A Day in Nature's Lap – Girivan

[GrandRk]

A day in nature’s lap – Girivan
From last couple of weeks i was thinking of going for some long drive nearby Pune. After planning for some spots i finally decided to do one day outing with my family and friends at private hill station named “Girivan”.

About Location:
Girivan is approx. 40 Km away from Pune city and is cuddled in the bosom of Shayadri’s. The location is in village named “Hotle” in Mulshi. The chairman of this hill station is famous marathi actor “Vikram Gokhale”.

Things to remember while visiting this hill station:

1. Only IDEA & BSNL network operate fully in entire area.
2. The roads are very steep and narrow hence for group travels you may take 25 / 35 sitter bus. There is a strict no-no for 50 sitter bus.
3. This hill station serves ONLY veg food.
4. Please carry enough cash as they accept only cash payment

Starter:
As I was going on a day trip hence have planned to move early in morning by 6.30am. I have given a thorough wash to my Grand and made it ready by loading the things needed for one day picnic. Thanks to 256 liter boot which swallowed all my luggage and still there was a room for more.




Journey:
I started by 7.00am and with the speed of 40 Km/Hr I was out of city limits within 20-25 minutes. My fuel needle was on the last quarter of the gauge so made a tank full (Rs.76.02 / litre), my grand has drank 34 litres of petrol and now was ready to fly. I liked the promptness shown by that BP petrol attendant in asking twice whether to fill diesel or petrol and without asking he even given me the receipt. I was simply

With this pleasant mood I made my way towards Chandani Chowk. Apart from my Grand and my family I was having rain as my companion till Chandani Chowk, after this i took NDA route and was again pleased to see that the Toll booth on it was permanently closed, thanks to govt. I headed towards Pirangut and along with me were some cyclist who were heading towards Lavasa, I waived towards them and taken a way towards Nanegoan.






At Nanegoan I was in a bit hesitation about the way so I stopped at one house which was it seems last house on that road and asked about direction. To my surprise I was on wrong road and has to take a right turn which I left few meters behind me, I reversed my car and reached the intersection where I have to turn, stopped there and noticed that there were no signals or signs of direction

Anyways, now I was knowing the way so I started to head towards village named “Hotle”. The condition of the approach road towards this village was terrible and it was merely checking my MacPherson strut suspensions








This is the house where I stopped.


The terrible road




After crossing this bad patch of few kilometres i was on sensible roads which were literally awesome to drive, I maintained the speed to 60 – 70KM on them. The roads were having a beautiful scenery along with them and the rains have literally added more colours to it.













Continued..........

[GrandRk]

At last I reached the arc saying “Welcome to village - Hotle” where I can see the board of “Girivan” as well. After crossing this arc within few meters I saw a narrow bridge, I guess this bridge is a protocol between plain land and hilly area because either of one is on other side As soon I crossed this bridge I was taken away by the scenic beauty of nature which was till the gate of “Girivan”.

We in life have very less time to see this beauty which is showered on us by almighty without any cost or service charge.

The arc of village



A bonded bridge



The Beauty





Entrance of “Girivan”




The hilly area of “Girivan” is completely placid and serene. There is a small ghat of 2-3KM which is having 4 pin bends, I got stuck up at first pin bend as one WagonR has made me lost my momentum but somehow I managed to pass it on 1st gear and 3000 rpm by applying hand brake. The other pin-bends were crossed smoothly without previous mechanism.

As i was driving towards it i got accompanied with soothing nature and greenery with thick vegetation all the way. The aroma of lush green grass mixed with cool air made me so fresh that it took me miles away from my daily problems, tensions and niggles. When I rolled down my window completely I could hear various chirping sounds.
















I parked my Grand which was converted from clean and sparkling to dusty and dirty by travelling all the way to this heaven



The rates in this hill station were very cheap, for adults it was Rs.700 per head and children above 5 years it was Rs.550 per head. These rates includes most of the amenities along with unlimited Breakfast, Tea, Lunch and Supper.

At the entrance there was a big ground for playing cricket, football and basketball but it was all muddy due to heavy rains. I remembered my childhood days where i used to play footballs on such muddy fields filled with water, the child within me came out and in no time i started playing football keeping aside the terms like hygiene, cleanliness etc etc. There are cycles available on which you can roam inside their entire estate

Artificial waterfall near entrance



Playground




Continued...........

[GrandRk]

Just behind this ground was a great view of valley, the rains were still showering the whole valley along with cool breeze.










When i turned behind I saw astonishing view on mountain peaks which were lost in the clouds.













The area of “Girivan Glory” is covered with nice walkway where you can enjoy walking as well as cycling.



As I walked on this way I came across one shelter in which I saw rabbits freely enjoying their life without worrying about tomorrow.






Ahead of them I saw one more shelter in which some parrots and lovebirds were present. Their tweet can be heard from distance, I could not click clear photos of all as they kept on flocking randomly.



Moving ahead I came to a sports park where I saw a long and huge crocodile made up of cement. Loved the way they created it on the edge which resembles the view of Mesozoic Era.





Continued.........

[GrandRk]

Behind it there was a waterfall coming straight from mountain peaks vanished in clouds.








Girivan has also provided adventurous sports like rope climbing, artificial stiff for trekkers etc. It also has the activity like rifle shooting and archery. The resort has one hour of Rain Dance from 3.30pm to 4.30pm

After roaming in their campus the animal in my stomach started showing its presence, I rushed to their central canteen which has nice and ample space, they also have sitting huts made for large groups. The entrance of the canteen have big fish tanks where kids enjoy their own time. Canteen serves food right from breakfast to dinner and I especially loved their thali a lot.





Take Away:

This trip will always remain in my memory which made me forget all problems and niggles and made me child which enjoyed playing, falling in mud, running here and there, jumping and off course tint of trekking. It converted me to see life with different angle and enjoy it like a free flying butterfly.




Life in pic:



I liked this pic as it shows real village life. You can see a woman and girl are walking beside road without worrying about (fighting against) rains. The other side you will see street dogs as well. Far ahead you can see another village women walking who has clumps of freshly cut grass on her head which may serve as food to her cattle. We urban people even don’t think of others, forget about animals


That' it... Thanks for reading and bearing with photos which i took using mobile camera

[konkantrip]

That was a great review GrandRK I really enjoyed each and every word and snaps provided the complete feel, I always wanted to visit this place and now ou have provided me a complete information that will help other alot.

Few queries

Q1) How do we make the bookigs are they online or we need to go there and book it?

Q2) Is it a single day return spot or we can stay there for a day or two and also what are the charges

[GrandRk]

Originally Posted by konkantrip

That was a great review GrandRK I really enjoyed each and every word and snaps provided the complete feel, I always wanted to visit this place and now ou have provided me a complete information that will help other alot.

Few queries

Q1) How do we make the bookigs are they online or we need to go there and book it?

Q2) Is it a single day return spot or we can stay there for a day or two and also what are the charges

Hi konkantrip,

Thanks for your words.

For bookings we have to email them at Girivanpicnics@gmail.com and they will send their bank number and details for NEFT transfer, you need to pay full amount in advance, the rate of Bungalows for one night stay is somewhere from 1500-1800 per head for adult and 1000-1200 per kid above 5 years

I was there on 15th August and it was long weekend so everything was occupied, so we planned for single day which resumes from 9.30am till 6.00pm including Breakfast, Tea, Lunch and Evening tea with biscuits.