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This was an impromptu trip, planned just two days before we actually started our journey. Due to Christmas our client office had long vacation and we were given the liberty of availing our vacation during this lean period. I didn't let miss this opportunity. Since my wife was fascinated with Guhagar after her maiden trip during her college days almost 14 years back, we decided to head to Guhagar after getting the confirmation on the availability of PG accommodation. One of my close friends who had recently stayed in this PG acco, highly recommended me and fortunately it was available. So planned a stay over there for 3 nights (from Sunday to Tuesday). Since I had to attend a marriage and meet a friend over lunch during the first half of Saturday, I reserved the second half of Saturday for packing and making the necessary trip arrangements.

We had planned to start our journey on Sunday morning @ 07:00 hours, but when you have a small kid, you know how difficult it is to depart at the planned time. The best we could manage to leave home was 07:35 am (not that bad considering that it was a Sunday morning). We had the below three routes at our disposal to reach Guhagar from Chinchwad:

1. Tamhini ghat (via NH66) - Chinchwad --> Mangaon -->Mahad --> Khed --> Chiplun --> Guhagar
2. Varandha ghat (via MH SH 70 and NH660) - Chinchwad --> Bhor --> Mahad --> Khed --> Chiplun --> Guhagar
3. Kumbharli ghat (via NH48 and Umbraj - Chiplun Rd) - Chinchwad --> Satara --> Umbraj --> Patan --> Chiplun --> Guhagar

The 3 routes detailed out in the map below:



Family was very reluctant to take the Tamhini ghat route (as the road condition is not that good). Also Varandha ghat road is full of twisties (to the tune of 60 kms), which was a sure shot recipe to induce motion sickness. So everyone chose the safest route via Kumbharli ghat, though it would add up 30 extra kms to our journey. I didn't have a choice.


From Chinchwad home we touched the Bangalore bypass via Bhumkar chowk. After crossing Ambegaon bypass and Katraj tunnel we hit our first forced pit stop at Khed Shivapur toll plaza in an hours time & 43.2 kms. Fortunately the queue was not that long and we could cross it withing 5 mins after paying Rs 80/- toll. I still relish the month of November when there was free entry through the toll booths due to cash crunch post demonetization. After that we took hault for breakfast at Hotel Sai Park Inn at 93.3 kms. Spent over 35 mins there, enjoyed some wada paav, onion utappa, hot tea and then proceeded towards Satara. Some pics taken at the joint.

TUV taking the much needed break in the hotel parking


Some beautiful flowers in the small garden in front of the hotel










After 20 mins of drive from the hotel we hit our second forced pit stop at the toll booth. I was happy to know that this toll booth was accepting PayTM, but unfortunately could not connect to Internet data in time, hence had to move ahead by paying Rs 55/- in cash. Till this second toll booth the NH is not in good shape, I mean numerous diversions due to flyovers under construction. I wonder why they collect so much toll for this unfinished road. After this toll both the six lane highway reduces to 4 lanes, but very smooth concrete surface. It is in stark contrast to the very rough concrete surface on Pumbai-Pune Expressway. We hit Umbraj at 11:15 am (164.8 km) and from there we had to take right diversion towards Patan. My friend who frequently uses this road had informed me to take 3rd tunnel (under bridge) from service road. Unfortunately we discovered that it is the 4th tunnel that leads to Patan road and not the third one. After crossing Patan and couple of other villages @ 12:15 pm (213) km, we reached a crossroad where left road was going towards Chiplun and straight one to Koyna dam. Though we had decided to reach Guhagar as early as possible, we thought why miss this opportunity of visiting the mighty Koyna dam. We asked a local person and he informed that beyond the ST stand there is a very good garden from where one could see the Koyna dam wall from the inside and we can also have our tiffins there.

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So @ 12:30 pm (217 km) we reached the Koyna dam garden. Entry fee of Rs 20/- for adults, Rs 10/- for kids and parking fees of Rs 30/-. This garden is very huge, with multiple layers due to the hilly terrain. You may call this a multi-layered garden. It is worth every rupee that you spend on the entry fee. This garden has various varieties of trees, very well maintained with lots of monkeys loitering around. I took a lot of pictures in the garden. We also had our tiffins under a tree shade on the lawn. Spent around 1:20 hours.

Orange tank parked under a tree shade. Parking area is covered by numerous trees.


Ready to hunt for food


Lets hunt for food in pair


The artificial waterfall


The pond underneath the artificial waterfall


You can clearly see the multi-layered garden from here


A tree full of fresh green leaves


Another tree without any leaves


The dam wall interior side clearly visible from this spot in the garden


I loved this green wall dotting the pathways

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Pot shaped shrubs in one straight line


The dam backwater clearly visible from the highest point in the garden


The umbrella shaped structure is the highest point in the garden


The umbrella shaped structure as seen from a distance


A bunch of trees


Anxiously waiting for tourists to offer some eatables


The stepped pathway


The long straight pathway


The parting shot of the garden


A signboard showing other attractions in that area (3 waterfalls and Nehru garden)

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After spending some quality time in the garden, we started our onward journey to Guhagar. 11 kms from Koyna garden and crossing Ghatmatha,the descend of the Kumbharli shat started. This ghat is huge (about 15 kms) and prone to landslides (we saw couple of boulders on our way). We were forced to take two stops, 15 mins each, at the start and end of the ghat 9near Pofali) as my son's stomach got upset. I took this opportunity to click some shots in the ghat.

The tank taking a break on one of the ghat curves


The winding ghat road


A view of the rock


The multi layered mountains


TUV waiting patiently on the road side


Another shot from the rear side


Spot the road


TUV halted near a makeshift shelter


Another random shot


A State Transport bus passing by while the TUV is waiting on the side of road

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We reached Chiplun @ 03:20 pm (260 km). After crossing Chiplun we got onto the road to Guhagar. Had to ask for directions at two places. The distance from Chiplun to Guhagar is approximately 50 km but the road is lined with thick vegetation on both sides & full of twists and turns. You can enjoy to the fullest while driving on this road. The road condition is also very good. After crossing Shringartali @ 299 km, we finally reached our destination Guhagar @ 04:30 pm & the odo stood at 310 km. All in all it took us 9 hours to cover the distance of 310 km. Out of that running time was close to 6 hours and stoppage time was 3 hours due to various reasons.

All were very tired, almost 4 hours of ghat roads were very gruesome, whereas my Orange Tank and me enjoyed it to the fullest. We freshened up ourselves, had some good hot tea and went to the beach at 05:00 pm. Guhagar beach is one of the largest in Konkan belt and very clean. Kids enjoyed playing in water. Had some chowpaty stuff, sev-puri, pani-puri, coconut water and headed back to our PG accommodation. Parents and wife had pure veg meal at Savarkar mess, whereas myself and my daughter feasted on Pomphret fry and Surmai Thali, yummy Konkani food. Retired to bed @ 10:00 pm. End of an eventful Day#1 of the trip.

Here is how the trip log for Day#1 looked like:


Here are some snaps clicked on my mobile at Guhagar beach.

Christmas Sun setting on Guhagar beach


Vast expanse of the beach


"Lady with the lamp" - Haldankar fame


Its going to set any time now


It's still going down


Its completely gone now

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Day#2
All of us had a peaceful sleep in the night and got up fresh in the morning @ 07:0 am. Had morning tea and went for a walk on the beach. Had 4 nos of 100 metre sprints to get the adrenaline pumping. After half an hour when we returned to our PG accommodation, the breakfast was ready, Kuleed Thaleepeet, Curd and chilly pickle. We feasted on that and got ready by 10:00 am. we had 3 spots to be covered on our itinerary:

1. Velneshwar temple and beach
2. Dashabhuja Ganesh temple at Hedavi and
3. Bamanghal at Hedavi

As soon as we exited Guhagar and some 4 kms on the way to Chiplun, we got a right diversion towards Velneshwar and Hedavi. The road was full of twists and turns, ups and downs, passing through thick jungle. I was thoroughly enjoying the drive and so were the other passengers in the car.

Thick vegetation like this one below covering both sides of the road


One of the blind corners, I had to use my horn generously to warn the oncoming vehicles


It was mostly mango and coconut tress dotting both sides of the road


Within 35 mins and 20 km of drive we reached our first destination. The temple as the name suggests is abode of Lord Shiva & located in the serene surroundings of coconut trees and sea shore in the backdrop. We took the darshan and offered prayers. Spent around 30 mins in the temple. Here are some temple pics.

The temple complex as seen from outside


A huge Banyan tree on left side while entering the temple


Another shot of the temple


The tulsi vrindavan also housing a sugarcane plant


A replica of Lord Velneshwar


The Lord Vishnu temple besides the main temple


A replica of Garuda - Vahan of Lord Vishnu


The well in front of the Lord Vishnu temple


The deepmaal (lighting tower) in front of the temple


Serene surroundings of coconut trees and sea shore in the backdrop of temple

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Since the Velneshwar beach was just behind the temple and approachable by road, I took my Orange tank through the narrow lane adjacent to the temple on to the seashore. It was a beautiful and serene beach. However we didn't venture on to the beach and satisfied ourselves by just watching the nature's beauty from a distance.

The vast expanse of the Velneshwar beach


Other end of the beach


A sea facing resort dotted with coconut trees


TUV too admiring nature's beauty


TUV saluting the coconut trees


Me and my lonliness

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After spending some quality time at Velneshwar, we headed to our destination#2 for the day, Dashabhuja Ganesh temple, Hedavi. Again started twists and turns, ups and downs. It was a short drive though and within 15 mins we reached our destination. You can climb the steps to the temple or directly take your car to the temple entrance (we realized the option#2 only later). Hence we parked the tank below under a tree shade and took the steps to the temple. The temple is very simple and located in the middle of the jungle. When facing the temple entrance, on the right side is a hill and on the left side is a valley with very thick vegetation. Some pics taken in and around the temple.

Tank parked under a tree shade at a distance


The main entrance to the temple


Simple yet beautiful temple as seen from a distance


The thick vegetation in the valley


Two peacocks adorning the temple entrance


Another view of temple entrance


"Om" inside another "Om"


Secularism at its best - A Christmas tree inside a Ganesh temple

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After spending 30 mins in Dashabhuja Ganesh temple we started our onward journey towards our destination # 3, Bamanghal. This place is within 3 kms from the Ganesh temple and took us 15 mins to reach there through ultra narrow and unpaved road. Parked the car besides the sea shore, wore my sports shoes because I knew I will have to do some rock climbing. There is a small Shiva temple (Uma-Maheshwar), which is not the main attraction. The real stuff lies behind the temple some 100 odd metres away. Beyond this temple you have to cross some rocky patches of the sea shore. As you climb up you can clearly hear the sea water hitting the rocks but cannot see it, strange isn't it. As you try to follow the sound you come across this crevice in the rock, which is about 30 feet long and 20 feet deep. During high tide as the sea water gushes through this crevice you can see fountain of water oozing out from the end of the crevice and rising upto 30-40 feet high in the air. We were not so lucky as it was not a high tide time. However I came across this YouTube video, which clearly shows this nature's wonder. Thanks to this guy, Mangesh Joshi, who has filmed it.

https://youtu.be/cKbGA5BXov8

Below is the video that I shot

https://youtu.be/Wvngz8bS5yY

Also here are some pics

The narrow kaccha road leading to Hedavi beach


Another shot of the narrow road


Tank overlooking the Hedavi beach


Rocky side of the beach, extreme right side you can see the temple


The main entrance to the Uma-Maheshwar temple


The only beach I saw with sandy and rocky shore


From here it looks very normal


From here you can clearly notice the gap between the rocks


And then this gap continues inside the rocks


And goes right upto the bottom of the hill

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Besides the major attraction of Bamanghal, the various rock formations are also worth taking a notice. Here are some random shots of the rocky shore and various rock formations.





















After spending almost an hour over this nature's wonder we started our return journey to Guhagar and by 02:00 pm we returned back. After having some sumptuous lunch everyone retired into bed for afternoon siesta. We had planned to relax in the afternoon and take it easy.

In the evening we offered prayers to the local diety, Lord Shiva of Vyadeshwar temple and then took a stroll on Guhagar beach. Unfortunately we missed the sun setting on the beach. However kids enjoyed some bhel and coconut water and I jogged to my satisfaction on the beach. After having dinner and a short walk after that we went to bed by 10:00 pm as we wanted to wake up early next day, which would be pretty long. Thus came to the end an eventful day#2 of our trip.

The trip log for day#2 looked like this

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Day#3
This was supposed to be the longest day of our trip. Our itinerary included:

• Tawsal Jetty ride
• Jay Vinayak temple
• Ganapati Pule
• Aarey-Waarey beach
• Ratnagiri
• Swami Swaroopanand Math - Pawas

We got up early in the morning @ 05:30 am and were ready by 07:00 am. The pre-ordered breakfast of Upma and Tea also arrived in time. I chalked out a plan after discussion with the landlord. He informed me that if I leave Guhagar by 07:30 am, I could catch up the 08:40 am jetty from Tawsal to Jaigad. Also the road would be the very same till Hedavi that we took the previous day, so I knew the road conditions would be good. Accordingly we left Guhagar at 07:40 am. We were nicely cruising along. Taking some pit-stops to capture the scenes that we missed the previous day.

The roads were just waking up to the morning sun


A State Transport bus approaching us on the narrow road


The TUV giving way to the lifeline of Konkan - ST bus


The villages enroute were just waking up


The typical houses of Konkan


I couldn't resist myself stopping by the roadside to capture this shot


The beetle nut plantations on the left side of road


The morning sun hiding behind the beetle nut trees


The Palshetkar School enroute - Wish every school would have such a scenic locale


The road untouched yet by the morning sun due to the thick vegetation on either sides


Some pictures of the Swami Samarth Math that we crossed before reaching Hedavi

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We were cruising along comfortably, enjoying the nature. When some 3-4 kms away from Tawsal, the road suddenly became rough and we had to reduce our speed. That time I realized that we were just 10 mins away from the scheduled departure time of the 08:40 am jetty. Hence I increased the speed and we reached the Tawsal port dot at 08:35 am. However to my utter disgust, I saw the jetty just moving away from the port. On enquiring at the ticket counter, I was informed that the scheduled departure time was 08:30 am & not 08:40 am as informed to me by my PG Acco landlord. I was told that in order to match the shift timing of the JSW plant at Jaigad this jetty leaves at 08:30 am instead of 08:40 am. The next one would come only after an hours time, which only meant we had to waste one hour by loitering around. I was so frustrated that I decided to take a detour by road to reach Ganapati Pule. I asked a local person and he suggested to take the route via Abloli. He said it would add around 45 kms. I was ready for that and I started on that route. However lady luck was not with me and instead of taking the route to Abloli I entered the Tawsal village. On asking the village folks there, I understood that I had taken the wrong route. They dissuaded me from taking the Abloli route as it would be too long and suggested me to wait for the next jetty to arrive. Unwillingly I had to return back to Tawsal port. Spent some time there clicking pictures, while family members had some breakfast, which they had packed in tiffins.

Tawsal to Ganapati Pule via Ferry Boat


Tawsal to Ganapati Pule via Abloli


I purchased the jetty tickets at the counter. Rs 170/- for my car, Rs 20/- per adult and Rs 10/- per child. Here are some pics taken around Tawsal port

The tank arrives at the Tawsal port


TUV first in queue waiting for jetty to arrive


TUV gets some time to relax besides the water body


The rusty anchor


A fisherman's boat decked up with the tricolor


The much awaited jetty finally approaching the port


And see what the jetty is carrying a bus along with other 4 and 2 wheelers


The cantilever platform aligns perfectly with the concrete ramp


The jetty persons arranging the wooden planks


The wooden plank under the front tyres lifts up the front end and prevents its underbody from scraping to the iron platform

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When all the passengers and vehicles disembarked from the jetty it was my turn to take the Orange Tank up there in the jetty. It was a cakewalk for the tank without any fear of the underbody scraping.

The TUV takes position


Front wheels climbing the iron platform


All four wheels on iron platform now


TUV touching the jetty deck


Finally it is parked safely in the corner


Other cars lined up very close to each other


TUV all set to enjoy its maiden jetty ride


It was a tight fit with jetty railings on two sides and other cars on the remaining sides. Was fortunate not to induce any scratches


The boatman loosening the anchor


Finally the jetty takes off

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As the jetty started to move along we climbed the upper deck to soak in the morning sun. We could take a 360 degree view from the top. Here are some pictures clicked from the top of the jetty.

Tawsal village seen at a distance


Also the Tawsal port getting into oblivion


A piece of land protruding into the creek


The JSW plant and two towering chimneys visible from a distance


A red ship stationed at the dock


The water trail left behind by our jetty


Our jetty approaching Jaigad port


The small huts alongside the port


Few feets away from the port now


Finally the TUV disembarks the Jetty and readying for further road drive

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After taking off from Jaigad port and covering a distance of 12 kms we reached our first destination, the Jay Vinayak temple. This temple has been built and maintained by the JSW management. Not sure which architectural style is this, but the temple is a marvelous piece of architecture, never seen anything like this before. Ample use of steel and wood in construction. The back side or the west side of the temple is facing the road from where you enter. There is a beautifully landscaped garden on the south side of the temple, whereas on the north side there is a large pond with coconut plantations. Towards the east side/ entrance there is a small fish pond with multi-colored fish in it.

The first glimpse of the temple from south-west side


The temple complex as seen from the south side


Another view of the temple


The temple as viewed from the main entrance arch


Notice the carpet, nice touch to prevent your feet from sun burns


The mooshaka/mouse, vahan of Lord Ganesh at the temple entrance


Lord Hanuman idol towards the south side of the temple


Lord Hanuman idol up close


Ganesh stotra engraved on one of the temple walls


The "Sun" and the "Temple"