Maharashtra Year End Tour/Trek

Introduction:

To begin with we were six, namely Hamsa, Jayashree, Gururaj, Purushottam, Raghavendra and I (Rohit). We hit Khollapur via Rani Chennamma Express, which landed us there late in the afternoon.

From Rohit, Hamsa, Jayashree, Raghavendra, Gururaj, Purushottam

Places visited:
Day 1 ~ 2 - 2009-12-25 ~ 2009-12-26 - Bangalore -> Khollapur [Lakshmi Temple] -> Khed
Day 3 - 2009-12-27 - Khed -> Mahad -> [Raigad Fort] -> Mahad -> Poladpur[halt]
Day 4 - 2009-12-28 - Poladpur -> Mahabaleshwar -> Panchagani -> Poladpur[halt]
Day 5 - 2009-12-29 - Poladpur -> Neveli -> Ganapathipule[Beach + Temple][halt]
Day 6 - 2009-12-30 - Ganapathipule -> [Jaigad Fort] -> Ratnagiri[Pawas] [halt]
Day 7 - 2009-12-31 - Ratnagiri[Pawas] -> [Bhagavati Mandir] -> [Aquarium] -> [Ratnagiri Gateway Beach] -> [18 Hand Ganesh] -> [Lokamanya Tilak Residence] -> [Thiba Palace] -> [Batia Beach] -> Ratnagiri [halt]
Day 8 - 2010-01-01 - Ratnagiri -> Taral -> [Vijaydurg Fort] -> Devagad -> [Light house] -> [Devagad Fort] -> [Devagad Beach + Crematorium] -> Nandgauv -> Kanakavali -> Sawanthwadi[halt]
Day 9 - 2010-01-02 - Sawanthwadi -> Amboli -> [Hiranyakeshi Temple] -> [Swayambu Siddivinayaka Temple] -> [Amboli View Point - kawalesad] -> [Nangartas Water fall] -> [Amboli View Point Mahadeva] -> [Amboli Water Falls] -> Belgaum
2010-01-02 ~ 2010-01-03 - Belgaum -> Bangalore.


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Finale:

Total Expenses - INR 4,300 Inclusive of Travel, Food & Accommodation per head.

Day 6

2009-12-30 - Jaigad Fort ~ Pavas (Ratnagiri):

From 2009-12-30 - JaiGad Fort - Purushottam,Raghavendra,Jayashree,Hamsa,Gururaj,Rohit.

Next morning we again took a walk along the beach and left to Jaigad Fort. Due to improper planning we ended up whole day at this fort.

From 2009-12-30 - Blind Cat @ JaiGad

To get there was a pain even. We had to get there via 3 intermediate destinations; we even had to travel in an overcrowded Tata Sumo.

From 2009-12-30 - Dragger

By the time we made it it was noon. Due to too much travel we moved at a snails pace. We had plans of a boat ride to the adjacent beach.

From 2009-12-30 - The group

We had to cut down as we had run out of time.

By now we were bugged up seeing forts, we had seen enough, on the way we ran into Customs Inspector’s office.

From 2009-12-30 - JaiGad Fort Walls

We dropped oir luggage and went around sight seeing. The fort was built along the rocky beaches facing the sea and had a great panoramic view of the adjacent sandy beaches lined with ‘Gaali mara’ tree.

From 2009-12-30 - View from JaiGad Fort

Next we headed to Ratnagiri. We did more of travel than sightseeing for the day. In the bus one of the locals convinced us to halt at Pawas.

From 2009-12-30 - Adjacent Beach

Little did we know it was free accommodation; footwear’s not allowed beyond the verandah. The room was clean however we found a king size lizard, the girls were over reacting on seeing him. I managed to get him hiding behind a photo frame and got them back into the room.

From 2009-12-30 - Dragger in Foreground;Virgin Beaches in the Background

Day 5

2009-12-29 – Ganapathipule:

We started quite early and headed off to Neveli (Ratnagiri District). Our plan was to hit Gangapathipule. We were informed that there were no direct busses. On hitting Neveli we waited for an hour; not a single bus showed up. Raghavendra losing patience tried his luck with Lorries. It was indeed a good idea, but it was a loaded lorry with construction grade jelly. The girls took the Drivers Cabin, the guys had to beat the dust and harsh sun in the open back. The drive lasted an hour and half.

From 2009-12-29 - Ganapathipule Beach

Ganapathipule was not crowded unlike the other places we had visited so far. The beaches were clean. When we took a dive the weather was cloudy and chilly. The beach has a long sand line and you got to walk a long way to get water at your chest level. Soon we freshened up and got to Ganapathipule temple. The temple here has no kind of intricate carvings and appears too simple.

From 2009-12-29 - Lorry ride to Ganapathipule; Raghavendra Posing

After dinner we took a walk along the beach. I wanted to experience the Royal Beach entry via MTDC beach resort stairway. We sneaked into MTDC and took the stairway as planned, we did not run into surprises.

From 2009-12-29 - Ganapathipule Beach side view