City Oasis - Cycling in Aarey Milk Colony, Mumbai
In the middle of an otherwise congested and busy city lies an oasis that provides the peace, quiet and greenery. A great place to unwind with a cycle ride with my daughter - Shimul.
Established in 1949 and officially inaugurated by the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1951, Aarey was originally demarcated to shift all the buffalo farms from the city into the forest covered area. It still has several Buffalo farms that provide milk to the city
The colony is spread over 16 square kilometres (4,000 acres) and is located off the Western Express Highway. There are several off road tracks where one can ride a mountain bike. One of our favorite is a place where regular visitors have planted trees and come every morning to exercise - called Pachavati.
One of the attractions with a very inappropriate name "Chhota Kashmir" is a lake and a picnic spot that is crowded during the day, but provides a great place to cool off early morning
The lake has a bevy of swans that swim around and get fed by visitors
Around the lake is a promenade with shady trees and wild flowers that grow in monsoon - a great place to chill out
A Commando Training Center is being developed in one area of Aarey, and is equipped with some great outdoor training equipment
And here is a video that Shimul compiled from the photos and video clips we shot:
