Agra: Taj Mahal

No one needs an Introduction to Taj Mahal. To visit Taj Mahal you needs to find out the most odd time of the Day. We went to Agra the night before, had a chat with some locals. TM opens at 6 am for visitors. Thats the best time to go. There are 2 reasons for it, to avoid rush and to see the TM in the morning Sun rather in the noon or evening(When its heavily crowded).

We stayed pretty near to Taj, you can find many cheap hotels on hotel booking Website. We stayed in Treebo Hotel. It was a disaster for services(No hot water one night, Power cut). But the food was good.

the ticket counter is NOT near the TAJ entrance. It is nearly a kilomter away from Taj. Remember to check the location to the hotel reception before you begin. Just outside the tiicket counter there are government run electric golf cabs which shuttle to and from the counter to Taj. Dont use private tanga/cycle-rickshaw they will loot you.

It is always good to take a guide once you reach Taj. Its not fun without understanding the history. If you are Indian you can bargain down the guide to upto 400 bucks.

Below is the main entrance to the Taj . You will get a guide here.

The the early morning bliss I tld you about earlier. Beauty of the Taj changes every minute. Byt, with less rush you can enjoy more.

Naneghat Valley.....

The ideal plan is to start early on a Saturday morning trek Shivneri by Afternoon, head to the Naneghat valley for the evening. There is a good spot near to the Valley called Naneghat Valley Resort. It is more like a farm house which is more ideal in a location like this. They charge Rs.1000 for night stay for 4 persons (cost could vary/contact Ranjit Jagtap- mob: +91 9657 387 118). You can enjoy veg/non-veg food here as well. There are cold drinks only available here. You can bring your own ;).

Get up early morning and Visit the caves, the views are Magnificent and it is really mesmerizing to see the architecture built 2200 years ago. These caves and the valley was dug up by the Satvaahan Kingdom in order to facilitate traders and people to cross from Sahyadri mountains to Kalyan City. In the biggest cave you can see inscriptions in Brahmi lipi. We have been told the currently study is going on to understand the script. There are four fresh water ponds near these caves and there is always fresh water in it. 

Please be advised this spot is of great historical importance to all of us. Hence do not visit this place for having lunch or partying. There are always regular police rounds to the caves and surrounding mountain. You can get into a big problem if you caught drinking or doing any other notty stuff or even littering around.

Once you are done with the caves, there are 2 Ganpati locations near from here. First one is the Lenyadri Ganpati and Caves and next is the Ozar Ganpati. For visiting them you have to come back upto Shivneri. Is hardly 10 kms from the same Shivaji Square in Junnar. Like this you can spend a healthy and spiritual weekend altogether and budget does not exceed 2000/ person.

 

 

View from the Resort early morning for the Sunrise Photography 
 

This is the Jivdhan Fort which can be seen on the South of the Resort 
 

Pet Turkey at the Resort 

You can see lush green mats of these flower just spread accross the landscape.

The Naneghat Valley Resort

pet Ducks 

The Naneghat

 Inscriptions in Brahmi Lipi.

The word Naneghat literally means 'Nane' i.e coin and Ghat i.e Pass. In olden times his was a toll road. Which make this spot the oldest spot on the planet to take tolls for the road. The big stone vessel that yu see is a coin collector which is still standing. People had to insert a coin in this before they could take the road.

On our way back,  that is a statue of Jiza Bai and young Shivaji Maharaj. In the back you can see the Shivneri Fort with the infamous 'Kade loat' of the fort. Kade loat is the edge of the fort from where guilty prisoners were pushed to their deaths.  This is from the Golden Age of Shivaji Maharaj where no one dared to commit crimes due to such serious punishments

Well, at the resort you can chose which hen you want for dinner :)

Colours of the Blends....

It was noon time and  I was getting geared up for the party at night...I had some time..i thought..let use all the bottles and make it a permanent memory...Cheers!!

Bhuleshwar Temple

Bhuleshwar temple is located at about 50-60 kms from Pune on the Solapur highway depending on where you start in Pune. The Solapur highway is re-vamped and it is a great ride in the highway.

You can see the bhuleshwas temple on the south side immediately after you cross the second toll from Pune.

This temple is built in the 13th century and is a declared monument of Heritage by the Government of India. So no matter what kind of a big shot you are or how much attitude you have it in, keep it at the door steps of the temple. There are 2 gaurds at the gate. Important thing to know is that Photography is allowed in the temple but you are not supposed to photograph the main Shivling. It is considered taboo in Hinduism and secondly you will be fined. So try not hurt anyone's feelings and faith when you are clicking the fotos. I am writing this para just because i have seen idiots doing idiotic things at heritage sites and ruining it for others. So if you think you are one them, avoid going to Bhuleshwar.

Coming back to the topic, then temple is built in a manner to actually hide the real temple. So when you enter the main door you dont see anything but an empty door with darkness beyond it. You think that there is no light in there and you enter in the hopes that there will be a statue in there. But its not. Again, the architectural beauty and brilliance. When you look at the right or left, there are narrow steps leading you upwards. When you go up thats where the magic comes to light. You see the beautiful temple.

when you see carefully the temple is nothing but  perfectly  arranged stones and the beautiful carving done within them Much like the Sun temple of Puri.