Irshalgad Trek

The trek starts from a small village off Chowk, ahead of Morbe Dam, which is about a 45 minute drive from Panvel.

Its a nice short and clean trek and takes about one and a half hours to get to the top from the base village. As you climb up you get a nice view of the Morbe Dam.

Just short of the top, it got pretty windy. Both rain and wind forced us to stay put for ten-fifteen minutes till things eased up a little.

The villagers are happy to point the way to the top. They also have small stalls retailing tea and snacks along the route including one that is right on top.

Kundalika River Rafting

As the nearby dam releases water, the gush provides for a super river rafting experience in the Kundalika River off Kolad, MH. Monsoon is a good time to get here for a roller coaster ride on the river.

Akshi, Alibaug

Captains Log; Star Date 1211.2017

Reached Akshi Beach at about 730 hrs after a rock and roll drive via the NH17 which is under repairs. The twisty section around Poynad was a good drive though.

Early in the morning with the tide near its high point, the beach looked pretty unassuming. As the sun came up a little more, flocks of winter visitors could be seen settling down.

Oyster Catcher

Lying down flat on the beach and crawling up slowly helped me get close to some of the visitors.

Kentish Plover

Shooter in the open!

There’s a small parking area with some shacks retailing snacks. There's also a loo and a changing room – not exactly hygienic though.

Tarkarli, Malvan

As a three day holiday looms up, I start looking up maps for a longish drive. Weigh options and Tarkarli, Malvan starts looking good for –

1. A 500 km run down the legendary Mumbai-Goa NH17. 
2. Quaint seaside Malvani village known for its beach and cuisine.

Captains Log; 0210.2015

Start early and straightaway get on to the Mumbai-Goa NH17. The 20 ltr jerry can mounted on the Thar gives me the comfort to keep stoppages to the minimum.

NH17 up to Nagothane is a rattler with all kind of road works underway. After Kolad the road opens up and the tarmac improves considerably. The monsoon splendor of the Western Ghats too stands out. Stop at Mahad for breakfast. Ghats start right after Poladpur and the NH takes me through Chiplun, Sangameshwar, Hathkhamba, Lanja, Rajapur, Kankavli and Kasal in about 10 hours.

The drive between Poladpur to Kasal is super engaging with moderate to sparse traffic and amazing twisties. A light rain earlier in the morning seemed to have washed the tarmac.

You have to drive through this section, specially the 100 km section between Lanja and Kasal, to believe it. The section has super tarmac and it turns, climbs and falls in a span of seconds. The drive is so gripping that you just want to keep driving just to see what’s around the next curve. I really have to push myself to stop at Lanja for a quick lunch.

Mahad, Chiplun, Hathkhamba (turn off for Ratnagiri), Lanja and Kankavli are good stops for food and fuel.

The Thar was amazing with its high seating, super acceleration, sweet slotting long throw gears and short wheel base that helped me push the vehicle around bends and traffic. And the head turner that this vehicle is, helps cut through traffic.

Kasal to Malvan is another 30 km / 45 minute drive on a pretty decent road that has some good curvy sections and sparse traffic. The rain and mist only added to the fun I was having behind the wheel.

Malvan turned out to be a small town with shops and houses lining a maze of narrow roads. Noticed a decent hotel on the left as I entered the town.

A left, little ahead of the Bus Stand, heads to Tarkarli. This road (about 7 km) is again a narrow road lined with shops, houses, home stays and resorts. MTDC, which is well spread out on the beach is the best place to stay here. Being a long weekend, everything was booked. Some of the other resorts quoted about Rs. 2500/- for a non A/C room, which I thought was expensive. Drove around the Karli river and up to Devbag to check stay options. Anything that looked good was already booked!

The hotel in Malvan, now started to look good so turned around and headed back to Malvan. Malvani Homestay at Wairy-Bhutnath village had accommodation but I was too tired to explore.

Put up at Hotel Maharaj Executive for the night. Tried the Pomfret Thali at Only Fish next to the Malvan dock. While the pomfret was fine, I think the place can be given a miss.

This side of the town I thought was too touristy – the boat ride to Sindhudurg Fort, snorkeling and scuba diving happen from here. The Beach too was a mess. Not to impressed with the stay at Malvan, I was wondering if I should head to Panjim, which is a two hour run from here, in the morning instead.

Captains Log; 0310.2015

Next day 630 am I was back at Tarkarli. Parked at the MTDC parking and headed out on to the beach.

Bird calls got me to quickly change lens from the Nikkor 18-55 to the 55-300.

Got super lucky with a pair of Spotted Owlets!

On the way back I stopped at Malvani Homestay and was amazed with the huge property and clean room at a cost of Rs. 1,200/- per night. The room overlooks a small coconut and beetle nut grove! Cursed myself for not checking out the place the previous day. Immediately went back to Malvan, checked out of the hotel and came back to Malvani Homestay.

I was blown away by the home-made vegetarian food accompanied with my favorite – sol kadhi. The lunch and dinner at the homestay was simply fabulous.

Evening, I was back at the beach to catch the sunset with the Nikkor 18-55 mm lens.

Captains Log; 0410.2015

Started at 6 am for the home run. I was fascinated with the N17 so took the same route back rather than try the Kolhapur route. 530 pm I was home.

Ganapatipule

Captains Log; Stardate 22112009

Wheels roll at 550 hrs. It’s a little chilly and foggy, traffic is sparse and NH 17 looks as inviting as ever. Stop for tea at Vadakal Naka and then at Open Umbrella, Mangaon. Riverview, Chiplun looms up at 1030 hrs. We decide to have breakfast here and then get off NH 17 and onto Marg Tamhane to Guhagar and detour to Velneshwar and Hedvi on the way to Ganapatipule via the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge.

When in soul kadi land you don’t drink water, you only drink soul kadi! So after soul kadi, thalipeeth, and wada sambar for breakfast followed by some lounging around in the well maintained Riverview garden we’re back on the road. A km. down the NH 17, brings us to the cut for Marg Tamhane.

The road’s good, curvy and doesn’t carry much traffic. A 27 km sprint brings up a signboard pointing left for Velneshwar. This road is patchy and rough at places and so progress is slow. The roadside keeps alternating between shaded tree cover to dry grass to agri fields. Paint has peeled off most of the road signs here, which makes it difficult to tell directions. Did look up Google earth, but these internal roads aren’t visible / mapped. A wrong left or a right can really put you in a spin, luckily for us at times instinct pays off and at other times someone’s around to give directions.

Velneshwar, a quiet village by the Konkan coast is home to an old Shiva Temple. The Temple is quiet and peaceful. The beach with a small fishing village to the south looks pretty untouched.

The MTDC resort at Velneshwar has a pretty good location at a height overlooking the beach. The caretaker tells us that all the villages around here don’t have electricity after cyclone Phyan brought down trees and electricity poles and cables.

Check for directions for Hedvi and the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge and move on. The tarmac gets pretty rough, and the road turns, twists, climbs and falls.

The Swift Diesel really earns all the respect here. You can’t but admire the way the DDIS engine pulls and the steering is extremely responsive. Point and this car will go with aplomb. With all that terrain and A/C running full time, returning an average of 20 km to a litre, I think is fabulous.

The JSW power plant at Jaigad, on the other side of the creek, looms up on the horizon now and then is pretty reassuring in terms of direction we need to head in. Much after Hedvi we are back on the road that runs between Marg Tamhane and the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge. This road’s decent and improves substantially as we get closer to the bridge.

The other side of the bridge, the road’s superb. We go past Rai, Jakadevi and Chafe to get to Ganapatipule. A glimpse of the Ganapatipule beach below is alluring.

Check in at the MTDC resort at about quarter to five. The infra here is pretty decent, the resort is spread over a large area and is bang on the beach. The food dished out by ‘Tarang’ their in house restaurant is average; the soul kadi and poha is good.

The evening is spent lazing about on the beach admiring the various hues thrown up by the sun set.

Day 2 starts with a long walk on the beach early in the morning. There are people just opposite the Ganapatipule Temple. I noticed that, that part of the beach tends to be crowded as people jump the beach right after offering their obeisance to the revered Elephant God. Too enthralled by the sea, they really don’t check out the beach left or right. And that leaves the north (MTDC side) and south end (Ratnagiri side) of the beach pretty untouched.

After breakfast we decide to check out ‘Prachin Konkan’ short of Malgund. It’s a quite place; we go about the place at our own pace without a guide, which I think, was wise. The curio store on top is worth a look and don’t miss the thalipeeth, modak and whatever else that’s dished out by their food stall. The area is pretty vegetated, so you may need a lot of ‘Odomos’ cream to ward off hungry mosquitoes.

Head back to Ganapatipule and decide to explore the road up to Ratnagiri. Take the right fork just after Landmark Hotel. This road runs along the coast and is a pleasure to drive on. Pass by Are, Bhandarpule and other small villages. A nice clean beach looms up every time you take a turn around a hillock.

Turn back about 12 km short of Ratnagiri. Stop for lunch at Krishnalli Beach Resort, Bhandarpule. The surmai in malvani curry is decent and so is the soul kadi. The resort location is terrific, right by the beach and spread over a decent acreage but Rs. 6,000/- bucks per night for a couple, I think is steep.

Evening we head to Jaigad to check out the fort and the light house. There are two routes to get to the Fort. One via Malgund which is a 15 km drive and the other via Chafe is about a 30 km drive. We take the route via Malgund. The route runs along the coast, turns, twists, rises and falls and bits of it though is rough.

The fort’s in pretty decent shape (compared to Cabo De Rama, Goa and may be even Pratapgad, Mahabaleshwar, but way smaller) but isn’t being maintained. The fort overlooks the sea and the creek over which the Rai-Bhatgaon bridge has been built further in land.

The Jaigad lighthouse is on the other side of the JSW power plant and is open to the public between 1600 and 1700 hrs. The last odd km. is superb tarmac along the coast. Set up in 1932 by the British, the equipment is still in good working condition.

The caretaker there explained the ‘character’ of a light house. The Jaigad light house, for example, flashes 4 times in 20 seconds this way a sea farer can tell any light house from its distinct ‘character’. He also explained how three 150 watt bulbs are able to set up a flash that’s visible up to 37 nautical miles.

The caretaker suggested a visit to the nearby Karhateshwar Temple, but I am more enthused about catching the sunset with the old L&T Poclain parked off the road.

The drive back with headlights piercing the darkness is fun. Unfortunately all the villages along the route have no electricity because of damaged cables.

Bahu Joshi just outside MTDC serves good vegetarian fare. The soul kadi was good, the behedi fry and the dal fry was cooked in a local style perhaps.

Day 3 starts with paying our respect to the Elephant God followed by pradikshana along the ‘Pradikshana Marg’ which really takes you around the hill just behind the temple. Different birds can be spotted in the vegetation along the marg.

After a quick breakfast, we’re off, headed back home. This time though we hit the NH 17 somewhere between Sangameshwar and Ratnagiri at Niveli via Chafe and Jakadevi.

The HP petrol pump right after Sangameshwar is a good place to tank up and pressure up. They also have facilities for a quick bite and clean loos.

The detailed route guide and distance covered along with the road condition, is as under, courtesy Co-Driver :).

Map

Day 3 - Solo Run – Dapoli – Murud – Harnai - Anjarle.

Captains Log; Star date 19032007

Wheels roll at 450 hrs. The beam is doing a good job of picking the road ahead. It’s really dark, chilly and desolate. I can just about see the tree-line adjacent to the road. I know there's a jungle behind the tree-line. And that's not exactly comforting when its pitch dark. With speedo at 40 kmph I am going slow but steady.

Soon after Dapoli I am a little more confident and speedo moves in the 50-60 kmph range. At Khed I check with locals for directions. In the darkness I can hardly recognize the place. I do a 90 kmph dash up to the ghat. The sky’s beginning to lighten up. As the trucks lumber, I zip. With sparse traffic I immediately get down to enjoying the Kashedi twists. Speedo moves in a broad 40-60 kmph range. I love the 4th gear on stretches like this because of the acceleration and deceleration it has to offer. And for the sharp climbing turn, the 3rd gear is just a nudge away.

Just after Mahad I chance a glance towards the rising sun. My God! There’s a solar eclipse happening. I pull over, get my S3 out and start shooting. I stick around for about fifteen minutes then pack and move.

Stop at Open Umbrella at Mangaon for breakfast. They serve piping hot idilis and special elaichi tea.

Looks like I am going to run short on fuel. Turn into a pump only to see a board, garlanded on the pump, saying ‘Petrol Sumplle’. Manage to get fuel at Nagothane.

I have a close call with a Sumo coming from the opposite direction near Karnala. Stupid chap is driving right in the middle of the road while I come out of the vehicle ahead to take a peek for a clear coast to overtake. Phoof.

Home 1010 hrs

Distance & Time Line:

That was fun!

Day 2 - Solo Run – Dapoli – Murud – Harnai - Anjarle.

Captains Log; Star date 18032007

Six in the morning after a nice sleep, I am on the beach. I set up the camera on the tripod and aim towards Harnai. My objective is to capture the lights at Harnai, especially the light house. Change settings for a slower shutter speed, a larger aperture and click. Manage to capture the red dot like light emitted by the light house.

The salubrious breeze calls for a long walk.

Around quarter to seven I can see two boats park on the beach. They are there to give people a boat ride into the sea. Being the adventurous kind I don’t hesitate and jump in for a short solo ride. The boat is pushed out into the waters and is guided further in by a guy on the bow with a long bamboo pole. They watch the waves to make the launch as effortless as possible. But the tide’s rising. A wave comes in hits the bow and lifts it up. As the wave travels to the rear the bow falls, chhhaap!, back into the water. A little deeper waters and the Yamaha outboard motor is made to kick in. The motor sputters to life and effortlessly steers the boat into deeper waters. The sunrise is picture perfect and I get busy with my camera.

To dock the boat back on the beach they turn the bow towards the sea, shut down the engine and wait for the waves to push the boat towards the beach. The guy on the bow gets busy with the pole. A big wave and chhaap! The roller coaster launch and landing makes me feel a little woozy. Designed more for wheels I guess.

I spend the next few hours on the beach.

At around 1000 hrs after a omelet bread breakfast I decide to ride down to Dapoli. Just before Dapoli I see the mile stone point right to Burundi and I turn in to explore. I pass by the Agriculture University. Another few kms and I hit the best kind of twisties I’ve ever seen. The road curves left, right, goes up and down with impunity. If the side for the road isn’t a ‘khai’ it’s lined with mango trees. This place stands out in sharp contrast to Harnai. While Harnai is noisy with its fish auction, this place is sublime owing to its agri tilt.

Burundi is indeed a lovely beach head. Some shots later I am headed back to Dapoli. It’s a small busy town. Pick up some bottles of water and chocolates from a store.

I am back at the resort by lunch time. After lunch I laze under the pine trees that are within the Kamats resort, just short of the beach. A couple of birds (little smaller than myna, green feathers, one straight pointer kind of a tail, extremely agile) are playing cops and robbers I think.

1700 hrs, I want to get RollyPolly out on the beach for a photo shoot against the backdrop of the setting sun. A road on the other side of the Murud Devi temple leads to the beach. The beach end of the road is soft sand and I have to power my way through. On the beach I can feel a slight drag as the wheels turn on the firm sand. Nice cool breeze hitting the face (no AGV), the puttering sound of the bike and slash of the waves on the beach make for a good mix.

As the sun starts to go red, I get busy with my camera

While I am busy clicking, the tides rising. Suddenly a wave comes up and I move back to avoid getting my shoes wet. I realize the camera on the tripod might take a tumble as the water goes back and takes some of the sand with it. Whoops! Even the bike might take a tumble. The bike tumbles.

I gather all my gear pack up and move before things get worse.

At the beach end of the road the sand looks softer. Baaaaammm, the engine stalls and I am stuck. I am now a spectacle for a dozen onlookers. A local on my 3 O’clock can sense 50 bucks I think. I take a deep breath and tug the bike back while astride. 7-8 more heaves later I am on firmer sand. Start the engine, point towards firmer sand, rev the engine, 1st gear, baaaaammmm and I am out.

Head back to Kamats. Need to pack for my long ride back home. The twisty and desolate roads make me wonder if I should really be leaving early. But the thought of being home by about 10 is tempting. I decide to move by 5 am.