to take a boat ride around the lake but that day, the area was exceptionally foggy. At one point, I remember not being able to see anything beyond a few feet. Even though we had covered ourselves with layers of clothing, hand gloves, and cotton plugs, the temperature drop and the surrounding fog made it difficult to behold Venna Lake in its complete glory. Despite that glitch, we managed to enjoy two steaming cups of corn 'bhutta' and click some great pictures of us standing hidden in the fog. But perhaps the best part of our experience on Venna Lake was the horses. They were so clean and well fed that they almost shone in the light. Their hair was slick and brushed and their bodies strong as they followed their masters around and neighed in contentment. Most of the horses had celebrity names that made us laugh – like Amir, Shivaji, Honey Singh, Veer, etc. We would have done some horse riding had it not been for the fog and the immense cold.

For our three unforgettable days spent in this hill station, we stayed at a place called Krishna Villa, which is walking distance from the Panchgani Bus Depot. It is really a very big house which has been turned into rented accommodation for tourists. The rooms were clean and we had T.V. and hot water all day. There was also a kitchen which was a boon for us because we cooked noodles for dinner and breakfast. There was a garden near the premises and I am sure had we not gone in low season and instead visited in high season, the garden would have been well maintained and lush green.

It is thus an experience worth experiencing!!!!