Travelling to Annapoorna Farm Stay Karjat

Annapoorna Farm is not very far from Karjat station and it is a straight, clear road with not much traffic. On our recent visit, we boarded the local Karjat fast train from Dadar station at 8.20a.m. and reached the Karjat railway station at 10.20a.m. Check out the site go4mumbai.com – the best site for getting very accurate timings of local trains, both slow and fast, for Western, Central and Harbour lines.

The website of Annapporna Farm has mentioned that arrangements for pick-up from the Karjat station could be made on request. Hence we had requested the owner, Mr. Vivek Kalamkar to do the needful. He said he would have sent his car to pick us up but since it had gone for servicing, he would send a 6-seater auto for the five of us. While on the train, he sent us an SMS with the auto driver’s contact number. On arriving at the Karjat station, we thought it was just a question of getting out of the station and getting into the auto. It turned out to be one long walking exercise!

The auto driver told us that when we got off the train, we have to face the direction of Mumbai and then walk to the end and turn right, coming out towards the statue of Shivaji. So we started walking…and walked…and walked…and walked….it was a very long platform and while nearing the end of it realized that his direction of “turn right” meant crossing the railway tracks!! We were quite appalled. Leave aside the fact that we are law-abiding people who were aware that crossing the tracks is against the rules and can impose a hefty fine, there was no way we were going to scramble down from the platform and make a suicidal dash across the tracks. A whole lot of people (including a policeman!) did not have any such compunctions and were blithely crossing the track, even despite the clear sound of an incoming train. Quite scary it was to watch them! 

So then we turned right back and asked somebody for directions to the foot over bridge (FOB) to the other side. This being on the right side of where we got off the train, it meant another long walk all the way back. We went over the FOB to the other side and found a lot of autos right outside, near the exit point very close to the ticket booking window. It turned out, though, that the Shivaji statue was not there at all but right at the very end of that platform, after turning right to get out of the station from the other exit point. So there we were again, walking and walking and walking….

At long last we reached the Shivaji statue and found the 6-seater auto. We all got in with our bags, heaved a sigh of relief, and told the driver to start. He did not immediately start the engine though and for a few seconds we were just sitting there, then told him again in the local language “Let’s go”. (My sister told me later after we had reached our destination that perhaps he was still waiting in anticipation of the man in our group to arrive and had not thought that 5 ladies would be traveling alone!!!!)

Off we went. The main road was not exactly a smooth one due to the presence of an infinite number of speed breakers. There are quite a few lush green paddy fields, very soothing to the eyes, towards the end part of the drive.

Then we hit the rough, stony stretch which went on endlessly and was a really bone-jarring journey. We were grateful though that the driver (name Bharat) was a safe driver and did not do any rash driving, slowing down nicely at each speed breaker.  At long last, a full 45 minutes after we had got into the auto, we arrived at Annapoorna Farm. Honestly, it was such a relief!

Auto fare: Rs.450/- for the 5 of us. After experiencing the bone-jarring journey, we were not surprised at the charge, since the tyres themselves would have undergone a good deal of wear and tear.

Road route

Take a print out of the map which is available at the website of Annapoorna website. The directions given at the site are accurate and I would like to add some more on-route landmarks for those driving to Annapoorna Farm from Mumbai:

• Go via the old Mumbai-Pune highway & from Panvel go in the direction of Pune. Once you reach the Chowl phata (approx.27kms), take a left turn to the Karjat phata.
• At Karjat phata, do not turn left as this road heads to Neral and Matheran. Just keep to the straight road.
• You then have to take the left turn and proceed for a few kms towards the Sri Ram bridge. There is an HP petrol pump on the way (I forget if it is before the bridge or after though) in case you need to fuel up your vehicle’s tank.
• After the bridge, you need to take the road to your left that goes toward Murbad (there are road signs with arrows, so you can’t miss this)
• After about 10kms on the straight road, you will pass a place called Kadav, from where you proceed to the Habitat Poultry Farm which is owned by the Kalamkars (owners of Annapoorna Farm).
• Landmarks on the last few kms are: Sundar English school; a lovely Shiv temple in the
  
  middle of a normal lake; an large arch named after Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj; Mayuresh Mangal Karyalaya (large dome-shaped hall for weddings) on the left side: Bhoirwadi sign board on our right side; Akash Motors on your left side; big board of Tata Power; sign board of Heritage Farm and Abraham’s Farm (turn left here); a normal local school – on the wall there is an arrow with the name ‘Annapoorna Farm’ painted on it – here, you turn in the direction as indicated by the arrow; rough tracks here one; a white domed Green house; large groups of bricks kept in the open; then on too entirely rough track till you reach the large green gates with the name board of the farm outside it. 

If the gates are closed from the inside, call up the owner and they will open it. Proceed straight to the office as per the signboard given and park there in the large open space. Go down the path under the arch to the office and the owner/staff will meet you.

You've arrived - enjoy your stay!