Bhandardara & Sahyadri

Lonavala straddles the Sahyadri crest between Mumbai and Pune, a country of basalt ridges, monsoon waterfalls, hill forts and dammed lakes. The rough tracks around the Pawna and Tungarli lakes and the approaches to ridge viewpoints and forts give rocky, rutted off-road driving with steep, loose pitches and the odd seasonal stream. The Sahyadris are at their most dramatic — and most dangerous — in the monsoon, when tracks wash out and slopes give way; the dry months from October are the safe window. Stay off private and farm land without permission, respect any restrictions around the forts, and carry recovery gear for the rocky climbs. **Best season:** October - February **Recommended tyre pressure:** 24-28 PSI **Preparation:** - Come in the dry months — these hill tracks are unsafe and often impassable in the monsoon - Stay on public roads and tracks you have permission for; much land here is private estate or protected forest - Carry fuel, water and recovery gear — services thin out above the town - Slow down in mist and watch for unguarded drops at the viewpoints

moderate · Mud, Rock terrain

Pune, Maharashtra

Mahabaleshwar is one of the highest and best-known of the Sahyadri hill stations, set in Satara district on a broad basalt plateau of dense forest, strawberry farms and a ring of clifftop 'points' over deep river valleys. Beyond the tar, estate and forest tracks and the rough approaches to the outer viewpoints give graded but scenic off-road driving across red laterite and gravel. Gradients are moderate and the surfaces forgiving when dry, but the same red soil turns to slick, deep mud through and after the monsoon, so the dry months are the time to come. Much of the land is private estate or protected forest — keep to tracks you have permission for, and mind the sheer, unfenced drops at the valley edges. **Best season:** October - February **Recommended tyre pressure:** 24-28 PSI **Preparation:** - Come in the dry months — these hill tracks are unsafe and often impassable in the monsoon - Stay on public roads and tracks you have permission for; much land here is private estate or protected forest - Carry fuel, water and recovery gear — services thin out above the town - Slow down in mist and watch for unguarded drops at the viewpoints

moderate · Mud, Gravel terrain

Satara, Maharashtra

Panchgani's Tableland is Asia's second-largest mountain plateau — a stark, treeless sheet of weathered volcanic rock perched above the Krishna valley and the Dhom backwaters. The hard laterite surface makes for unusual, open driving across the plateau top, with rocky, uneven sections and sweeping edge-of-plateau views in every direction. This is exposed, fragile ground: the laterite cracks and erodes, parts of the tableland are protected and access is periodically restricted to protect it, so check current rules and never drive where it's closed. There is no shade or water up top — carry your own, watch the unguarded plateau rim, and come off before the monsoon turns the approaches greasy. **Best season:** October - February **Recommended tyre pressure:** 26-30 PSI **Preparation:** - Come in the dry months — these hill tracks are unsafe and often impassable in the monsoon - Stay on public roads and tracks you have permission for; much land here is private estate or protected forest - Carry fuel, water and recovery gear — services thin out above the town - Slow down in mist and watch for unguarded drops at the viewpoints

moderate · Gravel, Rock terrain

Satara, Maharashtra