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

Day 4: Dec 25, 2007

Today was a thrilling ride from Kelshi to Velneshwar Beach while exploring some beautiful beaches and sea forts on the way.

Kelshi

We started early and as suggested by the oldie yesterday we checked out the Ram Mandir, Siddhivinayak Temple, Mahalakshmi Temple, Masjid built by Shivaji Maharaj, and the Bhairav Cave Temple. The Ram Mandir has beautiful paintings by an unknown artist depicting the scenes from Ramayana.

Anjarle

Anjarle is famous for its “Kadyavarcha Ganpati”. It is a beautifully carved temple built atop a small hillock that oversees the vast expanse of the Arabian Sea. The sanctified temple houses an eye-catching idol of Lord Ganesha – the pet deity of many people all over. At the entrance were two small elephants. Beside it was a note written Baal Hatti, lahan mulana basnyasathi – young elephants meant for seating children.

Locals told us to walk down a little to see the paaul – the pug mark of Lord Ganesha and the breathtaking view of the sea.

As we walked down towards the cliff, we were mesmerized by the striking view of Suvarnadurg fort and the blue waters of the sea. On a rock was a small foot imprint which is believed to be that of Lord Ganesha. We clicked some photos here and returned. En route was a small local tapri run by an old lady who offered us Haliv Laddu, saying it was the Prasad – the offering. It was actually her marketing gimmick The laddu was incredibly yummy and we couldn’t resist buying a packet. She also successfully sold her aam papad and jackfruit chips. She claimed that the aam papad had no added sugar and we found it to be very appetizing. We had amla drink returned back to the temple and relished the tidbits bought – which served us as breakfast for the day!

Durga devi temple

Before leaving the place, the person who was cleaning the temple premises asked us to stop by the Durga devi temple in the village. It was definitely worth a visit as it had wonderfully carved wooden pillars depicting very old architecture. There was no one here and it was really peaceful. Hanged out here for a while to have some good photos and we were off for Harne.

Harne

As we reached the village, we were directed to the beach to reach the Harne port. A wonderful ride on the silver sands led us to the port. Harne has been a very old port and has been in use even prior to British rule. Hence it has a lot of historical importance.

The port is surrounded by 4 forts viz. Suvarnadurg, Kanakadurg, Harne – Goa, and Harne – Fattegarh; Suvarnadurg is right in the middle of the sea. One needs to ferry across the deep blue sea and circle the fort to enter the fort. When on the ferry one is enthralled by the sight of numerous dolphins which pop up for a while to say Hi to the visiting tourists.

The ferry rider was an interesting chap and we had a lovely time listening to his conversation with the tourists he was ferrying across – of course, we were amongst them too. He used to plead to say “Baba re! Hey samudrache kaam aahe – nadi nahi ti” when people refused to sit in the boat as per his instructions.

the forts of Harne

Keeping us entertained and showing the dolphins he took us to the fort entrance. He came along with us to show the fort too. He showed us the cannons, the entrance and the fortification, the statue of Lord Hanuman, the water cisterns in the fort, and the chor darwaja. It took us a short walk of 40-odd minutes to see the fort and get back to the boat. He then ferried us back to the port.

From here on we explored the other 3 forts. First, the Harne – Goa, which is in ruins but it’s a good walk over the fortification with the sea ready to follow you. We also got a good view of the beach. Then we went to Harne – Fattegarh just to ensure there is nothing there that could say there existed a fort some long ago. Finally, we just walked up to the lighthouse atop Kanakdurg.

After Kanakdurg, my count of forts had gone up to 119, and with a sense of pride we left Harne. We were a little hungry by now, but then we could not locate a good place to hog. Hence we decided to have it in Dapoli.

Dapoli

We reached Dapoli in an hour. Being hungry, the first thing we did was to enquire about good eateries around. Locals suggested going to Jagdish to relish its non-veg delicacies. We hogged on the fish thali, sumai fry, and crab curry. It was the second best place we had our food after Madhu Bhatkar’s place at Diveagar.

We were told there was not much to see around and hence we decided to proceed to Dabhol which was again an hour’s ride from here.

Dabhol

Dabhol has been in the limelight in very recent years because of the ill-famed Enron project. It is a massive project which has ruined the beauty of the quiet village of Dabhol.

At Dabhol, the ruins of the very old “Anda Masjid” attracted our attention. It is an old stone structure and the designs carved in it are worth a watch.

At Dabhol another creek blocked our way and it was time again to take the boat to ferry across. Recently the government has started a new ferry service that can ferry across a thousand people at a time. It also can ferry cars and other vehicles. So we were saved from the pains of lifting the bike and putting it in. I proudly rode on the ferry, parked, and climbed the stairs to reach the deck above. To our surprise, this place had a small shop selling the typical Konkan meva – various Konkani products. Also beside this was a chap selling ice cream! And the flavors were Mango, Gulkand, and Jackfruit!! Jackfruit Ice-cream?- It was yum n very cheap too – mere 5 bucks a cup!!! In the next 10 minutes which the ferry took to cross the creek, we had finished 4 cups each already.

With the taste lingering in our mouths, we set out in the direction of Anjenvel. En route we saw the Enron power plant which was as colossal as it could be. But because of this the roads were well made and riding here was a treat.

Anjenvel

Anjenvel was a small serene hamlet and on the small hillock nearby was the fort of Anjenvel, popularly known as Gopalgad. As we reached here the sturdy fortification spread over a length of a little over half a km left us awestruck. We rode on till the end of the pathway, parked it under a shady tree, and wondered how to get in. We then figured out a way that led to the door of the fort. It was small and the arch was broken. As we entered in, to our surprise the fort encases and Aamrai – mango plantations. It was a delight to witness the shady interiors of the fort. It took us half an hour to see the fort and we were on the road again – set for Guhaghar.

As we left Anjenvel, an SBI ATM caught our attention. It was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees and we could hardly see people around. It then stuck with us that it would have been there for the benefit of the employees of the power plant

Guhaghar

I had been longing to go to Guhaghar for a long, as I had been hearing about the beauty of this beach from many friends who had already been there. Also whenever I had planned to be here it never materialized. Finally, I was here and it felt so good.

Guhaghar is a splendid and tranquil shore. A long coastline with verdant Suru trees at the periphery, soft silver sands, and the cosmic stretch of the sea – all make it picture-perfect! A fantastic weekend destination!

We reached here around 4 pm. The sun was tired after the day’s long work. We were all set to drown in the sea. This pre-sunset time helped us take some breathtaking snaps of the sun and the sea. Overwhelmed by the beauty, we thought we should stay back here, but then there was still some time for the sun to actually set and our next destination was a mere 16 km away. We hence proceeded and reached Velneshwar Beach.

Velneshwar

As we were nearing the beach, the sun seemed to be enchanting and the ambiance was getting romantic. It energized us to ride faster and we made it just before the sunset to capture the charming glory. The Velneshwar beach was quiet and the waters were inviting to take a dip. Worn out of the hectic ride, we slipped into our beach wear, and off we were to play with the lashing waves. Wow, it was so very revitalizing!

After an hour’s play with the waves, we ensured we were the last ones to get out of the water. We suddenly realized we had yet to search for a shelter for tonight. It wasn’t a tussle at all and we managed to settle down at Gokhale’s very close to Velneshwar Beach. For 300 bucks it was a steal indeed.

They asked us if we wanted anything specific for dinner but confined to veg. We asked them to cook bharla wanga – stuffed brinjal and we had a feast that night. To top it all we bought a packet of homemade ambawadi which served us our dessert!

Continued… Day 5