Fireflies and Camping trip to Kachurli Village - 9th June 2018

So I have been wanting to visit this fireflies festival at Purushwadi since a long time. Had seen a lot of pictures online and read a lot from Internet. But never really made it here as one main reason was that the cost per person was very high. Thankfully I found out a new place to witness the same in a much economical way. Therefore, I convinced some of my friends (first-time campers) and planned to go to this village called Kachurli . We were a group of 10 people including 4 kids. As the date approached, everyone got a little apprehensive about the plan upon hearing on the monsoon weather alert. But still agreed to go ahead as I hated the idea of waiting for another year to witness this event.

Kachurli village is located in Nashik district about 11 km away from the famous Trimbakeshwar temple.
We left Mumbai in the afternoon and followed the Google maps to this destination. This was our biggest mistake. As after driving for more than 4 hours, Google says "you have reached your destination" and it was very funny as there was no sign of any campground around us.
Anyways, so we took help from a local fellow and reached our destination around 8 pm. The campground was pitch dark (obviously) so we had some difficulty settling in our tents. Lesson learnt - Always reach campground in daylight to get familiar with the place beforehand.

After settling, we were treated to good Maharashtrian Veg dinner. It was raining on and off but the volunteers made sure everyone was comfortable and stayed dry especially the kids. After food, we set off for the main attraction - The night Trail to see the fireflies. After small briefing our young guides walked us into the midst of deep jungle and we could see lot of twinkling stars around us.  We formed a loosely coupled human chain and the volunteers made a human gate and ensured that the number of people getting in and out of the trail were same. After a point we halted at what seemed to me like a hill top surrounded with valley. The peace and serenity of the forest and the mesmerizing sight of the trees wrapped in a blanket of twinkling stars made me feel like I was in the midst of the galaxy. The sight left us all in awe which can neither be described in words nor captured in camera. Some things can only be left for our naked eyes to see and will be a memory within me forever.
After the night trail we walked back to our camp ground and stayed up in the night as long as possible. Away from the daily hustle of the city life into the quietness and tranquillity of the forest under the open sky.

 

 

Next day morning I was up around 6 am and the sight was very beautiful (Except for the snoring sound from the neighbouring tents :) ). Cute little tents surrounded by the natural greenery and the beautiful lake made it a picturesque location. The weather was simply great. Not too much rain to make the place mushy yet enough drizzle to keep us cool and not sweat. After our breakfast we headed to the nearby waterfall. The kids were all excited to take a dip in the cold water. The trek to the waterfall wasn't very difficult but a little steep. The volunteers were extra careful with the little kids and took good care of all of us. The small waterfall in between the rocks was a pleasant one and music to the ears. Everyone enjoyed in the waterfall and had great time. Once back on the campground we still had some time before lunch was ready. So we visited the nearby lake and some of us even took a dip in the cold water that was filled with fishes and crabs (I think so as one of our friends confessed finding one in his swimsuit :)).  Tired with all these excursions everyone was very hungry and feasted on the yummy Maharashtrian chicken curry(at last) with Bajri roti's and rice.

It was a great time spent with friends. We headed back home with lovely memories in our hearts.

P.S - This is my very first blog. If you like it please hit the like and share button and leave a comment. I would also be happy to reply to any queries if you have. Thank you.