PUNE-TO-RATNAGIRI

Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

“It’s how you escape YOURSELF……..”

So, everything began with a little discussion between Us,

“How about we go for a Road-Trip” this year.

After a long frustrating 9 to 5 work, we need a break where we can escape our everyday chores, relax our self with the greenery of mountains , enjoy the sea-sores in the evening and spend our night walking, near sea bank. To experience this sort of brake we are ready to explore the Konkan.

Maharashtra is full of mysterious spots. Counting from “Gateway of India” Mumbai to “Ramanwadi Dam” Bhandara. While picking a destination is the essential piece of trip.Owing that its our very 1st road-trip, it takes more time to choose the spots. As a foodie we want to explore every kind of seafood. So from here our voyage to “Kokan” began.

After a massive discussion happened over which places and path to take, google maps links and pictures simply attack the whats-app chat to pin down the Route and we at last reached the decision to do bike trip at the beginning of the monsoon. So the final route is:

Pune-Tamini Ghat-Alibaug-Divegar-Shrivardhan- Harihareshwar-Dapoli-Chiplun-Ratnagiri-Mahabaleshwar-Pune.

The most crucial aspect of a road trip is choosing the right vehicle. If you have to drive for 7-8 hours continuously, you need a two-wheeler that is sturdy, economic and comfortable. In this case, we recommend the Access 125 , your trip will definitely be comfortable and awesome.

One of the core principles of a road trip is to refuel as soon as the vehicle tank is half empty because might be in the next hours, you might not come across any gas stations.

DAY-1: Pune -Tamini Ghat

Now, its time to hit the road by ACCESS 125 from Hadapsar to Tamhini ghat. Set off at 7 am in the morning from Hotel in Pune. We wanted to avoid the highway traffic and enjoy the morning breeze.So, after Kothrude, we took a pit stop for tea. Discussed the route on tea and head towards Bhavdhan – Paud- Mulshi way.

This road has several indifferent patches in between and metro is under construction here, but trust me other options are also not any different.

Around 10 kms from Mulshi lake, there is a stretch of 15 kms ghats which was made after carving out the mountains known as Tamhini Ghat.You will love to ride on these ghats as roads are curvy.Waterfalls are the main attraction here.

It is soothing to get lost in the silence of nature. Tamini is the place where you can enjoy a quieter time with yourself. The sun was shining bright ,although the peak season is during monsoon when it is all green and wet, you can visit during winter as well.

A road-trip to Tamhini Ghat especially during monsoon is one of the most scenic experiences. However, it is still a beautiful and offbeat destination for those who love nature.

There are few locals who sell fresh and tasty sweet corns on the way to Tamhini. Enjoy your trip with Utterly – butterly Corn,Lemonade, and locals favorite “Kokam Sarbat”. If you are explorer then you must try Kokam Sarbat as you will get this over here in Maharashtra only. Rest for a while and drive again towards your destination.

DAY 1: Tamini ghat to Alibaug

After enjoying  our 1st destination we head towards Alibaug  via  Kudail-Vadkhali road .We resume  our  journey singing “hum jo chalne lage hai chalne lage hai ye raaste” and many songs hitting our lips, observing greenery and small villages make us Happy .The roads was easy-going and miles-stones assist you to reach Alibaug if you are disconnected by google map. So, no worries if you off  song  your route.
Tips for the route: Remember 2-3 villages identify from google and follow them on mile-stone until destination, if you disconnected from your map at least your trip will not stop.

Reached Alibaug after a long trip at 5:00 pm and visited the nearby sea Kihim for sunset with all our backpack. Then check-in at resort “Aloha (OYO)” as we were so tired, rested for a whilst and once more we drive to the 1st beach in Alibaug.

On the way to our 1st destination in Alibaug we stop to the Pani-puri stall,and juice center as we are hungry. Headed with half-full tummy so, we can enjoy the sea-view.

1. Alibaug Beach

Alibaug beach is one of the most famous beaches with the sight of Colaba Fort  providing the perfect view. A short boat experience from the seaside will take you to the famous castle which has been the sight of many skirmishes in history.

The beach was once very crowded as it is the famous beach in the Alibaug. As we played a lot on the beach, enjoyed the sea-sores and looking at humans taking selfies and groupies. We started craving for street-foods after our playtime is over. So, we visited the lady selling spicy-raw mangoes, tamarind, berries, and star-fruits.

As the sun goes down, we had been craving for sea-food. So we stop by”Hotel Samadhan” for some evening snakes. We ordered Surmai Fry and Fry Garlic Prawns. The price was reasonable and the taste was  amazing after the food we reached our 2nd destination.

Varsoli beach,the seashore at night is marvelous. The sounds of waves make you relax and calm, you can enjoy this, seating on the bank of sea holding hands as we did. 🙂 There was nothing as peaceful as this, sitting near the sea and a quite surrounding.you cannot ask for anything more. We sat at this place for 1 hour and more i guess.

2. Varsoli Beach

The sea-shore of the Varsoli beach is surrounded with the  numerous  palm, Suru and Coconut trees. The sea-sore are dotted with the rocky stone which makes this beach more attractive.The Varsoli  seashore offers you all the serenity and peace that  beaches  are  famous  for  alongside with the  refreshing clean waters spots.

After a calm evening, we went to “Hotel  Sunman” to  explore  the  super  Pomfret Malvani Thali. It was almost 11 p.m we decided to go back to hotel we reached the room by 11:20 pm and freshen up and slept.

DAY 2: Alibaug to Divegar

Day 2 started, we wake up had our tea & biscuit (Britannia good day 🙂 ) and left for Varsoli Beach again as we went there at night. Had yummy Masala -Maggie over there and sit down there for an hour and played a lot on the beach.

For lunch, we went to “Hotel Fulora” and we tried Clamp Masala and fry Bambil fish. It’s our 1st time trying clamps and trusts me you must visit the hotel for this. So, we ate well there at a reasonable price and quantity was sufficient for 2 people. After that, we returned to the hotel to check-out.

We left the hotel at 12 noon and headed towards Kashid Beach. The road to Kashid is scenic.There are the coastal route and hill routes that await you on your road trip.

3. Kashid Beach

The Kashid beach which is at about 30 kilometers drives from Alibaug. It is famous because of its white sand, blue seas,  green  mountains, paddy fields, and rivulets. After a walk on sea  we head toward Divegar. The avenue to Divegar is in partially good. After reaching Murud we come to know that we have to take Ferry until Dighi. The fee of the ferry is  affordable including your vehicle, Its cost Rs.65(2person+1vehicle).

Murud and Divegar are two destinations well worth  travelling  in your Kokan Tour. These two places are located along the Maharashtra coastline. By road, the distance between these two  places  is round 60kms. This distance can be curtailed to  only  20 km if you take a ferry.

From Dighi to Divegar its take 1 hour and we reach at 6 pm. As the network was not working properly so we could not book the OYO Hotel. At last we prefer home-stay instead of Oyo hotel as they are charging higher. After resting for a while we take home made Tea and fresh up. For dinner, we already have a parcel of clamp masala and Bambi fish so we request the lady to cook some roties and warm the leftover food. After the heavy dinner, we were strolling out and holding each other’s hand while it’s practically dim and calm. We cannot discover a single man or woman on the street at 10 pm. The climate was decent we can hear the ocean sore. Its excessively dark and quit to visit the shoreline this time, so we go back to our room.

DAY 3: Diveagar to Dapoli

We woke up at 9 am and get ready for another destination. Today, we have to cover Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar  beach  and reach till Ratnagiri. We reach Divegar beach at around 12 am and it was shining brightly. we played a lot and took lots of selfies.

1. Diveagar Beach

Heading in the direction of Shriwardhan after Diveagar beach  it’s nearly the time for Lunch. But we could not locate  any  hotel as its there preparation time. So, we end at the road-side shop .The shop was newly open (and we were the 1st customers) so, we buy some coconut water.

2. Shriwardhan Beach

As we reach Shriwardhan  beach  round  1-2 pm it was  quiet, the sun hitting our skin. So, we rest for a  whilst  and played with the Cat who was sound asleep near. After that, the hunger strikes and we  begin  discovering  a  hotel which is ready to serve  food instantaneously. After a long search, we stop by a “Hotel Kokan Kinara”, they are open and geared up to serve. So we ordered Pom-fret curry, rice, and Chapati. The  food was  yummy, reasonable and enough for 2 people.

3. Harihareshwar Beach

After killing our hunger we head to Harihareshwar beach. It took 1 hour to reach the beach. The climate used to be hot and we were praying for rain. But after reaching Harihareshwar Beach we sat on the bench and I sleep on his lap while he was enjoying the sea-waves. I sealed my eyes, and I can hear the waves clearly.

Time to wake up and it was almost 3 pm. Then, we were discussing the route to Ratnagiri as its was 5-hour journey from Harihareshwar and we want to stave the night driving. So, we decided to transpiration our plan to reach Dapoli instead of Ratnagiri. We begin driving till Bagmandala, from here we are going to take our 2nd Ferry to Vesavi. 

After reaching Vesavi, We start following the miles-stone to Dapoli. While riding we stop in between to enjoy some good scenery. We took some photo and again start our journey to Dapoli.

As we were near the Dapoli and its only 5:30 pm while driving we saw  a tree full of mangoes so, we stop to pluck some.

We are so pleased after plucking so many mangoes we  overlook that we were so tired at that time. We were wishing for rain and guess what “it’s raining!”

At 7:00 pm we reach the Hotel Sea Load (OYO) as we were so excited to eat that mangoes we fresh up and start eating mangoes one by one. All mangoes taste differently because we plucked from many timber on our way to Dapoli.

DAY 4: Dapoli to Ratnagiri

1.Karde Beach

Day 4 began with a lovely dawn. We fresh up and went to Karde Beach at 9 am. Before entering the shoreline we stop for tea. After an incredible Tea, we enter the shoreline.

The Karde beach was tranquil and delightful.We can hear the seashore and a wide range of shells was spotted.

After spending a wonderful time at the beach. Dapoli is a small place, they don’t have fancy restaurants. So,we ate breakfast in our  hotel  only. The omelet and Upma were delicious and we charged our-self for another destination. Today we are travelling towards Ratnagiri our last goal.

Now we are thoroughly prepared for Ratnagiri, It was raining vigorously yet at the same time we were driving on the street. The way to Ratnagiri have Curvy ghats and construction is in the procedure. Along these lines, we were driving gradually. Mango isn’t the only fruit we culled on our way to Ratnagiri. We even got Jammun. The branches are high so, I sat on his shoulder and attempting to plug a few however, we fizzled and numerous people were watching us yet we are into the point that we overlooked everything and we were culling the fruits like we are little kids.

It was raining continuously so we stop some place to eat as it was already lunch time. We order chicken and bangda fish, roti, rice. It’s still raining after lunch, so we chose to drive gradually to reach Ratnagiri before sunset. At 5:30 pm we nearly reach Ratnagiri so we stop for the Tea, as he was shivering a lot. after a hot cup of tea, we feel so invigorated as we were wet all day. At 7 pm we reach hotel Aasara (OYO) we are so drained that we fresh up and rest for while.It was raining continuously so we could not wake up for dinner.

DAY:5 Ratnagiri to Hedavi

It was raining from the beginning of the day so we get up at 8 am and went to Bhatye beach.

1. Bhatye Beach

The shoreline was lovely as the fisher-man spread the net to get the fishes. It was our first time watching alive.

They got huge numbers of various fishes and crabs. After playing at the shoreline we went to the tea stall for Breakfast. On tea, we discussed about the plan for Gantipule as it was 10 km from Bhatye Beach.

So, after a long discussion with locals, we chose to head towards Ganpatipule. We went to the hotel to check out and went to Ratnagiri Fort.

2. Ratnagiri Fort

This is one of the fort belongs to Shivaji Maharaj as many more in Maharastra. Its Location is Wonderful,surrounded by Sea from 3 side and have good elevation. There is a Temple of Bhagvati Mata inside the fort, the approach road to this fort is beautiful with lots of Mango trees orchids. 

One of the must visit places in Ratnagiri which has some spectacular views of the sea, rocky shores, harbour and the sunset. You can spend a couple of hours having a stroll around the periphery of the fort giving a 360 degree of the scenery and temple within its precincts.

The next destination was the Marine Fish museum center. It was 10 min away from the Fort. we arrive at the gallery and it has entry charges moreover.

3. Marine Fish Museum

There were many fishes, crabs & lobsters. One can find beautiful marine fishes as well as fancy live fishes like Lion Fish, Red striped Squirrel fish, Sea-horse, Blue striped black tropical Fish, Stingray, White spotted puffer fish, Bat fish, Sea Turtle, Lobsters, Crabs, aquatic plants and many more. Adjacent to aquarium there is one museum where various specimens of freshwater, brackish water and marine water inhabitants like fishes, crustaceans, molluscans etc. are preserved. In the museum one will surely admire the big skeleton of a whale whose original length being 55 feet and weighing 5000 kg.After a brilliant view, we headed towards Ganpatipule. We stop at the shop which is close to Arrey Beach.

4. Arrey Beach

Its take 30 min to reach there from the gallery. We played alot on at the beach as it was raining the view was amazing and foggy. We stop at the adjacent shop for coconut water. The woman was pleasant and friendly so, we took 2 coconut water at 90 Rs. The woman was so friendly that she feeds him raw coconuts. 

It’s take 20 min to reach Ganpati-pule Mandir. We loved the curvy  road close to the coastline.

After visiting the Ganpati-Pule Temple we were so hungry we went to the near by hotel and take Veg-Thali. We fill up our-self and head  in the direction of Pune. It was raining so heavily that we could not cover the original plan.

Subsequently coming to Tawsal we took the ferry till another end of Tawsel.

We saw JSW ships from the ferry as it was raining intensely we couldn’t saw the ship clearly, but it was beautiful. After reaching Tavsel Ferry point we head towards Hedavi via Vijaygad.

So at 6 pm, we reach Hedavi village and we determined  to  remain  there as it was raining continuously. We stop at the general shop and ask for tea as we were all wet and he was shivering alot. So we approach the person for the hotel, he suggested few lodgings. And, we went to Bhakt Niwas around 10 min from Hedavi Beach. This place has essence of a typical village as it is far from urbanization. No resorts or hotels around however you can get some basic home stays and home cooked food. A typical village stay away from hustle bustle of tourist place.

DAY: 6 Hadevi to Mahad

We get up around 9 am but it was raining consistently, so we choose to drive till Pune. We check out the room and went to the person who suggested us the hotel. We request breakfast and they freshly prepared Upma and Tea for us. After that he advised us to visit Hedavi Beach as it is delightful and quite place. So we made a beeline for hedavi Beach.

1. Hedavi Beach

Hedavi is small village near another popular location around Guhagar that boasts of two places worth seeing It is a small creek near sea shore and during high tide the waves that splash upon it is really amazing and thrilling, a bit slippery but the experience is real good . Due to constant force of tides colliding on the rock, there is a gorge formed. Approximately 15 m in length and a meter wide gorge is a must see place during high tide. The water enters the gap with force and the collision results in flow of water rising up to the height of 10 m through that gorge.

It was raining vigorously and we reach Mahad at 6 pm so we chose to remain there.As we could not book any OYO hotel so we  found  a  near by hotel there and we cease at hotel Seema Garden,  fresh up  there and slept well.

DAY: 7 Mahad to Pune

After a well sleep, we are prepared for Pune, it  was  raining  consistently but we do not have any other choice so, we head towards Pune. At 10 am we check-out and went for eating. For breakfast we ate Masala Dosa and again we drive toward Varandha Ghat.

We reached Pune at 2:30 pm and went to Hotel Tasty Punjab which is near Magarpatta City. After exploring various fish we are her to eat chicken. We ordered tandoori Chicken, Chicken masala, rice, and naan. At 4:20 pm we reach Pune railway station as he was  leaving for Nagpur. So, our 7-day trip ends here, with lot of memories.

I know that everything happens for a reason, but I desperately hope that this trip is the reason worth remembering for you. Come back soon and I will be waiting right here for the day when you come back, lift me up in your arms and take me with you.

Goodbye Love.❤

Baby can we go back and Redo this trip.