Leafy vistas, glamping, and sundown kayaking collide to jazz up your weekend at Moonstone Hammock’s luxurious campsite.
Inns Maharashtra
Tanay Gokhale
| POSTED ON: March 26, 2021
Kayaking is greatest loved round sundown on the property. Picture Courtesy: Moonstone Hammock
Three stations earlier than Karjat on Mumbai’s Central Line lies Shelu, the form of village the place two SUVs can not run subsequent to one another. Ours positively didn’t, and my buddy and I needed to again right down to make room for a loaded truck earlier than making it throughout the village to Moonstone Hammock, a secluded luxurious campsite parked proper subsequent to the river Ulhas—our den for the weekend. Ask Athang, my partner-in-crime, and he’ll vouch that trekking and tenting within the hills round Nashik has been our quick-fix stress-buster these previous few months, ever because the pandemic put a lock on most pubs and eating places. This time nevertheless, we have been wanting ahead to the outside expertise sans our drained limbs, chilly packed meals, and the mildly disappointing campfires that we had grown accustomed to.
Unfold out over 5 acres of what was previously an orchard, Moonstone Hammock, a simple weekend’s drive from each Mumbai and Pune, provides three sorts of lodging. Whereas purists can go for the bottom tents devoid of all luxuries, glamping tents include facilities like a mattress and electrical sockets. Friends who’re visiting for the luxurious environment and never essentially for the tenting expertise can shell out somewhat extra and go for jungle cabins fitted with an air conditioner and an hooked up rest room. Life outdoor has an inherent novelty for many metropolis slickers, however Moonstone Hammock’s appeal lies within the fun-packed host of actions and experiences it provides—actually a case of the entire expertise being price greater than the sum of its components.
Our day actually kicks off after snacks at round 4:30 p.m. when some friends arrange video games of carrom, UNO and Monopoly on the frequent leisure house, whereas others gravitate in the direction of the glimmering river. I’m going with the river. The solar sits low within the sky as I push off in opposition to the present in my kayak, gliding slowly in the direction of a hill-shaped silhouette within the distance—which I later study to be the reaches of Matheran. Its darkening body additionally acts as an indicator of the time; after a couple of minutes of excited paddling, I resort to resting my arms and floating aimlessly, because the sky modifications cloaks from blue to orange. By the point I get again to the campsite, it’s pink. That is the closest I’ve ever come to crusing away into the sundown, and in the interim, it must do.
As night simmers into evening, the small swimming pool in the midst of the campsite emerges because the nerve centre of exercise as friends strike up conversations over chilly beer, and frolic within the water to beat the residual warmth from the final of the solar’s rays. When the temperature drops additional and a gradual evening breeze units in, the celebration strikes nearer to the river, the place Mumbai-based band The Younger Drug is warming up. The band is a daily fixture at Moonstone Hammock on weekends and specialises in modern covers of in style Hindi songs that get the viewers grooving. The band begins taking part in, tuning out the gurgle of the river briefly. All of the sudden I realise how persistent part of our backdrop the sound has been. Just like the outside model of a droning fridge, whose hiccups are solely obvious as soon as it stops—however way more nice.
After a number of encores and requests, the live performance involves an finish and dinner is served. Over mouthfuls of butter hen, and later, phirni, Athang and I finalise our plan for the subsequent morning. Provided that we’re within the lap of the Sahyadris, it will be a wasted alternative to return with out a good trek. We freeze on a brief hike to the close by Kondana caves, however journey junkies can as an alternative select to make their solution to Vikatgad, Matheran, Rajmachi and Sondai, all positioned at a snug distance from Karjat. An evening spent within the agreeable outdoor of Moonstone Hammock, insulated from the weather inside a glamping cocoon, is the right breather forward of any rugged adventures you might have in thoughts.
The following morning, a bumpy, hour-long drive takes us to the start line for the hike to Kondana caves. Although the morning solar is thrashing down on us, it feels markedly cooler as soon as we start ascending by means of the jungle. Our spirits are additional buoyed once we spot a stall promoting nimbu paani and cucumbers close to the doorway to the caves.
Gratefully sipping from our glasses, we spot the cave system from a distance, and it seems way more grandiose than I’d imagined. The seller tells us {that a} waterfall cascades down the entrance of the caves within the monsoons, making for a fairly sight. The water has nevertheless, probably contributed to the weathering of the rocks over time, evident from the considerably ruinous great thing about the caves as we speak.
Trudging alongside, we’re knowledgeable that the sixteen caves have been first excavated to function shelter for Buddhist monks and as a monastery. The centerpiece of the complicated is a prayer corridor that homes a disfigured stone stupa beneath a excessive ceiling. The corridor is held up by a collection of restored pillars, however its still-impressive facade bears the unique detailing and carved sculptures, together with a brief Brahmi inscription alluding to the one who had commissioned the excavation of the caves.
A designer, Athang geeks out over the architectural components of the corridor and its façade, whereas I wander in the direction of the residing chambers to the left. Rows of small cells with rock beds are carved alongside the three partitions, whereas the doorway to the cave bears remnants of what might have been a verandah dealing with the forest exterior. I crouch close to the doorway and take within the view of the dense forest that surrounds the caves. I’m wondering if a getaway to the caves might have been a welcome change from the drudgery of every day life even in first century BC.
In any case, an escape to the good outdoor—be it a cave stuffed with silence or a camp filled with rollicking enjoyable—tends to be timeless.
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Moonstone Hammock is a 80 km/2 hr drive from Mumbai and 121 km/3 hr from Pune respectively. (moonstonehammock.com; Doubles from Rs 5,230, together with meals)