Trip to Hyderabad - Travelogue - Day 1

Pune- Hyderabad - Pune🚗🚗🚗

4 Day Trip to Hyderabad - Telangana - Jaruur Aaana

We had thought of going for a road trip in our new Tata Curvv car. Post Diwali we thought it would be a good time to travel. We searched through the night post our day jobs the location we can travel to in our car. We had to keep in mind that there was only a single driver (me) and we had to plan something that is within our limits. Post lot of search and reading, we fixed that "Hyderabad" is where we will travel. In my teenage, in my college days and there after for work, I had travelled to Hyderabad. So I has some knowledge of the locations and travel options. Leaves were applied for and mid week of Oct 29th we began our travel.

Travel Day - Pune to Pandharpur

On the 1st day of travel, 29th Oct we began our day early at 5.45am as it would be a 12hrs drive from Pune to Hyderabad. We stopped at Pune RTO petrol pump and filled in the tank to the brim. In Hyderabad, we planned to stay is Begumpet area in "The Plaza Hotel" this was run by the Telangana Tourism Dept and was highly rated and centrally located. While planning the travel, we intended to visit nearby places on the highway, our 1st stop was Pandharpur.

1st pitstop was Kamat hotel on the Solapur Pune Highway at Yawat and we wanted to get our tummies full as the next stop was Pandharpur. My wife did not like the breakfast and we both discussed on the way that we could have stopped at better hotels to explore taste and I was of the opinion that we wanted to have safe food :)

On the way we took lot of pics and videos near Ujjani Dam

We reached Pandharpur by 11.30am and quickly wanted to take Darshan and move towards our next stop which was Naldurg.

Tanga Ride in Pandharpur

Western Gate of the Pandharpur Temple

We decided to take Mukh Darshan which cost us around 20-30mins of time and we were able to pleasantly witness Vitthal Rakhumai fast as we had to march on to our destination. We spent around 90mins overall in Pandharpur and we started moving towards Naldurg at around 1pm IST

Travel Day - Pandharpur to Naldurg

While travelling to Hyderabad passing Pandharpur, you also get to witness the Naldurg Fort which is on the way and near the state border. So we had preplanned to visit the fort as it was right beside the highway route.

Entrance from Highway to Naldurg

Naldurg Fort Visit

We reached Naldurg at 2.30pm IST and were going to spend some time exploring the fort and then move on towards Hyderabad. 

Bastions of Naldurg

Small Entrance to Naldurg

At the entrance we were told that this fort comes under ASI and we cant click pics on DSLR cameras. Such notices are also kept to read at the inner entrance of the fort. While it was a useless board and notice we obliged and mentioned to the guard that we wont take DSLR pics but would click on phone.

The fort is very unique in nature and is surrounded by water in all 3 sides. It has internal waterfall and water reservoir systems. This fort after various kingdoms like Chalukyas, Bahamanis, Adil Shahis, Mughals and the Marathas, pass this on to one another, at the end was under the control of the Nizams of Hyderabad. After independence the Nizams of Hyderabad had decided to remain independent and this fort saw a battle with the Indian Army then. The small battle was named as "Operation Polo"

Ancient Fort Court and Police Station

The Indian forces launched a multi-pronged push on Naldurg and saw resistance from Razakars and the battle is permanently etched in Indian Military history.

Ancient Canon Design

Walking by the Bastion Walls

The Nar Mada Gates of Naldurg Water Reservoir

It took us till 5pm IST to complete exploration of the fort, it was a wonderful experience and the fort was built with lot of planning and thought. We had plans to also visit the Bidar fort on the way, but since it was already late for us, it would take us close to 10pm IST to reach Hyderabad to our hotel. We called our close friend who works out of Hyderabad and he too recommended to us that we skip the next fort as we would not reach in time.

Entering Hyderabad

When you enter Hyderabad and move towards Begumpet, you have to take the ORR (Outer Ring Road). I had first witnessed the ORR when I had visited Hyderabad in 2018 when I had a work related travel. My wife and kid witnessed it for the 1st time. It was drizzling and raining while we were reaching the hotel and we were 40 mins away.

Driving on the ORR section

Welcome to Hyderabad Traffic

We check-in at the hotel and had our dinner in the hotel itself. The next day for us was Ramoji Film City and then we were to also meet our friend in Hyderabad. Await the adventures of Day 2.

Trip to Khandi Point

Trip to Khandi Point 🚗🚗🚗🚗

It was 10th August and a day of weekend holiday for a IT jobber. We had recently bought our new car Tata Curvv and wanted to take it to spin nearby. We decided to go to Khandi Point. This is located 85kms from Pune (60 kms from our place). Its situated near Andhra Reservoir. The drive to Khandi Point is very scenic and the pics showcase the same beauty nearby Pune. Khandi Point is located on the LatLong - 18.83718° N, 73.60871° E

You have to take a right before Kanhe Fata and the place is easily found on Google Maps. While leading to Khandi Point and passing through the picturesque road you will find lot of windmills on the way.

 

Post reaching the spot, it was raining very heavily and we hardly got time to spend outside. This was a improcto plan and we did not carry any rain covering gear with us.

We drove around and did a bit of off-roading and enjoyed the scenery around.

With that we came to the end of our half a day trip which was very enjoyable. If you dont want to depend on outside food, you can carry your own and enjoy at the spot. Until next time see you.

Trip to Naneghat and Shivneri

Naneghat and Fort Shivneri Travel Blog 🚩🚩🚩

Post new year, we had our kids 4th Bday coming up and we had our extended family come up to Pune. We had a weekend in hand and we all decided to travel to Naneghat and Shivneri. My wife's siblings are trekking and outdoor travel activities fan and as soon as we discussed of Naneghat and Shivneri they were up for it.

Naneghat 🏃🏃⛺⛺⛺⛺🚩🚩

We started the travel from our place at 11am. We had around 2-3 hours of travel ahead of us and facing the scenario that we would reach Shivneri in peak afternoon. We decided to visit Naneghat first as it was the farthest location and would be peaceful during the peak afternoon. We reached Naneghat at 2pm.

We spent some time at the cave of Naneghat and explored the surrounding area.

My wives family had travelled for kids bday hence this was a first visit for them to Naneghat. We waited for around 30-40 mins and witnessed the ancient place.

Ancient language on the walls of the Naneghat caves

Ancient Pot for Toll Collection at Naneghat

After completing the tour of Naneghat, we began our journey towards Fort Shivneri. On the way same location, you also get to see the Jivdhan Fort. This is part of the Famous Five Treks. You also can find Fort Hadsar on the way.

Fort Jivdhan close to Naneghat

We reached Shivneri Fort at 5pm and started climbing quickly as the fort closes at 6.30pm IST for security reason and it is also a forest protected area. 

Fort Shivneri 🚩🚩🚩

This was my 4th visit to the birth place of our Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. We spent time exploring the fort.

We returned back to Pune safely and this was a end to yet another trip of ours.

Stay tuned for the next one.