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Published: February 4th 2009
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One of the best beaches I have seen…Diveaghar.
This one scores a 10/10 from me on privacy, cleanliness, zero crowd, shallow and clean waters and sunsets !!
The route we take from Mumbai is Pen - wadkhal naka - kolad - Indapur - mandgao - Mhasla town- Diveaghar. Beautiful roads. Green trees and the morning mist that flows across these tiny villages along the coast.
Some of the must do things here - ‘Ukadiche modak’ at Bapat kaka’s place, fish at Potnis, loads of coconut water and sand castles ! 😊
Very quaint houses and lanes and everything the way you would like in a small non commercial quaint seaside village. There is no other sound except for the waves, unless it’s a weekend with tourists like us who fill the silence with noise and litter…
We booked our stay at Mr. Bapat’s village house. It’s a typical Konkani/coastal thatched house and an old wooden swing in the porch and the back yard extending its way through coconut grooves to the sands of the beach… Its amazingly convenient to go on the beach - play - get wet and muddy - come back for a hot water bath. (There
are many home stays available - have given some numbers at the end of my blog)
Breakfast is a typical Maharashtrian menu of Upma/Pohe/Shira with Tea and Coffee. Lunch at Bapats is a must. Dinner typically at Potnis with some fresh fried fish, prawns dry (or curry, as u may want), bhakri, sol-kadhi (coconut milk flavoured with some local spice) etc.
About 5/8 kms south of this little town is the fisherman’s colony ,the ‘shekhati gaon’. It’s a major port and is filled with 100s of fishermen bargaining tons of fish/crab/mussels/sharks/lobsters/prawns/eels/large n’ small fish of all colours etc every morning. This market is completely silent after 9am, and everything is sold off.
We too bought some ‘Surmai’ for dinner….cant be more fresh than this. It was exciting seeing local faces, negotiations, the variety of fish and sea food getting transacted across boats.
Driving further ahead the hill is the serene and silent white sand beach - Kondwil. Reaching Kondwil itself is a very scenic drive and we stopped almost every 10 min to have a look around. The drive by the hill side gives a spectacular 180 degree view of the Indian ocean till the horizon. A
sunset from this spot is a real treasure to catch. That’s what we did too…
Precaution - Kondwil is a clean but the sands descend down the ocean quickly, hence not very play-friendly. The currents become stronger too.
Further ahead of Kondwil, the road leads to this famous beach/tourist place and temple of Harihareshwar. (around 2 hrs)
We came back from Kondwil to Diveaghar, the fried fish was waiting after all…
After a sumptuous dinner, we spend the entire night (almost) listening to the tidal waves and the silence of the coconut trees.
I don’t know where and who thought of a walk in the village (since our tummies were bursting with food)..and we set off. The only mistake we did was not carrying our torch. The village is fast asleep at 8pm, and its pitch dark. Electricity load-shedding keeps the street lights off . It was more of a ‘Ramsay Brothers’ Zee horror show’ and we just needed one intruder from outside to set us running apart. Heee ! holding each other as closely as we can, we came back, then laughing all night at how stupid we looked..!!
Set up a camp-fire to keep us warm
and pillows to support our sleepy angles in the backyard. Finally dozed off at 3am…
Dolphins come to this side of the sea in December and January…
The next morning at 5.30am, our entire gang in their shorts and night-pajamas were at the beach to see the dolphins. (As the day rises and the beach becomes busy with people, they run away…). We could actually see schools of them playing and jumping around quite close to the shore actually. An amazing sight !
We also learnt from some locals that Turtles (don’t know which species) come there in February to lay eggs. This specific part of the beach is then sealed and tourists/locals are stopped from entering (thank god !...some awareness).
3 days ended like a dream….completely rejuvenated, excited and sun-tanned we came back with a lot of crazy pictures.
Some tips for you-
1.Book your stay well in advance. An advance deposite is always asked for to confirm the booking.
2.Book veg-lunch (Bapat) and non-veg Dinner (Potnis) also well in advance (atleast 8 days)
3.Carry a torch.
4.Slippers, cap, glares, cotton clothes are a must.
5.Summers (March-April) get very very hot and one can’t enjoy the beach until
sunset, June-July-August faces costal storms and heavy rains and makes it unsafe to move around there, rest of the year is exciting and green!)
6.It’s a simple village, there is no one to appreciate your fancy swim wear, so, stick to some decent dressing on the beach.
7.Never miss visiting the ‘Suvarna Ganesh’ temple.
8.You may shop for some local delicacies of the konkan area - papads, cocum syrups, local pickles, rice fry-items (mirgunda) etc…
Some stay options -
1.Mrs. Dipti Gandre (Tel: 02147 - 224270) - Rs.1000/- for a huge hall for 13/15 beds per night, Rs.500/- for a bedroom which can accommodate 5 people. Both are with attached facilities. Good breakfast too, if advance intimation is given. Beach at the backyard.
2.Mr. Suhas Bapat (Tel:02147 - 224377) - Rs 1200/- per night for each room. These rooms are large and can fit in 10 people each very comfortably. He offers excellent breakfast and lunch. 2 min from beach through backyard.
3.Woodland Resort / Mrs Manjiri & Mr. Avinash Deshpande (Cell phone: 0-9860047320) - check their website. A little away from beach. I have no experience of stying here.
4.Dhanraj Cottages - check website. Rs. 1500/- & Rs.
1200/- per night for a/c and non a/c accommodation respectively - no extra beds allowed. Rs. 350/- for extra bed. Away from beach. I have never stayed here.
5.Mr Potnis (Tel:02147 - 224270) for fried fish lunch/dinner. No stay.
or contact www.foliagoutdoors.com to arrange the rest for u...
Have fun !
bye
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