Excited about our return to Panchgani together after 2002, we set off from Pune on 3rd May 09 at about 9.30 am.. destination the Eco camp which was highly recommended as 'the' place to stay. As it turned out, it could'nt have been better.. !
How we got there...
Panchgani is about 100 kms from Pune, Maharashtra, India. Ecocamp is about 15 kms ahead of Mahableshwar town and is about half a km ahead of Panchgani town. you will surely miss the small cemented path that leads to the campsite from the main road ! Watch out for this after you cross Hotel Ravine on the way to Panchgani/Mahableshwar.
We drove down from Pune. A former colleague had helped arranged a local driver cum guide for us. The drive took us about 2.5 hrs. On the way we feasted on fresh figs, locally known as 'Anjir'.
View of Pune Bangalore Highway....
first dekko of 'Ecocamp' run by Megan and Andre
Our son was the first one to check the place out..
View of Krishna Valley from our camp site...
A famous 'point' and the hotel Ravine (top right)
Unni also tried his hand at photography.. and had very willing models around:-)
The camp is situated on the windward side and give s lovely view and lot's of cool breeze blows throughout the day. Yes we could stay inside the tent even between noon and 4 pm. Panchgani was pretty warm and with the toddler around, preferred to move around ony after 4 pm.
The tent itself, which can take 8 adults was pretty spacious even by our lil one's standard and he made best of it.
Evenings were pretty cold but Megan and Andre had made sure that the tent is very comfortable, even with basic facilities. BTw, don't forget to have a plug-n switched on to keep mosquitoes away for the peaceful and sleep.
As the ridge faces Pune side, we could get a fair reception from the FM channels as well which was a bonus, in addition to gsm network which ensured that we remained 'in touch'.
Here is a short clip with which is an attempt i made to capture the 'eco camp effect' ..
Comments