Ganapatipule Again...

It was again one of those times when the urge to drive off to a distant destination overtook us. I was already on leave, Munmun would manage a couple of days off from her school and add a weekend to it and we could make out a four day trip to someplace close. Kuti and Tiku would just have to miss a few days of school. That was not an issue with Tiku, but Kuti would have to do a lot of catching up being just a week away from her tests. But the very idea of going off on a trip got her all excited and she promised to put in some overtime to catch up with her studies. She wouldn't miss it for anything.

Beach at Ganapatipule

The problem now was to decide on a destination which was close by and where we could get suitable accommodation at such short notice. Good accommodation at weekend destinations around Mumbai are usually all booked on weekends if you haven’t booked yours well in advance. After some queries we settled on Ganapatipule. We had already been to Ganaptipule a year and a half back but none of us had any reservations about lazing at the beach and gorging on delicious Malvani seafood again.

Breakfast at "The Open Umbrella"

Ganapatipule is about 380 kms from south Mumbai on the Konkan coast. We started early at 6 AM in order to clear Pen and Vadkal Naka and get on to NH-17 well before it gets congested with heavy traffic. At about 9 AM we stopped at “The Open Umbrella” just short of Mangaon for breakfast. Now, this restaurant has sort of become a  favorite with us when we travel this route. It is situated beside a huge pond and serves delectable Malvani cuisine. For breakfast though, we had Dosas and coffee. The hot coffee was more than welcome on a cold January morning.

Mumbai to Ganapatipule

To get to Ganapatipule from Mumbai you need to take the Mumbai-Goa Highway, NH-17, to a small town called Nivli and then take a right turn to Ganapatipule about 30 kms from the highway. The road was good throughout. Evenly surfaced, it makes for smooth driving. The road however being two-laned tests your driving skills and nerves while overtaking. Not to mention the slow moving trailers and lorries on the Ghat sections. This highway, cruising beside rivers, winding through the mountains is one of the most picturesque roads I have travelled on. The road is being four-laned now and will definitely make for better driving in the future.

Lunch at "Drive Inn"

We crossed Chiplun on the way and stopped at a restaurant called “Drive Inn” just before the town of Sangameshwar at around noon. The food here was delicious and  the service excellent. I was particularly impressed by the restaurant staff taking orders on PDAs in this remote, out of nowhere place. The right turn to the narrow SH-106 for Ganapatipule is marked by a nondescript sign at Nivli Phata and is easily missed. We were at  the MTDC resort at Ganapatipule at about 3PM.

The MTDC resort is located right on the beach beside the temple. The main area of the resort has several rooms, all with a great view of the sea. We however stayed in one of the Konkani huts of the resort about half a kilometer drive down a dirt road. The Konkani huts are in an opening beside a creek right on the beach, under tall coconut palms. This area used to be a camp resort earlier. The huts are spartan and cosy with a twin bed (you can get an extra mattress for a nominal price), a TV and huge windows providing an uninterrupted view of nature. The older huts also have a bathtub. Quite a few new huts have come up since we were here last. The new huts look more modern with better tiling and paint but no bathtub. And since Kuti insisted on the bathtub, we stayed in one of the older huts closer to the beach. In fact in KH No 5, the very same hut we had stayed on our earlier visit.

After offloading our bags in the room we headed straight to the restaurant for a cup of tea while Tiku & Kuti hit the beach. While sipping our tea, I saw a familiar figure heading towards us. Arijit and Yashpal, my batchmates from college, along with their families had also just arrived. They had decided to halt here for a day before heading back to Pune on their way back from Tarkarli where they stayed on a houseboat. Maybe, that will be our next destination. It was good to see them again, especially since we had just met a few weeks back after a gap of a couple of decades and had a whopping time at our batch reunion. Into the sea it was then and splashing and swimming till way after sunset. A feast of Surmai, Prawn Koliwada, Pomfret and Solkadi under the coconut palms awaited us for dinner. The next two days were spent swimming and lazing on the beach and gorging on more crabs, fish and prawns. Munmun of course, did not miss a session of Ayurvedic massage which she claims does wonders to her muscles and aches. I am  just not brave enough to let someone twist and squeeze my appendages, take a crack at my joints, smear them with suspiciously smelling oils and then pay for it too.

Early rays of the sun

Konkani huts at the MTDC resort

The Restaurant

Sunrise at the creek

Fishing at the creek

Golden sands

Unadultrated relaxation!

Our heavenly abode

A moment captured for eternity

Ganapatipule is a popular destination in Maharashtra more for the temple on the beach than the beach itself. Thousands of devotees throng this temple town to worship at the temple devoted to (you guessed it!) Ganapati. The idol is a natural piece of rock bearing a striking resemblance to Ganapati. Unlike most other Hindu temples, this temple and the idol in it faces west and not east. After paying obeisance in the temple, devotees circumambulate the hill at the base of which the temple is located. The area around the temple is crowded from sunrise to well after sunset with buses, taxis, cars and tourists vying with each other for whatever space is available on the roads.

Whispering into Mushik's ear

The beach in front of the temple is where most tourists and devotees visit and is equally crowded. The beach has the usual stalls selling beach balls, hats and coconut water. Photographers take your snaps with the temple or the sunset forming the backdrop and promise to give you the prints in minutes. You can also experience para-sailing powered by a Jeep or a camel ride.

Apart from the temple, the beach and shopping for wood and shell artifacts and kokum, one can visit the Prachin Konkan museum. This is a unique museum that showcases the social life of Konkani folk. The museum is in an open wooded area on the slopes of a hill overlooking Ganapatipule.

On our earlier trip we visited the Jaigad fort about 20 Kms north of Ganapatipule. The road to Jaigad winds along the sea passing through idyllic fishing villages. The fort, located at the mouth of the Shastri river was built by the Bijapur Sultanate in the 16th century and was an important fortification to protect the port of Sangameshwar further up the river. The fort is not particularly impressive save its commanding view of the river and the sea, and the two really deep wells (70 and 100 feet) within its premises. The Jindal Steel Works'  thermal power plant here is an eyesore in this land of pristine beauty.

Fishing village on the way to Jaigad

View from Jaigad Fort

One of the deep wells within the fort

The Thibaw palace at Ratnagiri about 25 Kms from Ganapatipule was a worthwhile visit. Glimpses into the life of the Burmese King Thibaw Min,  incarcerated here by the British can be found in the eloquent prose of Amitav Ghosh in "The Glass Palace". The palace built in 1910-11 is now a museum and houses the relics of the King's household.

Thibaw Palace, Ratnagiri

Inside the Palace

Ganapatipule, surely is one of the best beaches on the Maharashtra coast. An ideal destination to laze around for a few days and recharge yourself before plunging back into the rut of life.