Tuesday, September 19, 2006

In the Lap of Nature

Finally back in Pune after a lovely weekend trip to the Upper Deck Resort in Lonavla... the memories still fresh... didn't feel like going to office today...



Perched on a hill overlooking the beautiful Tungarli dam and valley, just 4-5 kms from Lonavla, the resort is a perfect weekend getaway for the harried city dweller.



Approachable only by a rugged jeep over an impossibly difficult track, the resort welcomes you with beautiful views of the twin peaks, the sheer rock face in front of you, and the glimmering lake in the distance.



Our group of 8 (Myself, Madhavi and Sanam, my brother in law Siddha and Shweta, and my cousin Chandan, Pratima and their daughter Rutu) reached Upper Deck in the afternoon, and had a quick lunch followed by a good siesta.



When we woke up, a light drizzle was beginning to cool down temperatures.. we went for a walk, and were surprised to find some of the most beautiful crabs (and butterflies) up there in the rocky mountain paths.



Night fell, and we came back to a good dinner, followed by a session of ghost stories - the rolling fog providing the perfect setting!



Early the next morning, we cooked up some tea, and then got into our hiking shoes - climbing down into the valley, up the hill in front of us, back down again on the opposite side, across a creek, and then up a pretty steep face for a breaktaking view of the Tungarli dam and it's catchment area.

Collected some pretty rocks - glistening in the morning dew - once back in the room, Rutu spent a lot of toothpaste trying to clean them up for display!



We came back after an hour and half of trekking to a sumptuous breakfast, before packing our bags.. back to Pune, and the traffic snarls and the smog.

At 22,000 for the two cottages, everything considered, it was definitely pretty expensive - but then, you can never put a price tag on these things anyway, can you?

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