A Travelescape guide · 18 stories and guides
Weekends from Mumbai and Pune
Up into the Ghats or down to the sea: day trips, two-night escapes and long weekends.
Mumbai and Pune share two ways out of town: up into the Sahyadri, the Western Ghats, or down to the sea. Inland, the monsoon fills waterfalls like Zenith near Khopoli and wraps Mahabaleshwar's viewpoints in cloud; after the rains, from early September, the Kaas plateau above Satara flowers; and Shirdi is an overnight bus from Dadar. On the Konkan coast, Alibag, Kashid and Murud are a morning's drive, Dapoli about five hours, and Ganpatipule, with its temple on the beach, a long day on the highway or a morning train to Ratnagiri. Goa, further down the same railway, is a long weekend.
These are the trips Travelescape's writers have made from Mumbai, among them Anjali Tathavadkar's family road trips to Dapoli and Ganpatipule and a long weekend down the Konkan on a Royal Enfield. From Pune, the inland places are nearer: Kaas is about 125 km away. Start with the three below, or jump to a group. For weekends from other cities, see Bangalore and Kolkata.
The older guides say when they were written: roads, trains, tickets and stays change, so check before you go.
Start here
Three to begin with
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Ganpatipule Travel Guide
A family road trip to the Konkan's temple on the beach, 330 to 375 km down the Mumbai–Goa highway or a morning train to Ratnagiri, with Jaigad fort and Velneshwar nearby, by Anjali Tathavadkar. Checked October 2026.
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Kaas Plateau (कास पठार), Satara: Maharashtra's Valley of Flowers
The plateau of wild flowers above Satara, about 125 km from Pune: when it blooms, the ₹200 ticket, booking for weekends and the flowers by their Marathi names. Checked October 2026.
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Zenith Waterfall From Mumbai
A monsoon Saturday from Malad to the waterfall about 4 km from Khopoli: the drive up the old highway, the rocky walk to the fall and home by seven.
4 stories and guides
Inland: the Ghats and Shirdi, up to about 280 km
A monsoon waterfall near Khopoli, Mahabaleshwar's viewpoints and strawberries, Kaas's flowers above Satara from September, and Sai Baba's Shirdi, an overnight bus from Dadar. All of them closer still from Pune.
3 stories and guides
The Konkan coast, 100 to 375 km
Alibag, Kashid and Murud's sea fort, Dapoli's beaches and Ganpatipule's temple on the sand, down the Mumbai–Goa highway or the Konkan Railway: best from November to February.
2 stories and guides
Resorts for a slow weekend
When the plan is to stay put: tree houses in the forest at Lonavala, and resorts at Lonavala, Karjat, Igatpuri, Alibag, Kashid and Mahabaleshwar, as we found them in 2018 and 2022.
5 stories and guides
Goa, the long weekend
Further down the Konkan Railway to Thivim or Madgaon, or a short flight: North Goa's busy beaches and South Goa's quieter ones. Best from November to February, busiest at New Year.
4 stories and guides
A weekend in Mumbai or Pune itself
For visitors, or a Saturday at home: Marine Drive, the Gateway and Elephanta, an art hotel in Khar near the sea, and Pune's Aga Khan Palace, Shaniwar Wada and Sinhagad.
Plan it
Before you go
- Best months
- Two seasons, two kinds of trip. The monsoon, June to September, is the time for the Ghats: the waterfalls run full, and Kaas flowers from early September to about mid-October. The coast and Goa are best from November to February; in the monsoon the sea is rough and the Konkan is at its wettest.
- Waterfalls in the rain
- After heavy rain, district officials close waterfalls, dams and viewpoints to visitors. In July 2024, after a woman and four children were swept away at a waterfall near Bhushi Dam in Lonavala, Pune district barred entry into the water at Bhushi, Pavana and other picnic spots for the month. Check the local news before you set out, and keep out of moving water.
- The sea
- The Konkan's currents are strong: five tourists drowned off Ganpatipule beach on 20 June 2026. Paddle at most, and only where there are lifeguards.
- Konkan Railway
- Trains from Mumbai stop at Khed (for Dapoli), Ratnagiri (for Ganpatipule), and Thivim and Madgaon in Goa. From mid-June to late October a slower monsoon timetable runs (15 June to 20 October in 2026): check times on konkanrailway.com before you go.
- Booking
- Kaas needs a ticket booked online for Saturdays, Sundays and government holidays, at kas.ind.in. MTDC, Maharashtra's tourism corporation, runs resorts on the coast and in the hills, among them the one on the beach at Ganpatipule; book only on its own site, mtdc.co. Long weekends, Ganesh Chaturthi and the Christmas week fill the coast and Goa and jam the Mumbai–Goa highway: book ahead, or go midweek.
Questions
What readers ask us
How far is Ganpatipule from Mumbai?
About 330 to 375 km by NH66, the Mumbai–Goa highway, seven to nine hours with stops. Or take the train to Ratnagiri (the Vande Bharat takes about 4 hours 20 minutes outside the monsoon), then 26 to 30 km by bus, cab or auto: our Ganpatipule guide has the rest.
How far is Zenith waterfall from Khopoli?
About 4 km from Khopoli, the last stretch a rocky walk through the forest to the fall; our trip took about three hours by road from Malad. It runs fullest in the monsoon, when the district may close it after heavy rain.
How far is Dapoli from Mumbai?
About 229 km, around five hours by road on the Mumbai–Pune Expressway to Khopoli and on through Pali. By train, Khed on the Konkan Railway is 29 km away. Our Dapoli guide has the beaches, the temples and Suvarnadurg.
When does Kaas bloom, and do I need to book?
After the monsoon, from early September to about mid-October; most guides put the fullest bloom from mid-September to early October. On weekends and government holidays you must book online; 3,000 people a day go up, in three slots. Our Kaas guide has the ticket, the routes and the flowers.
Which of these are closest to Pune?
The inland ones: Kaas is about 125 km from Pune (about 278 from Mumbai), and Mahabaleshwar is about two hours from Kaas. Lonavala, on the expressway between the two cities, has the Machan's tree houses and two of our resorts.