Just a few hours from Mumbai, Pavana Lake has something for everyone and every mood, finds Arvin Nunes.
Looking at getting away from noise, pollution and the mundane city life? Break free at Pavana. While it's always great to appreciate natural beauty, sometimes an artificial creation can leave you awestruck too. Pavana lake, built during the construction of Pavana dam and located near Maval in Pune district of Maharashtra, is perfectly nestled among the hillocks of the Sahyadri range. Our ride down to Pavana via Lonavla-Kamshet was picturesque, awe-inspiring and breathtaking with all the sights and scenes, leading us to stop every few kilometres for some good clicks.
Whether you choose to stay at one of the resorts or decide to camp, there's a lot to do: like unwinding at the resort, taking in the sights and sounds of nature, the blue waters of the dam and surrounding brown hills or exploring the great outdoors. Club Mahindra, overlooking a cliff, is open to non-members if you book in advance through an agent and has three pools, spacious rooms, and plenty of activities for kids. If you're the adventurous sort, then camping at a Rusticville, camp ground at the base of Tikona Fort, is an option to consider. They provide you with tents, marinated barbeque food, board games and your private bonfire. But for those who want to live it up, Hilton Shillim is approximately 30 minutes away from Pavana.
Camp, build a bonfire and barbeque the night away under the flawless starlit night sky unperturbed by the city lights. It's a majestic sight indeed on new moon day. The lake, in all its raw and pristine nature, reminded me of the one in Lake Placid. Rest assured you won’t find creepy crawlies here.
You can swim in the lake, go kayaking, boating, windsurfing and parasailing; near Kamshet, you can also try paragliding. There are resorts, which organise these water sports; you can enter, do the activities, use their restaurant and leave. If trekking is your thing, there's Lohagad and Visapur, hill forts to the north of the lake, Tikona on the west, Tung in the east and the Bhedse caves on the Kamshet side that are treks to look forward to. The best time to visit would probably be the monsoon with nature in full bloom. The climate is cool and blissful otherwise throughout the year.
Inputs on accommodation from Bertram Fonseca and Jatin Shah
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