A day trip to Dhom-Balkawadi dam, Wai during Diwali holidays

My sister in law was asking to have a quick morning trek to Sinhgad on Sunday, 15^th November, as there was no ritual for Diwali that day. But we were not sure whether Sinhgad is open for tourists or not, so decided to visit Dhom-Balkavadi dam in the early morning.  

We were planning to leave Pune at 5am but were 30 minutes late. After picking up my sister-in-law, her husband and my nephew from Sinhgad road started our journey towards Wai. We wanted to reach there around 7am to watch a beautiful sunrise, to watch sunlight reflections in dam water and the mountain ranges is a visual treat and never miss from there. Reached the farm without any pit stop though missed sunrise and reached there around 8am. A selfie was the first thing we did as soon as we got down of the car.

Immediately after reaching there, 4-5 peahens come on our way that came in the search of food and then returning home.  We roamed here and there which increased Vitamin D and eating a few amla fruits had increased vitamin C intake in our body. Indeed a healthy trip after COVID-19 lockdowns!!  

Climate was very pleasant, we could see gems of the morning i.e. dew drops on the grass. There is a banyan tree, so hanging to the strong roots of the tree is a must and enjoyable too. 

We went to the farm and spent some quality time there, a view of mountains and the dam is completely mesmerizing, one can just sit and watch it for a whole day. You can see various birds, flowers, fishes there. The place is not at all polluted; it is free from air-sound-water pollution, completely natural. Dam water is also crystal clear and very clean, could see the bottom and spot fishes. 

We sat down at the katta which is made around a tree. Once the dam is full; you can easily put your feet in the water by just sitting on the katta, small fish will give a good pedicure to your feet. We had brought Diwali faral, fruits and salad made by Parth(my nephew), which all finished while discussing our previous visits to the place.  Every time I could discover a new thing there; this time spotting rabbits and monkeys was a surprise, but could not capture them in the photograph. 

Dam and mountains view from the katta is a delight that anyone can see for a long time. 

Picturesque view of the Balkawadi Dam

After spending almost 3 hours we decided to leave because we had to go to a relative on the way. Our plan was to reach home by 5pm to make some arrangements for the next day Padva and Bhaubeej celebration.

A selfie is mandatory before leaving the place J J

While returning we enjoyed misal at Bhairavnath Hotel, Khambataki ghat; misal and buttermilk were awesome. They served plenty of onion and lemon along with misal, usually, it is served in less quantity in most of the hotels.

After Ambegaon we went to Dhankavadi to visit the in-laws of my sister-in-law and reached home around 7 pm.  It was much much-needed trip as for the last few months no travel due to COVID-19. It was really an amazing break from the daily routine.  

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A day monsoon trip to Dhom - Balkawadi dam, Wai

It was a lazy day as it was Sunday, I got up late at 8 am (yes, yes…8am is late for me as I usually get up at 6.30 am) and I was having breakfast while reading a newspaper and I saw some beautiful pictures of nature in the newspaper which triggered a thought to visit our farm at Jor, a small village in Wai tehsil of Satara district. The Krishna River’s source is near to the village and from there one can see Elephant's Head Point & Kate's Point which is among the best tourists places in Mahabaleshwar.  I just put thought into visiting the land and everybody in the home including my in-laws agreed and we left around 10.30 am from Pune.  

As it was already late we decided to reach the place without any stop as it takes almost 3 hours to reach there with nominal traffic. But usually, there is traffic at Khed-Shivapur toll junction, we almost got stuck every time. However, this time did not meet the traffic and could manage to reach Wai until 1 pm. 

More you travel towards the village nature becomes more and more picturesque, one cannot move ahead without clicking pictures so we. There were mountains on both sides, undisturbed meadow, lush and exotic greenery, veneer clean natural waterfalls tumbled down the mountain and drizzled onto the rocks. The flowers next to it were nodding gently...Ah-ah-ah, heavenly natural beauty… that’s it I can say.

Elephant nose point from Jor

Sahyadri Mountains

We threw ourselves under the waterfall, stood under the waterfall to cool down. After playing a lot in the water, it was so cold that we started shivering still continued to play some time more and enjoyed it to the fullest. Finally, we pushed ourselves out of the water and headed towards our farm, where spent time just sitting and watching surrounding grandeur. We threw little stones into the dam (Balkawadi) and tried our hands in stone skipping as it was my favourite childhood game. Aaravya (my son) was very happy to see such a large open space and he was just running here and there.

We :) 

It was 5 pm when everybody noticed that we all are hungry and especially my father in law who is very particular about his evening tea time demanded to have it in some time, so we had to leave. There are no hotels and restaurants on the way, it is possible to get tea and snacks only after reaching Wai. We were on the way to Wai and imagine who was there?? A Peacock...oh one more..oh my god!! Few more... spot the number of peacocks(they were 10+) on a farm around the dam, unfortunately, I could not capture all of them together. Later, after interacting with locals came to know that in the morning and evening many peacocks can be seen around the dam every day.

We were passing by the side of Dhom Dam and saw a Chowpatty so went there for water sport activities had boating, Aaravya enjoyed camel and horse ride and we resumed our back journey.

Dhom dam Chowpatty

After reaching Wai we went to Maha Ganpati (also called Dholya Ganpati because of its large size) temple which is a temple on the bank of Krishna River and it was actually on the way. The Lord Ganesh idol is very large and brightly painted and looks very cheerful and happy. Next to the Ganpati temple is the Kashi Vishweshwar temple which is dedicated to Lord Shiva. It has a beautifully carved Nandi bull and a nicely decorated Shivling. I would recommend visiting these temples if you are travelling to nearby areas there, believe me, you will not be disappointed.

Maha Ganpati, Wai

We stopped at Rohit Wadewale and ordered Wada Sambar, Kanda bhaji and tea and everyone literally attacked on the food and quickly grabbed it as all were too hungry. Kanda bhaji was very crispy, we all loved it. After finishing much-needed tea, resumed travelling towards Pune and reached home around 9PM.

It was a truly amazing, short but pleasant trip where we all enjoyed ourselves and our minds refreshed completely.

Thanks for reading my blog. Hope you liked it and wish to visit the places I mentioned.