Rudy, Author at Whistling Trails

Weekend excursion to Kotawade – Pristine beaches and a Birding Paradise

Rudy Travel December 13, 2014October 9, 2017aarey warey road, amur falcon, ganpatipule beach, jungle owlet, ratnadurg fort, tilak ali museum, white-bellied sea eagle, white-browed bulbul 8 Comments

We had decided in advance that Konkan will be on our hit-list in this winter season; and after a superb trip to Chiplun, we decided to explore Kotawade – Ratnagiri this time. We started by 6 AM on a Friday and took the Mumbai-Bangalore express-way all up-to Karad. After Karad, we drove via Amba Ghat to reach our destination at around 1 PM. The Amba ghat does offer some superb views and the ghat road is a pleasure to drive. Coming to our destination, we had booked a 2 nights stay at Atithy Parinay (More on it later) purely based on the Trip Advisor reviews, and it was surely our best decision of the trip. Read more

Camping & Trekking at Tikona

Rudy Treks December 4, 2014camping at tikona, Indian Roller, rusticville, tikona fort trek 2 Comments

Camping was something me and my friends had been planning since long… and finally we executed the plan. We (Me, Sachin, Akash and Rohit) came across Rusticville, which sets up camps for you; and since we also wanted to do a trek, their location was just perfect. The Tikona fort was around 15 minutes from their property which helped us in finalizing our plan. The place is not too far from Pune, just around 55 KMs. We started at around 3 PM and decided to take the route via Old Mumbai Pune highway. Read more

Weekend Trip to Chiplun (Dongarmatha Ecocare Resort)

Rudy Travel November 21, 2014May 24, 2015asian paradise flycatcher, Chiplun, Dongarmatha, Guhagar, Kumbharli Ghat, Velneshwar, Woodpeckers 5 Comments

As the winter season has started, we had our 1st winter trip in the Konkan region. After doing a bit of online research, we zeroed onto Chiplun. We came across Dongarmatha Ecocare resort, which did look very much into nature and truly it was. Since it was just an overnight trip, we started our journey by 5:30 AM from Pune. We took the route via Satara -> Umbraj -> Kumbharli ghat -> Chiplun -> Dongarmatha. We took our 1st break at Satara for a quick breakfast. Journey was pretty smooth till now, but after taking a right from the highway at Umbraj, the bad roads started. The roads are good in patches and also terrible in patches..! Read more

Drive to Baneshwar & Bhatghar Dam backwaters

Rudy Drive November 4, 2014Baneshwar temple, Bhatghar dam, birding at Baneshwar, spotted doves 0 Comment

After doing some back to back trips in the month of October, it was surely a weekend to rest or may be for a lazy drive to some place near; and that’s what we decided. Couple of friends had suggested Baneshwar so we thought we would check it out. We also planned to visit the Bhatghar dam and drive along side Bhatghar dam backwaters. Starting at around 7:30 am, we took the Mumbai Bangalore highway. Baneshwar is just around 40-50 Kms from Pune so it roughly takes an hour or so.

As soon as we entered the Baneshwar area; known as the “Baneshwar Van Udhyan”… we heard a lot of chirps. There is ample parking space with trees all around it which was completely buzzing with chirps of parakeets, tickell’s blue flycatchers, mynas and sunbirds. Read more

Bird-watching at Sinhagad Valley

Rudy Birding & Wildlife Hotspots October 30, 2014May 12, 2018asian paradise flycatcher, birding at Sinhagad, Sinhagad valley, ultramarine flycatcher 17 Comments

If you are into bird watching and from Pune, then Sinhagad is surely one of the must visit places. Till now I have visited Sinhagad multiple times, out of which we have trekked all the way up to the fort twice.

Bird-watching at Pashan Lake

Rudy Birding Hotspots, Birds October 20, 2014January 19, 2016bird watching, birding at Pashan Lake, Pashan Lake 13 Comments

When I visited Pashan Lake for the 1st time, I had no idea that it will turn out to be one of my favorite places for birding. I must have been to Pashan Lake atleast 5-6 times and every time this place has surprised me. I have identified over 50 different species of birds at this location… surely one of the birding hotspots in Pune with a high density of different bird species.

The lake can be accessed via 2 different ways which are pretty much at either ends. Read more