Here are Top 4 reasons why you will love Kamshet more than Lonavala…
By: Diti Modi
Tags: Travel Writing, Paragliding, India, Adventure, Travel

Yes, being a Mumbaikar, just like you, I , too, scorn at the idea of visiting the much-famous Lonavala for weekends, especially during holiday season :P

So to escape the chaos of Lonavala on almost every weekend, especially during holidays, here is a great place that you cannot miss-Kamshet! If you are an aspiring adventurer, I am sure you would already know that Kamshet is most known for paragliding. In fact, many foreigners visit Kamshet especially for cross-country paragliding. Here is an attempt to explore Kamshet in this blog and also discover few bonus tips to ensure best travel time.

My Experience at Kamshet

As I opened the door of the balcony, the sublime view instantly made me experience the serenity of being connected to nature.

Balcony view

I settled down into a comfortable chair in the spacious balcony. As the gusty winter winds brushed my hair on my face, the warm sunlight painted my skin with yellowish golden hues. The mightier the winds got every minute, stronger the sunlight gleamed.

As I reached out towards the railings of the balcony, I could breathe the bougainvillea scented air and hear the rustling leaves. It was as if the copse welcomed me with enthusiasm and awe to their luscious abode. They never knew that my sojourn would end soon.

At a distance, I could sight a part of the sparkling lake through the branches of the trees. The leaves and branches blocked my clear view of the blue lakeside. The sparrows chirped in sync with each other. They were conversing with the winds as if they requested it to slow down so that they could build their nests.

Sunlight beaming in it’s full potential

So are you already in love with this amazing place?

Kamshet- Epicenter for Paragliding

The weather at this time of the year is said to be the best for chilling and paragliding as the wind conditions are much favored for learning the sport. Also, if you are an aspiring ornithologist or florist, there are a lot of flowers and migrating birds that visit Kamshet around this time since it is surrounded by lakes from all sides. But wait, don’t mistake the carefree paragliders all over the village to be some new kind of birds :P

Carefully watch the image below clicked by my colleague on a random evening visit in the village. Those are nothing but the carefree paragliders who swiftly glide and soar in the evening skies.

Yes, those are paragliders and not birds.

Since Kamshet is most known for the paragliding courses and enjoying the windy skies, it truly makes you anticipate and wonder about the joys of flying.

Where is it located?

From Mumbai: Around 110 kilometers. (~2.5 hours)

From Pune: Around 45 kilometers. (~1.5 hours)

From Lonavala: Around 28 kilometers. (~45 mins)

Bonus Tip #1: You will reach Kamshet village which has market at it’s center and a local railway station nearby. So if you do not have any food for your journey ahead, then it is recommended that you buy something here itself.

Network Connectivity

Being a village, the network connectivity is definitely not the best here. But it is actually one of the best things for people like me who prefer solitude and disconnectivity from all the chaos of city life.

“The first step to really connect with yourself is to disconnect with everything else.”

Bonus Tip #2: Jio network works quite well than any other ;)

So here we are, with the much-awaited discussion as to why should I include Kamshet in my itinerary or “To-Be-Explored” list. Let me take you through the top 4 reasons why you would want to visit Kamshet over and over again:

1. Paragliding

Paragliding in Kamshet

I know, this is predictable. But while I was visiting Kamshet, though I knew about paragliding, I was more inclined to just chilling rather than paragliding. But on the first day itself, when I visited one of the paragliding sites (Ashram site) with other aspiring paragliders, I instantly got excited to learn this sport the next time I visit Kamshet. Here are few snaps of the site that I had visited.

There are 3 sites for learning paragliding in Kamshet according to the learning stage you are at- Ashram, Tower and Shelar.

Ashram site

Ashram site is only used for the groundwork learning like handling the glider, managing wind direction, observing Windsoc(apparently a tool to judge the wind direction) etc. before you actually learn gliding.

A fellow learner learning the technicalities of using the glider for the first time at Ashram

Below is the video of the Tower site when the learners have completed their groundwork training and now are ready to fly with the help of the instructors.

I can write another full blog about paragliding sometime later but I hope, by now, these videos and images have inspired you enough to learn this exciting sport.

This is the most intuitive sport to learn and requires a lot less efforts compared to learning any other adventure sport. There are various levels of learning/ courses that are offered according to the time availability and willingness of the learner. Also if you just want to have fun in the air without having to learn paragliding, there is something called as “Tandem” wherein an expert pilot would be in front of you to perform all the technicalities in the air while you just sit back and relax to enjoy the view and feels from the top.(“Top of the world” feels :P)

2. Hiking/ Trekking

There are many famous one-day treks in and around Kamshet like Lohagad fort trek.

View from a nearby hilltop

Initially, I had thought of trekking to Lohagad but later on, hiked to a nearby hilltop with a fellow localite impromptu.

Though it was just a 30-minute hike to a cave on a nearby hilltop, it was one of the most exciting hikes I have had. The views from a hilltop on an early winter morning were definitely a big reason that added to my excitement. Here are few snaps to visualize.

View of the Western Ghats from the hilltop

But one of the reasons why I enjoyed the hike was the details and new facts that I learnt on the way to the top from the fellow native with whom I hiked to the top, which also leads me to my next point…

3. Talking to a local villager or fellow sojourner

Talking to a native who was staying at Kamshet since quite some time, I realized subtle nuances about how mother nature has devised the best form of natural paragliders in the form of birds and the best science to learn in the form of plants and insects.

For me, this reason is my personal favorite to visit any travel destination across the globe.

Talking to fellow travelers, we realize how each of our stories is unique and exciting. For example, here, when I was staying at my accommodation, I had conversations with multiple sojourners who shared their varied experiences of learning other sports or travelling across the country, staying in jungles at times or undertaking a 2-month road trip to Rajasthan even during such pandemic times.(Yeah, quite exciting isn’t it?)

Bonus Tip #3: One of the most important survival tip that I got to learn this way is if you are a beginner for solo trekking/hiking and often find yourself confused with the trails or get lost all the time while returning back from the summit/hilltop, it is always advised to stop at the diversion while going uphill itself and turn.

Now look back at the view from that point and trace back the same way from where you came. Now mark a landmark like the huge Eucalyptus tree on the left or a small stream of water on the right or the small hut nearby. This allows you to visualize and landmark certain key points in your mind so that while returning, you can quickly get down with the help of these marks.

4. Chilling

I know this would be your best to-do for a short trip to such places since this place is one of the most calming and chaos-free place outside of the city life. After all, chilling on a hammock under the soothing shade of a huge tree is indeed, quite cherishing at the end.

Bonus #4: For adding cherry on the cake, you could also go camping here.

Yes, those are my legs while chilling on a hammock

Just the right kind of shade and sunlight

4. Visiting the lake