Lavasa
Lavasa is about 80 km from Lohagad fort and we took the route from the Pawana Lake, through paud on Nanegaon road, and Temghar dam on Temghar-Lavasa road.
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| Dasve, Lavasa city as seen from above the hills |
Very less known is the fact that Lavasa what is seen today is just the beginning, it is much larger in scale when it is completed by 2020. The present Lavasa is just a reality of its first town Dasve, there are totally five towns planned over seven hills. Mugaon is the second town already started construction. This is the first planned hill station in India and probably the most controversial, reason being deforestation or environmental damage. The road from Tehghar dam till Lavasa is covered with forest valley, which is about 16km of Temghar Reserved Forest Area. One can imagine the damage done to the environment by building roads, residential projects, hotels etc.
I was wondering how the government has approved such a project with such a huge scale to destroy the last few forest and build recreation and residences. Not to forget the Aamby Valley City which is an earlier and smaller live example.
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| Lavasa City as seen from above |
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| The Dam at Lavasa and the surrounding valley |
Keeping the bad side apart, as we pass in the entrance of the Lavasa city, we were astonished to believe was it really India. The place right from the entrance till the city itself, which is about 8.5 km stretch is truly world class. Master planned villas at different levels of the hill, utilizing the waterfront, imagination of the food streets, the bridges, the lighting, and the fountain design is truly a masterpiece.
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| Streets of Dasve, Lavasa city |
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| The main food street at Lavasa |
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| The very tranquil apart-hotels at the end of the food street at the Lavasa city |
My Gratitude to the architect or the master mind who designed this whole concept, but I hope in some stage of his life he realizes about the damage done to the environment.
I personally don’t have any negative about the project, but I feel whatever is reality today is more than enough to make it the best planned hill station in India. The actual scale at which the city is planned can damage the forest and make the place insignificant in the absence of forest. The very fact it’s popular, is because of its location in the middle of the nature, but what if the nature itself is cut down to make more room for buildings??
The present Lavasa city has all the things required to keep you entertained and feel relaxed for all age groups, right from senior citizens to young kids. There is a boat club and an adventure academy for the adventure seekers, huge musical fountains and water bodies for the nature lovers, Food Street for the foodies, cycling tracks for the young and most importantly surrounded by forest and lake.
The best time to visit is June to February during the winter and just after monsoons, and can be avoided during heavy monsoons especially in August month and summers. Best time of the day spent here is the evenings. The lights start to lit after the sun goes down and the whole place gets beautiful and guess what adds to this beauty, it’s the musical fountains which starts at around 7.20pm and runs for about 20mins, which is again repeated at the next hour.
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| Lasava city lighted up after Dusk |
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| Beautiful view of the bridge lighted up |
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| Food street during night |
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| Musical fountain started just after the sunset |
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| Musical fountain |
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| Musical fountain, at the backdrop is the Convention center |
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| Musical fountains and the Laser show |
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| End of the show, displaying the next show timings |
Having spent the evening here, in no time it was about 8pm, we decided to head back to Pune. Keeping the controversies aside, it was one amazing and unforgettable evening spent here, hope to visit again and again.
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