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Published: July 20th 2023
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Konkan - January - 2023
2: Raigad, Ganpatipule, Velneshwar
Day-4: Harihareshwar to Raigad fort to Guhagar (NH)
Raigad fort is in Raigad district and not in Konkan. It is 167 Km from Mumbai and 132 Km from Pune. From Harihareshwar, the distance is 87 Km (2-2½ hrs). Hence this one-day diversion from Harihareshwar to Raigad to Konkan - coast. Road condition from Harihareshwar to Raigad fort was ordinary, however, Raigad to Mahad (more frequented) was in even worse condition. Mahad connects Pune and Mahabaleshwar separately.
Raigad fort is one of the more famous of the numerous forts of Shivaji era in Maharashtra. It was the capital of Marathas during his reign. Last month we visited Sinh Gadh near Pune. Both had one similarity - they are in ruinous condition. Not surprising though, because after nearly 350 years of lying defunct, nature is bound to take its toll. Both Sinh Gadh and Raigad are situated on top of a hill. Raigad fort is at an elevation of ~2700 feet from the base. Ropeway is available. It was mid-week in January and still, there were not less
than 200 buses of picnickers near the base. Waiting for the ropeway was long, but we had the advantage of being senior citizens and didn’t have to wait very long. There are reasonably good restaurants at the base and at the top in the ropeway complex. Apart from that, facilities are very poor.
At the top, from the ropeway station, there are still a couple of hundred steps to climb and then long long stretches to walk once inside the fort as it is spread over an area of 2.5x1.5 Km.
Shivaji is worshiped like a God in Maharashtra. Perhaps this is a relatively recent development for political reasons. To get a closer view of the statue (of Shivaji) you need to remove your shoes…..
Winter of 2023 was no winter and the sun was very harsh. Due to technical snag, return passage by ropeway was delayed by an hour.
For the return journey, we took the Raigad-Mahad-Dapoli-Dabhol route. Alternate route is via Chiplun. From Harihareshwar, one can reach Dapoli via Harnai (one of the good beaches) in two hrs.
Plan was to drive up to Velneshwar, but by the time we reached Guhagar it was dark and we decided to stay in Guhagar.
Guhagar has white-sand beach and seems to be a popular week-end getaway. Almost every house provides a homestay facility, but on Friday, it was full! After some driving around, we found a reasonably good homestay, but again, no food!
Homestay owner directed us to ‘Suruchi’, a pure veg restaurant, and for the first time in five days, we got good food, most unexpectedly in a small place like Guhagar.
Visited Guhagar beach and Durga devi temple in the morning. And proceeded for Ganpatipule.
Day-5: Guhagar to Ganpatipule to Velneshwar (NH)
Guhagar to
Ganpatipule is about 50 Km (2 hrs) + ferry. Ferry may add to travel time. Road is very scenic but at places scary due to very little traffic, no fuel stations and rough patches. We by-passed Velneshwar and proceeded to Ganpatipule. In hindsight, it was not the best decision as accommodation and availability of food is very poor at Velneshwar. Ganpatipule is very
well developed as it is a major pilgrimage place. Beach at Ganpatipule is also much better than Velneshwar.
Ganpatipule is a busy temple, but we were in time for a quick darshan. Temple is located right on the beach and at high tide, water reaches the steps of the temple. On 20th January, the Sun was so hot at around 12 noon that only die hard will go to the beach. And there were so many of them!
Konkan Museum is a worthy visiting place at Ganpatipule. It is a private museum which gives a guided tour of the (models of) Konkani lifestyle along with a spice garden. It also has a small restaurant.
We had decided to proceed to Velneshwar for a night stay so as to reduce driving distance on the next day. Velneshwar MTDC accommodation has good location and like all other government owned property, is a huge one. Food and services - very poor.
Evening at Velneshwar temple and beach (deserted).
Started the return journey the next morning without having tea-breakfast as the caretaker was fast
asleep at 8 am (he had promised tea at 7.30).
Day-6: Velneshwar to Vapi (NH) via Chiplun
Velneshwar to Chiplun is about 50 Km, but thanks to Google and on-going road construction, it took almost 2 ½ hrs. Google, at times, in its zeal to save 1-2 min, takes you through the city instead of bypassing and ultimately you end up spending more time in traffic congestion. It happened twice before we reached Chiplun.
Now we were off the Konkan coast and driving inland on Mumbai - Goa highway.
Chiplun is known for the temple of Lord Parshuram. Again, Google misled us to a dead-end road leading to the temple. People were watching in amazement as I was driving into an impossible road - nobody bothered to stop us. With great difficulty and without mishap, turned around and came out of it. There is a car parking area near the temple. Where we went was the old road with a dead end followed by about 200 steps.
Chiplun has many cashew factories. Bought some cashews from a ‘factory outlet’ operating
from the home of the factory owner.
Had ‘Bombay’ vada pav. Best food on the trip.
Chiplun to Vapi (420 Km - 7 ½ hrs) via Panvel, Mumbai-Ghodbundar. Much familiar traffic and congestion!
Had Joshi Wade’s Wade. Will not try again.
Night stay at a highway hotel in Vapi.
Day-7: Vapi to Gandhinagar
380 Km - 7 hrs.
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