Introduction
Do you wish to go for a small adventurous trip with your friends or family or office friends and just lay all the stress out and enjoy yourselves?
Then this article is for you!
In just the backdrop of the sahyadri hills there is a beautiful village known as Kolad also known as the adventure capital of India which is located in the Raigad district of Maharashtra which is approximately 121 km away from Mumbai, this calls for a road trip! Get on board with all your basic amenities and get ready for your adventurous trip.
One can travel via train to Mumbai and Pune from where they can either opt for a bus, car drive. You can also go by train from Dadar to Raha station from where you can catch a rickshaw or a private cab as per your situation.
Best time to visit:
Kolad camping can be year round but in our opinion go for it in the winter season ranging from October to march. This is because there will be minimal humidity, cooler climate and the temperature ranges from 15-23 degree celsius.
Camping:
Kolad has a beautiful river surrounded by a lush green environment and the water as clear as the sky. Now, imagine yourself camping beside the river. How mesmerising it is going to be! You get to look at the clear sky above you and which you don’t get in the concrete jungle. You can dip your legs into the cool water and sit there along with your friends gossiping and having the best time of your life.
There are various trip packages available from where you can opt the one suitable for you.
The river flows from the mountains so it becomes the perfect one for river rafting which is the major highlight of the day.
Build a fire around your tent at night where everyone sings, dances around the fire, narrates some stories and just deepen those bonds and know more about each other. The sky at night is breathtaking and the reflection of the water at night makes you want to leave your city life and move out here.
Adventurer rises!
This is going to be the favourite section for all those adrenaline junkies out there. Kolad provides you with a wide range of water sports including kayaking, river rafting, banana boat ride and zip lining.
From the above mentioned activities the major highlight of your trip is going to be the river rafting. It is quite thrilling and challenging which makes it more appealing. The rafting will be done on a fast flowing downstream of 12 km most of the time in a group of 10. The rafting takes about 3 hours to complete. One plus point about river rafting in the Kolad river is that there are no sudden changes in the water level which make it a bit safer.
Basic amenities to carry with you:
- Do carry your power bank to charge your mobile phone
- Carry a first aid kit with all the basic needs
- Your travelling pillow and blankets
- Personal medicines
- Proper footwear
- Flashlight
- Umbrella (just to be a bit cautious)
- Warm clothing
- Hat
- Extra pair of clothing and fresh towels
- Bluetooth speaker (optional)
Things you can do:
If you have extra time in your hand then you can go for:
- Tala fort climb which is suitable for the winter season.Go for it if you have energy left in you because there is a lot to climb.
- Bhira dam on whose water currents you did the rafting.
- Kuda caves is led by a small trek which makes the end destination so beautiful. If you are with some friends do go for the trek to these caves which have few carvings, sculpture of elephants and writings in Pal language are quite clear. Kunda caves are 1st BC caves.
- Kolad museum which is 1 hour away from the river rafting point. The museum exhibits beautiful sculptures of humans and birds carved on wood. Sometimes there are also sales occurring there.
A visit to the Kolad village and the river gives one a fresh perspective of things. It makes you feel closer to mother earth and nature. We sometimes forget to appreciate the beauty that our land holds. It is trips like these that remind us of the importance of the environment. It’s a shame there is still so much pollution but we need to protect our water bodies and in fact our surrounding to stop from degradation.
