Maharashtra off-beat

wim

Just got home from a five-week trip in India. I spent the first half in Maharashtra, and visited some off-beat places that might be of interest to others.

Even in Aurangabad I found that there were suprisingly few foreign tourists in town. Maybe because I was there right after the Mumbai attacks, maybe because of the global recession. But maybe it's because the places in Maharashtra covered in the popular guidebooks seem to lead to dead ends, making them hard to fit into an itinerary.

If so - here's a possible Maharashtran itinerary, covering central Maharashtra and going from Mumbai to Sholapur, where there's many good transport options to continue into Karnataka or further South. Of course - you could also make the trip in the opposite direction.

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Mumbai as a convenient point-of-entry, and a city not to be missed. Well - that is - I missed it on this trip, arriving right after the Mumbai tragedy and taking a train immediately out to Nasik. I did visit the city twice before.

Nasik is worth at least a day to follow the main historical bazaar street leading down to the river and to explore the nooks and crannies of the old city centre, the ghats and temples on the banks of the Godavari. Trimbak makes for an interesting sidetrip on a second day if you have the time. The main temple is off-limits to non-hindus, but you can visit the Ganga Sagar temple. It's a temple like I had never seen before - a water tank surrounded by a collonaded walkway, like you often see in the South of the country, but in a totally different style. There's also a pathway leading up to the source of the Godavari starting at the Northwestern end of town. It's quite a climb, and I can't say there's all that much to see once you reach the top, but it's mainly the trip up that makes it nice. You'll meet loads of people doing the same thing and eager for conversation while you catch your breath in the few shady spots along the way.

Aurangabad has more to offer than just the famous Ellora caves - less than an hour away by bus. In town - the Bibi Qa Maqbara I found very impressive. So yes - it's a copy of the Taj, but it's a beautiful building all the same with a totally different atmosphere and not to be missed. The Panchakki I didn't find all too interesting, had a better time just walking around the old city centre. Daulatabad is definitely worth a sidetrip - climbing the citadel is a great experience, making your way up in the dark through curving tunnels - and the views from the top are stunning.

Delgoan Raja I picked by chance - it's just a small town on the way to Lonar and can't say there's much to see. I did vist a small elegant tomb in Bijapuri style, about ten minutes walking distance through the fields from the Southeastern edge of town. Apart from that there's a temple in town that's of great religious value, but architecturally it's not all that impressive. To the left of it is an old step well, in bad shape. Might be of interest if you want to sample India off the beaten track, and I did have a good time and met some nice people, but I suppose it's just your ordinary rural town and you can experience the same thing in most other towns in the area. There's lodges in every town, just pick one and spend a day if you want.

Lonar is truly one of the most spectacular places I've ever been to in India. The crater is such a unique sight, and a walk in the jungle round the lake was a very pleasant way to spend a morning. Very quiet, no one there except for you, the birds and groups of langurs. The path is easy to follow and takes about two hours, while you pass some very atmospheric temple ruins every so often.

Aundha Nagnath has one of the Jyotirlingam temples, although I think there's some discussion surrounding the authenticity. The place never sees any foreign visitors, and they did allow me into the inner sanctum which was quite an experience. It's not a rich temple and the grounds are not very well kept. Priests are eager for donations - handing out business cards and such, and working freelance it seemed. It's a very backward rural town, and the only option to spend the night was the worst room I had on this trip, so only for determined travellers.

Nanded should be mentioned in the guidebooks as it's definitely worth a stop. It's an important religious centre for the Sikhs, and there's some very nice gurudwaras in town and lining the Godivara. Accomodation is excellent - loads of new places because of the nov 2008 Gobind Singhji celebrations.

Ambajogai sees some domestic tourists because of its temples, but very few foreign visitors. It's a small historical town, a commercial centre for the surrounding rural area. Once you get off the expressway it's quite a fascinating place to explore. Some of the old residental buildings are surrounded by defensive walls, there's temples around every corner, and a walk following the small stream that runs through town will bring you to more temples in the countryside.

Tuljapur is a very busy pilgrimage town, with all streets leading to its main temple as one big religious bazaar. Loads of pilgrims in the streets, and while it does make for an atmospheric visit, it doesn't hold much interest for foreign visitors.

Sholapur is an industrial town, quite prosperous and with good connections for transportation. Not much to see, though. The fort in the centre of town is worth half an hour or so. The grounds are well kept, but the few old buildings inside the fort are in bad shape. You can climb the ramparts for some nice views. Also, right next to the fort is an artificial lake, in the centre an island connected by a walkway. On the island is the cities main temple, that sees a constant stream of visitors and is worth a visit. Closeby is an old neo-gothic colonial building, now housing the City Corporation.

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All transportation was done by bus, except for the train trip going from Mumbai to Nasik. Connections aren't always very good, and neither are the roads, but can't say it ever got particulary strenuous.

A route I can recommend would be :

Mumbai - Nasik - Aurangabad - Lonar - Nanded - Ambajogai - Sholapur.

Look here for some of the pictures I made - second half of them are from Tamil Nadu. There's also a detailed blog I kept during travelling, but it's all in Dutch.

http://www.slenterendebuffel.com/?page_id=249

I'm building a page on my site with pictures and practicalities of the accomodation on route - I'll post a link once it's finished.

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JuliaF

Brilliant Wim. Really useful info, thanks.

wim

Right - here's some info on the hotels I stayed at. I mainly opted for cheap lodges as I'm not too fussy about accomodation.

Nasik: Panchavati Guesthouse
Location: the Nasik map in Lonely Planet is pretty useless. Just ask around - everyone knows the place. Ask for "Panchavati Hotel" as that's the better known upper class hotel it shares its location with.
Price: Single room with fan, private bathroom and TV: 520 Rs
Desc: Fairly clean but more basic than its price would suggest. Rooms are quiet, away from the street. Hot water only between 6 AM and 9 AM. I had a big room with four beds as a single room. There's a power generator in case of power cut.
Management: Head Manager is in a constant bad mood, others are friendly.
Food: Two good restaurants in the other hotels of the Panchavati Complex - one serving Gujarati Thali.
Walking distance:
Old busstand - 5 min
New busstand - 10 min
Ramkund - 10 min

Aurangabad: Natraj Hotel
Location: Southern end of Station Road West, next to Tourists Home
Price: Single room with fan and private bathroom: 175 Rs
Desc: Basic rooms set around a well kept garden. Rooms are simple but clean, quite big and airy. Hot water comes only in buckets for a small charge. Good value hotel.
Management: Friendly and helpful management.
Food: Good choice of restaurants on nearby Station Road East.
Walking distance:
Railway station - 3 min
To get to the hotel from the Central Bus Stand, either walk South for 20 min or take a city bus from the road opposite the busstand and get off at the railway station, from there walk North for 3 min.

Deulgaon Raja: Pavan Lodge
Location: Third or fourth street on the right, off the main East/West street coming from the busstand - just ask.
Price: Single room with fan, private bathroom and TV: 350 Rs
Desc: Very basic and overpriced scruffy room with a dirty bathroom. Rooftop location with a large terrace. There's one AC-room as well - slightly better kept - which they offered me for 500 Rs, and there's rooms with shared bathroom for 250 Rs. Across the street is another lodging option, but I didn't check it out.
Management: No English spoken. Owner is a bit useless, but the young help is friendly.
Food: The town has a few basic and dirty dhaba's that all looked unappetising, I only ate a cold vada at one - but there's a good restaurant serving Punjabi dishes on the main road just 150 metres over the bridge East out of town on your left.
Walking distance :
Busstand - 5 min

Lonar: MTDC Lodge
Location: About 15 minutes walk from busstand. Turn left and follow the main road for almost ten minutes, then at the main intersection turn right for almost the same distance. If in doubt - ask for "MTDC"
Price: Single room with fan, private bathroom and TV: 832 Rs including all taxes
Desc: Rooms are huge - as is the two-piece bathroom. Typical state-run hotel that really could do with a makeover as it's pretty worn. The restaurant looks unappetising - but you can eat outside on its terrace and enjoy the great view. Probably the best option in Lonar as it has an excellent location, right opposite the lower rim - from the restaurant you look straight into the crater.
Management: They're okay. Only the manager speaks English, the rest gets by.
Food: Only tried the restaurant in the hotel, which isn't good and has to make do with few ingredients. None too fresh and a tendency to serve cold rice.
Walking distance :
Busstand - 15 min

Aundha Nagnath: Yatri Niwas
Location: Right next to the Jyotirlingam temple.
Price: Single room with fan and private bathroom: 200 Rs + 100 Rs 'deposit' which you'll get back on check out.
Desc: Truly terrible and filthy room with a disgusting bathroom and toilet. There's a window at back that opens onto the village's open air toilet. I found out there's a better place a bit North out of town on the highway, but don't know what it's like or what they charge.
Management: Two rude and unfriendly youths and a nice old man. No English spoken.
Food: Lots of options in town, some just next to the guesthouse.
Walking distance:
Busstand - 3 min

Nanded: Sri Guru Gobind Singhji NRI Yatri Niwas
Location: a 10 minutes walk North-West of the main entrance to the Sachkand Gurudwara, on the street leading North to Hingoli Gate
Price: Single room with AC, fan and private bathroom: They charge a 400 Rs 'service fee' per night
Desc: Excellent value - newly built pilgrim accomodation for the 2008 celebrations in town. Big room, very clean and everything still in proper and working order. Private balcony. Bathroom especially is wonderful - huge with marble tiles and modern fittings. The building has a bit of a mosquito problem though.
Management: They sort of leave you to your stuff - no English spoken.
Food: No options closeby - though there's plenty of places in town, about 10 minutes on foot.
Walking distance:
Busstand: Don't know, I took a motorickshaw for 20 Rs. Probably about 15 minutes walking distance. The railway station lies just East of the busstand, on the other side of the flyover.

Ambajogai: Hotel Krushnai
Location: From the busstand head right on the main road, follow it for about 500 metres. Just after crossing a small stream, it's the building on your right hand side. There's no English sign.
Price: Single room with fan, private bathroom and TV: 364 Rs including all taxes
Desc: Well run place, clean and pleasant room. There's a good restaurant on the ground floor and a newly opened internet shop just underneath, accessible from the street.
Management: Friendly people - one of the family's sons speaks good English.
Food: The hotel's restaurant is probably the best place to eat in town.
Walking distance:
Busstand: 3 minutes

Tuljapur: Government Rest House
Location: From the busstand head right and turn right again at the first crossing - there's a white sign posted in the middle of the road. There are better looking lodges on the main road, but they seemed reluctant to take backpackers. There's an internet shop in town - from the Rest House walk to the main road and head right, away from town. Take the second street on your left and walk about 150 metres - you'll see the sign.
Price: Single room with fan and private bathroom: 200 Rs
Desc: Delapitated and dirty. Spacious room, though. Mosquito problems at night as some windows are broken.
Management: There was only an old caretaker around, who was friendly enough but didn't speak one word of English.
Food: A lot of options closeby - in town or across the busstand.
Walking Distance:
Busstand: only a minute or so.

Sholapur: Hotel Sai Prasadh
Location: Close to the town centre - the fort and main temple are both less than a ten minutes walk.
Price: I opted for a double room with fan, private bathroom and TV: 304 Rs including all taxes. A single room costs about 100 Rs less, but they were all full when I got there.
Desc: Very worn - has definitely seen better days, but it's just about adequate for its price.
Management: The charming owner speaks good English and is friendly and helpful.
Food: The hotel has got its own okayish veg-restaurant with an outdoor setting. There's more options up the road.
Walking distance:
Busstand: Don't know - there's a prepaid autorickshaw-service that charges 20 Rs for the ride.
Railway Station: About 10 minutes. From the roundabout at the railway stations exit take the left road and follow it for a bit more than five minutes, making a slight bend just before you come at a main crossroads. Turn right and follow this road for another 3 minutes, the hotel is on your right hand side.

Rachmilievitch

Thanks much WIM for this post. We're going to be in Aurangabad in about 12 days and your information is helping with our planning.

snonymous

Enjoyed your report Wim, a lot of detail which will be most useful for prospective visitors.

From your photos, I see that you also made it to the ancient temples of Tamil Nadu. Look forward to seeing your report on this part of the country as well.

rnx

Hey Thanks wim. Great information, really detailed and helpful.

My friend Goo

sweet.

Great material

Jorge Reverter

Great Post with really useful information. In the area and after Ambajogai you can follow the journey to Bidar a real gem, is not Maharashtra but worth the visit.

Congratulations

Jorge

wim

Thanks - I hope it's of help to others.

Snonymous - In Tamil Nadu I stuck to more well-travelled parts, I might post some info, but think it's already well covered. Places I liked best were Trichy's Sri Ranganathaswamy Temple, Kumbakonam and Gingee.

machadinha

Looks like excellent & useful (and inspirational!) reporting, thanks.

Did you enter those hotels into the site's Hotel Listings as well? Would be helpful to others again.

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wim

Might do that - although I see most towns aren't even listed.
I added the locations of the tomb in Deulgaon Raja, the Yatri Niwas in Nanded and the Government Rest House in Tuljapur to Wikimapia, if anyone's using that. Most other places are already on the map, I noticed.

HONeYSOL

Hi Wim - had a look at the photos o your web site - they are fantastic - inspired me to go exploring. Thanks!

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rsk11584

Aurangabad:

To travel inside the city you can take any auto, autowalas wont cheat. Else if you hired a car that will be best. The main shopping centre area of Aurangabad is known by name of Nirala Bazaar, Gulmandi, Tilak Path, Paithan Gate, Aurangpura.

Aurangpura is the main area which is known for shopping, colleges, restaurants.
From there within walkable distance you can view through all areas provided you have lots of time...

Gulmandi is the main Centre area,, having a big tower and clock ,,, one road leads to Tilak Path and opposite road leads to City Chowk area the old city area..

If you go towards city chowk you will find a street named rangar galli, it has many many shops selling saries, and at end of the street before city chowk is attar bazaar shops who sell oil based scents , perfumes. These perfumes are too cheap and come for around 25 - 30 Rs for 3 ML bottle. And these scents are strong and sweet smelling. You can buy following scents / attars, ROSE, MOGRA, are flowers, SANDAL / CHANDAN is sandalwood, for a strong scent you can buy FIZA, or for foreign scents formulated ones you can ask for ATTAR BOSS by AROCHEM INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, it is duplication of hugoboss with same scent. Also you can try their local made perfumes.

Also dont forget to eat JALEBIS, n BHAJIAS at UTTAM UPAHAR GRUHA (UTTAM SWEETS) it is a very famous shop... selling JALEBIS n SWEETMEATS, then in tilak path you can find a variety of good quality dresses and bargain a little to get a good price.. And then after you finish your shopping and become tired you can walk to Nirala Bazar and eat at a good restaurant...

edwardseco

No Ahmednagar.?

snonymous

I just saw rsk's post about Aurangabad sweets and then yours Edward about Ahmednagar. This reminds me about the most scrumptious, most divine Gulab Jamuns on earth - from Bansilal in Ahmednagar, or is it Bansidhar? Whatever, they are absolutely the best - quite different to the normal gulab jamuns.

Sorry Wim, off topic.

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