Lonavala and Khandala, seen from Pune
Lonavala is a hill town in the Sahyadris, about 65 km from Pune, with Khandala right beside it on the side that drops towards Mumbai. Two roads climb up from Pune. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway takes most of the traffic. The old highway runs through the town itself, past the rows of chikki shops. In the monsoon the whole place turns green and misty, and that is when half of Pune wants to be there.
People come up for the views at Tiger Point and Lion's Point, and they stay in villas with their own pools inside gated colonies, or in resorts on the edges of town. Weekdays are calm. On weekends the town fills, the roads slow down, and every second villa has music playing. Lonavala escorts on our board are booked mostly for these villa nights: a short break from the city, a place taken for two nights, one evening that wants company.
No girl on our board lives in Lonavala. Every booking here is a Pune girl travelling up the hill, so the rule is simple: say Lonavala on the call first. We check who is free to make the drive, and if there is any extra for it, you hear the amount before you agree. Mona, Candy and Roshini live on the Hinjewadi side of the city, towards the expressway, so they are often the first names we try.
