This place, Hiranandani Meadows, is getting shittier by the day. It was wonderful when it started. The 'crowd' was less and whatever crowd there was, it was not irritating. Nowadays, it seems to be the only destination in Thane. It has become a haven for posers and couples who do not consider themselves cheap enough to hang around near any of the lakes. More disgusting than the number of cars are those which are blasting music from the boom boxes. Bikers doing all sort of shitty stunts and cars screeching their brakes seems awful when you want to sit down and chat. The fact that I am really bugged by the deterioration of this place is because it is a 5 minute walk from my home. We used to hang around here quite often and are have witnessed the place going down the drain first hand.
The garden behind the blocks is still a beautiful place. But then it too has become a makeout place for couples since the previous year and a half. In the months following the board exams you will find teeny meeny youngsters showing off some borrowed attitude. And yes, you can find someone rolling joints in the food court. Now, I am not a moral police but I am disgusted because this was a great place in our locality, not only for people like me, but also for people our parent's age and senior citizens. Mind you, there are some great place to eat out so you will witness lots of families here in the weekend. They surely, like me, are worried about what the place has come to be.
Anyways, my intention is to let the people residing 'off pokhran road number II' know that there are some superb places and things to do nearby. You might just want to tweak your jogging or walking routes in this case. I am not sure whether many of you are aware of the two light trekking routes that are very near to our homes. Both of these go into the Sanjay Gandhi National Park that surround our area.
The first one is beyond the Yeoor bus stop. Walk up to the dead end and you will reach an abandoned watch cabin. There will be signs warning you about the dangers, but believe me there aren't any apart from mosquitoes. This route comes to life during the rains but it is a risky one too during those times. Adventurous ones like me will not bother. There is a waterfall ahead in the route which is visible only during the rains. I should warn you of the mudslides that occur during the rains and trekking parties getting stuck until rescued. The walk up to the Yeoor bus stop from Upvan Lake is a regular jogging and walking track for people from Neelkanth, Raunak Park and surrounding residential localities. But I doubt how many of them have ventured ahead just for fun and curiosity. This track is for nature enthusiast and for doing something different on a weekend.
The second one is freaking awesome. Walk straight though Gladys Alavares road passing Lok Puram, Meadows, Eden Woods, D-mart and you will find yourself facing Happy Valley. Take the left turn that takes you to Tikuji-ni-vadi. Walk straight ahead up the slope, passing Tikuji-ni-vadi and there lies another entrance to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, this one strangely named nature interpretation Center. Entry before 0800 hours is free and I guess you may be charged peanuts after the said time. The nature trail here is more of a hike. Probably 40-45 minutes of moderate pace and you will reach the summit. This ,by no means, is a regular walking track, in some places you will find yourself walking on the edge with a steep fall on your right. But it is not one bit dangerous. Only, I guess, the route is closed during the monsoon. Apart from that, it is very much available for rest of the year.The view of the city, especially our area, is simply breathtaking. You can see the early morning mist covering the city. The towers of Hiranandani Estate and Meadows can be seen poking their dome out from the mist. You can spend time looking out for your building from the summit, or just sit and listen to the birds. It is a big piece of land, with crest and troughs. You will also find some farms that belong to the tribals. On the side opposite to the city, the national park extends deeper. You will enjoy the panoramic view of these hills accompanied by sprawling forests. These are a couple of online articles I found regarding this 'nature interpretation center'.Nature Interpration Centre looks to get a major facelift. Yeoor's the next ecotourism spot.
Sometimes you may spot a leopard pug mark as there are quite a few in this national park. But they are not known to come out in daylight. Also, I am not of the opinion of you venturing in any of the two places at night. On the other hand, the hill top is a popular camping Site.Generally these campers go in groups. Personally, I would like to camp here as many of us are aware about how lame these leopards in this national park are. The tribal families are also staying here since ages, they own cattle and stuff. But the leopards are posing to be a threat only since the last decade as they leave the deeper jungles due to scarcity of preys. This is not a deterring factor to the joggers who visit the second nature trail on a regular basis. I agree that both these places are not a place to hang around or spend a quite evening prior to dinner, but my intentions were to urge you to go out there just once and have a look yourself. May be you will start hating Meadows more but you will surely appreciate the fact that there are so many beautiful places so near to your homes. Probably it is time you boast about the fact that Mumbai, being a megapolis, surrounds a national park and that you can peek into it every morning.
The garden behind the blocks is still a beautiful place. But then it too has become a makeout place for couples since the previous year and a half. In the months following the board exams you will find teeny meeny youngsters showing off some borrowed attitude. And yes, you can find someone rolling joints in the food court. Now, I am not a moral police but I am disgusted because this was a great place in our locality, not only for people like me, but also for people our parent's age and senior citizens. Mind you, there are some great place to eat out so you will witness lots of families here in the weekend. They surely, like me, are worried about what the place has come to be.
Anyways, my intention is to let the people residing 'off pokhran road number II' know that there are some superb places and things to do nearby. You might just want to tweak your jogging or walking routes in this case. I am not sure whether many of you are aware of the two light trekking routes that are very near to our homes. Both of these go into the Sanjay Gandhi National Park that surround our area.
The first one is beyond the Yeoor bus stop. Walk up to the dead end and you will reach an abandoned watch cabin. There will be signs warning you about the dangers, but believe me there aren't any apart from mosquitoes. This route comes to life during the rains but it is a risky one too during those times. Adventurous ones like me will not bother. There is a waterfall ahead in the route which is visible only during the rains. I should warn you of the mudslides that occur during the rains and trekking parties getting stuck until rescued. The walk up to the Yeoor bus stop from Upvan Lake is a regular jogging and walking track for people from Neelkanth, Raunak Park and surrounding residential localities. But I doubt how many of them have ventured ahead just for fun and curiosity. This track is for nature enthusiast and for doing something different on a weekend.
The second one is freaking awesome. Walk straight though Gladys Alavares road passing Lok Puram, Meadows, Eden Woods, D-mart and you will find yourself facing Happy Valley. Take the left turn that takes you to Tikuji-ni-vadi. Walk straight ahead up the slope, passing Tikuji-ni-vadi and there lies another entrance to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park, this one strangely named nature interpretation Center. Entry before 0800 hours is free and I guess you may be charged peanuts after the said time. The nature trail here is more of a hike. Probably 40-45 minutes of moderate pace and you will reach the summit. This ,by no means, is a regular walking track, in some places you will find yourself walking on the edge with a steep fall on your right. But it is not one bit dangerous. Only, I guess, the route is closed during the monsoon. Apart from that, it is very much available for rest of the year.The view of the city, especially our area, is simply breathtaking. You can see the early morning mist covering the city. The towers of Hiranandani Estate and Meadows can be seen poking their dome out from the mist. You can spend time looking out for your building from the summit, or just sit and listen to the birds. It is a big piece of land, with crest and troughs. You will also find some farms that belong to the tribals. On the side opposite to the city, the national park extends deeper. You will enjoy the panoramic view of these hills accompanied by sprawling forests. These are a couple of online articles I found regarding this 'nature interpretation center'.Nature Interpration Centre looks to get a major facelift. Yeoor's the next ecotourism spot.
Sometimes you may spot a leopard pug mark as there are quite a few in this national park. But they are not known to come out in daylight. Also, I am not of the opinion of you venturing in any of the two places at night. On the other hand, the hill top is a popular camping Site.Generally these campers go in groups. Personally, I would like to camp here as many of us are aware about how lame these leopards in this national park are. The tribal families are also staying here since ages, they own cattle and stuff. But the leopards are posing to be a threat only since the last decade as they leave the deeper jungles due to scarcity of preys. This is not a deterring factor to the joggers who visit the second nature trail on a regular basis. I agree that both these places are not a place to hang around or spend a quite evening prior to dinner, but my intentions were to urge you to go out there just once and have a look yourself. May be you will start hating Meadows more but you will surely appreciate the fact that there are so many beautiful places so near to your homes. Probably it is time you boast about the fact that Mumbai, being a megapolis, surrounds a national park and that you can peek into it every morning.
