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| The garden |
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| View from our room |
We
recently made what was our 9th
visit to this lovely hideaway in Kamshet. Native Place, Kamshet is a home
stay and is run by paragliding Sanjay Rao of Fly Nirvana fame and
his wife Astrid who is a gardening and yoga enthusiast.
It’s
tucked into a cliff side sloping down to the Vadivalli Lake. The place is a
real gem and if you want a break from your stressed-out urban life, go there to
enjoy simple living in the heart of nature.
The
homestay is aptly named and feels like a visit to your family home in a small
town!
The
rooms are colourful, furnished very simply but in a place like this one goes to
the room only to rest /sleep. They have tents, dorms, smaller rooms like the
Lake View and Sun Room to the larger rooms in the Nirvana Cottage.
The
hard working staff do try and tend to our needs – and even took us on a lovely
nature trek up the nearby hillside to experience a lovely waterfall.
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| The nearby waterfall (seasonal), an easy trek away |
The package
consists of breakfast, lunch and dinner and umpteen cups of tea/coffee in the
morning and afternoon.
The
food is generous in quantity and homely – meals consisting of a dal, rice,
rotis, cooked vegetable, an akha dal, salad and an egg or a non veg item. Local
pickles accompany the meals and occasionally there is mithai sourced locally
too. Dinner is preceded by cups of soup brought around to wherever you are.
Snacks
– only Maggi noddles are available as an extra – sadly no bhajia or similar as
the staff are just too busy cooking one meal after the other while keeping the
place clean.
If
it’s a long weekend, they do a BBQ and we were lucky to enjoy one on the
Independence Day long weekend. Grilled chicken and awesome potatoes in foil! As
a special they made tandoori rotis stuffed with cheese – to die for!
Though
in a load shedding area (without 24 hour power supply) there is a generator
which ensures electricity for lights and fans 24x7. The
solar heater on the terrace provides hot water throughout.
 |
| View from the terrace |
Why
we go – to reconnect with nature! We like the homely welcoming and comfortable
vibe!
What
do we do? Have lovely walks – to the village or up the hill, swim in the lake,
read, meditate – or do nothing!
Carry
your own alcohol and find a space to make your own – a hammock or any one of a
myriad hang out areas! Imagine having a drink under the stars with the glimmering
lake in front and just a few lights twinkling on the far bank - True Nirvana!
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| Exotic flora |
What
I’d like to improve – more attention to
housekeeping and more staff to provide snacks
If
you can’t live without wi-fi, room service, AC or TV don’t even think about
visiting! One doesn’t need AC as the
location by the lake means there is a breeze and it’s never too hot. We enjoy
being in a no cellular service place (for die hard mobile users – network is
available on the terrace)
If you seek a quiet getaway to re-charge and be in a scenic place near Mumbai – this is THE PLACE
This review first appeared in TripAdvisor where i enjoy the privilege of being one of Mumbai's Top 1% reviewers!
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