Pune monsoons are a bliss. The city is surrounded by numerous hill stations and multiple beaches, and the arrival of monsoons makes Punekars itchy feet and they search for places off from the chaotic ambiance for a quick weekend getaway. One such destination which keeps monsoon walking on air is Rajmachi.

Rajmachi fort , is divided in two citadels, Shrivardhan and Manaranjan forts with a machi(plateau) between them. Located on the Sahyadri mountain range, during monsoons, this place becomes all the more photogenic with lush green forests, waterfalls, silvery clouds and streams of water.

There are two ways to reach Rajmachi . One is to trek from Kondiwade village near Karjat and other is to drive till the village . Since there were chances of heavy rain , we chose the latter and took the driving route. Rajmachi  is located 17-18 km from Lonavala on the connecting route of Della Adventures. The route after crossing Della adventures is a bit raw and tough to drive on. Nonetheless, the drive was picturesque. Being in the village in monsoons, we couldn’t afford to miss the opportunity  of grabbing mouth watering brunch of Misal-pav, Kanda bhaji and hot Chai. As it was a long way to travel we decided to drive till the end point, however the road was not in a very good condition to drive till end.

While moving on the path , beautiful Khandala ghat was visible on the left side. The western ghats ages millions of years and the flora fauna it offers are truly unbeatable. It was a visual retreat to watch some wildlife species enjoying the weather like us.

A sight to lay eyes on was the train running between the ghats which added to the beauty of the place.

On the way ahead we reached till a waterfall and tried to cross it but the path was very slippery hence we decided to stay back while some trekkers continued. My concern was that I wouldn’t get easy shots if it rained heavily. There were chances of heavy showers hence we stayed at that place to enjoy the breathtaking views.

This waterfall was around 500 mtrs from the Khandala ghat view point. On the way back, we stopped at a natural reservoir beside road to click some kids and teens having a good time playing in the water. I tried my photographs do justice to the place.Take a look.

Photography tips :

Whenever you go out to shoot Waterfalls, along with your camera, always carry a sturdy, easy to adjust tripod and ND filters (ND8, ND32, e.t.c.). The ND filters will help to adjust the exposure to add milky look to the flowing water if the long exposure is not achievable in bright light conditions.

Always shoot in Manual mode with minimum possible ISO. As you are having a tripod so shutter speed adjustment will not be an issue. You can have your clicks without noise.

Always keep trying with shutter speed variations until you get your best click.

And one more important point, whenever out in rain with your camera, always carry some sort of rain cover, it could be a robust Umbrella, a polythene cover or any other type of shade.

I hope these small tips may help you in your clicks.