Menavali on 19 december 2010

Plan for Menavli (Photography)

Group : - Hunters
Moderators: - Bhushan Puranik (Don), Anthony Singh (Commrade)
Place: - Menavali
Event: - Photography
Date: - Sunday 19th December
Time: - 0600 hrs (stating from Pune)
Distance: - 75 Km from Pune (approximate)
Total distance: - 160 KM return to Pune (approximate)
Drive: - car, bike
Conditions of roads: -, Idle *
Amount summary: - 200 -250 Rupees fuel cost (return to Pune) per head
Approximate estimate 300 rupees per person ( For Bike and for Car if there are 4 people)


Camera and accessories:-
a. Camera
b. Digi-cams Min. 10MP with 10X optical zoom high shutter speeds
c. Tripods , monopods
d. Extra pair of batteries or charger
e. Water bottles
f. Wind cheaters
g. Sports shoes or floaters (avoid sleeper’s)
h. Mobile phones with full batteries
i. A bag.


About the place
Menawali is a village about three kilometers from Wai in Satara district and is known for a Peshwa era "Wada" (Fortified Mansion) built by Nana Fadnavis, the great Maratha statesman of the Peshwa period.
Bhavan Rao Trymbak Pant-Pratinidhi of Aundh and Raghunath Ghanshyam Mantri (Satara) bestowed the village of Menawali to Nana Fadnavis in December 1768. Nana built for himself a Wada and a ghat on the River Krishna along with two temples dedicated to Lord Vishnu and Shiva.
The Wada now belongs to Nana's descendents and is still in relatively good shape. It has all the hallmarks of a typical Wada belonging to a High ranking minister of the Peshwa Regime.

Rear entrance to Nana Phadanvis' house (Nana phadanvis wada) Location: Menawali, Wai T.
From the rear entrance of the Wada, we can directly approach the Krishna river with a breathtaking view of the ghat and temple complex. The bell house of the temple houses a massive bell captured by Bajirao’s brother Chimnaji Appa from a cathedral in the Portuguese fort at Bassein. Dated 1707, the five-alloy bell bears a bas-relief of Mary carrying the infant Jesus Christ cast into it.

Ghat and Temple Complex on the river Krishna, Menavali
The ghat and temple complex have proved to be an exotic location for Bollywood with many films notably among them Mrityudand, Gangaajal and Swades being shot extensively here.
Sightseeing :
Panchgani is about 14 Km from Wai. Several places can be covered on the way to Panchgani and can be reached to the sunset point by evening. It is strongly advised that headlight beam of your vehicle should be clean as after sunset dark occurs and you are driving all downwards in ghat.
Thanks and regard
Bhushan Puranik

Important Notes
*(Information copied from Google)
* Various places have to be covered within short time so everyone will have to move with time.
* Amount of trip may vary person to person
* If Panchgani is covered additional distance may affect estimated costing.

Naneghat 5th December

Naneghat :-

Group: - Hunters

Place: - Naneghat

Event: - Photography

Date: - Sunday 5^th December

Time: - 0600 hrs (stating from Pune)

Distance: - 140 Km from Pune (approximate)

Total distance: - 300 KM return to Pune (approximate)

Drive: - car, bike

Conditions of roads: -, Idle *

Amount summary: - 200 -250 Rupees fuel cost (return to Pune) per head

Approximate estimate 300 rupees per person

Camera and accessories:-

a. Camera

b. Digi-cams Min. 10MP with 10X optical zoom high shutter speeds

c. Tripods , monopods

d. Laptop ( better to have)

e. Extra pair of batteries or charger

f. Water bottles

g. Wind cheaters

h. Sports shoes or floaters (avoid sleeper’s)

i. Mobile phones with full batteries

j. A bag.

k. Tang or glocon-D

Introduction of a place

Naneghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range near Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. During the reign of the Satavahana (200 BCE–190 CE), the pass was extensively used as a trade route between Kalyan and Junnar.[1] Literally, the name nane means "coin" and ghat means "pass". The name is given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills.

The inscriptions in the caves indicate that they are the work of Satavahana rulers who came into prominence after the fall of the Mauryan empire. It is believed that a powerful woman ruler Naganika, the wife of Satakarni (180–170 BCE) of the Satavahana family commissioned the cave, the statues and the inscriptions. Inscriptions in the cave mention her and her family members. Though the statues adorning the sides of the rectangular cave are now gone, the inscriptions still record some of the achievements of the dynasty. The Naneghat records have proved very important in establishing the history of the region. Vedic Gods like Yama (Hinduism) Indra, Chandra and Surya are mentioned here. The mention of Samkarsana and Vasudeva indicate the prevalence of Bhagavata form of Hinduism in the Satavahana dynasty.

Trek	Naneghat
Alias	-
Type	Pass
District	Thane
Height above mean sea level	2750 feet
Base Village	Vaishakhare
Minimum Duration	1 Day
Region	Malshej
Transport	Kalyan to Murbad by bus, Murbad to Tokavade by bus, Tokavade to Vaishakhare by bus (one can also get the bus from Murbad to Vaishakhare).
Time to reach the top	About 3 hrs
Water Availability	Water cistern are available at the top
Best season to visit	Any Time
Sights to visit	Caves, old transcript, Old Ranjan for toll collection
Difficulty Rating	Simple
Shelter	Caves at the top

Our route

Pune- Nashik phata(chakan road)- Rajgurunagar – Manchar – Junnar – Malshej Ghat

The next way, if we want to go from Pune or Junnar to Naneghat, is to board the Junnar-Ghatghar S.T.bus & to reach Ghatghar. A half an hour run take us to Naneghat. Private buses can reach up to the mouth of the Ghat.

While going through Malshej Ghat, we can easily get a glimpse of Naneghat after Murbad. The significantly shaped thumb-like peak and the pinnacle of Vandarlingi are the most distinctly seen spots. This was the most important trade route, as it connected harbour of Sopara and Kalyan directly to Junnar and Paithan. The name itself suggests that it was a famous and significant route. "Nane" means famous. Today it is a good trekking spot for trekkers and tourists.

Bor Ghat, Malshej Ghat and Naneghat were the foremost road links for commuting coast to the plateau. The Satvaahans had made Naneghat their main route to Junnar. During their tenure the most important way of commuting was Naneghat, which linked Kalyan & Sopara to Paithan. Today one has to reach Junnar by going all the way through Malshej, which is a big round. But Naneghat had much reduced distance and was a definitely shorter route. However, as time proceeded, it was destroyed by alien rulers and then paid no attention.

Sightseeing :

The first thing we can see after reaching Naneghat is the spacious cave of Naneghat. The ancient carvings, which are seen on the walls of the cave, remind us of the Satvaahan period. Here we find inscriptions in Brahmi script all over the cave. These indicate the magnificent era of the Satvaahans and their generosity. These inscriptions are gradually being destroyed, and only a part of it is remaining. The inscriptions are very precious, and are undergoing destruction due to the negligence of Archeology. The widely spread plateau of Naneghat is an astonishment. To the left the steps besides the cave lead us to the plateau and going to the right lead us to Nana's thumb.

After climbing all the way to the bottom of the thumb, when we climb the stairs, we do not expect a big plateau. Thus this route leads directly to a higher altitude quickly, unlike Malshej Ghat, which goes all around the mountains. Ate the entrance to the Ghat is a big stone-made vessel like thing, in which coins as toll were put.

Precaution

Take sufficient amount of water when you leave Vaishakare as there is no water in the way till you reach the top. If you are visiting in non-monsoon season it's advisable to carry an anti-dehydrate.

Thanks and regard

Bhushan Puranik

Important Notes

*(Information copied from Google)

* Various places have to be covered within short time so everyone will have to move with time.

* Amount of trip may vary person to person