As the summer heat starts to overtake the city, most Mumbaikars are desperate to get under the shade of their cool offices, classrooms and homes. However, that doesn’t mean that lovers of adventure and the great outdoors have nothing to keep them occupied this season. A number of activities are taking place in and around the city that will keep the nature-lover happy. From open-air cinema festivals to hanging from a cliff face in a tent, these are some of the things that you can do this summer.
Valley hanging and valley crossing (Shirkant, co-partner at Keen Venturers & Trekkers): Valley crossing is similar to the flying fox, which is done across waterfalls. Valley crossing is about zipping from one cliff to another.
In valley hanging, on the other hand, you are suspended from the cliffside in a tent and you can hang far above the ground and take in the panoramic views. We do both these activities in the afternoon, so that the temperature is pleasant. In monsoons, Sandhan Valley, where we do the activity, is flooded, so we can only do it during the summer months.
On April 15 and 16
Meeting point, Kasara station
Firefly spotting (Vaibhav Khaire, tour guide at Mumbai Travellers): Summers are the perfect time for spotting fireflies. We host three different walks, in Panvel, Kosaigadh and Rajmachi. These places have a certain kind of plant that attracts the fireflies and they come here in the hundreds. Every tree has hundreds of fireflies flitting around them. The perfect time to go would be after the first rain, but not when it is actually raining, so we are yet to fix our dates.
Band camp (Daniel D'souza, tour guide at Whitecollar Hippie): It’s still pleasant enough for camping outdoors. Our band camp blends music and the outdoors together. We have one indie band playing on the first day and two on the second day. The camp also has a number of other activities, like sunset walks, movie screenings and barbecues.
On April 8 and 9, at Bhayandar, off Gorai Beach
Outdoor movie festival (Sanchet Gupta, co-founder of Sunset Cinema Club): We started screening classic films like Pulp Fiction and Fight Club in Delhi last November in outdoor venues like amphitheatres and roof-tops. In Mumbai, we have so far been screening movies indoors. However, when we heard that the Razzberry Rhinoceros, has reopened its doors, it seemed like the perfect place to host an outdoor movie festival. It will be a three-day fest, with three movies being screened. People can lounge around on the grassy lawn at Razzberry, watch the movie, order cocktails and beer. It’s perfect, since the lawn is breezy enough in the evenings despite it being summer.
On April 21, 22 and 23, 6 pm onwards, at Razzberry Rhinocerous, Juhu Hotel, Juhu Tara Road
