Everyone loves beaches and heading towards the water bodies. Be it summer, winter or rainy, the beaches everywhere in the world are always crowded and well equipped to handle large numbers.
As for me, the endless horizon widens my perspective making me aware of the infinite solutions to a situation at hand. The vast seashore makes my heart dance in glee.
Having travelled to many cities gave me access to visit varied coasts. The Daman and Diu beaches in Gujarat, Fort Kochi beach at Vasco da Gama square in Kerala’s Kochi, Ukkadam lake in Coimbatore, Ooty lake, Fateh sagar lake in Rajasthan’s Udaipur and the Panchmarhi lake and Bee falls in Madhya Pradesh are great places to visit. Fortunate to have this experience in my kitty and eager for more.
THE KONKAN COAST
The coast of Maharashtra also known as the konkan coast includes Maharashtra, Goa and some parts of Karnataka. This coast is a gem in the vast treasure chest of India. Several years ago, we had visited the Kashid beach but we couldn’t explore the beach triangle of Shrivardhan, Diveagar and Harihareshwar in the Raigad district of Maharashtra.
STAY IN SHRIVARDHAN
So… it was time to pack the bags and hit the coast in Raigad. A weekend trip means everything has to be hurried up. From a 3:30 am wake up to a 4:45 am exit from home, the rush to reach Shrivardhan was there so that we could have an entire day to explore the places nearby. Soon, my driver Nilesh had the car heading towards the city exit to reach Shrivardhan well in time.
With a pretty stay in a 3-star resort, we checked in early. The entire day was planned such that the beach triangle in this area could be covered well. However, the time slot of 1 pm to 4 pm wouldn’t be utilised due to the high temperatures outside. But we decided to go for lunch at that hour.
LUNCH TIMES IN SHRIVARDHAN
Shrivardhan is home to many homestays. With a pre booking, one can avail lunch at these homestays and relish the coastal treats that it offers. We decided to head to Tavsalkar’s for lunch. Tavsalkar’s is one of the renowned home stays with great options for meal. A veg and non-veg meal later, we realised the simple meal that we had just had was tastier than any in a 5 star in Mumbai. The farm fresh ingredients added taste and health and the simple taste was a memory to be cherished. A tour of their small homestay left us happy and we decide to return to the resort.
HEADING TO DIVEAGAR
As the sun began to shed its heat and warmth, we headed out to Diveagar. The sea route from Shrivardhan to Diveagar is the most scenic route we have ever driven on. A stretch of 20 kms running parallel to divine waters and plantations is a sight to behold. Just looking at the shining waters was akin to finding Gods. The sight was mesmerizing and we couldn’t take off our eyes from the coastline.
DIVEAGAR
Diveagar is a small village nestled between Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar. Its famous for the beach and coconut and betel nut plantations. There are “wadis”(plantations) owned by locals where one can catch up with some rest before exploring the place.
ON reaching Diveagar, we visited the Suvarna Ganesh Mandir where one can find a golden idol of Lord Ganesha. From here we went to the Diveagar beach.
Now the beach here was full of people and water sports activity could be undertaken. We took a stroll along the shores and captured great moments to relish later. The liveliness on the beach was rubbed onto each other and everyone on the beach was having great fun.
With our feets full of Diveagar sands, we were heading back to Shrivardhan. The Shrivardhan beach was just 1 km of our stay and we decided to go there in the morning.
HARIHARESHWAR
DAY 2 and we were required to check out today and the Harihareshwar trip needed to be done today itself. So the clock hit 6 and we were already out for Harihareshwar. We visited the kaalbhairav temple and the Harihareshwar Beach. Though one could do with a full day at Harihareshwar, we did not have a day to spare since we were required to check out on time due to a felicitation ceremony at Kharghar and roadblocks were expected to be in place.
So we stepped back to Shrivardhan and headed to the last place on our itinerary Shrivardhan beach. We had been told that Dolphins are sighted at the Shrivardhan beach and we could spot them if lucky. Unfortunately we couldn’t as the sun was up by now and the warm waters at the top wouldn’t be suitable to their sighting. It was disappointing, nevertheless this pending circuit was completed and the memory reel is still fresh with beautiful moments from here.