Dhom Lake - Menawli Ghat

If you are looking for a quiet lake side with hardly any human establishments, breath taking scenic views and at the same time easily approachable by road, then Dhom lake is the place. For easier relatability, this is the lake which comes in Swades ( the boat scene ). I also think it comes in some scene in Dabang as well but not sure.

Dhom lake is situated around 10-11 kms from the main Wai town and is a relatively simple route to follow. Take the Menawli Ghat road which itself presents a pretty picture with lush green fields on either side with the mountain ranges in the background. At one place, the road branches into 2. The straight one will lead you to the Dhom dam and the right takes you to the lake. Don't fret if you have taken the straight road. Once you hit the Dhom dam, take a right and about a km or so later, the road curves towards the left. Take that and within a few 100 m you will catch the breath taking views of the Dhom lake surrounded by the hill ranges. We were at Harrisons Folly near Panchgani some time earlier and the Dhom dam is visible from there. So the mountain ranges visible in Dhom lake must be of around Panchgani.

We went there just to enjoy the scenic views and nothing else. We were told by locals that there are boating facilities available in the lake but that was on the other side. If you wish to go for the boating, I can give broad routes but not the exact place. At the place where I have mentioned about the roads branching out 2 way, take the straight one and once you hit the dam, take left and keep going straight. The boating is some where towards the left.

During monsoons the water reaches till where the car is parked.

Since it was post the winter that we went, the water levels were not heavy. For capturing the real beauty of the place, visit during the monsoons.

A word of caution - if you are taking your own vehicle, don't drive till very  close to the lake especially during non monsoon period. These are actually the lake bed and the soil strength is not great. There are possibilities of the vehicle getting stuck. So park a little away from the lake and then walk down.

In the map given above, there is an alternate road also leading to the Dhom dam - Dhom dam road. I suppose this  route can also be tried.

Cheers.

Lakshmi Narasimha Temple - Dhom

Wai is a place which most people would cross on their way to Mahabaleshwar / Panchgani. Even those who venture into this place would visit the Dholya Ganapati Temple ( Picture given below ) and the adjacent Kailasanath temple and then return back. Ganesha comes in different shapes, sizes. This is a really large and beautiful Ganesh. So it was a good way for me to start off my trip to Wai.

However take a further 5-6 kms into Wai through the Menawali Ghat road. Trust me, you will not regret this short detour. Wai happens to be a favorite shooting spot for numerous Bollywood movies due to its picturesque locales comprising lush greenery, lakes, temples adjacent to the Krishna river.

The temple of Lakshmi Narasimha / Dhomeshwar was our first stop after the Ganesh darshan. Once you take the Menawli Ghat road, keep going straight on the road. You will hit a dead end with the imposing Dhom dam's structure in front of you. Take a left at this place and about 500m further at this place, you will notice a small board for the Lakshmi Narasimha temple on the left. I have given a google maps snapshot for the location.

You can make out from the very look of the temple that its an ollldddddd one. There were no priests in the temple. A family stays just adjacent to the temple and there is a kunda as well giving the temple a very picturesque presence. The family told us that the temple was built during the Pandavas period. Cant vouch for that though.

The temple is built in Hemadpanthi style and has intricate carvings.

The temple has a unique Nandi on top of a tortoise and this entire sculpture in a flower shaped kunda.

The Narasimha here is a ugra narasimha on one side and prasanna narasimha on the other side. The photo of the Narasimha is from google as my snaps didn't turn out good.

Other sculptures in the temple.

The small pond adjacent to the temple.

A full view of the main shrine.

Beautiful temple worth a visit.