Day Trip to Lavasa

The upcoming hill city of Lavasa is known as much for its green verdant surroundings as for the controversies related to commercial exploitation of forested lands close to a vital water reservior. Driving to Lavasa from Pune is a pleasure, especially at this time. The roads are excellent and scenic.

Wild flowers and small farmlands filled with sugarcane and sunflowers passed by as we ascended the winding roads leading up the hills. Wispy clouds surrounded us as we marvelled at the beautiful hilly vistas as far as the eye could see.



We stopped briefly at the Temghar dam, a desolate large structure on the Mutha river. The river Mutha originates close by near a village of the same name. This is an area with multiple dams and catchment areas - a critical lifeline for Pune since much of its water-supply depends on the rains that fall here and are collected by these dams for use through the year.


It was lightly drizzling as we arrived at the gates of Lavasa, but the sun came out shortly after and the steam rising from the roads made for an interesting picture.

We had made bookings for lunch at Ekaant, a well appointed lodge at the top of the hill, overlooking the lake and cityscape of this hill town. We freshened up and rested for a while before heading to their restaurant, Vyanjan, for lunch.




Vyanjan serves a very good lunch buffet. South Indian, North Indian, Italian and Chinese food was combined together for a scrumptuous spread to please any palate. I especially liked their fiery Baramati mutton curry and Amritsari fish tikkas. The kosambari salad brought back memories of my days at Mysore. Dessert consisted of fruits, gajar ka halwa and a creative twist on mousse made with Rasgulla, Gulkand and called Gul Gul Mousse. It was actually pretty good!





With prior planning you can do rock-climbing, water-sports and other stuff. We down to the city, still under construction. They are designing villas and the waterfront buildings to resemble the Italian Riviera.

Lavasa/Ekaant is a good option for a quick day-trip from Pune. You can make reservations for lunch and/or boarding in Ekaant at: 020-66757000.