Back in October, on my first morning in India, we had plans to go to Yeoor Hills, on the north east side of Mumbai near Thane for some sightseeing. Always wanting to win the fight against jet lag quickly, I was up early Sunday after arriving after midnight the night before. I was greeted by a hazy but pretty sunrise outside the window of my hotel.

I was up early and in the car heading for Thane at 8am. Our first stop was the Golden Swan Country Club in Yeoor Hills. This 9-hole course is nestled in the hills on the east side of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in the northern part of Mumbai. We hit a few golf balls as the rest of our little Sunday outing group arrived.

Our next stop was the Mandapa Forest Bird Watching zone. We were there for a short trek, not for bird watching. After driving down from Yeoor Hills, we went north a couple of kilometers before turning back up towards the hills. We went from busy offices to residential to the end of the road against the wooded area at the foot of the hills west of Thane. There was an entrance fee for non-residents (they will check the prefix on your license plate or ask for identification) but it is well worth the cost. You go from the city to the jungle in a very short distance. Views of the city below are remarkable.

The story continues below the fold. At the end of the week we visited Nashik, a city 100 miles (160 kilometers) northeast of Mumbai. Here is a teaser photo to encourage you to click on “continue reading” to see the rest of the post.

Picking up our story from our trek up into the jungle at the edge of Thane, we reached a bird watching tower. You could see the whole city spread out below you. I suppose if we were quiet and waited long enough, we would have seen some birds.

Here is a panorama of the city taken from the tower. Make sure you click on the picture so you can see all the details.

One note to travelers who arrive from a temperate climate and head out into a more tropical one for a trek. Get some Gatorade or other sports drink. I ended up over heated from the hike (it was 95° F / 35° C and very humid) and plain water was not enough. After the long flight I needed the electrolytes from the sports drink.

After a week of work, we headed off on a trip to Nashik. Nashik is about a four- to five-hour drive from Mumbai depending on traffic. We stopped on the way at a McDonald’s for some tea. Ronald McDonald was there to great us.

After arriving at our hotel, the Gateway Hotel Ambad, freshening up and having a very good lunch, we headed out to the Shrine of the Infant Jesus. This church and shrine was completed in 1970 under the guidance of the Jesuit priest Fr. Peter Lewis. It is a well attended church and the shrine provides hope to many.

Unfortunately, we arrived just as they had finished fumigating the church. I held my breath to go inside and take this picture of the baby Jesus behind the altar.

The grounds are well-kept. There is a small area where you can sit down with a statue of Jesus in an informal setting.

From there we headed off to Sula Vineyards, arriving just in time for the sunset.

Sula Vineyards was founded in the 1990s by a former Oracle executive and has become one of the largest producers of wine in India. Their wine is decent, with their Savignon Blanc wining international awards. Their Chenin Blanc is a great match for spicy Indian foods. The winery and tasting room is well worth the visit. You pass a vineyard as you enter the extensive facility, which includes restaurants and overnight stays in addition to winery tours and wine tasting.

The winery tour is good. You start off with a discussion of wine crushing and then head through the fermentation tanks.

The tour guide was very knowledgeable about wine making. She presented the process in a way anyone could understand.

The fermentation tanks provide a great contrast of light and shadow amidst the gleaming stainless steel.

The last stop on the tour before wine tasting is the barrel room where the wine goes through its final preparation before bottling.

The barrels provide some interesting geometric shapes.

While this barrel room is quite large and full, it is likely just a small portion of Sula’s total wine output.

The tour ends with a generous wine tasting. We sampled five or six wines, from sparkling through red.

Outside, Sula celebrates its award-winning savignon blanc. That’s one big bottle.

As dusk falls, the vineyard is lit up below the hazy skies of a late monsoon.