Sometimes one just has to get away from it all. If that feeling’s a disease, then I’m terminally ill! Motorcycle riding is a passion and when the daily grind gets too much, taking off into the sunset for a little sabbatical works great for me..

I often thought the Ahmednagar highway is not in very good condition and always have avoided that section of road. However, when I actually headed towards Nighoj that day, I realised how wrong I was.

The highway is a pleasure to ride on, turning out to be even better than the old NH4! Smooth roads and an open landscape provide for a lot of soul searching on two wheels, especially when the destination is a place you know nothing of and don’t know what to expect.

ROAD GAUGE
I head down the Ahmednagar highway up till I reached a sign board on the left which said ‘NIGHOJ’ and points to the left. This board is about 50 kilometres out of Pune on State Highway 27.

Taking that left, one passes some small villages and towns along the road where food, water and essentials are readily available.

The vistas here are not made of breath-taking ghats or blissful beaches but there are fields to be seen. I felt connected with the real India, in the countryside. Perfect for photography.

Abandoned bullock carts, wide open fields and a narrow road — for anyone with an appetite for photography, the ride to Nighoj is heaven!

About 40 kilometres after getting off the highway, we reach the main town. Nighoj is a small town on barren land with a few temples and some villages around it and home to one of the most awe inducing rock formations in the country. It’s interesting how the terrain changes so drastically in just a few kilometres.

BIG CLAIMS
I got to the banks of the river Ghod and took in the view, mesmerised. Over the years, the river has cut through the rock and given birth to amazing formations that in some places look like sculptures of humans, animals and just about anything you else can imagine. I went on a short trek into these formations and found my camera wouldn’t stop clicking!

Some say these ‘pot holes’ or rock formations are the largest of their kind in Asia. Also here, the Kunda Devi temple is a great place to just sit and be. Soundless surroundings and the sunsets, which here are a palate mixed with hues of reds, yellows and oranges – what more can one ask for?

A hundred-kilometre-long ride, to a place with its own charm, relaxed my senses me in every way. Call it a short trip or a quick getaway, Nighoj is a place nobody should miss.