Skip the Lonavala traffic. We map the back-roads route from Bandra to Nehamrit Farms — the chai stops, the river crossing, and the exact petrol pump where the city actually ends.

Every Friday evening, Mumbai empties itself onto NH-48 toward Lonavala. We're going to skip that. The route we take guests on is older, slower, prettier, and ends at a gate that opens onto twenty acres of farm. Here's exactly how to drive it.

The first hour: leaving the city

Cross the Vashi creek by 5 PM if you can. The bridges before Thane are the only real bottleneck. Once you've passed Mulund toll, you've earned about ninety minutes of clean road. Roll the windows down — the air starts changing right around Bhandup.

From Thane, you'll see signs for Murbad. Take them. Skip the Ghodbunder route unless Google insists. The Mumbra bypass adds twelve minutes but spares you the trucks.

The city actually ends at a petrol pump in Padgha. Top up there — fuel is harder to find for the next forty kilometres.

— Amrit

The second hour: where the green begins

After Padgha you're driving past sugarcane and the occasional brick kiln. Murbad town has a clutch of tea shops; the one with the blue door does a good masala chai for ten rupees. We always stop there. Allow fifteen minutes — there's no reason to hurry on this stretch.

Two kilometres past the town, the road bends right and crosses the Kalu river. If it's monsoon, you'll smell the water before you see it. The bridge is one-lane, so wait if you must.

The last twenty minutes

After the bridge, look for a small signboard pointing left toward 'Mal village'. Most navigation apps miss this turn — they want to keep you on the highway. Trust the sign, not the screen.

The lane narrows. Mango groves on both sides. You'll know you're nearly there when you cross a tiny culvert and see two wooden gates open onto a gravel driveway. That's us.

What to pack for the drive

  • Cash — small shops on the route don't take UPI
  • A book — you'll want it for the train of red lights leaving Bandra
  • Sunglasses — the late-afternoon light hits hard on the western stretches
  • An empty water bottle — the river crossing has clean spring water

You'll arrive at around 8 PM if you left by 5. The check-in formalities take ten minutes. Dinner is on the table by 9. That's the whole drive.

Written by

Amrit

Nehamrit Farms