Maharashtra Nature Park and Farmer's Market

On Jan 18th 2015, Sunday, I decided to go for my first photography outing for 2015. My family and I had earlier decided to go to Owalekar wadi in Thane. I was all excited and thus had woken up very early on Sunday Morning. However we had to cancel that outing for some reason. Everyone else went back to sleep but I couldn’t. I called up Maharashtra Nature Park, also know as Mahim Nature Park which is located near Dharavi and asked them for the timings. They told me park opens at bout 7:30 AM. I decided to take a quick bath and reach the park as early as possible.

I travel from Chembur to Malad, daily for work and this park falls on the way. Each time I see the park I feel like visiting it. But lack of time and other plans never allowed me to make this visit. Well last Sunday, I finally managed. Leaving all my laze behind I drove to this park. Even though direct road to this park was closed due to the Marathon, I thought it was not a good idea to reach there and go back. I had to take the other way round from BKC and reach my destination. I reached there by 8:00 AM and thought I would just walk in after finishing the entry related formalities. For those who haven’t been here, the entry fee is Rs. 10. You need to first enter your details at the main entrance. They’ll give you a gate pass. You then need to go to the main building which has a door with library written on it. The lady present here will note down your details in a register and give you ticket for Rs. 10.

Regarding parking, on a normal day you can park your car on road outside. The official said it will not be towed for sure. However since I went there on the same day as the Marathon, the traffic police had instructed the officials to make it clear to the visitor that on that day, parking outside was not allowed. We were asked to get our cars in from the last gate of the park and park the car inside. Parking charges are Rs. 20. So there is parking space inside the park.

While going in, I read the hoardings of an event that was scheduled for the same day later. It was an organic farmers market. I had heard about this event taking place here on Sundays but this is the first time I actually visited it. A big variety of organic fruits, vegetables, grains and other stuff are available here and you deal directly with the farmers 🙂

There were quite a few food stalls and groups of musicians and singers performing live. All in all a really awesome experience. I stood there for quite some time, lost in the music. I must say, this place really makes me want to come back for more and I’ll keep visiting.

It is also quite fascinating to know that the park area, earlier used to be a dumping ground. Visit this Park, also known as, for a peaceful time amidst nature.

Here are some photos from the park.