Day Picnic to Madhe Ghat (मढे घाट)

            While reading some travel blogs I came across 1 mountain road (Ghat: घाट) known as Madhe ghat (In Marathi: मढे घाट) and decided to visit this place this monsoon.  It is a perfect combination of ghat, rivers, waterfalls, lush green nature and small villages surrounding them. A must visit place for nature lover and Photographers.

About Madhe Ghat:

           Madhe ghat is located around 55 km south west of Pune bordering Raigad district and in the vicinity of Torna Fort, Rajgad, Raigad, and backwaters of Bhatghar dam. From this place, you can have a view of the vast area such as Raigad fort, Lingana, Varandha ghat and Shivthar Ghal. This place is very cold and is a developing hill station.

             In history, when the great warrior Narveer Tanaji Malusare died in the Sinhagad battle, his body was to be taken for last rites in his native village Umrathe near Poladpur. Tanaji Malusare's funeral procession was taken to his native place from this Madhe ghat route.

   There are two routes to reach Madhe ghat, Either by Pabhe Ghat or by NH-4 route.

From Pabhe ghat route is Pune -> Warje-Malwadi -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Donje Phata -> Khanapur village -> Take left after 1km from Khanapur -> Pabe Ghat -> on Nasarapur-Velhe Road, take right -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghat waterfall (Total one way distance is 62km route)

Another route from NH-4 is Pune -> NH-4 -> Khed-shivapur toll on NH-4 -> Take right turn at Nasarapur bypass -> Velhe village -> Kelaad village -> Madhe Ghat waterfall (Total one way distance is 82km route)

 

Board near Madhe Ghat

But I will suggest round trip route as Pune -> Khadakwasla Dam -> Pabhe ghat – Velhe village -> Madhe Ghat -> Velhe village -> NH-4 -> Pune.

2nd July 2012: Madhe Ghat  (Distance traveled: 138 km)
          We (Me and my wife Renuka) started our journey at around 8.30 AM on a Sunday morning by bike. This time we decided to go on my 10-year-old bike as we heard that the road conditions are not good for the car. The weather was quite cloudy and we were expecting heavy rain. After crossing Khanapur, we saw a left turn to Pabhe ghat. We confirmed this route with 1 villager and processed with our journey. 

              The road was amazing, especially in the Ghats if you are a photographic freak and nature lover. You can see Sinhagad fort from a different angle. Road/Ghat is through dense forest and some paddy fields. If you are a photographic freak then it is very difficult to keep the camera in the bag during the entire journey. We took too many halts for nature clicks. A cool breeze was making our journey more joyful.

Sinhagad fort from different angle

Sinhagad fort from different angle

Pabe Ghat

              
            Once we reached near Velhe village, we were able to spot Torna and Rajgad fort but it was covered by clouds. Now we started feeling very hungry so took a break at a small restaurant. The owner served us tasty Missal Pav and Fried Bread. The weather was freezing cold and we were having very tasty Missal Pav. That was awesome breakfast.

Swapnil Restaurant

Torna Fort

Backside Torna Fort view

              
              After Velhe village, we took a left turn for Madhe Ghat. Road condition is very bad except 8-9 km road patch. Forest was very dense and sometimes it was difficult to spot road after taking some crazy curves. We enjoyed our bike ride through curvy road/ghat.  After crossing few mountains we saw a spectacular view of Sahyadri ranges. You need to cross at least 5-6 Mountains to reach Kelaad village.  Signboard helped us to spot the Madhe ghat route and we took a left turn and crossed a small bridge. From here onwards either you can go on the bike for last 1.5km road patch or you can have a walk. Bcos of monsoon, many people prefer a walk after that small bridge. We saw few bikers struggling to climb on the last patch. We preferred to walk to reach the top of Madhe ghat. The road ends at this point and offers you an amazing view.

Paddy fields

Road to Madhe Ghat

Madhe Ghat

              When we arrived at Madhe ghat, we saw that this area is very plain and flat reminding you of the table land at Panchgani. Proceeding towards the edge of this mountain, we are able to see a gigantic waterfall falling over the exposed rock directly into the valley of 2500 feet falling in the Shivthar river in Konkan.

Madhe Ghat Waterfall

Madhe Ghat waterfall from another mountain

Rainbow in Madhe Ghat Waterfall

             We clicked many photos of the waterfall and surrounding area, spent some time with the small waterfalls. Many people even living in Pune wouldn’t be aware of this place which will make you stress-free. I loved this place. We spent more than an hour and then started with our return journey.

Table Land at Madhe Ghat

 

We

Gigantic Waterfall from Madhe Ghat

A Small Jungle Trek

               While moving down from that, we saw we spotted lots of Jackfruit trees. Renuka loves Jackfruit so we asked boys from village to help us to take some down. We took 3 mid-size Jackfruit bcos of limitation. Thank god that we were on the bike and not by car. For the return journey, we choose NH-4 path. After riding 30-33km we touched national highway 4. We were hungry but it was 4 in clock so rather than hunting for lunch we had heavy snacks.  

 
             We reach home by 5.30 PM in the evening. It was truly stress–relieving nature trip. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog and planning to cover this lush green, breathtaking waterfall view spot in this monsoon.

• Petrol for Bike: Approx. INR 225/- (3-liter petrol considering average 50 per liter) 
• Breakfast at Velhe: INR 40/- per person for Missal Pav
• Lunch on NH-4: INR 150/- for both (heavy snacks) 
• Toll on NH-4 (Khed-Shivapur): INR 0/- for Bike (For Car it is INR 70/- one-way entry)

Thanks for reading this Travel Blog. Happy traveling.

 Pritesh Kulkarni

Pune