Travelling In India

Shrinagar - to Leh

2010-07-29T23:39:00.001-07:00

We spent two days in Shrinagar - I had been there previously; so I did not go for sight seeing with others. While they spent time in visiting Shanakarcharya and Hazral Bal; I took one shikara and tried meeting Houseboat owners.

Houseboats are some of the finest homestays that India has. In fact this whole idea of starting a portal of homestays had come to my mind while I went to Shrinagar 6 years back(2004) on holiday. Now a little bit about that holiday and my learnings about homestays - before we proceed further; please don't skip as this is important to understand situation in the valley...

This was the year when militancy in Kashmir has started showing signs of receding. The previous year my parents (who are retired and are vivid travellers) had visited Kashmir through organized tour operators. After coming back they were full of stories of Kashmir.

Their group was attended by one of the senior most Military Officer, Maj Gen Patankar. He personally addressed them and told that this is part of our country; we are here to fight terrorists and protect you; but we need your support. Tourist need to come to the valley to end alienation and support local economy. By getting scared and not visiting Kashmir; we are allowing enemies to achieve their objectives. This is something which deeply touched my parents along with presence of MLI (Maratha Light Infantry) in the valley.

We are Maharashtrians; who are traditionally good at guerilla warfare (since the time of King Shivaji). My parents met soldiers from their own state at every junction; they appreciated their commitment to work in extremely harsh conditions. Needless to say given their age every soldier gave them overwhelming appreciation and respect. Listening to their stories triggered spirit of patriotism. After returning they suggested everybody they met to visit Kashmir and support locals and as service to the nation.

So the next year I visited with my close friend Vidyesh Khanolkar and his family. The day before we reached Shrinagar - militants had blown a bus carrying relatives of BSF personnel. This was the first time families of the men in uniform were attacked. But obvious, situation was tense. We saw very strong military presence. On three occasions we saw villages with all doors closed and military in action with guns and rockets launches running towards forests. They were chasing militants.

Given the situation we had decided to stay at Shrinagar only and do sightseeing by leaving in the morning returning before dark. We stayed at Houseboat Bangkok in Dal Lake. It was owned by a family who had a patriarch almost 75 years old and 3 sons. The experience was superb in spite of the fact that mother of the family had expired just few days back.

We used to have a lot of time in the evening as used to return before dark and thus we spoke to the family at length. From the discussions with the family and lot many others in the valley; I understood that the generation which was 40 years and above; were interested in peace and prosperity. There only concern was future of the next generation. They did not have any feeling of alienation or rather they had appreciation of India. Their opinion about the Pak was pretty low given grim economic conditions in POK and also because they believed guns would ultimately lead to blood bath.

The younger generation had feeling of hatred towards India; partly due to political propaganda and largely due to unemployment. The main source of income i.e. tourism industry was in poor state for many years; agriculture yields had not grown in proportion to increase in population and there was no effort to bring any other industry. This had led them to disillusionment and in some cases to rebellion. But obvious role of Pak can not be ignored which fuelled this feeling. I strongly believe that in a nation ruled by military; the focus is largely on fighting enemy(real or imaginary). Firstly to glorify the rulers and secondly because that is the only job they know of.

I was very sad to see poor quality as well as availability of education; especially to girl children(as they are most threatened in such situations). On the other hand I really liked the fact that average Kasmiri is extremely honest, religious and reliable person.

The houseboat that the family owned, had a cost Rs 80 Lakhs; which means the father of the family had shown tremendous spirit of enterprise to take risk of such level. They had to repay loans and given the situation of tourism industry; they were under intense pressure. Yet the service standards were extra-ordinary. They were taking special care of the kids and made us feel at home. Fully wooden interiors with nice carvings made great ambience.

This gave me a thought that why the same model can not be replicated in entire India; why there can not be homestays presenting culture of the land and giving superior experience to hotels. This was an industry where commoners were earning on their natural spirit of being good hosts; wealth was getting shifted from Urban India to rural India thus bridging economic and cultural gap.

I then kept looking for more homestays in India - and finally took a call in 2008 to quit my job and promote them.

During my stay I met 5 homestay owners - and all of them told me only one thing - We need foreigners as guests and as such I was not welcome; to the extent one of guys told me get out and get lost. I had mixed feelings one of anger for being ill treated as Indian and second of pity. The economy is in shambles and people are getting carried away by propaganda of local leaders and enemy state. In my opinion given a choice one should stay in a poor democratic country than in a rich military state; here the situation is reverse.

I hence urge you to stay with houseboats if you ever visit Kashmir. I also urge you to support this industry across any region as this is truly a democratic form of tourism- of the people; for the people by the people.

Coming back to our Journey -We left from Shrinagar in the morning with clear purpose of enjoying journey and not doing cannon ball ride.

It was pleasant morning with slight drizzle, we kept driving through lush green fields, surrounded by huge mountains with think forest cover. After approx 2 hours of drive we had first glimpse of snow near Sonmarg

Dal Lake in the morning

Journey thru lush green fields

Gujjars ( Shepherd Tribe ) with their cattle

On the way

First glimpse of snow clad mountains

We reached Sonmarg and had breakfast of hot aloo parathas and lemon tea. We then continued to moved ahead. As we were going ahead the landscape was changing rapidly. We were getting over the other side of Himalayas where rainfall is low and as such the density of trees on the mountains was reducing rapidly and the colour of the soild was changing the sand. After crossing numerous mountains and zigzag turns, we reached Zojilla pass. It had rained previous night so the pass as full of mud. However army men were there to provide any help.

Sonmarg

Changing landscape - Forest cover losing density

Zigzag roads on the way to Zojilla

Mighty Zojilla covered in mud

Army on guard all the timeZojilla war memorial - bitter past of partition and subsequent blood bath

Passing ahead of Zojilla

We moved on and the terrain continued to change further. It was first experience of cold desert. Extreme cold and dryness together was making life difficult along with altitude. Rivers coming from peaks are the only source of water in this terrain. We had planned our next stop at Drass and Kargil where famous battle in 1999 was fought. Enjoy pictures of the journey...

Mushko Valley - Part of Kargil war zone(1999) - Enemies were so close trying to target highway

Tiger Hill - The famous battle was fought here

Tiger Hill from other side..

We then stopped at Drass War Memorial to pay respects to the bravehearts who fought one of the toughest battles ever. Enemy had captured hills and was firing straight on the road below. (you can make out from pictures - all of them are taken from the road), They had well established supply lines and advantage of altitude. In such terrain where temperatures are low, air is rare our soldiers climbed to the tops - facing heavy casualties and yet conquered the territory.

This memorial has names of all the martyrs engraved.

Towards late afternoon we stopped at Kargil for lunch and our stay. Everybody took rest and for me trouble began. I had stomach infection and started suffering from vomiting and loos motions. The next day morning we started, my condition was not great and we decided to reach let as soon as possible. In this journey we did not take many breaks and reached leh by afternoon.

Enjoy pictures of Rough Terrain with beautiful colours.

Water - The most precious and scarce resource in Ladakh

Homes built in mountains

Dry desert with little traffic on the road

Snow in the distant mountains but hardly any rainfall in the foothills
Never ending curves and climbs.

Villages in the mountains - almost camouflaged in the sand colour.

Indus River - on the outskirts of Leh.

Finally by afternoon we reached Leh. There was joy of reaching the destination and excitement of visiting the place. During the entire journey we had a mix of feelings curiosity, fear and spirit of adventure; however the whole journey was a sheer joy to our eyes and soul. Long drives through tough terrain is a spiritual experience.

Mumbai to Leh and Back - ( Part 1 Mumbai to Shrinagar)

2010-03-26T00:04:00.000-07:00

I had great desire to travel on the world's highest altitude motorable road and to see Kargil where war was fought. When I discussed this idea with my friends three of them joined me for the journey. Shashank and Nitin were to join me from Mumbai and Naved was in Himachal setting up his ecotourism lodges at Kangra www.aamod.in.

We decided to take a my car right from Mumbai to Leh and come back. After many debates on e-mails route was planned and packing was done. There were suggestions like we should take a gas stove, survival kit etc. ; however finally everybody was convinced that travelling light would be the best option.

Unlike my previous journeys where I have explained sight seeing places in every area in great details; this post is going to be a different one. This is going to be mainly the journey, largely as pictures. In my view the Leh and Ladakh journey by car is far more enticing due to climate changes and rough terrain; than due to gompa's and forts. This in my view is similar to Char Dham yatra I had done way back in 1999. In that tour also I found my treks to Kedarnath and Yamunotri far more spiritual than the temple itself.

As we had to experience the stress of the journey we had decided to complete the journey as fast as possible. This meant very little scope for acclamatization, but thats how it was going to be adventurous.

Mumbai to Ajmer:

We left Mumbai at 7.00 am sharp and after picking up Nitin at Kalyan we moved on the touch Mumbai Ahmedabad Highway. We kept travelling and after a brief stop after Vapi for Breakfast and after Baroda for lunch, we kept moving towards Udaipur. Our target for the day 1 was to reach Ajmer by night.

When we left Mumbai, it was drizzling and till such time we reached Udaipur; the monsoon clouds followed us. We stopped on the outskirts of Udaipur at 6.00 p.m for our first long tea break( 40 mins) and moved towards Ajmer. By now every body had started feeling fatigue for the first day journey.

We reached borders of Ajmer at 10.00 pm; we stopped for fuel and further directions. At this time our first problem was faced. Nitin walked towards truck parked in the petrol pump to find place to release himself and in the dark and banged against a steel rod protruding from a truck. He was bleeding badly and we had to find a doctor in that hour to get him stitches. It was 1.30 by the time whole thing was over and we checked in the RTDC hotel. Our plans for leaving early the 2nd day had gone for a toss; and we decided to give nitin some rest.

Mumbai to Udaipur - Post monsoon greenery of western India

Ahead of Udaipur just beginning of desert

Ajmer to Ludhiana - Day 2

We got up at 8.30 a.m and took good 1,30 hrs to get ready. We then visited Durgah Shariff and paid our respects. At 12.00 noon we started onward journey towards Kangra. We wanted to avoid getting into Delhi for two reasons a) we wanted to save time by avoiding traffic in Delhi city b) we wanted to explore lesser known roads. We enquired at Ajmer and found out a wonderful road which goes from Ajmer - to - Ratangarh - to Hanumangarh.

This was probably the best decision we took. After first day of monsoon experience; our second day was experience of scorching heat in the thick of dessert. We also saw few sand dunes and large plains in sand on the way. Enjoy pictures and do leave your comments.

Camels and desert folk

Colours of Dessert

By the evening we reached Hissar in Haryana. We then continued our onward journey thru state highways towards Punjab. As per our earlier plan we were supposed to reach Kangra by end of 2nd day; but with changed plans we decided to cover as much as possible till late in the night.

Biggest Flag post in Hissar - Just compare size of the flag with car belowWelcome to Haryana

By 1.00 a.m. on we reached Ludhiana and decided to take a break over there. Day 3:

Ludhiana to Kangra to Jammu - Day 3

After getting ready in the morning we left for Kangra by 9.00 am. We first moved to Jalandhar and from there on we kept going towards Hoshiarpur. After which the road became really narrow and our travelling speed dropped. We also started climb on foothills of Dhauladhar of Himalayas. By 11.30 p.m we had entered Himachal Pradesh and first beautiful view of Chohal Dam came in sight.

On the outskirts of Goraya - Manchester of Punjab ?????

Jalandhar City

On the way to Himachal - Remembering wife - who was back home

View of Chohal Dam
Pilgrims on the way

Changing Flora and Fauna in mountains

Approaching Kangra

Once we reached Kangra we spent some time with Naved had lavish lunch and after some rest moved on to Jamm. His site for Aamod is one for the finest locations in Kangra. It is on a hill top with river flowing by its side and Kangra Fort just opposite in the view. If you wish to stay please visit aamod website.

We moved on pretty late as Naved had a meeting which got delayed as per Indian Stretchable Time. We started from Kangra by 5.00 pm and decided to make to Jammu (as reaching Shrinagar was out of question). Enjoy pictures clicked

View of the river from Aamod

View of Kangra Fort from Aamod

Leaving Kangra- Route planning with map to save distance and time

On the way to Jammu

It was almost 9.30 p.m when we reached on the outskirts of Jammu. We decide to take break and start early in the morning. There was a cheap lodge on side of the road where mostly security personnel were staying. We decided to stay there save some money and also time for the next day; as could have bypassed the Jammy town from there.

Day 4 - Jammu to Shrinagar:

We moved towards Shrinagar; as decided early in the morning. The journey was fantastic every body was charged with the thought of having made it to Shrinagar and also because of fact that after 4 days of Journey in the car we were going to get first long break of 2 days in over there.

We decided to enjoy this journey and not to rush up. After crossing Jawahar Tunnel we had the first view of the heaven on earth - Kashmir Valley. We stopped for almost 30 mins taking pictures, sipping hot tea and enjoying the view.

Bypassing Jammu- View of the City and River Tawi

On the way

Entering Jawahar Tunnel - You can't stop so picture taken in moving car

In side the tunnel

Leaving the tunnel.

First View of the valley behind me.

First creature we saw of the valley

Coming up next - Shrinagar to Leh

Delhi - blend of Modernity and culture- Finest structures and homestays

2010-03-23T02:02:00.001-07:00

On my way to Uttarakhand I went to Delhi. Though I had travelled to Delhi almost 40 times before for business purpose; I could not spend anytime for sight seeing. The only monuments I had seen was India Gate from windows of my car and once I had visited Rajghat.

This time I decided to visit Delhi only for sight seeing purpose. I spent two days only as I had to move ahead to Uttarakhand. This is therefore not an article in detail; which I normally write; rather this is highlights or in better words essence of Delhi. This is also my understanding of this city its culture and people. I am also listing here some special issues about our capital which are not known to many.

Delhi is probably the only city in India where size of anything is BIG; may it be Roads, Flyovers, Forts, Homes, Parathas, kathi rolls or even people. As soon as you get out of station heat, dust and noise hits your senses hard. Added to it is honking and lane cutting by autos and the usual response by car drivers with punctuation marks (bc /mc/ch*#@ ) typical to northern India.

I stayed with my friend in south delhi and thus started with Qutub Minar for sight seeing. It would be interesting for readers to know that town centre of Delhi; kept on shifting around with different rulers. While you travel from South Extension to Mehrauli and then to Qutub, you cross capitals of five different dynasties. Starting from Siri Fort (Khilji Dynasty (AD 1290 to 1320)- mostly known for Mohammad Khilji) then to Quila Rai Pithora (Prithviraj Chauhan-AD 1000) to Mehrauli (Ghori - AD 1190 to 1206) and also Aibaks (1206 to 1290).

The most interesting part to observe is the change in architecture over this period. You would see construction of walls with uncut stones to neatly cut sand stones and finally with carving. The ultimate however comes out as Qutub Minar. The sheer size of the structure is baffling(see the picture below and compare height with electricity pole).

In my opinon there were two reasons why emperors created this monuments 1) To promote construction and hence create jobs; it is impressive to see the vision and efforts of artisan in the days when JCBs and poclains were not available. 2) The sense of achievement every king used to feel after conquering this city. This was capital of the then richest nation on earth and once that treasury was in your hand every king wanted to make statement of this strength. Thus most of the mega structures are around Delhi.

While I was meeting people; one of them told me that Salary of Akbar's Kotwal (guarding delhi) was more than the income of many european kings. I don't know whether it is correct or not; so more informed souls pleas comment.

Buildings is Qutub Complex

The next day I visited central Delhi. While you travel towards Central delhi, plan to go via Nizamuddin. Here you can visit Durgah and also tomb of Rahim Khankhana( he was prime minister to 3 kings and to my utter surprise urdu poet "Rahim").

The Lotus Temple of Bahai Faith

Tomb of Rahim Khan Khana

While you visit central Delhi from here , you would pass along capitals of 6 different dynasties a) Firozabad ( Tughlaqs, sayyids, lodhis and mughals). When Humayun lost his kingdom to Sher Shah Suri he made capital at Shergarh (Puran Quila) and then Shahjahan shifted capital to present day Old Delhi (also known as Shahjehanabad). I visited red fort, whatever I write to describe the beauty and magnamity of Red Fort would be less and also most of us know that.

Chaotic Streets of Delhi

However, it is important to mention that I found true spirit of Delhi in Old Delhi area. The temples and Jama Masjid and Sisganj Gurudwara all are so close to each other. Cuisine of every community in its original form in retained here- where Paratha galli or seekh kababs or Rabari. And the chaos on the streets is worth experiencing, I had previously experienced such chaos only in lanes of Benaras.

Sisganj Gurudwara

While I know that most you would have seen Red Fort; I do recommend to see Humayun's Tomb in detail. Before I start with it, one more advice " do not miss the light and sound show in the evening at Red Fort".

Red Fort

Humayun's Tomb probably was the greatest structure made before Taj Mahal was constructed. A glimpse of Taj can be seen in every buidling here. It was also for the first time Persian and Hindu arcutecture of combined to created magnificient combination of Minarets, curves and Hindu motif. There is brilliant work of glazed tiles along with combination of Marble and Sandstone.

This was preemble to Taj, which was constructed with Marble alone. There are around 100 graves of Mughal family and it looks like a big family get together.

Humayun's Tomb

Graves of Mughals inside Humayun's Tomb

Isa Khan Niyazi's Tomb (See influence of Hindu Architecture)

Intricate work inner side of dome

Intricate Jaali in Sand Stone

It is also worthwhile to mention that now network of Metro is in place and hence do not waste money in hiring cabs unless absolutely necessary. It would save you time and you would be able to get essence of real Delhi by foot.

From here I moved to Lutyen's Delhi which was built by British and houses our democracy. Though buildings are nice, there was so much of security that I preferred to see Rashtrapati Bhavan from a distance and them made final visit to India Gate to pay my respect to unknown soldiers who gave their life to make us safe.

Rashtrapati Bhavan

India Gate

Finally the most important monument of India - Amar Jawan Jyoti

I stayed with my friend but I met a lot of people while surveying for Homestays. It is very interesting to know that people from all linguistic background run homestays here right from Punjabi, Jain, Marwari, Bengali to south Indians. Delhi as a city is melting pot of cultures if you wish to really enjoy staying in Delhi, stay in homestays. You would experience their big decorated homes, home cooked food, gardens around and would learn a lot more about culture.

The homestays come at all price points but they are not as cheap as the Pahargunj hotels. However the ambience and service is so nice that you would find worth for your money. To know about homestays in Delhi follow this link www.mygreatstay.com.

One pretty disturbing issue that I found on visit to Delhi was about auto-rikshaw drivers. I asked one of th drivers that why do they charge more while in no other city it happens - especially Mumbai. The answer was very interesting - he said in Delhi autos are owned by Fleet Owners and not drivers. The permits are controlled and hence are so expensive that to get one Auto on road it takes Rs 4.00 lacs min. So how does one recover that money. If this is true then this is probably the worst government has done to tourism. Normally permits are given to local youths to earn their livelyhood and not to mafia cartels. If any of you know more on this issue do comment and on every forum possible raise this issue; so some day govt changes it's mind. Which is really difficult given the fact the our great democracy has peoples representatives as central part and people themselves(for them, of them and by them..........)

Thanks for reading ...coming up next ..............journey from Mumbai to Leh and back by Car........

Coorg and Chikmagalur - Coffee and Greenery at its best

2009-10-08T00:08:00.000-07:00

We left Kolhapur in the morning and continued driving to Karnakaka. By 4.30 p.m we reached Bankapur and then took a right turn towards Shimoga leaving NH 4. The road conditions soon worsened. Still we enjoyed our ride thru Karnataka. It is surprisingly green, with really simple people and not so good economic condition.

As we started towards Shimoga, we moved through lush green fields, small villages with very different style of construction than what we had seen in Maharashtra. It was late in the night while we reached Chikmagalur via Shimoga, Bhadravati, Tarkere and Kemmangundi route. We checked in a budget hotel in the main market and slept.

on the way to Shimoga - Ultimate capacity utilization

Bright Colours on Auto rickshaw and homes

Style of Construction with flat stones and mud mortar - in villages

Time for Evening tea and snacks in the village

The next day morning we scanned entire area looking for homestays. Chikamagalur has some of the finest spots in the mountains as homestays and farm houses. Still they don’t get much business as this place is not really glamorized as Madikeri. If you really want to see nature at its best and wish to have peaceful holiday then Chikmagalur is the recommended place. It is also ideal place for writers, painters and honeny moon travelers.

There is a cave in the mountains near Chikmagalur where Baba Budan used to stay. He was a muslim saint who went to Mecca for pilgrimage. There he first tasted Coffee and he brought some seeds for his own consumption while coming back. He used to grow coffee beans near his cave. Later British found him and sensed business opportunity. Thus, began commercial production of Coffee in India. Chikmagalur is hence credited as the first area where coffee was grown. In the higher altitudes the coffee quality comes much better and it is called “high grown coffee”.

The mountain and where Baba Budan used to stay in the cave.

View of surrounding area from the highest point in Chikmagalur at Baba Budan cave

As coffee plans need shade for better growth, in all the coffee estates there are trees. This has made around Chikmagalur is lush green. Thus you can generally have a small can trek in the coffee estate and enjoy clean air.

Another interesting aspect of this coffee economy is that it is not treated as agriculture but as industry. Thus land ceiling act does not apply coffee farming. The land holdings are hence big, ensuring enough greenery around a homestay. The farmers are also pretty rich and their homes have all the modern facilities. Many of the homestay owners have started this business to kill enjoy company of guests more than to make money and thus their service standards are very high.

Kemmangudi hill station and water falls are close by and spending a day over there can be fun.

Flowers of Coffee which smell like Jasmine

After staying at Chikmagalur for 2 days we moved to Madikeri, capital town of Coorg District. Official name of the district is Kodagu but nobody used that name. Coorg, is a well known and highly glamorized place. It is also very commercial, at least Madikeri town is.

Madikeri, is named after Third king of Haleri dynasty; Mudduraja; who established this town. It then came to be known as Mudduraja Keri. Which over time was called as Madikeri, later British pronounced it as Mercara. It is situated at an altitude of 1525 mtrs in the mountains of western ghat, this town is surrounded by lush green hills and Coffee Plantations. With its pleasant winter makes, it is one of the most preferred hill stations of southern India. Besides it is closer to Bangalore and Mysore and as such there is a lot of business here.

Most interesting aspect of Coorg, is its different culture. Unlike other south Indian cultures; their way of draping Saree is different. They like to eat pork and their way of cooking is also spicy. On the other hand they are Hindus; who otherwise do not eat pork in other parts of the country. Coorgs are fighters, with military tradition. They helped British in establishing rule over Sourthern India and since then serving in army became a profession. Even now they serve Indian Army in large numbers. India’s some of the most noted Army Generals hail from this area, starting from Field Marshal Cariappa. Since days of British they have been granted special privilege to own gun. It is the only community to have right to own and carry gun anywhere in India, they get gun license by virtue of being coorgs and no other permit is required. Hence in most of the families you would find a gun in the house. It is also a tradition to fire rounds on important family celebrations.

So if you plan to stay at Coorg, homestay is a better option to understand their culture and experience their cuisine. Find them on www.mygreatstay.com Unfortunately, no restaurants serve the original Coorg cuisine hence you would not be able experience the same in hotels.

While you make plans to travel to Coorg, first decide which route you would take to travel. It is big area and you can plan to stay as per your convenience at various places e.g. Ammathi, Kushalnagar, Siddapur etc.

The interesting places to see in Coorg are as follows:

Raja Seat:

Towards western end of the Madikeri town is Raja Seat (king’s seat). King used to spend evenings here, watching sunset and breath taking view of the valley below; hence named as Raja Seat. It has beautiful garden and fun-park.

Raja Seat - Madikeri

View of Coorg Valley from Raja Seat

Madikeri Fort:

This fort is in town of Madiekri on a hillock, with museum. Cars can go on top and altitude is not very high anyways. Visit the museum to see traditionally used artifacts and weapons. The fort also has two life size stone statues of elephants which belonged to kings. The story is that once in the feet of rage; the king killed these elephants and later as repentance created their statues. The rest of the fort has palace buildings, which now house government offices.

Omkareshwar Temple:

Haleri King Lingraja- II once killed a Brahmin. And in act of repentance built this beautiful temple with Shivaligam brought from Kashi. The Temple complex has pond inside.

All these destination are fairly close to each other and it is possible to see all of them in a day.

Abbi Falls:

Aapproximately 8 km from the Madikeri are Abbi falls; situated in lush green surrounding. The water falls from approx 70 ft height, and the whole place is scenic. However vehicles do not go up to top and you would have to take local rikshaw/jeep and then trek.

Dubbare Elephant Camp:

At a distance 15 km from Kushalnagar on Siddapur road, is Dubare forest with elephant training camp, situated on the banks of river Cauvery. This is training a camp where; rogue elephants are brought and trained. Plan visit to this place in early morning hours, to participate in elephant ride and bath. There is boating facility also available here.

Bylakuppe Tibetan Settlement and Golden Temple:

At bylakuppe, is the biggest settlement of Tibetan in exile in South India; with big Namdroling Monastery and Padmasambhava Budhha Golden Temple. The monastery houses thousands of monks who come to learn Buddhism and the temple has approx 55 ft Buddha Statue. It is a must see place, where you suddenly see change of culture from the rest of the Coorg. It is on Mysore Madikeri highway just 2 km before Kushalnagar.

Nisaragadham:

Situated on the banks of Cauvery is Nisargadham complex. It is protected forest area where you can see deers, elephants, rabbits etc. It is a place worth visiting near Kushalnagar . In case you plan to visit this place, club it along with Dubare and Golden Temple as they are close to each other.

Talacauvery and Bhagamandala:

Talacauvery is the origin of river Cauvery and is considered to be one of holiest places in Karnataka. Situated in Brahmagiri Hills, with dense forest around, this is a great place to visit. River emerges from Kundike and flows towards Bhagmandala ; where it meets two other rivers Suyothi and Kannike to form Triveni Sangam. This is known as Dakshin Kashi, with temples Bhagamandeshwar, Vishu, Subramanya and Ganapathy. Plan a day’s visit here(it is 48 km from Madikeri) and return back to base camp by evening as there is no place to stay here.

Besides these there are other attractions like Malahalli Falls, Harangi Dam etc.

If you plan to visit Coorg just make sure that you take out enough time. This is not a place which you can enjoy while in hurry. Stay at Homestay and enjoy nature for at least 3 days. This is nice weekend gateway for people from Bengaluru and Mysore.

Panhala and Kolhapur

2009-10-03T03:54:00.000-07:00

I reached Panhala pretty late in the night. I stayed in the homestay of Mr Kurade. He is lawyer by profession and was very nice person to talk to.

The next day morning I explored fort of Panhala. Luckily I got a very good guide through Mr Kurade; Sharif Hanif Nagarjee. Sharif belonged to family of Nagarjees; one’s who beat “Nagara” (traditional giant drums to announce opening, closing of the fort gates along with other important events). Their family was appointed by Shivaji during his rule. He is 8th descendent from this family; he knows history well and can also tell you some inside stories about the rule at that time.
Panhala is a huge fort on a hill. It is also a very old as it was first constructed in the 11th Century A. D. under rule of Shalivahans. The 15 km boundary wall constructed during that time is still visible with 135 bastions. The wall is made of Soil and at places supported with stone wall exterior, to absorb shock of cannon balls.

There is ample water and food storage on the and as such it was suitable to operate this fort as the capital. Shivaji operated from this fort through bulk of his rule.

The courtyard leading to Teen Darwaja

There are many interesting places to be seen on this fort. The most important of them are 1. Teen Darwaja 2. Sajja Kothi 3. Konkan Dawaja.

Teen Darawaja:
This is one of the main entrances to the fort. The huge entrance is said to constructed first by Hindu rulers and hence first part is in Hindu architecture. The second part was constructed by Muslim rulers and hence it is in shape and dome. The third part was constructed by British and hence it looks like gate of a church.

Teen Darwaja: See the difference between First Arch (Hindu Temple Architecture) and second arch (Islamic Shape)
Sajja Kothi:
This was the main building in the fort. Shivaji's son Sambhaji was kept here under house arrest due to misunderstanding during their family feud. You can brillinant view of the surroundings from here.

Interiors of Sajja Kothi

View of Sunset from Sajja Kothi

Konkan Darwaja:
This gate faces western side towards region of Konkan. Shivaji had visited this fort after his Konkan conquest and since then it is called as Konkan Darwaja.

Siege of the fort and escape of Shivaji:
Siddi Jauhar, a senior lieutenant of Mughals led a siege to the fort in 1660. It continued for quite some time. He also brought long range cannons from Portuguese and some signs of damage by them can be seen at Konkan Darawaja even now. Once it was clear that it was no longer possible to hold on to the fort; Shivaji escaped from the fort on 12th July.

The story of his escape is very interesting. Shiva Kashid from nearby village was trained to act as his dummy. Shiva Kashid escaped first only to be captured and Shivaji escaped later from the same route. Shivaji moved fast towards Vishalgarh(a fort 80 km away) and while on the way ; Siddi’s forces came very close; Baji Prabhu Deshpande adviced Shivaji to go ahead so that he would hold forces in Ghodkhind ( a small pass in the mountains). With a small platoon; Baji kept Siddi’s forces engaged till morning while Shivaji reached Vishalgarh safely. Baji attained martyrdom in the process and his story is one of the most important chapter of sacrifice and bravery in the history of Maratha Empire.

Besides history of Maratha's there are locations which are from time of Shalivahan Rulers and the most important of them are granaries. Three massive granaries were built by King Bhoja in approx 1000 A.D. . During the construction phase the wall of the granaries would keep collapsing after being raised to 6 ft or so. A priest was called and he suggested to make human sacrifice of either a pregnant lady or a lady who has just delivered a baby. Subsequently announcement was made and lady called Jakhubai who was daughter-in-law of Gangu teli(people who used to sell oil) became ready. She was sacrificed at this place and even now there is stone statue depicting the event. The three granaries are named after her daughters as Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati. The fact that to build a wall even a king had to take help of a lady; gave rise to the saying 'Kahan Gangu Teli aur Kahan Raja Bhoja.' Over period of time this context changed and today it is said in exactly opposite manner and spirit.

Granaries - (Estimate height by comparing with standing at gate - constructed in 1000 A.D.)

Statue depicting Jakhubai's sacrifice at the place of sacrifice

Besides Historical Significance, famous temple of Jotiba (Shiva in the form of a warrior)is just 8 km away. Kolhapur is also just 20 km from Panhala. Kolhapur has famous Mahalaxmi temple and Palace of Bhosale’s with Museum.

Hence I would recommend this place to all those who travel to Bangalore by Car. It is a nice place to take night halt; it is almost midway to Bangalore and has nice weather and history both. Not to forget it is also famous for food with specialty in spicy non-veg. food. Stay at homestays and enjoy real history of Panhala and distinctive taste of Kolhapur cuisine(visit www.mygreatstay.com). It is far better way to experience real India than Hotels and Resorts at better prices. See www.mygreatstay.com for largest collection of homestays in India.

I left from Panhala and went to Kolhapur. There I stayed at Homestay called Hirwai. It is a really nice place with small garden owned by Mr Chandrakant Patil . In his small garden he keeps water and food for birds and you can see them chirping in the morning. At least 7 to 8 varieties of birds can be seen there, he is also a photographer and you can see some nice photos with him. In the morning Naved reached from Nagpur and we then started our onward journey on NH 4 together

Coming up next Chikamagalur and Coorg …………in the amazingly green Karnataka……………

Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani

2009-10-01T04:58:00.000-07:00

This is second round of my journey from Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar and further ahead to Kolhapur, Panhala and then to Coorg and Kerala. We planned to cover entire distance by road in the car.

I started from Mumbai and after lunch at Pune with my good old school buddy Dinesh Apte, I moved on to Mahabaleshwar. By evening I was at Panchgani; which is just 18 km from Mahabaleshwar and is home to most famous public schools in Maharashtra.

The climate was pleasant and journey was great. The road to Pune was expressway and hence was very comfortable. The road after Pune to Wai was also very comfortable. Climate at Panchgani was exceptionally good with bit of chill in the evening.

I stopped for tea at stall of Parameshwar Gole; he was talkative and nice person. He showed me homestay of his cousin by name of Shubham Niwas.

I stayed there for the night. The next day I explored Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. Like other hill stations around Mumbai; even Mahabaleshwar was popularized by British. They also made it summer capital of Bombay Presidency. Being at altitude of 1372 mts from mid sea level; it has very pleasant weather in the summer.

In the area around Mahabaleshwar, five rivers flow (Savitri, Gayatri, Krishna, Koyna and Venna) thus making it agriculturally advanced. The mountains around are covered with thick forests of Javali. This was one the areas where Marathas fought fierce battles with Mughals by taking benefit of the terrain.

Needle Hole Point captured from Highest Altitude spot of Mahabaleshwar - Triveni

Panchgani Table Land on right and Valley of Krishna river - from Triveni

While you go Mahabaleshwar keep in mind that Panchgani weather is as good and it is not crowded. So if you want peace, and privacy then better to stay here. Mahabaleshwar has shopping areas and lots of budget as well as premium hotels. Panchgani mostly has homestays; there are some with pretty nurseries around and some with strawberry farms. These can be ideal for few days of peaceful stay.

Sight Seeing:

There are many sight seeing points in Mahabaleshwar; but few of the very good ones are given below. In fact my advice is not to see every place; you would waste time and energy. Also as is the case with every hill station; many points are generally created to make the list longer; and one can do away with some.

Few of the best ones are as follows:

You would find them every where

Arthur Seat: This is probably the best of all points. It is approx 10 km away from new town, but it is worth visiting. Named after Mr Arthur Mallet, this point gives splendid view of the Savitri Valley right below you. You can also see Pratapgadh; from here on a clear sunny day. On the way you may also enjoy view from Marjorie Point and Tiger Springs (apparently tigers used to come here to drink water!!!).

Needle Point/Elephant Head Point: It is called as needle point, as a rock is standing maintaining some gap from cliff making to look like Needle hole. The shape of the rock is such that it also looks like elephant head and trunk, thus called elephant head point. One can get breathtaking view of the mountains around and Krishna River in the valley. While visiting this point you can also see Lodwick point on the way.

Kate’s Point and Echo point: Both these points are towards Panchgani; overlooking Krishna valley. As the name suggests you get clear echo from the valley here. If you are interested in echo then only visit this point.

Venna Lake: Just, as you enter Mahabaleshwar from Panchgani, you are welcomed by buzz around Venna Lake. You can enjoy boating, riding etc., along with eating as there are many stalls of all kinds of food stuff here. This is probably the most crowded point after Malcom Peth (i.e. main market of Mahabaleshwar)

Venna Lake

Temples: Mahabaleshwar Temple: Temple of Shiva referred to as Mahabali (all powerful) is the presiding deity of the town. This Shivalinga is considered to be swayambhu (lord has appeared himself) and fulfilling wishes of the pilgrims.

Panchaganga Temple: Dedicated to the sacred five rivers in the area around, which bless this area is Panchaganga temple. Springs coming out of Gomukh(cow’s mouth) is considered to be representing five rivers.

Pratapgadh: At 24 km from Mahabaleshwar stands this invincible fort built in 1656 by the Founder of Maratha Empire, Chhatrapati Shivaji. This is one of the toughest forts to conquer; as the approach consists of small winding roads with steep gradient. This made it virtually impossible to carry heavy artillery or even big battalions. This also made it the chosen spot by Shivaji, to meet his one of the biggest adversary Afzal Khan of Bijapur, who met his fateful end here. Make it a point to see the graves of Afzal Khan and his bodyguard Sayyad Banda (legendary fighter of that time) built and maintained with grants given by Shivaji. There is a tunnel on the fort which supposedly opens few kms away and was used as escape route in times of trouble.

Tapola lake: At approximately 30 km from Mahabaleshwar is Tapola situated on banks of Shivsagar lake (backwaters of Koyna dam – the biggest in Maharashtra). The journey is especially breathtaking with scenic beauty of valleys, river and mountains. As you suddenly drop altitude from Mahabaleshwar, the flora and fauna changesalong with weather; this can be of special interest to nature lovers. Tapola, has boating club where you can enjoy boat rides - right from small rides in a paddle boat to a long journey around Shivsagar lake in speed boats (total expanse of lake is 80 km). Adventure seekers can also plan, overnight tour to Vasota fort. However, it would need permission from Forest Department as it is a part of Koyna Nature Reserve. Please reach Tapola, early in the morning, carry enough consumables and learn topography well before you start; as there are no support systems around and the terrain around Vasota is confusing. There are tents where you can plan overnight stay as well.

On the way to Tapola

Shivsagar Lake (Backwaters of Koyana - on the way to Tapola)

Tapola Lake and Boat Club

Mahabaleshwar and Panchagani have lot of options for stay. Budget hotels are mostly in the town and near main market, they are easy to reach but do not give really a great experience. You can opt to stay in bunglows or in strawberry gardens; there are options of bed & breakfasts/homestays in both kind of stays and they are especially good if have few days to spare. Good quality hotels and resorts are also there but they are really expensive. Hence I advise to stay at homestays and also help common men earn their living; find them on www.mygreatstay.com

Mahabaleshwar now is a good place to visit even for people from Mumbai. Due to better connectivity of roads one can reach in 4 hrs and driving is pretty easy with 6 lane roads. In fact its is easier to visit Mahabaleshwar than Alibaug which 2.5 hrs by road but where driving can be real pain.

I decided to leave Mahabaleshwar, by the next day afternoon and reach Kolhapur by night. However I got late, also on the way I changed my plan decided to stay at Panhala Fort. Kolhapur is at higher altitude and Panhala fort is visited by most as the climate here is really nice.

Coming up next Panhala the mighty fort……………………….

Murudeshwar, Karnataka

2009-08-10T02:04:00.000-07:00

We reached Murudeshwar at 8.00 pm and headed straight to the beach. After a sharp turn towards beach; a giant statue of Shiva came in our sight. It was be biggest statue that I had ever seen in my life. Overlooking the beach; the lord looked as if caring for the whole world. The beach was bustling with activity even at that hour. We sat for almost at hour on the beach; without speaking a word to each other. It was a kind of spiritual experience. We left and checked in with Gomes Yatri Niwas.

Giant Shiva Statue in the night

It is a nice place right across the beach. We went out had dinner and came back; then kept chatting for almost 2 hrs while enjoying nice see breeze.

After getting up in the morning we went for a stroll and saw fisherman with their catch. The auction was going on for the catch; as it was removed from the tiny boat. Kind of instant distribution and pricing system, I wondered about how fast they were in doing business.

We then went to see the temple. It has massive gopuram at the entrance and the temple is really well developed. This is one of the holy places of Shiva temple, along with four others as mentioned in my post for Gokarna. There is a chariot of Arjuna in the garden around. We then went again on the beach for a dip in the water and then had lunch. The beach is long, lined with coconut plantations. This place is well developed with facilities like speed boats and water scooter available

Gopuram at the entrance

Chariot of Arjuna

In case you visit Goa and have few days to spare then make it a point to see Gokarna and Murudeshwar. There are few homestays and you can have a relaxing holiday of 2 to 3 days here. These places are few hundred meters away from the temple and hence are pretty quiet and serene

Murudeshwar beach

This was our last destination along the coast and we started our return journey towards Mumbai by evening.

to find homestays at Murudeshwar visit this link :

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Coming up next – Journey from Mumbai – Kolhapur -- Chikamagalur – Coorg – Wayanad – Palakkad – Alleppey…

Gokarn and Yana.

2009-08-03T05:01:00.000-07:00

We left Goa towards evening. While leaving we saw some beautiful beaches in South Goa namely Betalbatim and Colva. These beaches are nice and secluded, with hardly any visitors. The area around these beaches is calm and quiet. If you are in Goa on a holiday and have a day or two to spare do visit these beaches. Normally not many tourists visit them; but that is precisely the reason why the surroundings are still lush green.

Gokarn:

After Goa, we entered Karnataka. Instead of taking a break at Karwar we headed straight to Gokarna. By the time we reached Gokarna it was pretty late. The town was almost asleep. We could get dinner only at a small hotel. While myself and Naved opted for fish curry and rice; our driver Pintoo opted for his regular veg. meal. We also ordered prawns fry and as it was really soft (prawns being fresh) we ordered it once more. Post dinner the bill came and to our utter surprise it was Rs 120/- only. The place was really a run down but a lot of people were eating there. After dinner we checked in a hotel and spent our night.

The next day morning we moved on to Gokarna temple early in the morning. This is a very famous temple of Shiva (Mahabaleshwar). Normally Shiva lingam is above ground but here it is below ground and it is covered by stone cover called Kavach. The lingam is a pointed like an ear of cow and hence came the name Gokarna. They allow you to touch the lingam.

There is legend is that Ravana’s(King of demons) mother was devotee of Shiva and used to pray with a lingam made of sand on the sea beach. The waves used to destroy the lingam in high tide, so Ravana went for praying and penance for years; in order to please Shiva. Shiva being very kind gave Ravana, his atmalingam (lingam with Shiva’s soul).This caused panic among Gods and they sent Ganesha (shiva’s son) to bring it back.

While Ravana was returning to Lanka he reached Gokarna towards evening. It was time for his Sandhyavandana(evening prayer), and he was looking for someone to hold this lingam in his hand. As, Shiva had told Ravana that, wherever lingam is kept on ground for the first time it would stay there forever. Ganesha, went in disguise as a Brahmin boy, raising cows near this beach. Ravana, handed over lingam to him; ganesha tricked Ravana and kept the lingam on beach.
Later, Ravana was furious and he tried to remove this lingam from ground but nothing would work; hence it is called Mahabaleshwar (the one which is powerful than Mahabali). The lingam broke into pieces and four of them fell in the area around; which are namely Murudeshwar, Gunavanteshwar, Shejjeshwar and Dhareshwar. All these towns are pilgrim centers with Shiva temples.

Beside the temple Gokarna is a nice town to visit. Time seems to have frozen here; priests wearing traditional dhoti are moving around. The look is of very old village. On the way to temple is a wooden chariot; which is used for annual festivals. The wooden carved chariot is very beautiful. The temple complex is also very old and nice.

Entrance to the temple and Wooden Chariots

Gokarna beach is closer to the temple, besides at approx 1.5 km to the south of the temple is Kudle beach. It is small but secluded,; you can even walk upto this beach along the coast. Further South is Om beach; which is frequented by foreigners. There are a lot of beach shacks here where hippies and backpackers with meager budgets stay.

Om beach in the shape of Hindu OM symbol

Kudle beach

Though this town has potential to become tourist spot; there is not much leisure tourism here. Foreigners are here as it is cheap; but better off tourists don’t come here; Indian visiting are mostly pilgrims.

Yana:

While we started towards Murudeshwar in the afternoon we decided to take a detour and visit Yana. We had heard that it is a nice place. So as we came closer to Kumta we took left towards Sirsi. On the way some 16 km inside deep forest is Yana. The tar road gave way to dirt track and we reached base of Yana through thick forest. We started climbing and after 50 mins we reached the spot. On the way we saw some rocks here and there. They were grey in shade and were completely out of place as if having dropped there.

Road in the forest

Rocks on the way

As we reached top, we saw two magnificent and giant rock formations. We were awestruck; this scene in front of us so beautiful; that the climb looked as really small investment.

Yana is natural wonder, where these two giant rock formations have sprung up; from nowhere on the top of mountains. It has probably happened due to molten lava or a meteor having struck the earth. The rock formations are huge; 120 and 90 meters high from their base. They are named as Bhairaveshawar Shikhar and Mohini Shikhar.

Giant Rock Formations of Yana

Mythological legend is that Bhasmasuara, was given powers by Shiva, to reduce to ashes, anything that he puts his hand on. As a result he became uncontrollable, to the extent that he wanted to put his hands on Shiva and then marry his wife. Shri Vishnu came to help of Siva. He took form of Mohini(beautiful dancer) and challenged Bhasmasura; to a dance competition. In this competition Mohini tricked him to put his hand on his own head as a dance step; and thus reduced him to ashes.
This spot is lesser known and rarely covered in any travel magazine but in my opinion it’s a must visit spot.

We climbed down somewhat tired and decide to take bath on tap which was flowing with natural spring water. The bath made us fresh we then had a cup of tea and moved towards Murudeshwar.

If you go to Goa and have 2 days to spare make it a point to visit both these places.

Coming up next Murudeshwar… enjoy reading and keep giving feedback.

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Vengurla and Shirda - The last on Maharashtra Coast

2009-07-23T01:33:00.000-07:00

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Towards the far south of Maharashtra are Vengurla and Shiroda. Vengurla has Sagareshwar beach which is close to heart of the town. There are others like Mochemad and Sagarteerth close by. However the town is not really a tourist destination may be because it is too close to Goa. The language and cuisine here is also closer to Goa (not the Portuguese cuisine but south Goa cuisine). The town has crowded and chaotic roads. But once you cross it; you reach Sagareshwar beach. There is a light house on the hillock towards your right overlooking many small islands in the sea.

Sagareshwar Beach

This is mainly a trading town where you would find numerous cashew factories on the way. The cashew here is of really good quality.

To the south of light house is the Beach stretching almost 2 km with white sand & clean blue water. Entire area is calm and quite so if you wish privacy Vengurla can offer it to you besides the fact that it has facilities of a town. Few beach side resorts are present along with MTDC tent resort.

Further down south is Shiroda; which has probably the most isolated beach with almost 3 km long straight stretch of sand and amazing tranquility. The area is so quiet that it makes you introspect. If you wish to sit at a place and think about life or meditate then this is the ideal place. There are few homes where; you can stay. Shiroda is ideal for painters, writers and honeymoon couples who want privacy.

Shiroda Beach

This was our last destination on the Maharashtra coast and we decided to move down to Karnataka. We did not intend to be at Goa as it is too well known, to be explored.

We tried to find out reason as to “why tourists do not come to Shiroda or Vengurla from Goa”; especially the foreigners. And we found that Maharashtra is too expensive as compared to Karnataka. This being a more developed state; labour costs are high and even property costs are also high. People normally believe that Goa is glamorous because of presence of foreigners. However, the foreigner who come to Goa are mainly budget travelers and backpackers. They stay for weeks or months and they have shoe string budgets. They spend much lesser than Indians.

There are many retired Europeans who come to Goa during the month of September and October. They anyway are struggling to make both ends meet with their meager pensions. So they come to Goa during winter; to avoid depressing Europe weather and enjoy pleasant India winter (which is as good as summer for them). They typically take a room on monthly rental of Rs 15000/- and equal amount they spend on food. Thus they end up spending not more than $800/- per month. They stay for 4 months or so and save money form their pension to go back to Europe for summer.

We then decided to go to Goa and find out whether this is true. We reached Goa by evening and stayed at Homestay called Villa Ludo Vici. It was a big nice Portuguese house with open area; located very close to Candolim beach and host lady was really nice and caring. Throughout the next day we met lot of Homestay owners; to find out whether they were interested in promoting their business. We got consistent reply that they do not want Indian tourists; they would rather prefer foreigners who stay for months together. The main reason is that they don’t want hassles of giving service; foreigners do not expect service as they are not used to same; on the other hand Indians demand service.

We were not much interested in spending time at Goa so we decided to move on to Gokarna in Karnataka.

This brings to end our journey of Maharashtra coast.

On the closing note I would like to mention interesting facts about Maharashtra;

From north to south every stretch is famous for certain agricultural product. Starting from north Bordi is famous for Chickoo, Kelwe for betel leaf, Palghar for Jamun(Jambhul), Dive Agar for Betel Nut, Ratnagiri for Mangoes and Vengurla for Cashew. Besides coconuts are there every where. So when you travel to these places please try these products.

Tourists typically go to places which are close by but they are not necessarily the best ones. Now Konkan railway is available so while making plan; make use of this new connectivity to the fullest and you can find really interesting places.

Tourism revenues are mainly come from Mumbai and Pune and thus locations, which are distant to these towns, are not really explored.

There are awesome beaches like Shiroda, Harnai Murud which not many people know. So if you plan to travel next time; try and visit them rather than the usual ones.

Homestay food is excellent especially fish curry; so even if you stay at resort try at least one meal there. There locations are excellent; however rooms are simple. On the whole however the experience is much better than resorts.

While talking to people I found that the less educated a persons listed to you as they do not a carry ego. They also trust you more. So talking to villagers is enlightening.

While we all know about beaches there are mountains of western ghats; which are equally beautiful but nobody has tried to promote them. Ghats of Amboli and Kashedi have tremendous potential for tourism.

The coastal roads are isolated and have nature around at its best so try them at least once. Most recommended is the Murud Janjira to Harnai Murud.

Thanks for reading …

Coming next Gokarna, Murudeshwar and the rocks of Yana…………

for interesting stay options visit www.mygreatstay.com, India's biggest portal of homestays..

Sindhudurg - Malvan & Tarkarli

2009-07-10T02:29:00.000-07:00

While we started from Ratnagiri to Malvan, we saw these three men walking on the road; they were foreigners so we stopped out of curiosity. I was amazed to find that they were walking from Mumbai to Goa. I asked them what made them walk such long distance in a climate; which they are not used to. And one of them replied “We are not walking for Charity; but we are walking for Clarity”. We were amazed to hear that; but it is true. Almost 10 years back; I had walked in the mountains of Himalayas visiting Vaishnodevi-Yamunotri- Gangotri-Kedarnath-Badrinath; with my colleague and friend Nitin Joshi in just 9 days(109 kms). We had walked during the worst period i.e. August. There were heavy rains and we completed our journey facing landslides; often getting drenched in very low temperatures. Our biggest discovery was that; travel in tough terrains and long exhausting walks are a spiritual experience. We wished them good luck; if you are interested, visit their website http://www.walkforclarity.co.uk/.

cool dudes of walkforclarity.com

We took the coastal route and first went to Kashedi. There is a temple of Kanakaditya here. It is very old sun temple and is famous for is interiors. The pillars made of wood so strong that hundreds of years of saline weather could not damaged them. Roof is of interlocked wooden beams, in the ceiling are statues of gods carved in wood (see picture). It is amazingly intricate work and don’t miss to visit this temple.

Wooden statues of gods in the ceiling

Wooden pillars- painted, hence dont look like wood

Roof interlocked wooden beams

We also went to Purangadh, it’s a nice spot but the sea is rocky and if you wish privacy go there else nothing much to see.

Purangad

We reached Malvan; towards late in the evening and I tried to locate my friend of school days, Rahul Pantwalawalkar. Going against the popular trend; Rahul had learnt Ayurvedic Medicine and settled in Malvan; leaving behind is big home at Dadar- Hindu Colony; one of the most prime and popular localities of Mumbai(people who are from Mumbai can appreciate magnitude of this change). I had no clue as to where he stays and I decided to speak to Chemists as they would most likely know a Doctor. I found first chemist and he told me that his clinic is at the other end of the town; but also told me not to worry and keep asking direction for Dr Pantwalawalkar’s clinic; which everybody would know. I was skeptical, but to my surprise everybody knew it. I amazed by his popularity.
I reached clinic and filled the slip; which is given to every patient and waited in the queue. I entered his room and he asked “yes, what is the problem?” I looked at him and smiled and he stared back at my face for few moments; and screamed “arey, you Kishor!” after so long time. We hugged each other spoke for few minutes and then again I waited again outside for him to complete his work.

We then chatted for till late in the night, he is one of the most popular doctors in the town. Meeting him is a pleasure as he radiates tremendous energy(he even speaks too fast).
I had visited Malvan before and stayed at Tarkarli, one of the most popular beaches of Malvan. However, Rahul told me that I should try Chivala Beach this time. We went to Chivala beach and stayed with Prof. Prasanna Mayekar. By the time we reached it was dark, I could see the waves hitting the beach in front of his home and could hear roar of the sea.

We went out for dinner and came back and slept. The next day morning we got up at 5.30 a.m. and decided to go on the beach for a stroll, as soon as I stepped out; what I saw was one of the most beautiful scenes in front of my eyes.

The beach was not more than 50 mtrs from our room, it was a 2 km long stretch of the sand, in form of an arch; with not more than 10 fishermen. I had stayed at Tarkarli before; but this was something very different. We were staying at 15 minutes walk from heart of Malvan town and still the beach was so secluded and private. Only seasoned travelers know about this beach; the rest go to Tarkarli.

Chivala Beach

If you are a family and wish to avoid crowd, especially if women of the family want privacy while going in the sea; then this is the most recommended beach. If you are a honeymoon couple; then lso this is the most recommended place. Entire stretch of 2 km is at your disposal with white sand and clear water and absolutely no human beings making it as good as your private beach. Do stay at Mr Mayekar’s or Mr Ram Patil’s place they are right on the beach(visit http://www.mygreatstay.com/ to locate and book these places).
We moved to Sindhudurg fort after breakfast. It is an amazing fort in the middle of the sea. Rocky surroundings make it difficult for enemy boats to reach giving added protection to the fort.
This is among the last of the big forts in the chain almost 65 forts (small and big- ranging from North to South) that Chhatrapati Shivaji built along the coast of Maharashtra. The fort sprawling over 45 acres was built in record time of 3 years (1664 to 1667).

There are 42 bastions to the fort along the boundary wall. The wall is built with Mixture of jaggery, lime, udad dal(lentils) and molten lead. It is so strong that after facing strong waves for centuries they are still intact. There are three sweet water wellss namely Dhudhbaon, Dahibaon and Sakharbaon (baon means “well” in Konkani the native lanugage). Besides there are temples of Bhawani, Mahadev(Shiva), Mahapurush and Shivarajeshwar. Shivarajeshwar, is temple of Shivaji, built by his son Rajaram. This is also the only fort where palm and foot print of Shivaji, taken in lime mortar are preserved. These were taken when he came to visit the fort after its completion.
In front of the Mahadev temple is a small well and apparently there is a secret tunnel from inside the well(local legent). This tunnel goes few Kilometers under the sea and comes out on land. It was used as escape route, in times of trouble. You can see the opening in the picture; but where exactly it leads; is not known as excavation is yet to be done.
This fort again shows foresight of Shivaji; who had predicted that enemy will not only come from land but also from sea and hence building forts is necessary. Given the fact that, later British used the same route speaks of this wisdom.
Our guide told us very interesting story about construction of the fort. While this fort was being constructed, Shivaji had to go Agra to meet Aurangzeb who put him under house arrest. The reins of kingdom were with his mother in his absence. But obvious in such situation; money was falling short and his mother Jijabai gave token currency to workers with a promise that once Shivaji is back, everybody would be paid. Later the money was paid. But the saying came that “ye killa(fort) Kavadiyon ke Mole mein bana hai”

View of the fort from Boat

Well in front of Mahadeve Temple - opening of the tunnel can be seen

We came back and had lunch. We then moved on to see the surrounding area. We went northwards on coastal road to Aachare and then to Kunakeshwar.

There are some very interesting places on the way; which not many tourists know about. Once you leave Malvan at approx 5 km is Ozar. Don’t miss to spend time at Brahmanand Swami Samadhi here. It’s a small valley with a fresh water pond, a cave where swami stayed and some very old trees. The environment is blessed with absolute tranquility and is prefect for meditation.

Caves where Swami stayed

Old trees

We spend some time over there and then moved on to Aachare to see Rameshwar Temple. It’s more than 600 year old temple of Shiva with wooden pillars and ceiling. The pillars are big and carving is delicate. The pillars are painted and hence at first glance you don’t really understand that they appear to be cement or stone ones. We spent some time in the temple; speaking to the priest. He was delighted to know that we are travelers and not tourists. Even, he was fond of travelling and just few months back he had come back from Kashmir. The beach at Aachare is nice and secluded so if you are want to read/write a book or generally ponder on life then this is a recommended place.

Wooden pillates with carvings

Wooden ceiling

We then moved on to Kunakeshwar. The temple here is famous and was undergoing renovation. The town is like any other temple town; with crowded roads, lot of noise and dirt. I personally did not like this place much. It was already dark and we did not spend much time there. We started journey back to Malvan.

The next day we got up and went on a stroll on the beach. We then met people from the town who are running homestays. Ghar Mithbawakaranche is the oldest operator here and is famous for food. They chatted with us for some time. We then went on to meet Balu Padwal of Visava. Later we met Mr Khanvilakar of Ya-hoo hometel and many others. Their stories are worth reading (most of which are not told by them; but it is our research). They are mentioned here and I urge you to read on; as it not only the beach and sea that make a place interesting but tourism is about people and knowing their stories; is to know real India.
MTDC started effort of marketing Tarkarli with setting up a resort. At that time there was nothing in that town. Mr Mithbavkar, a locale from the village started as canteen contractor (I don’t think MTDC would have been able to get any outsider that time as business was not great). MTDC resort became famous for two reasons one its location and second its food. Mithbavkar operated the canteen till 2007 but in 2008 the property was privatized and his contract was discontinued; it is also suspected that there was political interference in the deal. Thus, the man who helped develop tourism and is a local lost his job and somebody outsider got it courtesy government body which was supposed to protect them. He is now operating his homestay and the food is still a big hit.
Balu, is absolutely forthcoming and blunt; which is why I liked him. If you go to Malvan make it a point to meet him. He started his life with selling Jambhul(Jamun) in a crate in front of MTDC resort gate. He started interacting with tourists and came to know that they need somebody as guide. He then started working as guide to them. This made him understand tourist psyche and preferences. From little money he had; he then started a homestay. He has now bought a boat and he plans to start backwater cruise(what a dream for guy who is not trained by anybody).
Mr. Khanvilkar was working working at Mumbai. There was lock-out in his company; he went back to Malvan to start a homestay as means of livelihood. He knew benefit of getting organized and hence formed association of homestay operators. They regularly meet and learn from each other.
Homestays are thus symbols of grit, survival instinct, innovation and commitment. It is better to support their dream of the future; than to throw money at some resort and buy luxury; raw material to which is cheap labour of locals, exploitation by people in power and dirty capital.
We spent evening on Tarkarli beach with plans to start for Vengurla in the morning…..

Coming up next Vengurla; then Gokarna and Murudeshwar ………………keep reading and keep giving feedback…

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Ganapatipule and Ratnagiri

2009-05-27T05:45:00.000-07:00

We reached Jaigadh by evening and tried exploring options. But this place was buzzing with industrial activity as a huge steel plant is coming up. The possibility of tourism being developed has diminished here. As it is it was not a really hot destination. So we moved ahead to Ganapatipule.

Ganapatipule is one of the most famous destinations in Maharashtra, mainly because of the Ganesha Temple which is made famous by MTDC (Maharastra Toursim Development Corporation). I had visited this place 10 years back and I had really enjoyed my time at MTDC resort. So, I had my fond memories about this place.

Ganesha Temple

Ganesha Temple and Naved in deep thoughts

As soon as I entered this town, I was completely disappointed. It has become like any other temple town with crowded streets; too many small lodges. There is absolute dearth of service at every place. We found a homestay there, but the owners were not staying there. There was a boy who was caretaker and he was neither experienced nor inclined to give service.

We however, stayed over there as it was getting dark. The next day we spoke to most of the people about what kind of activities we can start over there and how the experience of a tourist can be enriched. However the answers were mostly negative – everything is literally “god given” so human beings don’t need to put much efforts.

We then went to the temple and the beach. This beach used to be a very beautiful beach sometime back. The location of MTDC resort is wonderful. But now there is so much construction around that getting view of the beach is difficult. People have removed sand from the beach for construction purpose; which has led to creation of highs and lows in sand. This has made is very risky and government has put up a signboard giving names of the people who were drowned there; in order to deter tourists from entering in the sea. It is a classing example of unplanned growth can kill tourism potential of a place.

Beach at Ganapatipule

However, if you love beaches and sea; then head towards nearby village Malgund; which is just 6 km away and not explored at all.

View of Malgund from a hill at Ganapatipule

I recommend, do not stay at Ganapatipule even if you plan to visit the temple. It is better to stay at Velneshwar; which is 50 km away if you want natural surroundings or you can also stay at Ratnagiri and come down here to visit the temple. This would enrich your experience and also save you money. Public transport is easily available from Ratnagiri and if you have your own car then nothing like it.

We left by evening from Ganapatipule and took short cut alongside coast to Ratnagiri. We reached towards late noon and tried to look for homestays but we could find none. So, finally we checked in a hotel.

We then moved straight ahead to Bhagawati Temple, one of the most famous spot here. It is a scenic spot on top of a hill along the coast. The most amazing aspect of this town is that, it has two beaches, separated by Bhagawati temple. The one towards north of the temple is called “Pandhara Samudra” (meaning white sea in Marathi) as the sand is white here and that to the south of the temple is called “Kala Samudra” (black sea) as the sand is black here. It is amazing to see both from the temple hillock.

Bhagawati Temple complex

For reasons unknown contrary to normal preference of the people for white sand; in this town the beach with black sand is more popular.

View of Bhagawati Jetty from Temple and White Sea(Pandhara Samudra)

Bhagawati temple is a great spot to see the sunset and enjoy evening breeze. The temple is nicely constructed also there is statue of Sarkhel Kanhoji Aangre (Chief of Naval Staff of Marathas); one of most brave and fierce fighters of the empire.

View to South of temple towards Black Sea(Kala Samudra)

The next day morning we got up and visited Thiba palace; built for keeping King Thiba of Burma in captivity. There is also Thiba point; where the king used to sit and watch the sea remembering his homeland. Though both are very beautiful; sheer feeling of Thiba’s isolation and longing for motherland made us feel depressed and we left quickly.

Thiba Palace

View from Thiba Point

We started towards our next destination ---------Malvan (coming soon Malvan, Shiroda and Vengurla)

Guhagar Venleshwar Hedavi

2009-04-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

We moved on from Murud in the afternoon post lunch and again we decided to move by coastal road. We went to Karde ->to-> Ladghar –>to-> Karajgaon->to-> Burundi –> to-> Kolthar –>to-> Dabhol.

Ladghar beach

The jouney now was deep in Konkan region and signs of modern development had vanished. The beaches of Ladghar and Kolthar are nice and secluded but they are not huge in expanse like Murud. For a traveler who is seeking total peace and privacy this can be very good experience.

We reached Dabhol in the evening and straight went to ferry. There was some more time for the ferry to come so we had nice hot tea and had a stroll in the town. It has significant population of Muslims and hence has big mosques. There is one very old mosque but it is in bad condition. Unfortunately there is a board of Archeological Survey of India stating it is protected monument. Neither, I could see any effort from them to restore this building and nobody else is allowed to touch it. Few religious men were present there to offer evening prayers.

The town of Dobhol is relatively big but is pretty sheepish without much of activity. May be this was due to my image of the town. The image of this town in mind was due to issue of Enron power project; when this town was in news for quite some time. The magnitude of issue was probably overriding on my mind while I was looking at the town and hence found it too small.

Dabhol Creek from Jetty

Interestingly the power plant is not in Dabhol town; but is on the other side of creek. We boarded ferry and reached Dhopave- Anjanvel on the other side. By then it was dark, luckily we got great view of sunset from the ferry.

Dabhol Power Project

We headed straight for Guhagar, found Rajgad Kutir and stayed there. The next day morning we got up early to have a stroll on the beach, which was close by. The beach is long with white sand but at places it is slightly risky as the depth of sea changes. This has happened in many towns as people have removed sand in bulk for construction, making a pit under water. Visitors therefore should be careful while venturing in sea and should ask for guidance from locals.

Guhagar is relatively bigger town along the coast; hence you can experience buzz on the beach with; lot of vendors selling refreshments. The main road in the town runs parallel to the beach and it has many restaurants and shops.

Guhagar Beach

Old Stone Constructed wells

We came back and post lunch finished our work. By then it was late in the evening. The next day was for sightseeing. We saw grand old temple of Vyadeshwar in the center of the town. It is an ancient temple with really beautiful complex with carvings on stone.

Vyadeshwar Temple

Vyadeshwar Shiva

We then went to Durgadevi temple complex. This is a very beautiful complex with a lake inside. The temple has beautiful wooden pillars, with marble statue of the goddess. If you visit Guhagar and you have some free time in the afternoon, this is a good place to visit and spend some time.
Post lunch we again went to the beach and enjoyed sunset. Came back tired and slept.

Durgadevi Temple

Next day morning we went to Velneshwar, which is named after famous temple of Velneshwar (Shiva) which is Kuladaivat (deity of the clan) for over 24 clans in Maharashtra. The temple is old and with spacious complex constructed in the stone. It is a quite and serene place where you can plan to stay for few days if you wish to re-energize yourself. It is also a great place for people with Kids to stay for few days and experience nature and village life.

Chief attraction is the fact that at Velneshwar the hills come close to beach. This is probably the best combination of serpentine roads, hillocks, great greenery and nice beach. It is delight to see Dolphins that come very close to the coast and you can spot them play on the tides sitting on the beach. At the south end of the beach there is fisherman village. At night when the fishermen head towards deep sea in their trawlers or small boats with lights on; it is worth a watching them disappear in the darkness before you fall asleep.

Velneshwar Beach

We stayed at Velneshwar and planned to go to sea in one of the fishing trawlers. So we found the head fisherman (Tandel in Local Language) and spoke to him about our plans.

From him, we learnt some interesting aspects of fishing. He told us that they going to start their voyage early morning the next day. We would be taken in small boats at 10.00 p.m. to the big trawlers anchored at 1 km in the sea. We would sleep that night on the trawler, which meant sleeping on wooden plank with ship rocking all the time.

Velneshwar Temple

Velneshwar Shiva

We would start at 4.00 a.m. and would be back the next morning. Our idea of venturing in the sea vanished with this plan. It is difficult to sleep on the ship and also difficult to manage morning chores. On the other hand these tough and brave men of sea; do this day in and day out.
They also follow certain rules, they don’t catch very small fish which is not fully grown. They never kill dolphins because there are stories where dolphins have helped human beings. There is a standard procedure for division of catch with the owner of the trawler, head fisherman and the sailors.

We dropped the idea of going to sea, but we kept awake till late in the night watching twinkling lights on the boats in sea. We had a great time.
Next day morning we headed for Hedavi, and reached at 11.30 a.m. Hedavi is destination for all Ganesha followers as it is believed that praying here results in fulfillment of wishes. The deity here appears different from its normal self with Dhashbhuja (10 hands). The temple was constructed by Kelkar swami with donations from the Peshwas. The statue is constructed in stone with look of Ganesha as warrior.

Hedavi Ganesha Temple

Hedavi is also on the coast but the beach here is not great. It is small and rocky. So we decided to keep going and take a break at Ganapatipule. We again decided to follow coastal route, we crossed bridge at Bhatgaon and moved on towards Jaigad.

Harnai Murud Karde

2009-03-26T03:09:00.000-07:00

We left Harihareshwar in the evening after late lunch.

As decided we were going to move along the coast without touching NH-17 i.e. Mumbai Goa highway. We went to Bagmandla and took ferry from there. This is huge boat which can carry 2 big buses with passengers easily. We loaded out car and enjoyed to breeze on the deck.

I spoke to the captain of the ship about his job. It is quite interesting as well as difficult thing to drive this big boat. He told me that one needs to have knowledge of current and depth of the creek. During high tide water levels are high and the water is gushing in from sea, so it pushes the boat inside and hence they have to factor in this and leave a margin while taking direction. It is exactly other way round at the time of low tide however additional difficulty is that water levels are low and ship can hit rocks. It is also quite difficult to turn this big boat and put it exactly in front of the small jetty. We were impressed with his abilities, at times it is so important to have skills; knowledge alone is not the best thing to have in life.

We reached Bankot and then went to Velas to see Shri Nana Phadanavis Memorial. This village was his ancestral place, but his father migrated to Satara. In the village there is a temple for which he had given donation and his small statue. One feels sorry that about ignorance of our society, where we don’t even maintain memorial of stalwart we was one of the mail pillars of Marath Empire. His abilities were so great that there is a old saying in Maharashtra “Jab Tak Nana Tab Tak Puna”. If we build a decent memorial and give information then our kids can really experience history. This would be much better way of learning and reading books.

Road to Harnai

Anways we move on to Anjarle and Harnai. The road is not great but it is true fun with green forests around you and very few vehicles around. By the time we reached Harnai it was 5.00 p.m and we could see the fun of fish auction. One needs to see it, to believe. There are numerous varieties of fish and fisherwoman bargaining for the same. The entire process is over in an hour and half; and everybody goes back. The road passes through the market and there is little room for vehicles to go at this time. Harnai is a port from good old days and hence fisherman community is strong here. When people from Konkan used to come to Mumbai, in steam ships in good old days this used to one of the important boarding points.

By the time we left, sun was setting on the west. And the awesome look of a great beach and endless ocean in golden and orange colours was in sight. It was difficult to move on leaving this experience. So we parked car on roadside and enjoyed the view.

Sunset at Harnai

By the time reached Murud, it was dark; we found place to stay. We ate dinner and went on beach for walk. On the entire beach we could not hear voices of more than 4 people excluding us. The only company was the roar of the mighty sea.
Next day morning we got up early, actually it helps when you don’t have TV around you. You sleep early and well too and get up early.

We went to beach to see Dolphins!!!!

It was 7.30 in the morning and we walked on the road leading to beach. As soon we were on the beach we were awestruck……….

Undoubtedly this is one of the best beaches in Maharashtra. It is 7 km long and flat with white sand and crystal clear water. It can make any other beach appear to be a compromise. Alongside the long beach are villages Harnai – Murud- Karde with coconut and betel nut plantations along the coast line.

A great attraction to this place other than long quiet beach are the dolphins that come very close to the shore; sitting on beach you can spot Dolphins in the sea with your naked eyes. Such a sight is rare at most beaches in India. If you are travelling with kids especially in winter; make it a point to experience the Dolphin Safari ride in boats in the morning. Best time to see Dolphins is around End Nov to Mid Jan. It is worth travelling extra 70 to 80 km on NH17 and reach here to get all this and more.

Murud Beach

We met Jayesh Nagavekar over there. He was among the most dynamic and energetic person I met in my tour. He has bought a speed boat for Dolphin safari. Rarely people have taken such initiative to mate travelling experience rich. We waited for Dolphins to come near the coast, had tea with Jayesh and spoke about tourism business in the village. He was extremely motivated and clear about promoting this industry as means of additional income to villagers. It was 8.30 and we could see some tails in sea at a distance.

Jayesh started the boat and took us less than 1 km inside. The dolphins were really close now, he switched off engine; so that the dolphins coming close do not get hurt. We kept following them for almost an hour, it was really pleasing. We were jumping, clapping and happy like a child.
We came back took bath and visited Durga temple. It is nice temple with typical rural interiors and big hall. Murud is also birthplace of Bharatratna Maharishi Karve with his memorials. Maharishi Karve was a renowned social reformer who pioneered the cause of girl education in the country. Howevere, there is no memorial for him. There is one statue and nothing else. It again shows apathy of today’s leaders towards promoting good. On every corner of the streets of Mumbai, one can find hoardings for Birthday Greetings dedicated t o some god forsaken local nut, but when it comes to people who have done great job, there is only a chapter in history books.

Durgadevi Temple

Post lunch we moved on to Karde, where we met Mandar Rumde, he has also bought a speed boat. He returned to his village after running a small business at Mumbai. He told us that he was happy to return back and moreover he was making more money here.

Murud Karge Marine Drive

There is one more, funny thing that happened with him. The beach here is flat, so it takes some 5-6 persons to pull the boat on the shore. So he bought a pair of bulls to do this job. Now that he had that pair which had no work but for some occasions; he bought a second hand bullock cart and started new business i.e Bullock cart ride on the beach. We laughed heartily on this, enterprise is sometimes born out of such instances as well.

Karde Beach

We spoke to homestay owners at Karde, all of them have houses facing beach. But they don’t have bigger lands. Still the beach is nice and their eagerness to do business is very high. They are learning this business slowly from their customers and I am dead sure that they would make it big in next 4 to 5 years.

We came back to Murud and stayed for the night. The next day we finished some work at
Murud. We met Mr Pendse, he left a cosy job with Bombay Dyeing and returned to his village. His homestay had really sophisticated interiors, which reflected his background from Mumbai. I was pleased meeting him, he has lots of wisdom in his words.

We then moved on to our next destination ……….Guhagar.
Again our mandate was to travel by coast. So we moved on following route

Murud--> Karde -->Ladghar-->Karajgaon--> Burundi-->Kolthar--> Dahol

This route is picturesque with Sea Coast accompanying you at times and greenery around you all the time. The road is narrow but there is hardly any traffic. We reached Dabhol and took ferry, loaded our car and moved on to other side to Anjanvel….

Dolphins and fantastic beach made this journey really memorable. Wehighly recommend this place as a get away destination for those who want peace for few days away from the daily grind of the city. A stay for 3 to 4 days (either Murud or Karde) can make you re- energize to go back and take on the world.

The more I travel the more I am convinced that the business of Homestays is ideal for rural development and to make travel enriching experience….

For great option of Homestays across India visit www.mygreatstay.com

And now I can see Anu following my blog…Anu hearty welcome to you !!! Please comment if you find some mistakes or short comings; as I am not a great writer but you can make me one………you are the first person to follow this blog and it makes me excited to know that somebody really wants to read on travel……..

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Murud to Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar, Dive Agar - Journey for Bikers, Motorists and Nature lovers

2009-02-16T22:38:00.000-08:00

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Journey : from Murud to Shrivardhan & then Shrivardhan, Dive Agar and Harihareshwar.

If you wish to travel to Shrivardhan either from Mumbai or Pune, the commonly used route is to first reach NH 17 at Kolad via Roha and then go to Mangaon –> Goregaon and take right turn for Mhasla and then to Shrivardhan.

However we decided to take another route which goes along the coast through villages, the road is narrow and not in great condition, but it is unbelievably beautiful journey. We, set on course in the afternoon post lunch. We drove towards Janjira fort and half way took left turn to Agardanda.

Once we crossed Tokerwar, our one of the most spectacular journeys along side Arabian see began. Interemittantly, we were seeing creek on the right side where as lush green hills on the left hand side. It is very difficult to believe that such virgin and unexplored area exists; so close to Mumbai and Pune. If you are a nature enthusiast or you like driving or you are biker - this is the most recommended route by us. It may take more time but the experience is amazing.

We crossed following villages on the way

Tokerwar

Savli

Bhalgaon (after this village is bridge over the creek)

Mandad

Rovla

Varal

Tamhane

Kandalwada

Nigadi

Pabhare (the road goes thru the village so don’t get confused)

Khargaon – Budruk

Surai

Mhasla (From here turn right to Shrivardhan approx 18 km)

At Mhasla, you can decide to either turn towards Shrivardhan or to Dive Agar. We had decided to go to Shrivardhan as we had to meet Mr Bhagat or Bhagatsir (he is a teacher) over there. We reached in the evening, and located him.

Towards Agardanda

Savali to Bhalgaon

Rovla to Varal

He was one of the most impressive, knowledgeable and outgoing personalities that I met in my journey. Given the fact that he is a teacher; he had knowledge of grass root level issues and realities. We kept chatting till it was almost 9.30 p.m. We discussed many topics;; right from 1993 RDX landing at Shekhadi (its pretty close to Shrivardhan), to social issues involved in homestay business, to education to governance etc. His energy levels and would put a 20 year old young, to shame. Especially Ali had a special liking for him (because of ali's pseudo-socialist inclinations !!!!).

We then ate dinner and slept.

The next day morning we surveyed the whole town.It is a very interesting town which has great blend of modernity and tradition. It being a Taluka town there is trade and commerce,, which makes it cosmopolitan at the same time town also has historical importance. It is birthplace of Balaji Vishwanath, the first Peshwa of Maratha Empire. He was the first person to expand empire much beyond Maharashtra and bring unity across factions.

The town thus has significant population of Brahmins and they stay in a particular area ( named as Brahman Aali). This has added some colour of tradition, which make festivals very vibrant in the town.

The town is situated on coast and has very good beach, but access to the beach is a problem, you need to really look for access road. However, if you are travelling with family and want to experience traditional flavour this a place to be. With one of the persons here, we saw Dolphin and whale skeleton for the first time. It was interesting to see skeleton of huge whale, it is simply huge and strong.

Do not miss to see Jiwaneshwar Temple here at Jiwana Jetty. It is fabulous as not many people know about it. Wooden carved pillars are awesome. Also there is Laxminarayan temple in town which is really famous.

Jiwaneshwar Temple

Jiwaneshwar Temple - Wooden Pillars

Shrivardhan Beach

Balaji Vishwanath Statue

We spent day meeting people in the town and stayed overnight. This town has some natural advantages to develop tourism, being a big town access by public transport is easy. It is also possible to develop more restaurants over here and also activities on the beach. However there is general apathy in the governing bodies. Even the memorial of Peshwa is in real sorry state of affairs. We will have to wait till some other organization takes up the cause. In fact I would like to appeal to organizations of Chittapavan Brahmins to take first step in this direction.

The next morning we moved on to Dive Agar. This journey was also equally picturesque along side coast. You would see folllowing village en

Valvati
Aaravi
Shekhadi (known for RDX landing in 1993 Mumbai bombings)
Bharadkhol

Near Aaravi for the first time in my life I saw Dolphins while sitting in car and driving. They had come so close to the coast. Seeing them got down, and jumped like small kids. We spent almost 20 mins watching them and then moved on further

Dive Agar is a really interesting town, in fact its a village. It was a sheepish village, with progressive farmers growing Areca nuts, coconuts etc. The village has significant population of Brahmins. It also bear distinction of having its educated sons(they are educated in Pune and Mumbai) returning back to village to cultivate farms. As a result the village is very progressive as far as farming in concerned. It shot to fame in 1997, when a lady from the village by the name Mrs Draupadi Dharma Patil found a copper box in her fields while digging. When the box was opened it had a mask of Ganesha, made from pure gold. It is estimated to be 1000 years old, the quality of gold is superb and it weighed 1.3 kg.

As the news spread, the tourists thronged this place in hordes. This spirituality of tourists with consumptions of spirits disturbed the peace and serenity of the place. Thus in initial few years there was a lot of resistance towards tourism. However over a period of time things settled and now its a destination place.

Suvarna Ganesh

We met Mr Uday Bapat, Sarpanch of the village, he was nice person with lot of knowledge. That day was also a very interesting day, it is called World Hand Wash day. Staying in Metro I never realized that there are days like these, as well. This day is to increase awareness about cleanliness and sanitation among children. All the schools were having some program or contests to make kids aware; that they should wash hands before and after eating anything. I realized that to bring change such small initiatives are important, also there are people who are trying to do something. In Mumbai I had seen a lot of empty talk and celebrity buillshit on women's day and children day and all sorts of days in media, It had almost no relevance to reality. However at grass root level people are working with honesty and integrity for benefits of society, we are far away from such realities.

We tried meeting President of the Homestay owners association here but he could not give us time. We also discussed tourism initiatives with many homestay owners in the town. In the course of discussion we realized that this has social dimension also.

Every village is more feudalistic in structure either economic or social; as compared to indstrial socities. And thus there is a lot of gap between rich and poor, the landlords and small farmers or farm labours. While we asked people why cant you join us so that we increase business, the small operators told us that we need to go thru the association. It is controlled by the rich and famous here, they would not like us to come up in life, else their social dominance would be questioned. Hence nothing would happen thru the association.

My experience of cancelled meeting with president, was compelling me to believe them, but my progressive mind was not willing to agree. Later in my meeting with Mr Bapat, these doubts were cleared he promised us to hold a general meeting of homestay owners.

Dive Agar Beach

Dive Agar panchayat is doing a lot of efforts to promote good for the society. To mention specifically we found ladies employed by Panchayat cleaning the beach, this is not done even by Zilla Parishads at other places. Though we did not achieve a single tie-up we appreciated work of Panchayat a lot. We felt there was not much merit is waiting for another day here, and we decided to move to Hariharshwar and visite Dive Agar again on some later day. My pesonal opinion is that there is a lot that can be done to promote tourism here. However people in general and association in particular need to look at Marketing as Revenue Initiative than cost. As of now everything is literally "god given" and if efforts are not made this place would become full of lodges like Shirdi or Ganapatipule.

We reached Harihareshwar in the night.

Bhairav Temple

Its a nice small place with hills coming closer to coast. It has famous temple of Shiva in the form of Harihareshwar. The beach near temple is rocky and risky so swimming here is not possible. However very few people are aware that just 1.5 km ahead are the beautiful coconut plantation stays. The beach here is safe and you can enjoy your stay while being on Pilgrimmage.

Typically, places which are famous for temples rarely have good stay options e.g. Shirdi, Ganpatipule, vaishnodevi, guruvayoor etc. The reason is that most of the owners of hotels or homestays do not really need to focus on service and experience to gain business, everything is literally "god given". However, at Harihareshwar we could locate few homestays which were really nice. We listed them and moved on.

The next stop for us was even more interesting: We had decided to move in a ferry across creek with our TOYOTA INNOVA loaded with us ......................................coming shortly

for interesting homestay options in virgin areas : visit www.mygreatstay.com.

Murund Janjira and Kashid

2008-12-29T03:50:00.001-08:00

We reached Murud at around 8.30 p.m. After checking in at Mr Hamdule's homestay, we moved on to Patil Khanaval for food. This is the most famous place for food(especially sea food) in this town. Most of the homestay owners do not serve food and instead direct guests to have food with him.

Next day morning, we got up went for a jog on the beach as it is touching Mr Humdule's home. After break fast we began exploring area around.

Kashid and Murud are famous for beaches and clean water. Kashid is the first beach; which you come across while travelling down south from Mumbai; where you would find clean water and white sand. Travel to these destinations have been on the rise since last 8-10 years. At that time Murud was a town and Kashid was a village; so there were no stay options at Kashid. Most of the travellers used to stay at Murud and travel to Kashid to enjoy beach. However Kashid got quite popular among youngsters as the waves here are strong.

With the increased traffic new developments came here; as of now there are a lot of homestays which are good in quality and very close to the beach over here. There is only one resort which is close to the beach and is pretty expensive. The rest of the resorts are quite far and they arrange for transport to go to the beach.

There are few wonderful places to see in this area, which are listed here:

Janjira Fort:

The fort was under control of local fisherman head Rajaram Koli, who later lost it to Siddhi’s. The fort is impregnable due to presence of rocks under water around the fort. This prevented large ships from reaching the fort and small ones were not effective given the size of the fort. Even Siddhi’s conquered it by deceit. Siddhis later built this fort on 22 acres of land with 22 bastions on the boundary w all. There are 3 big canons here namly Chavadi, Gomukh and Kalal Bangdi. These are made from alloys, the metal is so thick that in the middle of the afternoon you would find them cold on touching.
To reach the fort first go to Rajpuri village(lot of autos are available) and then take a boat ride. You would also come to know that the sea is quite shallow, as most of the time the boat is push ahead by pushing bamboos on the sea bed and for very small interval sails are opened. These boats are not motorized at all.

Inside view of the fort

Giant Cannons: Gomukh, Chavadi and Kalal Bangdi
Ruins of Durbar inside fort

Murud Beach:
Murud beach is beautiful and flat with white sands. As it’s quite far from Mumbai you can experience clean water which you miss at Alibaug. The waves are not very strong here and hence it’s a nice beach for families and kids. Its adjoining the main road of the town hence can expect some hustle-bustle of the locals. An early morning walk on the beach can get you see fishermen going to the high seas and that is a delight in itself to watch. Later in the day till late evening you have vendors around the beach and can enjoy local snacks, coconut water etc.

Datta Mandir:
A beautiful but rarely visited location close to Murud is Datta Mandir as not many people are aware of this spot; however it is a highly recommended spot at Murud. It is great to enjoy sunset in the evening from this place as you can get panoramic view of the sea on the west and thick green forest covered hills on the east. Although vehicles can go to the top of the hill an early morning trek to this place is equally enjoyable in a group, if you are a trek lover.

View towards west and Duttmandir

Eastside view

Nandgaon:
On your way from Murud to Kashid; approx 7km from the hustle bustle of Murud is a real quiet and serene place called Nandgaon. While you travel by road, you are likely to miss this beach and as there are homes on both side of the road blocking view. We highly recommended Nandgaon beach for people who want peace and privacy. The cool breeze on this beach works like a balm to you soul. You will find the communing with air, water and sand at Nandgaon beach a supreme rejuvenation. The beach is safe and waves are not as strong as Kashid. Therefore, we highly recommend for families and young couples. As this is an unexplored locations you would not find hawkers on the beach so ensure you carry food and water. You can buy these in the village as well. There is a beautiful temple of Ganesha in Nandgaon village. Make it a point to visit the same.

Nandgaon Beach

Siddhi Vinayak Temple

Kashid:
Kashid is one of the most famous beaches near Mumbai. It is known for white sand, clear water, strong waves and blue sky. Young guys in groups flock this beach to enjoy the strong waves. Families with small children need to be careful while entering water; as you may be caught unaware with a sudden big wave after 5 or 6 small ones. Even youngsters are advised not to try stunts in the sea. Along side the beach there are food stalls and you can get refreshments here; however no beer is available.

Kashid beach view of Left/right hand side

We enjoyed our stay at Murud for 2 days. We tried convincing Mr Hamdule but he was not even interested in promoting his homestay. He wanted peaceful, no hassles life and did not show much desire to develop business.

So we moved ahead .................on the day 3 morning ahead to Shrivardhan. We had two options 1. Hit NH17 again from Mangaon go to Mhasla

2. Travel with coastal road from village to village and reach Bhalgaon from there on moving to Mhasla - Shrivardhan.

Ali and me decided to take coastal route.. we wanted to try the unbeaten tracks ... in the morning we went to meet two of our business associates and then moved on after lunch...........

For more pictures, information about places of visit and homestays/bed and breakfasts visit http://www.mygreatstay.com/

Coming next .... one of the most beautiful journeys along the coast and definitely most exciting for bikers and nature lovers --- Murud Janjira to Shrivardhan

Also coming up details of my visit to Kolhapur and Panhala

Alibaug

2008-12-24T21:55:00.000-08:00

contd....

(In case reader finds any difficulty in understanding this post or they want additional travel tips do not hesitate to write to me at kishoraher@gmail.com)

We reached Alibaug towards late in the evening. On the way I called up the place where I had stayed earlier; but he was already having guests so, he suggested me to stay at Shree Holiday Resort owned by Mr Kaustubh Raut. We went there, Mr Raut is really a nice and humble person. He started this business of Homestays just last year. He has only 2 rooms for guests but lot of open space with garden. The garden does not mean the one with lawns ( I find it too artificial and too much in order to be called natural). So the garden here means plantations; and across coast of Konkan gardens are only plantations)

We had food and kept chatting with Mr Raut for some time. He moved here after taking VRS from his earlier employer. He was constructing 2 more rooms. His eagerness to provide service was amazing. I was thoroughly impressed. Next day morning we got up and had breakfast. We got some travel tips from Mr. Raut. We also explained him about our venture and he was willing to join in.

Over the next few days we wanted to see all the interesting places around Alibaug. We also wanted to compare which beach is the best.

Accordingly we visited all the beaches on Rewas - Mandva - Alibaug road. We also met quite a few number of people and following is the essence of our findings.

There are mainly 3 beaches in this area; if we move from Southern tip to north, the first is Saswane, the second Kihim and then Awas. Alibaug is the hottest destination for weekends and you would not get place to stay unless booked in advance. Still not many people know about these beaches. Of the three Awas is the best one, but very few know this. Kihim has a lots of rocks and Saswane is full of rocks. However most of the people know only Kihim as MTDC has promoted it heavily. So while you go to Alibaug make sure that you see Awas as well; besides its not too far and local transport is available.

Awas Beach

Kihim Beach

Saswane Beach

In addition there are two more places that one must see..

1) Kunakeshwar Temple : Going to this temple can be a nice trek. However it would take more than 1.30 hrs so avoid afternoon climb.

2) Karmarkar Shilpalay : This is known to very few .. but in my opinion this place is a must visit. You get to see master pieces pf sculpturing.

To see more pictures and know about stay options visit http://www.mygreatstay.com/
There is also the fort of Alibaug but it is closer to Alibaug town and not to this road.

There are also two forts namely Khanderi and Undheri in the sea; you can tie up with fishermen to go there. These are among the first 2 forts; in the chain of 65 small and big forts from North to Suoth; that Chhatrapati Shivaji built to protect coast of Maratha Empire.

The interesting aspect of tourism about this place is that it is controlled neither by service nor by location. It is controlled by mode of transport and proximity. Till Catamaran service was not existing; bus and car were the popular modes of transport. From the road to alibaug, Mandva road is quite far and as such buses do not come here, they rather go to Alibaug town. As such Nagaon beach(which is on Alibaug - Revdanda road) was more popular.

Then started Catamaran service, the operators of Catamaran also deployed buses which would drop people on the way. Thus, travelling on this road became very comfortable. This brought boom in tourism business.

When I met people along this road to promote their homestays; they were simply not interested. I met chieftains of their association; they were of the opinion; that they need business only on weekdays or get us foreigners so that we can charge more. Putting such condition on our portal would have been nothing less than stupidity; so I did not really put effort in this area.

The other reason sited by them for avoiding tie-up was that they would have less profit margin. Anyways in my first two days of Konkan visit, I realized four key aspects of homestay owners:

1. They believe volume can not increase so there is no point in losing margins. In other words, Cost orientation is much higher than Revenue Orientation.

2. People with exposure to tourism or apparently educated people; also are not confident of bringing in premium customers to their homestays. All of them are competing for the same set of middle/ upper middle class customers.

3. From the people I met, I found out that people who can speak English(it is not a measure of education always; as there are many people educated in Marathi here); believe in questioning rather than listening to you. They are also the most suspicious kind of lot (while I write this in English; I am suspecting that you would bunch me along with them).

4. People are divided on the basis of need. Established people do not need marketing efforts where as new comers do need it. Unfortunately associations or social bodies are presided over established people so the associations do not try or rather discourage marketing tie-ups. This leads to, not so established people feeling that, established ones do not want them to come up. Funnily later in my journey also wherever I met associations I could not do business. Thus progress is an individualistic or at best family phenomenon; associations have not much contributed to it.

On this note, we moved on further south to Revdanda and then to Murud; bidding farewel to Mr Raut.

Murud is approximately 1.30 hrs drive from Alibaug.

We started late in the evening and reached Murud at around 8.00 p.m.

Travel Tips:

Do not forget to carry Mosquito Repellent.

Do not venture in deep sea, the coast here is rocky and you can suffer injury.

In case you wish to see clean waters; you need to move ahead to Kashid at least.

Do not create noise; homestay owners' are hassled with behaviour of tourists. As most of the people only consume booze during the visit and create raucous. These are homes and they do suffer from indecent behaviour

Soon coming Murud Janjira and Kashid..............this journey will continue till I cover entire western coast of India... so keep reading and keep writing to me

for better quality homestay options please visit:

http://www.mygreatstay.com

Travel From Mumbai to Alibaug

2008-11-16T07:22:00.001-08:00

The first Journey Mumbai to Down south Coastal India:

As I start this blog to share my experiences in my pursuit to follow my dream of travelling to every nook and corner of this great country India and let you all see them thru my words, lenses and not to mention guide you in case you would like to come and stay at these places thru my travel portal.

I was joined by Ali in my maiden trip and we decided to start with the western coast of India by road. Our mandate was to travel thru the small roads connecting villages and avoid highways as much possible. We did not want to miss any village around the coast; so that we come across the most unexplored areas. We wanted to discover virgin beaches, forgotten monuments of historical importance, local faiths and stories around the worshiped deities and also get a flavor of local cuisine, customs and home stay that we could share with all people.

I had decided to start a portal on the concept of home-stays (Bed and Breakfast) while Ali was on the lookout for an irresistible spot where he would start his resort. Though both of us were sure about what we wanted to do however we had different approach to our business (but obvious, Ali was all the time trying to convince me that how dumb I was; and without his guidance I would be nowhere in life).

Following is the extract of our journey and also about lots of people whom we met; their approach to tourism, business and of course have a slice of their way of life, faiths, believes, convictions, aspirations – we were dealing with personalities totally different and some of them probably you would never meet in your day to day life. We saw lots of places and had tremendous insights into the interiors of this giant nation. Hope it makes interesting reading for you all.

Before we start I need to specify that I have travelled a lot in India before, ranging for Kashmir to Badrinath (in Himalayas); from Jaisalmer to Benaras etc. However I had not travelled much on the coasts. My earlier travels were about seeing places and a hurried running around with the local guide to complete one tourist location to other. On the contrary this time I was a traveller and not a tourist – I had time at my disposal so I spent at least a day even in a smallest location that held me with its heavenly beauty rarely known to many others. I spent time with locals. So this not a journey only about places, rocks, trees, rivers and sea but this is about living beings as well. Who I believe are the real essence of India... so welcome to my version of real India and real life...................

We began at from Mumbai by 4.00 p.m, Ali had landed at airport by 12.oo to join me. We had lunch meeting with Khan (our engineering college friend) at Vashi and moved on towards Panvel. The moment you cross Panvel and turn right to Goa highway; you cross from grey concrete world to emerald world, with lush green hills around. The air becomes clean and to feel it well a/c needs to be switched off.

Approximately 12 km head of Panvel 12 km is the fort of Karnala. Just 5 km before you reach the fort is Shirdhone, birthplace of Aadya Krantikarak (first Revolutionery) Vasudev Balwant Phadke.

Shirdhone:
Born on 4th November 1845, he was grandson of Fort-in-charge of Karnala, due to which he had happy and luxurious childhood. Since early days he was fond of bullock carts so he was presented with a Goat Cart by his family and you can see it even today.Born on 4th November 1845, he was grandson of Fort-in-charge of Karnala, due to which he had happy and luxurious childhood. Since early days he was fond of bullock carts so he was presented with a Goat Cart by his family and you can see it even today. While he was working with British Military Finance Dept in 1870, his mother expired and he was not granted leave. This episode had deep impact on him and he decided to revolt against British Rule.

In the famine of 1876 while people were dying of starvation, he raised a force of locals and to raid the rich and famous in order to feed the poor. His vision was to achieve freedom for nation, and create Indian Republic. Subsequently, he was caught British and charged of treason. He was sentenced for life imprisonment and shifted to jail of Eden in 1880.
On 17th Feb 1883 he died of tuberculosis. His old home is today in dilapidated state; but there is a memorial built in his
honour. While you travel on this road please do not forget pay homage to this hero of the nation.

I had seen this place before but Ali was pretty excited to see it. While I was clicking pictures of the Memorial, he explored the rest of the village. We then moved on to fort and bird sanctuary.

Karnala Fort and Bird Sanctuary:
The climb to fort of Karnala is approximately 3 km, however the last 1 km is slightly rocky path and hence difficult for those who are not used to it. It can be really refreshing trek as the surroundings are lush green.

There is also a small bird sanctuary around the fort. As per laws birds can’t be kept in cages now (earlier this was the case); therefore try nature trail of 1 km in the sanctuary. There are close to 130 varieties of birds here, morning and evenings are better times for bird watching. Do not forget to carry binoculars.

I had climbed to the fort twice before and Ali once, besides it was getting late in the evening so we decided to move on further............

For information of good quality stay options and homestays visit:
http://www.mygreatstay.com/