Rolling Greens – Magical Jawhar

Prelude: Wanderlust struck early this week and by Wednesday the itch to ride out was becoming unbearable indeed. Unfortunately it looked like most biking groups I knew were struck by troll attacks and it looked difficult to propose a ride in the midst of all the fistfights on topics as varied as club-TShirt colors to TCI on the Electra! Just when I lost all hope and was about to ride out solo to one of my regulars to Kashid or “B”, Dr.Arnob from the BikeNomads pinged me and soon we were chalking out a ride to Jawhar!

Co-Riders:

Dr. Arnob or Doc as we know him. Unlike the other wannabe “Doc’s” we know, this one is the real thing! A doctor by profession and a rider by passion. Fabulous rider holding numerous records like Mumbai-Ludhiana in a single day etc. All on his HH Karizma!

Jay from Mumbai & William from Venezuela on their- Royal Enfield Electra 350’s joined us for part of the way but returned due to work callin back home!

The Ride: The plan entailed me riding out from New Mumbai to Thane, then taking the Ghodbunder axis to sync up with Doc at “Hotel Fountain” on the junction with the NH8. “Hotel Fountain” is fast becoming the favored adda of the B-B-G (Bewda Bulleteers Group) so navigation was pretty easy! However truck traffic on the road from Kopar Khairane to Thane was a beeatch and by the time I reached Thane it was just past 8 am. The thickly forested Ghodbunder road, which is in the news these days for leopards prowling about has clearly fallen victim to unplanned development with dhabas and ugly matchbox shaped buildings sprouting all over. Can you blame the wild animals for striking back? The road from Fountain was pretty much a tame 4 laned affair with only a few potholed stretches causing some holdups. But overall we made good speed on this road. The silencer on Williams brand-new Bullet Electra 350 chose this moment to separate itself from the body and we had to ride a little slow till the next mechanic to ensure that people around didnt go deaf at the sound of this monster! Despite what the anti-Bullet/Plastic Toy crowd may have to say, i think it sounded sweet: nothing comes close to the musical sound of the thump of a bullet.

The narrow country road after Charoti was in fantastic shape and we both rode aggressively peg-scraping at around 70/80 as the scenery opened up around us. Long time since i have ridden like that! The first ghat came up immediately after Vikramgad and it was hill riding all the way from there onwards. Misjudged a turn and nearly took a topple at 90kph but fortunately managed to veer back on the road in time! I was certainly having a blast though it looked like Doc was getting worried about my aggresive riding! The 40 odd kms were over a little too soon just as we were getting “in the mood” and It was with some dissapointment that I went easy on Dougies throttle as we approached Jawhar.

Jawhar is small little town nestled in the Sahyadri hills that was once famous as the capital of a tribal kingdom that nobody dared touch with a barge pole! They spared no one who came anywhere near: from the portuguese to Shivaji to the British!! Today it is better known as a favored location for shooting song sequences for films. its proximity to Gujarat (Vapi is just a short hop away) means that it has become a weekend getaway for Gujjus looking for a break. Unlike a few years back Jawhar is well equipped to handle the tourists today. As usual, the Government has access to the best location in town and the state-owned MTDC which runs a resort called “Sunset Point” located on a cliff with AWESOME views is the best bet. Swimming Pool, and all meals included in the room rent! Food was average, but the chef did come up with the most delicious kababs using meats of all kinds! HIGHLY RECOMENDED!!

Around 25 kms ahead of Jawhar is a popular waterfall by the name of “Dabhosa”. Its become quite a picnic spot despite the arduous trek of a km down a steep hill. Despite its size, Dabhosa is not a perenial waterfall and virtually dries up by February. There is another “secret” waterfall which we discovered on this trip. This entailed travelling about 25 kms on a roughly South/South East heading from Jawhar and then doing a rough off-road for around 5 kms till we reached the tip of a hill on the other side of which was the waterfall. Parking our bikes in the shade on the side of the trail, we footed it down the steep slope till we reached the waterfall which was surrounded on all sides by thick jungle completely cut off from civilization. Should make a great camping site!

On the return, Doc decided to take the turnoff to Manor while I decided to take shorter country road that would take me straight to Thane and from there onwards to New Mumbai. FANTASTIC road all the way upto Bhiwandi when civilization came into the equation!

All in all, a great ride and definitely recomended for all those looking for a quick getaway from Mumbai!