Kelshi Beach: Two Wheels, Two Nomads, One Thrilling Adventure

Day 3: Dec 24, 2007

Today we rode from Diveagar to Kelshi Beach. On the way, we covered Shrivardhan, Harihareshwar, Bankot fort, and Velas. It was a day full of excitement and unique adventures.

Diveagar

We were up early and went over to the beach to take a dip. The two of us were the only odd ones taking a dip in the sea at that hour else the beach was quiet and without a soul… except for a couple of fishermen. We thoroughly enjoyed the swim for over an hour before we got back to bathe and push off.

It was 9:30 am when we left and rode on till Srivardhan hugged the sands, as the road ran right next to the beach. The waters welcomed us with their arms wide open and the sights on the way were worth a watch.

Srivardhan

Thus enjoying the ride we reached Srivardhan in no time. Srivardhan is also the place of origin of the Peshwas and hence holds a lot of historic importance.  But it is more popular for its calm and peaceful beach. The road takes you right to the beach, so we enjoyed beach biking here and a lot of photography too!

Harihareshwar

Known as the Dakshin Kashi – the holiest shrine of the south; Harihareshwar is always flooded with aficionados of Lord Shiva and Lord Bhairava. There was a long queue here for the darshan and we ended up spending an hour for the same.

Harihareshwar houses a quiet, secluded seashore that invites one and all for a dip. There are steps behind the temple which led us atop a small hill. On the other side of the hill are steps that descend to the sea. The strong waves have hit the rock here to create various rock formations due to erosion. These are a sight and identifying various formations is a favorite pass time for many. So was for us!

We were damn hungry by now and found a place to hog, which we thought would be decent. All we got to eat here was Veg (L) thali and that too was just OK.

Bagmandla

A few km from Harihareshwar is the lousy village of Bagmandla famed for its Jungle jetty which ferries people across the creek. We took the ferry to cross over to Bankot, entering the Ratnagiri district.

Bankot

3 km off the jetty on the other end was the village called Bankot. Steep roads with sharp curves took us up to the fort, which was at quite a height. It was an undersized fort with strong fortification walls and bastions. It is in ruins but the fortification walls offer a superb view of the surroundings, as you climb on.

Velas

We descended the hillock and we were greeted by a splendid marine drive. With the vast expanse of the Arabian sea on the right and the hillocks on the left, we were riding on a small curvy road enjoying the fresh breeze. The scenery left us mesmerized as we continued our ride toward Velas. We had spent around 20 odd minutes reaching the sleepy hamlet of Velas.

There was nothing much to see as we had been riding along the shore itself and hence we decided to ride on to our next destination. As we moved forward we hit a dirt track that led to Kelshi. People instructed us to take the longer route. The shorter one was still under construction and most of that was muddy. But I had that extra dynamism and took pride in riding on the same.

It was a long ride and it took us almost an hour before we came across some civilization. The track so far had been very lonely, nature being the only companion. It was a miniature colony and we saw a school too. Also, we were now on a tar road and it made us feel at ease. To further add to the comfort we were astonished to spot a local ice cream parlor. What more could one wish for after such a long tiring ride amidst the clouds of dust?

We bought ourselves ice cream from that local parlor named Shubham and really relished the local taste.

Kelshi

The sun was about to go down when we reached the Kelshi beach. Kelshi was a very quiet and serene beach with verdant suru corridors and just a couple of souls around. I clicked astounding photos of the sunset here. We were so impressed with Kelshi that we decided to park ourselves here for tonight. While looking for a place to lodge ourselves, the villagers advised us to put up at Punyaee which is the best place to stay when you are at Kelshi beach. So we headed for Punyaee.

Punyaee is run by an oldie who was a very interesting chap. When we enquired about a room for the night stay he asked us to sit down for a while and listen to some info he wanted to share with us. He talked about the rules and regulations of staying there and he mentioned “Danga karaycha nahi, jeven katakshane shakaharich milel, swachatela khup mahatvaa dile jate, pinaryana ithe jaga nahi” etc, etc. Finally, he said he charged 250 bucks per person for the stay and food (dinner, breakfast, and lunch).

We expressed our intention of not staying back until Lunch and leaving by 7 am in the morning. He tried convincing us that it would be an injustice to Kelshi if we did not stay until lunch to explore Kelshi. He said there were lots of places worth a visit in Kelshi and there is a vast difference between just touching up and actually “seeing” a place. But we were clear on our plans. He then thought for quite some time and finally agreed on 150 bucks per head for the stay and the dinner. All this took quite a while and though we enjoyed the conversation were also furious at him for wasting half an hour.

When he handed over the keys to us, we quickly changed into our beachwear and were off for bathing on the Kelshi beach. It was already dark and only moonlight guided us to the beach and the water. We spent around 45 min in enjoying the Jacuzzi of the seawater and headed back to Punyaee.

We had a refreshing bath and were damn hungry by now. It was 8:15 pm and we requested them to serve us early. The food was served in banana leaf and it was really exciting. It was served hot and had a very decent homely taste.

Continued… Click here to go to day 4