Maharastra’s Valley of flowers
When Valley of flowers in Uttarkhand seems a distant dream, the valley of flowers in Kaas appears much easier dream to achieve.

Having come back just after Pooja celebrations in Jamshedpur and Kolkatta, I had no further travel plans for the month.

That was until a friend called and informed me about his official visit to Pune and he has a sunday in between, which he could use for sight-seeing. On hearing this, the pictures of Kaas valley flashed in my mind.

Being just after monsoon, I thought that it would be an apt time to make a visit to Kaas Valley. I checked the best time to visit Kaas valley and was happy to know that October was one of those. I confirmed again in the official website of Kaas Pathar to know about the status of blossoms. I enquired one of my friends from previous trek about his recent visit to Kaas pathar. Everything seemed positive.

The travel bug as well as the friend who was going on duty was bugging me enough to book my flight tickets. Having taken 3 days off for Pooja holidays, I know I might not be granted any more leaves in the current month. So I decided to make it a day trip. LOL. Crazy na? Yeah. But the place was all worth it.

I had booked early morning flight from Chennai which reached Pune by 5:30 am. Soon after booking my flights, the excitement in me was palpable. Finally 2 years wait is going to be over.

Kaas pathar – A hidden gem
Kaas plateau, situated in satara district, is 125 kms from Pune. Being declared as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage site, Kaas valley had indeed attracted tourists from various places.

I reached Pune by 5:30 am and started in car to Kaas valley by 7:30 am.

There are various train options available from pune to satara. As I was on a tight schedule, we booked car.

There I was in a magical place named “Kaas Valley” after 3 hours of journey.

On seeing the blue valley, I was dumb-found at how monsoon had flicked its magic wand to turn the otherwise barren lands to the land of blue hues. Flowers smaller in size, whopping in numbers has made the plateau looked like an endless spread of blue.

We were little disappointed when we got to know that the other bunch of flowers have dried up by the time we visited. I heard from my cab driver that there would be hues of pink, purple, blue, yellow carpeted around as far as eyes could see.

Bamnoli lake
Kaas plateau has much more to offer than just flowers. From Kaas valley of flowers, we went to Bamnoli Lake. From one side of the lake, there were different rides available to take you to different locations.Few of the rides they offered were i) A ride to Tapola – Where Water sports activities can be done. ii) A ride to a Mandir.

Due to heavy downpour and increase in climate change, the beauty of the valley was not at its full swing nowadays.As we were dead tired for the day and the rides would eat up a considerable amount of time, we headed back to Pune directly from the lake.

Nevertheless the sojourn ended with memories as colourful as the Kaas valley. I was gratified that I could make a visit to Kaas valley before it touched its brink of extinction. (And Promising myself to come back when the flowers are in full bloom)

Other Attractions in Kaas valley
Thoseghar falls, Sajjangarh fort, Serene Bamnoli village, Chalekawadi windfarms.

The hues of yellow, pink which I missed during this trip. Better luck next time!