Since long I was planning a trip to Lavasa with my friends. I had heard about the scenic beauty of Lavasa and how people enjoy driving on those ghats. Lavasa is just 80 kms from Pune so we could have it covered in one or may be half a day. I had no intentions of staying there and after visiting the place I think I made the right decision. On Friday I made calls to 2 of our friends and got them ready for the trip. I left my home at 1:00 Pm on Saturday in my i10. I picked my friends and headed towards Lavasa. The only stop we took was for gas and air check at the petrol pump near Sihvaji Nagar.
Lavasa is not too far from Pune which means the journey won’t be too tiring. The time when you are driving through the city is like other days. It can be bad or enjoyable depending on the traffic and weather. Luckily it was a Saturday and we didn’t find too much traffic in the city. The weather was good as well. The drive becomes much more enjoyable after crossing Katraj Chauk. Traffic reduces and concrete buildings are replaced with scenic views. The most exciting part of the drive starts with the ghats. There are only few cars/bikes driving and even they are not in a hurry to overtake you. There are some sharp turns but are manageable. The views become awesome with each km. There is a lot of greenery and as you drive up the ghat the weather becomes even better. When you are about to reach Lavasa there are lot of stops where you can have bhutta. We stopped at one of these shops and had some lip smacking bhuttas. There are also some really nice stops from where the view is awesome! You can view the lush green mountains and the lake at Lavasa. They call for some really picturesque snaps.
What to do at Lavasa
There is not much to do at Lavasa. The so called water sports is dead. In fact the water sports company ‘Lakeshore’ should be getting bankrupt anyday. When we went there were only two water activities operational and they were pathetic. There was some kind of aqua volley ball and something else. But all I remember is that it wasn’t good and there were hardly any people doing them. The water at the lake is not too clean as well. Other than that there is a toy train which is meant for kids but there are lot of adults who enjoy the toy train as well. It covers close to 2-3 kms in a circle. You can sit and enjoy the scenic beauty for a while. The eating joint at Lavasa isn’t good either. There are limited options and its not too tidy as well. However we didn’t discover the options at the bigger hotels at Lavasa. I believe they should be good. So all you can enjoy at Lavasa is the weather and the scenic beauty.
After spending close to 2 hours we planned to return back. On our way back just after crossing the Lavasa main gate we spotted a snacks center which was serving Maggi, Omelette, tea and some other stuff and trust me in that weather you don’t want to miss a masala tea or maggi with omellete. We had a sumptuous meal which we thoroughly enjoyed. After that we headed to a waterfall which we spotted while coming but decided to stop on our way back. So we did stop there and went under the fall. We were carrying windsheeter so we could enjoy the water falls without getting too wet. There are plenty of waterfalls on the way to Lavasa. We then went ahead with our return journey. While returning the drive was even better as it was drizzling and driving down the slopes is much easier and fun then driving up. We reached city by 7. I dropped my friends home and finally reached my place for a good night sleep.
All in all it was a sweet little trip to Lavasa. The best part is the weather and the fact that Lavasa is not too far from Pune. If you have a car or a bike you can get up lazily by 12 and still plan to come to Lavasa if you want to go for a long drive or to just enjoy the weather. Below are some snaps that we clicked during our Lavasa trip.