Nap in coconut grove on hire

a two-hour drive away from Mumbai lies Big Red Tent Shahapur, India's first outfit that focuses on the rental camping experience. Everything From the tents you pitch before sundown to the barbeque you grill food on, is on hire

Au00a0two-hour drive away from Mumbai lies Big Red Tent Shahapur, India's first outfit that focuses on the rental camping experience. Everything From the tents you pitch before sundown to the barbeque you grill food on, is on hire

Living in tents, building a campfire, and grilling your dinner makes camping a serious lesson in the art of chilling. Three happy campersu00a0-- corporate consultant Rahil, graphic designer Janki and landscaping businessman Milindu00a0-- have started Big Red Tent to popularise rental camping among young professionals. We dropped in to their campsite at Shahapur for a day.u00a0

We bumped into a wildlife photographer on a shooting spree, an ad man with his 10 year-old daughter and a bunch of interns on their first camping trip.u00a0

Amenities
If you thought: "Living with nature is great, but I need a clean bathroom," plan a trip here. Sparkling clean tent showers and WC units stood neatly on the periphery. Lockers for valuables are an added advantage over camping independently. Each site is equipped with a plug point where you can charge a mobile or use a fan. Self-cooked meals and barbeques are encouraged. But they rustle up reasonably priced home-cooked food too.

What's to do?
This is one place where you can really "be" with nature, considering a 40-acre horticulture nursery, is a stone's throw away. A walk in the nursery reminded us of everything we learntu00a0-- and quickly forgotu00a0-- in botany class. Mini tractors, sinewy tillers, flowers, ferns and unidentifiable trees. When you aren't camping and cooking, tenting and chilling, try your hand at darts, carrom, frisbee and improvised volleyball.

Young stressed-out professionals would rather walk barefoot or conduct experiments in quietude though, as was evident from the blissed out campers we saw doing just that around Bhatsa lake. As poet Wallace Stevens said: "Perhaps the truth depends on a walk around the lake."

Around Shahapur
A drive around the Mokashi farm curbs the city-specific restless attention syndrome. Up ahead, treks abound. The Shivalinga shaped Mahuli Fort makes for a great hike. Visiting Ajoba Ashram in the middle of the forest, drives to Tansa and Bhatsa dams, a visit to the nearby Manas Mandir are just a few possible outings, if you are in the mood to explore.

You shell out
Tents, a sleeping kit, site rentals, a camping light, access to common areas and games are available for Rs 1,200 per person for two adults. A friend can join in for an extra Rs 1,000. Up to two kids under 8 years can share a tent with their parents for Rs 500 each.

Win couple stay at big red tent
How long is the drive to Big Red Tent from Mumbai?
Mail your answer to this question to thetrip@mid-day.com. A winner will be selected through a random draw and contacted on phone.
(Big Red Tent will offer a stay on any night except Christmas and New Year's)

How to get there
CAR: The two-hour drive to the campground from Mumbai is beautiful. Start off early in the morningu00a0-- you won't have much to do if you get there in the evening. Approach the Eastern Express Highway via Sion. Avoid the broad right to Chembur. Continue straight on the Eastern Express Highway towards Nashik/ Shahapur. The Mahauli mountain range makes a splendid appearance to the left about 50 kms down from point zero. Bhagat Tarachand, a few minutes ahead, is the perfect halt for an authentic desi breakfast. Don't miss their amazing selection of rotisu00a0-- Missi Roti with Palak Paneer is our favourite. Turn right at the road sign indicating Shahapur. Another 1.5 kms ahead, turn left at a road sign leading to Vajra Hydroelectric Plant and Liberty Oil Mills. It will lead you to a narrow private road leading to the camp ground.
BUS: Take a Nashik/Shirdi bound bus from Mumbai and get off at Shahapur. A Rs 50 rickshaw ride will take you to the camp ground.
TRAIN: You can take a Central Railway train headed to Asangaon/Kasara from CST/Dadar/Kurla and get off at Asangaon (trains are available at one-hour intervals) and hail a rickshaw.

To book
Call +91 9820193347 for booking and queries. Or drop in to the Mumbai office at 109 Unique Industrial Estate, opposite Siddhivinayak Temple, Prabhadevi.

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