[ambivalent_98]

Nice photos Anoop. Thanks for sharing. Initially before seeing the prodigal Blue Swift , I was expecting you to have come in your Vento. I have yet to venture out in Kokan in the Vento but I think if it can take on Pune-Hyd it can take on the Tamhini ghat hahah !!! In one of the older travelogues I remember one of our fellow BHPians had shown a fresh fish market right on the beach and the bullock cart going along the beach to make it easy to unload the catch. I don't remember where it was....Dapoli some place ? Anyway I think your trip didn't cover that.

[noopster]

Thanks. Glad you guys liked it. The place is even prettier because it is unspoiled. Advantage of low commercialisation I guess.

The Suvarna Ganesh idol, pride and joy of Diveagar's residents, was stolen on our first night there. The robbery was not discovered till early Saturday morning. Appatently two people were mercilessly beaten senseless in the process. Very sad. I passed the temple on my early morning drive and noticed the police presence but just assumed it was some VIP giving darshan! Later we were subjected to a couple of checks and were refused service at any place except where we were staying. You could sense that people were really affected by it.

Shockingly no mention of the robbery in the English press in Pune, at least that national rag I subscribe to. The idol was apparently 1.5 kg of solid gold and still housed where it 'prakat' (appeared) with minimal security. Shocking.

[dot]

Lovely pictures, brought back memories of a trip taken long time ago. It was nice to know that road conditions have improved as I had heard that Tamini ghat section was pretty bad in 2010-2011 timeframe.

[Figopian]

Wonderful write up noopster and great pics!!
I had visited Dive Agar twice and have seen the golden Ganesh idol. I must say the shining, the glossiness that I saw on the idol and other ornaments were awesome, unbelievable. It's sad that its been stolen, but it was in the offing as there is no security whatsoever, you can guess that when you look at the temple anyway.
The temple made this place a big tourist attraction. I am sure people will still visit this place but now for other reasons, enjoying on beach maybe (Its a fantastic stretch of flat beach, supposed to be one of the flattest beaches around).

You didn't mention much about the resort itself, how is it other than costly food? Is the place clean and neat, recommended for family staying?

[jealousdiamond]

So finally it was the Swift which made it ahead of the Vento !!

Memories refreshed !! Konkan has been and would be the first stop destination for Punekars . The first thought that clicks with the arrival of an extended weekend is Konkan and its surroundings .

Some nice pictures there noops . The coast is an absolute bliss in rains , still being managable in summers .

The only problem faced is the lunch / dinner timings and the food availability for vegetarians .

Noop how was the food and its availability at the place you stayed ?

[noopster]

Originally Posted by Figopian

You didn't mention much about the resort itself, how is it other than costly food? Is the place clean and neat, recommended for family staying?

Absolutely. I had heard not-so-nice things about Exotica, the MTDC-run resort but the resort I stayed in was lovely. PM me for more details.

Originally Posted by jealousdiamond

The only problem faced is the lunch / dinner timings and the food availability for vegetarians .

Noop how was the food and its availability at the place you stayed ?

Already covered in an earlier post- overpriced and ordinary-tasting. We dined there only once. There are some nice khanaavals in the town and they do serve good vegetarian food as well. You will not get room service, snacks/starters or any other custom services that any hotel on the highway will provide though. This is a peculiarity of the Konkan belt I guess. Food only during mealtimes

[ASHISHPALLOD]

Originally Posted by noopster

1] I had heard not-so-nice things about Exotica, the MTDC-run resort but the resort I stayed in was lovely. PM me for more details.
2] There are some nice khanaavals in the town and they do serve good vegetarian food as well.

@noop,

1] Now a days, The exotica is run by private party and not MTDC, the rent of cottages at that place is really exotic, i mean costly, but the location is the best.

2] There are good khanawals cum hotels like Patil khanawal/hotel. The food at diveagar is really a problem, one has to pre-order the food. If you go to these hotels or khanawals at lunch/dinner time without booking, you may be in trouble or have to wait to eat the leftovers.

Nice pics and travel-story.

[ishotmydog]

Noopster great pictures and write up!

I keep looking out for weekend getaways from Pune and looks like I found my next destination.

The roads look awesome, seems like a good place to go during monsoons.

[AmeetGokhale]

Loved reading the post with the visual effects. Great post noopster. The petrol Swift is a great car for the roads (especially Tamhini Ghat). I miss mine. The car sticks to the roads very well even through the tight turns.

The Konkan coastline is a great place to spend a weekend away. Maybe some of us BHPians from Pune could plan for a drive there one of these weekends.

What road did you go on for the drive on the last day of your weekend? Looks great.

[noopster]

Sorry for the late reply, Ameet. This is the state highway connecting Dive Agar with Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar. It was in fantastic shape when we went there. Don't know how well it survives the monsoon though.

[jawabiker]

Hello All,

I just visited Maitreya Resort 2 days back and its simply maintained as is it in the pics, to my surprise i though that this place must have come up a year back.

Food served inside the hotel is superb and also i liked the breakfast, its just perfect value for money a tinge overpriced that local eateries in which you have to pre-order and book your thali veg or non veg.
Perfect place to relax though

Regards,
Ranjit

[noopster]

We revisited Diveagar on the Independence Day long weekend after a gap of over 4 years. It had been raining a fair bit and I was worried about the road conditions but was assured by other TBHPians that Tamhini ghat route was manageable. My Vento does duty in Mumbai these days so we took the Swift yet again.

The onward drive was just beautiful. We started after breakfast so as to make it there by lunchtime. There was a fair smattering of vehicles on the road. Speed was limited because of the fog in the ghat sections but oh...the views!









My expression here says it all as we drive past one of several waterfalls that spring up magically in the Konkan monsoon:



As I grow older I am tending to favour the familiar over the novel- so we stayed at Maitreya Resort yet again! Called up proprietor Subodh on his mobile about a month prior and asked specifically about the cottages that were WIP during our last trip. He gave me a good package for two "royal huts". Since we were 4 adults and 2 kids, this sounded like a plan. Very reasonable and we opted for the lodging only option.

The plan was to strictly chill and the cottages were more than adequate for this. My elder one and I planned to watch the Olympics and cornered one room to cheer for Dipa Karmakar, who missed the bronze by a heartbreaking 0.2 points, and watch Usain Bolt do his magic as well. Though there were sporadic power cuts, we caught most of the action. The AC was a chiller (monsoons can be quite sultry that close to the coast) and there was a generator backup for lights and fans.

We walked to the beach a couple of times. It's nothing to write home about honestly: quite dirty compared to the nicer ones further down the coast. And all those private vehicles being driven on the sand is dangerous!





We'd missed seeing the famed Swarna Ganapati since it had got infamously stolen our last trip. The golden status has now been recovered but a case is pending in court on whether to reinstate it in the same location. We did however visit the temple and pay obeisance to a mock-up of the golden lord.

Duly purified, we headed on the coastal road to Harihareshwar and Shrivardhan. Did darshan at another temple there (my family wondering what prompted my new-found piety) and had lunch at a nearby restaurant, pretty late. Some pics of the coastal drive:







Return on Monday (holiday for Independence Day) was pretty uneventful. There is a new phenomenon of tourists stripping down to their bare essentials and taking dips in every water body they come across in the ghats, which is most unsightly, not to mention downright dangerous the way people park their cars and dart across the road. Still the scenery around Mulshi lake was lovely:





Breakfast options at Maitreya are simple yet fulfilling. For other meals we just walked across to Gaikwad khanawal or down the road where a couple of other decent options are available.

A number of resorts have opened up since the last time we were there. I noticed a Royal Resort opposite the one we stayed in and one of our couple friends stayed at a place called Coco Huts recently.

Ending with a snap of our favourite aspect of a Konkan vacation: the seafood! This is a crab curry from Gaikwad khanaval:

[F150]

Hi Anoop,
I am planning to drive to Divegar this weekend. I would be driving my Skoda Rapid. How is the road condition on Tamhini? Please advise if I should take the longer route thru Khopoli.

[noopster]

Originally Posted by F150

Hi Anoop,
I am planning to drive to Divegar this weekend. I would be driving my Skoda Rapid. How is the road condition on Tamhini? Please advise if I should take the longer route thru Khopoli.

Sorry man, missed this completely! Next time try PM

Tamhini route is a bit messed up near Mulshi but by and large it's fine. I guess you must have completed your trip by now so please confirm!

[F150]

Originally Posted by noopster

Sorry man, missed this completely! Next time try PM

Tamhini route is a bit messed up near Mulshi but by and large it's fine. I guess you must have completed your trip by now so please confirm!

Hi Anoop,
Yeah the took the tamhini route, it was bad in few sections and terrible in one section after paradise resort. The roads after crossing NH66 were also OK in 70-30 split of good and bad roads. I reached Diveagar in 5 hrs.