Yash Gaikwad - BHATKANTI: Konkan biking

I was always fascinated by the beauty of beaches and sea-food :). The ultimate chance had come when Anna aka Harshad asked me about biking to Goa. I was instantly ready to the destination. But many warning and curses from my friends forced me to retract from the plan.

But the next plan was ready....i would say…..DESTINY......................We thought about Konkan trip. Nobody had idea about the routes, places. I went to Harihareshwar long time back. That was the only thread with us. Anna landed down to Pune from Nasik in the night by RED AIRWAYS ( Lal dabba). I told him about the plan(which is unknown:) ). He was always been my staunch supporter for treks and biking. We decided to reach konkan by Tamhini ghat. It is the shortest route to reach Konkan from Pune.

Sudhir gave his mean machine- CBZ extreme for our crazy trip. THANKS A TON to him......

Next day we have started our journey towards Tamhini ghat via Paud.

The bike odometer showed 7028 KM reading. Tamhini ghat is infamous for its insecure locality. The road seems to be no man's land. We have passed this uncomfortable pass and reached to Mangaon. There we inquired about various spots nearby.

Tamhini ghat

Taking some ideas about route and places we drive down to Shrivardhan. Our first Konkan spot. Shrivardhan is known to be Peshwa's native place. They have started their ruling dynasty from this place.

Shrivardhan beach

Places to be see in Shrivardhan is monument of Peshwa and Somjai temple.

Typical Konkani temple...Clean and serene

Somjai Temple, Shrivardhan

From Shrivardhan , we headed towards Harihareshwar. It is also called as Dakshin Kashi. Ancient Shiva temple and beautiful sea.Must see spot is Pradakshina marg.

Harihareshwar beach.....beautiful but risky

Pradkshina marg.....Awesome place

Here we inquired about the other places and route. One local guy from the Harishareshwar shared us awesome map by which we got crystal clear idea about the route and places. We followed this map till the end....Very much useful...

We had a lunch @ Harihareswar, we moved to Bagmandala. No need to go to the highway. Ask anybody @ Harihareshwar about the place. You need to cross first creek to reach other side. Local politician from that area has started Jetti service which is great relief as you can save lot much distance as well as time.

Bagmandala

Our Jetti

Lifting our bike into the Jetti

Chilling

Jetti service is really cheap....Just 10Rs / person and Rs.15 for bike....

From this point our next destination was Anjarle.

On the way to Anjarle

Konkani village

My favourite ..Anjarle beach

Clean and calm beach...I was instantly in love with this masterpiece!!!!!

Anjarle beach is still my favorite because of its cleanliness and calmness. It is white sand beach with enough beauty around, to make you mesmerize. You can also get home stay near to Anjarle beach with cheap rates.

We then headed towards Harnei port. It's already been 7.00PM so we decided to stay at Harnei. After searching hotels final we landed into Hotel Bhavani. Negotiating with the owner we got our room at Rs 500 only.

Harnei port

Our room

After completing all morning rituals, we started our journey. Anna was very keen to take Dolphin ride. We got the place at Harnei only. Lucky ones!!

On the way to Dolphin ride....very bumpy ride...made me nauseated :)

After wandering in the sea 30 minutes, finally Dolphin showed their swim skills and graceful beauty. We couldn't capture them in camera, but memories last forever.

From Harnei, we drove our way to Dapoli. The route is straight forward. Just name the place and people will show you the route. So don’t worry about losing the way!!!

Making our moneybags full, we made our ways towards Dabhol. I guess everybody have heard this name due to its Power plant issue.

On the Dabhol route, do not miss to see Ancient Chamunda mata mandir. It is made in a cave. Very sacred place. Must see.

Near Dabhol creek, there is ancient mosque, Very beautifully crafted.

Jetti

At Dabhol creek, need to cross by Jetti to reach other end. At far end first glimpse of Dabhol power plant on the hill.

Dabhol power plant

Our next destination was Anjanwel.
Sight to be seen : Talkeshwar temple, Talkeshwar Light house and Fort Gopalgad

Talkeshwar temple

Lighthouse

Fort Gopalgad...First fort in our trip

From the Gopalgad we moved to Guhagar. It is famous for beach and Vyadeshwar temple. We skip the beach and took blessings from Lord Vyadeshwar. Again serene temple.

On the way to Velneshwar, we came across very beautiful temple of Guru Datta. @ Palshet.

Velneshwar temple

Clean and neatly maintained

Towards Velneshwar beach

Two MADS!!!!!

From Velneshwar we headed towards Hedvi, A beautiful Ganesh temple.

Green Konkan

On the way to Tavsal.....Jindal Steel plant in front

As per our map, there should be another creek to be crossed but when we reached to Tavsal ,we came to know that no Jetti service available from here. It was really shock to us because to reach other end we need to travel another 40 KM...though we seeing the end infront of us.......Local fisherman told us that they only took travelers going towards Fort Jaygad.( Yes , we decided to skip this fort due to time constraint). I was thinking of going by the road to reach ganpati pule as early as possible. It was already 5 PM.

Anna took charge here and he convinced the fisherman to help us to reach the other creek end. He was ready for just Rs 150. Again awesome bargain.

*********Recently(Dec.2013) I had trip to same route with family. Now, there is Jetti service available from Tavsal to Jaigad. So no need to worry about the travel. It saves your time and travel.************

It's been 6PM when we reached the other end. We travelled to Khandala and them Malgund.

Malgund is famous for monument of famous Marathi poet Keshavsut.

Best route to ride...Sea on other side of road with Evening cool breeze...Perfect combo!!!

Finally we reached at Ganpatipule. Took blessings of Lord Ganesh.

We decided to stay at Ratnagiri. Anna's friend invited us to stay at his place. We headed towards Ratnagiri via Aare-ware route. Awesome Sea-route. You will surely enjoy it. Due to night we were unable to take snaps of the route. Next day we first went to Ratnadurg fort.

Goddess Bhagwati temple

Next visiting point was Pawas. Ultimate peaceful and tranquil ashram. You will surely love to feel that enchanting environment.

Next destination was Purnagad.......again One fort!!!.

On the way we luckily got the very beautiful and ancient temple of God Sun. One of its own. Very pleasant idol of Sun makes you quiescent.

The next target was Aadivare. famous for its beautiful temple.

Via Dhartale and Nate we reached to Jaitapur. Infamous for it's Nuclear power plant.

Fort Vijaydurg at horizon

We reached to Sindhudurg district border. One policeman interrogated us about our tour and everything. After some chatting we headed towards Kunkeshwar.

We were exhausted due to continuous driving. We got one place to rest for a while. Refreshed again!!

We headed towards Malvan. Luckily we got last boat for the day going towards Fort Sindhudurg.

I was very excited to see the fort due to its history being built by Chatrapati Shivaji maharaj.

We have hired guide to know more about fort. Places to see on fort: Temple of Shivaji Maharaj, Right hand and Left foot impression of Shivaji Maharaj and the fort itself... :).