Central Konkan Beach Ride -Harihareshwar-Shrivardhan-Diveagar

India is blessed with amazing long sea coast. Each cost has its own story. Today I would like to share with you an amazing drive by the Konkan Sea Coast of Maharashtra. It is known not only for its tasty fish & sea food gourmet, but also for the less discovered scenic beaches. This coastal line starts from Mumbai in Maharashatra and ends at Manglore in Karnataka enclosing the one of the most happening coastal place of the world, Goa. This trip would cover the central Konkan area of Harihareshwar, Diveagar and Shrivardhan beach. Well below are the coastal area which I discovered. You can also start your car from Mumbai - Alibuag -Kashid -Murud/Janjira - Dighi - Diveagar - Shrivardhan - Harihareshwar -Dapodi-Velneshwar-Guhagar - Ganpati Phule - Sindhudurg - Goa - Udupi -and ends up at Manglore to discover the whole amazing Konkan Coast.

Places of my Trip:

Harihareshwar beach is famous for the Krishna temple and the astonishing parikrama(Circular surrounding of the temple).

Shrivardhan beach is a great picnic spot with several traditional resorts and one of the towns of this beach area.

Diveagar beach is the tourist spot which has several water sport activity and serene beach to relax at, of course when there are less tourist .

Transport Details:

My suggestion for this area of Konkan beach would to go by private hired Car or Self drive. This would be not only to enjoy @ the spots that you like but also the convenience as this is the place where when travelling with family, it would be safer to go by car.

State Transport:

Bus to Ratnagiri or Raigad directly from Pune to Mumbai bus stop.

One needs to check the route of the bus before boarding.

Less frequency.

Train route:

      

     The Indian government has the Konkan rail route which allows you to connect to several destination along the Konkan Region

     Select the boarding & destination which suits you and enjoy the pleasure of the train and scenic ride. Below map would guide you through the Konkan rail route. One might need to rent a car or go by local buses once you arrive at the main destination.

     Private Transport:

Unfortunately no private transport is available. Except one which can take you to Ratanagiri via this route.

Car:

Total distance to Diveagar is approx 150km approx via Mulshi (Tamhini Ghat) from Pune.

Best time for the Holiday:

The best time to visit is Winter, but I would also suggest going in summer to enjoy the early morning and evening serenity by the sea. It is always cooler near water. I would not suggest monsoon season for the first timers who would also like to enjoy some water sports around the beaches. May be for your revisit , one can select this season for the splendid road drive with sea on one side and lush green ghats on the other.

If you are foodie, try visiting in late summer around May to enjoy the local mangoes and some amazing food. For those who would like to see the Dolphins, the locals suggest to go during Diwali i.e. October-November to explore some wonderful sea life around the beaches.

This is another blog where my suggestion would be, travel during the day time to enjoy the beauty of early morning, evening and the clear sky at night where you can count tremendous amount of stars or sit by the camp fire and relax with some music or gossips.

Hotel or Home stay:

Just like several famous destination for holiday in Maharashtra, this would also be a little expensive because of limited hotels. But the thumb rule for here is , bigger the group cheaper is your stay. One can rent a home for a group and enjoy the holiday. Even the resorts have cottage system and if the group is OK sharing it, than one can share a cottage starting from 2 persons up to 8 persons.

The room price for the family of two with kids starts from 1000INR(homestay/MSRTC hotel) to 7000INR(resort). One can opt for AC or Non-AC rooms. I would rather prefer ac cottages to stay here because of extreme humidity.

There are several MSRTC resorts, but most of them are away from beaches and those which are near are dam expensive. I would suggest you to tighten up your pants for bargaining specially if you are travelling in weekends or peak season due to fewer resorts & more people.

My Trip:

Day 1: Pune – Harihareshwar Road Trip.

     As per the suggestion we started at 11am in the morning from Pune so that we can enjoy the right place at right time. We stopped by @ local hotel to enjoy the Kothambir wadi and Gavran cuisine. We geared up our car to Harihareshwar post lunch and by the sunset we were @ Harihareshwar.

     There are no water sports here and not many sea side resort accept “Harihareshwar Resort” and few home stays. So if you are planning to stay here, than book in advance else compromise on type of room.

    The sunset @ beach side and sunrise of Parikrama/Pradakshina is the forte of this place so , do not miss either of them. Fewer tourists are here as this is a devotional place along with the tourist place. You can enjoy the best here. The sea view and the huge waves give you a refreshing splash of energy.

     I would highly recommend you to carry some food items with you just for safety in case you are not willing to dine out at one and only restaurant available late night. Of course the hotel and home stays provide you food but this is just a matter of double check.

Day 2: Harishareshwar – Diveagar Road Trip

   We started the day early by 6:00am towards the pradkshina of the temple. After offering our prayers at the temple we headed towards the pradakshina of the temple. One has to go down by the narrow staircase and it gives you a small track kind of feeling. The waves and the sunrise is amazing by the narrow creep created by the small hill by the sea side. There are few spots which have mythological importance by the pradakshina. One of the stories is that Shri Krishna once came down there for meditation. There is spot which shows Vishnu chakra on the stone. Than we headed for the beach enjoyed to cool water of the morning and after breakfast we started for Diveagar.

PS:Do not forget to take Farm fresh Mangoes if you are visiting in Summer Season.

   Towards our journey to Diveagar, we first stopped by Shrivardhan beach. The beach did not attract us more as it is a family destination or for those who would like to enjoy picnic. After a while gazing at the beach, we thought it would be best to leave for Diveagar.

We reached Diveagar by 2:00 pm and settled down for our lunch @ home cooked savory near the famous Ganesh mandir of diveagar. We were lucky enough to get a cottage near the beach named Sai resort , trust me it is really good. Enjoying the warm tea and crispy pakoda by the sea side was never so beautiful than that day!! The beach is long and scenic and one can realize it only once you are present there.

   I should never forget to mention about wonderful path that take you from Shrivardhan to Diveagar. For the long drive lovers it would be one of the road trip where you would enjoy sea on one side and greenery on the other. Amazing drive!!!!

Day 3: Diveagar-Aarvi Road Trip

   Well the water sport here is pretty cheap compared to Goa, so we enjoyed the water sport early in the morning. We took a long walk of the beach and enjoyed our self splashing water over each other. This was kind of rest day for us.

   In the evening we went to Aarvi beach which is on the way to Shrivardhan beach to enjoy the sunset and trust me it is amazing. For those who like a little wavy sea, this is the right place to be. One can be with own looking at the water till your vision limits you.

Day 4: Back Home (Pune)

   We started early after the breakfast. This was to avoid the traffic to return back home. Well for shopping lover sorry but you would not have much to shop except some banana or fannas(jack fruit) chips, although I do not recommend it as it is same as you might get in the Kerala store in your town. After having our lunch @ Mulshi, we reached Pune by 3:30 pm and ended our trip.

Place to cover in Between:

Let us start from the foot after you pass the Mulshi area and enter the Raigad district of Maharashtra. On this trip, I was travelling through the Tamhini Ghat via Mulshi & Mangaon with Harihareshwar as my first destination.

Places to visit on the way to Harihareshwar from Pune:

Mulshi Dam

Raigad Fort

Krishna Mandir (Harihareshwar)

Places to visit on the way to Diveagar from Harihareshwar

Aarvi Beach

Kondvil Beach

Velas Agar

Adgaon Beach(Ahead of Diveagar)

Ganpati Mandir (Diveagar)

Trip Cost:

Coverage: Pune – Harihareshwar – Shrivardhan – Diveagar – Pune.

Fuel Charge:                                    2500 INR

Harishareshwar Resort Stay:           2700 INR (Harishareshwar Cottage for 5 people)

Mangoes:                                         1200 INR (6 dozens)

Water sports:                                    2000 INR (3 people 3 rides)

Sai Resort Stay:                               7000 (Diveagar Cottage for 5 people for 2 days)

Shopping:                                         150 INR (Few jackfruit chips)

Food:                                                3000INR (incl lunch,breakfast,dinner&water for 5 px)

** We save more on food & water as we carried home items.

Total Trip Cost:                              18500 INR (5 Px ->  3 Nights 4 days)