Two Wheels, Two Nomads, One Thrilling Adventure

The silver sands, the deep blue sea, and the verdant suru corridors… the beaches in Maharshtra have always enticed me. Beaches have been an excellent option for weekend getaways and I always wondered if I could cover them all in one go. I have been planning for this coastal biking expedition from Alibaug to Goa, for a long, which would cover all the beaches and the sea forts en route. It was a dream come true when the long-awaited expedition was completed in Dec ’07. Thanks to Akshay for making it happen as I wouldn’t have done it all alone.

Day 1 : Dec 22, 2007 | Pune – Borivali 

We had been planning for this for a long time and as D-day neared, the excitement was building up. I had packed my things yesterday and was geared up for the expedition. Finally, I was going to be with the Arabian sea … and this time for a long!

I started from my place around 4 pm with a sack on my back, a camera bag hanging on my shoulders, and a helmet over my head. With my cell phone hands-free plugged in my ears, I was listening to music and merrily heading towards Mumbai.

Mahd Ganpati – The temple at Mahd is one of the ashtavinayakas and the home of my pet deity Lord Ganesha. How could I have missed the darshan especially when I was going to be on such a long-awaited expedition? The blessings were essential for the successful completion of the expedition. J After being blessed by Lord Varadvinayaka, I proceeded towards Mumbai & reached Akshay’s place finally at 10 pm following the Powai – Arey Colony route.

Day 2: Dec 23, 2007 | Borivali (Akshay’s Residence)

Unfortunately, we ended up with a sleepless night because of the sheer excitement of the expedition which was to commence today. Awake at 5 am we stepped out of the house with blessings from Akshay’s parents and promising them that we would call them up every day. Our exhilaration knew no bounds as it was hard to believe that we had actually off to conquer the forts on the coastal belt of Maharashtra.

We had our eyes on the road to Alibaug, that being the first destination. We were to follow the NH17 up to Vadkhal naka, take a diversion to Alibaug, and post that chase the MSH 4 called the “Sagari Mahamarg” – the coastal highway which originates at Alibaug and runs almost parallel to the entire Konkan coast through the districts of Raigad, Ratnagiri, and Sindhudurg and finally connects to Goa at Tiracol.

Alibaug

This was our first destination as this is where we were to touch the seashore. We headed straight towards the beach. The beach has been ruined by frequent visitors. But we still found many of them taking a dip in the filthy waters. Pitying them and taking a few snaps we spent a few minutes here.

We could see Colaba and Sarjekot forts at a distance surrounded by seawater. Due to the high tide, we could not reach there so bid them goodbye and headed towards the Kanhoji Angre’s Samadhi. A brave sardar of Shivaji’s troupe he had led many battles especially to conquer the sea forts. He has hence conferred the title “Darya Sarkhel”.

We then headed towards Hirakot. It is a small fort that now houses a prison. Hence we are not allowed inside to see the fort. Next to the fort is Hirakot lake. Adorned with beautiful lotus flowers the lake was in full glory. The waters were clear and reflected the trees around making it picture-perfect.

Akshi

This is a small secluded beach right in the neighborhood of Alibaug. It used to be a quiet getaway. But now you see a lot of people who are bored of Alibaug diverting here.

Nagaon

Yet another beach… nothing unusual about it as it is flooded with tourists.

Bairagi Ganpati Mandir

A beautiful temple en route to Revdanda.

Revdanda Fort

The Revdanda village is happily settled in the fort itself which is now in ruins. But for some fortification along the coast and a few canons, there are no remains of the fort at all. The fortification has a couple of outlets to the sea shore which is calm quiet and an ultimate place to unwind oneself. The Korlai fort at the backdrop, the vast expanse of the sea, the quiet shore, the shade of the coconut trees, and numerous seagulls… one can’t believe such a beautiful world can exist when the hustle and bustle of the MSH4 is just half a km away.

Fort has an old tower that is in ruins. It reminded us of the location of “Kambakth Ishq”.

Revdanda has a beautiful creek. The bridge over it commands a superb sight of the confluence of the Kundalika river and the Arabian Sea. Once you have crossed the bridge a marine drive led us to the Korlai fort. The sea was so close to the road, it often felt as if the waves would hit us anytime. Enjoying the ride we reached the lousy hamlet of Korlai.

Korlai

The Korlai fort is on a hillock which is right in the middle of the sea. Behind the hillock is a lighthouse and a kuccha road along the coast led us there. The marine drive en route to Korlai had been good but this felt even better. At the lighthouse, we parked our bike and asked the person if we could leave the bag and helmets with him while we hike the fort. He agreed to do so if we paid him 10 bucks. A decent deal!

Steps from behind the lighthouse guesthouse led us to the fort which was barely a 10 min climb. The fort has a strong fortification and is covered by sea on all sides. The waves hit the lofty mountain, creating a vista worth a watch. The fort houses a water cistern, a diminutive temple of some unknown god, ruins of various constructions, lots of canons, and a few Portuguese inscriptions. There are two canons at the lighthouse too – well-painted and kept as objects of beautification.

We spent half an hour here. It was getting really sunny and by now we had started feeling hungry. We left for Kashid hoping to have food and relax for a while.

Kashid

It has always been a beautiful and quiet beach during my last few visits… Unfortunately today it was flooded with tourists and their vehicles. The woodlands of Kashid which are full of suru trees were today lost in the maddening crowd of vehicles. A great disappointment, so we had a quick bite of ice cream and headed to Nandgaon without going to the beach & without even having food.

Nandgaon – 7 km off Kashid is Nandgaon known for its famed Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple. It is said that the Ashtavinayak yatra is never complete unless you visit Nandgaon for a darshan. Surprisingly not many seem to know about it!

We asked Ganesha to shower his blessings on us to have a successful trip, sat for a while to witness the holy silence, and then headed towards the beach. Nandgaon is blessed with a lovely shoreline.  Lined with shady coconut plantations the beach is as restful as it can be – all you hear is the alluring music of the waves. Stimulated as never before we left for Murud.

Murud

After about 18 km of the ride we were greeted by the stunning view of the sea at Murud. We headed towards Rajapuri from where the boats set sail to Janjira fort. A 10 min boat ride got us here. It was a low tide and we had to walk bare feet on the slippery rocks to reach the entrance.

It was pretty sunny and we had started feeling tired. We hadn’t slept last night, we had not had our lunch and we had been riding the whole day long. We thought we gonna break down. So we found a shady place and rested for a while. We sipped some water and it really helped. Refreshed we explored the fort and returned back to Rajpuri.

Rajapuri

We arrived on time to catch hold of the 5:15 pm ferry to take us across to Dighi. But due to low tide the boatman refused to take the bike on the boat. It meant a 50-60 km long ride to reach Diveagar. We were a little disappointed but suddenly people suggested we should try the Agardanda jetty which was 5 km away. If we hurry we could take up the 5:30 pm ferry from there.

Agardanda

We reached Agardanda on time but the ferry was full as it could carry only 6 bikes at a time. The boatman said there would be another ride at 6:15 pm. So we parked the bike, dropped our sack, and got easy. It was a long day. We were tired after the long ride, especially after the sleepless night. But our enthusiasm knew no bounds. We spent these 45 minutes gazing at the seagulls and capturing them on the camera. There were plenty of them there. Akshay mentioned they were his favorite among the birds. He also narrated to me the gist of his favorite book on seagulls.

By the time we were ready to board the ferry, the jetty was crowded. There were lots of bikes too. But we managed to get ours on the ferry as we were the first ones in the queue.  The sun had set and the moon was casting a reflection on the sea waters. It was a magnificent sight. Akshay attempted to capture on camera.

Dighi

A 15-minute ferry ride took us across to Dighi and it was pitch dark when we landed. Diveagar was 16 km away & we set off immediately. The road was bad, full of sharp curves and potholes making it difficult in the dark. We rode slowly and within an hour or so reached Diveagar to catch the glimpse of the Suvarna Ganpati – the golden Ganesha

Diveagar – This was going to be our first halt on the trip and it was a fight to look up for the place to lodge ourselves. Tourism has become one of the primary sources of income for the residents of Diveagar and most of the families here make typical “gharguti” (homely) arrangements for stay and food.  But being the vacation season, it was a little difficult to find one instantaneously. We eventually managed to lodge ourselves at Adulkar’s Krushnai.

For dinner, we decided to go over to Kelkar’s as I had heard a lot about the food there. Unfortunately, it was overbooked and they couldn’t accommodate us. He then directed us to Madhu Bhatkar whose eatery was popular for fish preparation. And how true… we ate the best fish ever!

Continued… Click here to read about Day 3