Kolad – A Weekend Destination from Mumbai and Pune

A sleepy little village by the banks of the river Kundalika – sounds like a lazy weekend? Nope, Kolad is much much more than that. Sure you can choose to have a lazy weekend here, but once you discover what Kolad offers, I am sure you might want to consider a great, adrenaline-filled holiday.

View of the Kundalika River, Kolad
View of the Kundalika River

Let me first introduce Kolad to you. This place is a lovely little village around 100 plus km from Mumbai and Pune. The place has become quite popular recently –  with a lot of resorts cropping up. Owing to the proximity, it is a weekend destination for folks in the two big cities of Maharashtra. With its river and hilly terrain, Kolad has been developed as a hub for adventure sports. Here is an overview of the stuff you can do and visit Kolad during your upcoming weekends.

1) River Rafting

River Rafting in Kundalika River , Kolad
River Rafting in Kundalika River Image Credits: Himanshu Sarpotdar under CC by NC-ND 2.0

14 km of rapids and fast flowing water of river Kundalika makes Kolad a popular white water rafting destination. This is the most popular activity offered here and there are plenty of operators who offer the same. Most of the resorts have a tie-up with the operators.  Kolad Rafting, Adventure Kolad and Kundalika Rafting are some of the operators who offer this. The rapids are owing to the release of water from the Dam on the river. Hence, rafting is available only at certain times. So do book in advance and plan your trip to get 2 hours of total adrenaline rush in a Grade 1-3 River!!!

2) Forts and Caves

Kuda Caves   
Kuda Caves                                                                                       Image Credits: Damitr under CC by SA

2 ancient forts, one set of 26 caves, and a great trekking route. Sounds like a good combo? Around Kolad are two forts –  Talgad and Ghosalgad forts. These forts are fairly unexplored and offer some lovely trekking routes. You can spend a day trekking to the top to discover some natural ponds, water cisterns, ruined temples and carvings. At Ghosalgad fort, you can visit the Cannon point and Chota Darwaza (small door). The latter is a small hole or tunnel that was used to escape the enemies. Both the forts have some amazing views from the top – a complete reward for your trek up. 🙂

Kuda Caves, Kolad
Kuda Caves                                                                  Image Credit: Damitr under CC by SA

Combined with the forts, you can add the Kuda caves. These caves are Buddhist caves, which have some age-old inscriptions on their walls. It is said that the carvings are dated between first to sixth century B.C. The interiors are designed to be like that of a Stupa. A definite must-visit for the sheer heritage and history it offers.

An ideal trek would be to combine the forts and caves together. These places can be covered in a day but you would need a vehicle to take you between these places.

3) Waterfalls and Lakes

Tamhini Ghat, Kolad
Tamhini Ghat                                                                                                         Image Credits: Priyanka Roy Chaudhury under CC by 2.0

Tamhini Ghats is a beautiful and picturesque waterfalls in Kolad – a fun-spot for friends and family. You can wade through the cool waters and have some great time under the waterfalls. The falls are surrounded by a lovely green cover and one can observe a lot of birds around here. 

And if you are a bird-watcher, you should head to the Sutarwadi Lake – a beautiful waterscape surrounded by hills. Load yourselves with your binoculars and SLRs to capture some really beautiful winged creatures in action.

4) Fishing, Boating and a Calm Holiday

Boating on the Kundalika River, Kolad
Boating on the Kundalika River, Kolad

Well, now this is something that I opted for in Kolad –  to just chill out with family and friends – a little quality, fun yet peaceful time. So, just pick a resort amongst the several around and spend a complete weekend here amidst nature and fun activities. I stayed at the Doctors Farm – a horticultural farm, by the Kundalika river. The facility like many other resorts offers activities like boating, swimming and fun fishing. 

Fishing in Kolad
Yep – caught it

The fun fishing is a great activity with kids too – crude way of fishing where you catch the fish, with wooden rods and dough as the bait, and then leave them back into the river. My niece had a great time doing it on her own – so much that she possibly did only that through our stay. 

Some of these resorts also, offer other adventure sports like rappelling, ziplines etc. You can check on these on their websites. Kolad has plenty of resorts and stay for all budgets – hence, you pick the one that suits you the best. It’s great for some bonding time – whether friends, family or even team outings. So, if you are in Mumbai or Pune, just head to Kolad this weekend to do what you best like from my list. 🙂

Kolad

How to get to Kolad?

  •  Kolad is best accessed by road from Mumbai or Pune. It is on the Mumbai-Goa highway which has good road conditions
    • From Pune, you can head via the road through Mulshi Dam.
  • There is a railway station as well, connected by some trains from Mumbai.
  • There are regular buses from Mumbai and Pune to Kolad.

Travel Tips:

  • The best season to head here starts from August right upto March. The weather here is fairly moderate throughout the year. It does get a little nippy in the evening though – so carry some light woolens with you.
  • When heading to the water sports or waterfalls and lake, carry a spare set of clothes. The water is really tempting 🙂 
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23 thoughts on “Kolad – A Weekend Destination from Mumbai and Pune”

  1. Wow… There is so much more in Kolad.. all we did was water sports! The fishing activity sounds like super fun 🙂 Who is that little girl in the pic?

    Reply
  2. Thanks:-). The little girl is my niece 🙂 And yes, Fishing is good fun, though I felt a little squeemish after catching my first one and then unhooking it to leave it back into the river. 🙂

    Reply

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