Road trips are fun, especially when you can just get out of the city for a few hours, refresh, unwind, and come back. But what do you call a road trip that lasts 15 hours? Insane? Exciting? Thrilling? I say it is the ultimate way to test your patience, have incredible experiences, and the best way to use your long weekend. I can say this now because I just finished a long road trip from Bangalore to Pune. The Bangalore to Pune distance is 840 KMS and it takes nothing less than 15 hours on the road.
So my husband, kids, and I started on this marathon journey from Bangalore during the Independence Day weekend. We had to be in Pune for a family event but we had a day or two before that. It was an impromptu decision to rent a car and hit the road. I knew it would be a challenge to go on an extensively long journey with my 4 and 6-year-olds, but I threw caution to the wind for a change. We booked a top-rated Bangalore to Pune taxi – a big SUV (only for the kids). This would also be the first time for the little monsters on such a long trip.
Road trip from Bangalore to Pune
We started before daybreak and took NH48, through
Bangalore -> Tumkur -> Hubli -> Belgaum -> Kolhapur ->Satara -> Khandala -> Pune
One of the main reasons my husband and I both love road trips is that you can customize the entire journey, stop at interesting places, do silly things on the wat, and take little detours to land at surprising places. It is also quite experiential for the kids too.
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Interesting pit stops en route
Our first stop was at Tumkur for tea and a quick breakfast. The Jayamangali Blackbuck Reserve is the highlight of this otherwise quiet district and houses a huge population of the endangered blackbuck. But it takes a lot of time to explore this massive sanctuary. So we skipped that and made our way to Hubli.
By 10.30 am or so, we were crossing Chitradurga, the city of ancient forts. The kids had started getting a little restless so we decided to take a quick break. Since we were near the fort, we took the opportunity to explore the site. The weather was perfect to walk through the ruins and capture the lovely views of the river below. The kids found the open area quite inviting and did what they are good at – just ran around.
Back on the road, we were now headed to Hubli, where we took a proper meal break.
The 17th-century Banashankari temple is one of my favorites in this town, mostly for its Chalukyan architecture. From there we took a detour towards the Nrupatunga Hill, the best vantage point in town to enjoy the views of the neighboring hills and villages. A little ahead of Hubli, around 14 KM from the main town, we passed the Gomateshwara Temple before reaching the Hubli-Dharwad bypass.
In case you want to stop at Belgaum, the Gokak Falls is the perfect spot to take a break from the long drive. Although we didn’t stop here this time, I have visited the falls many times and its frothy waters with lush surroundings are definitely the most refreshing thing to experience.
Our next stop was directly in Kolhapur. The land of spices, leather goods, and beautiful sarees, Kolhapur is a place still trapped in time. While Panhala Fort, Deen Darvaza and similar monuments are the most popular attractions, we were there for the food and little bit of shopping, only for the sake of nostalgia. But before we reached the town, there was a place that I wanted to take the kids. The Kanheri Math, on the Kunkeshwar – Talewadi Rd, is an open-air, local wax museum, depicting Maharashtra’s rural life, culture, and mythology. It was intriguing for the children to see and learn about their roots.
It was almost sunset by the time we finished our Kolhapur hopping followed by a homely meal at Patlachawada. So we planned an overnight stay in the city and resume our journey the next morning.
Miraculously, the kids were up and about, without any hassle. In other words, they were enjoying this whole deal of stopping now and then, eating something interesting, seeing new places. That’s when I knew where to head next.
From Kolhapur, we landed in Satara. There are two of our (my husband and mine) favorite spots in this old town. One is the Ajjinkyatra Fort, which sits atop 3300 feet on the Ajjinkyatra Mountain. And then there’s the Kaas Plateau, about 25 Km from the main town, a perfect place to be after the rains. It is a place you should not miss if you are traveling with kids.
After a nice breakfast, we headed towards the valley of flowers. The velvety meadows dotted with colorful wildflowers were heavenly. I had never seen my kids so excited, chasing butterflies and running through the grasslands, screaming, and rolling on the ground. This is an experience, the city life never offers and it is so important to make children feel connected to nature and enjoy its beauty in the rawest form.
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Tired yet thrilled, we spent the next few hours of our journey sitting quietly in the car, sleeping, or listening to the car radio, until we reached Pune in the afternoon.