With the summer season over, it’s time to pack your bags and get ready for a mountain trip. So, our pick of the month is Malshej Ghat.

Known as Kulu Manali of Maharastra, Malshej Ghat is sheer paradise to visit during the Monsoon. Nestled in the lofty rugged hills of the Western Ghats, it is situated at a distance of 154 km from south Mumbai and 130 km north of Pune.

The best time to visit is during the tail-end of monsoons between August & September. The place comes alive in monsoon with cascading waterfalls, dew dripped greenery, mist-covered valleys, floating clouds and intermittent rainfall.

It’s unending rolling hills, beautiful haven of towering peaks and bottomless valleys makes it an ideal place for trekkers, hikers and for solitude seekers. The forest surrounding the hill is very famous for its different kinds of flora and fauna such as quails, rails, crakes, etc. In addition to its spectacular flora and fauna, it is also an abode for the famous migratory flamingoes during the monsoon.

The major attractions of Malshej Ghat are the Shivenri- birthplace of the legendary Shivaji, Buddhist caves dated 3rd century, Harishchandragadh, Ozar and Lenyadri, Ganesh and Shiva temples and Bhima River.

Check out few pics taken by an iXiGem on a weekend trip:

Can’t seem to get enough of this beautiful place with just a few pictures? There isn’t a better time than now to head there, so make your plans and embrace nature this weekend!

– Deepali Pareek

This entry was posted on Friday, August 12th, 2011 at 11:40 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.