Sparks: Chikhloli Dam, Badlapur

If you are someone staying in the vicinity of Badlapur, a city in the Thane district of Maharashtra, then Chikhloli dam could be your next monsoon destination. It is a serene lake with a small waterfall and plenty of landscape to soothe your eyes and give you peace.

Since it has a restricted entry, you will not find much crowd here, except during the Ganesh festival, when they immerse the idol of Ganesha. It is a sought-after spot for the locals and some lazy guys to hangout for booze. But, if you are as lucky as we were, don’t be surprised if you and your gang are the lone picnickers for the day.

Place: Chikhloli Dam

Where: Badlapur

How to reach: The dam is just 4-5 kms from Badlapur station. You can easily get an auto rickshaw to take you as close to the dam as they choose to; and after a short climb on the hill, you reach the dam. The dam is also accessible by road as it is close to the Badlapur highway.

Food: It is advisable to carry your food in case you want to stay longer as there are no shops near the dam, and the lone makeshift kiosk that we did find there was closed. In case you chose to consume food at the place, kindly carry back the leftovers, plates, cups, etc. for appropriate disposal. The place is clean for the most part and let’s do our part by maintaining the cleanliness.

Best time to visit: Monsoon. Either hit it in the morning after breakfast or go out for a lazy evening with a flask full of masala chai and crunchies.

My friendship with Amit has been a recent one and I already have loads to thank him for the wonderful places he visits and shares the photographs, and I just can’t seem to resist visiting them myself. He stays at Badlapur, and Chikhloli for him is a stone’s throw away distance from his place. So you can very well understand his frequent visits to the dam. He is an excellent guide and photographer. Most of the pictures I get to share are shot by him.

With directions from Amit for the dam, I convinced my family for an outing one day. We had initially planned to take the road, but due to some circumstances, we ended up taking the train from Dombivli to Badlapur. From there, we took an auto rickshaw on a per seat basis. The guy was kind enough to arrange another one as we were eight of us. He even spoke to the dam authorities who let us take the rick farther into the premises. If you have your own vehicle, you can take it all the way to the hill.

The lake is so peaceful with calm waters and flows into a stream to one end. Swimming is permitted at your own risk. Be prepared for little fish bites as there are plenty of them; do they say fish spa? If you do not want to enter the water, it’s fine. You can feed the fishes from the banks. You can take a walk across the dam and reach the mountains on the other side. You can walk the hills and take a tour of the greenery and flowers. There are waterfalls and couple of temples, one on a hill and one Shiva temple at the base of the hill. You can take a dip in the streams when the water is more. After some lovely photo session, we traced our steps back. We had informed the driver to pick us back, and he did so promptly.

The dam authorities were kind enough to let us take a tour of the water filtration process. No footwear allowed and no photography.

We plan to go there again early next monsoon to see when the water level is more. Chikhloli is a pleasant recreation spot, with beauty that compels you to go there again and again.

Pictures speak louder than words, so sharing some clicks by Amit.