[ASHISHPALLOD]

@DD,
sorry for OT but pic of misal-pav made me hungry.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

EDIT;
OK, i am hungry now, will have misal-pav and post the pic here to take revenge on kolhapuri misal-pav.

Here it is.

The generous misal and actual pav with extra curry, lemon and onion at the price of Rs 20 only, ting tong.
The taste is mid spicy with hint of lemon, the pav is fresh.

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by MX6

Anyway happy to add to your log about many things.

I am glad you are correcting me with the information MX6, so that readers dont get confused.

Originally Posted by ASHISHPALLOD

The generous misal and actual pav with extra curry, lemon and onion at the price of Rs 20 only, ting tong.
The taste is mid spicy with hint of lemon, the pav is fresh.

AP sir, now I am hungry. Me definitely missing the Kolhapur Misal Pav and I might have to wait long to taste it again.

Is it common to serve Misal Pav with bread instead of Pav? Because 2 other places I had Misal Pav, they served bread instead of Pav...

[dreamdiesel]

Forgot to add the picture taken in Panorama mode on the way towards Jyothiba Temple. Here it is...

[abhinav.s]

The pics are really nice and the way you have logged the TL in detail and also the caption mentioning what each pic is showing is very good stuff. Goes to show the eye for detail that you have.

The greenery as commented earlier is quite different to the other greenery. Its almost fluorescent & the pic of Benne Dosa is making me hungry .

[k149in]

Lovely pictures dreamdiesel! Looking forward to more pictures!

[sindabad]

DD, Beautiful TL! Thanks for sharing so much info on these amazing places. Regarding misal-pav you make me feel nostalgic man! Out of a number of times I have had misal pav I was allways served with PAV and not bread.

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by abhinav.s

The pics are really nice and the way you have logged the TL in detail and also the caption mentioning what each pic is showing is very good stuff. Goes to show the eye for detail that you have.

The greenery as commented earlier is quite different to the other greenery. Its almost fluorescent & the pic of Benne Dosa is making me hungry .

Thank you Abhinav. Yes the greenery is more towards fluorescent. I have seen similar color in and around hills at Chikmagalur and Kudremukh during monsoons in Karnataka. More greener pics coming up soon..

Originally Posted by k149in

Lovely pictures dreamdiesel! Looking forward to more pictures!

Thanks k149in

Originally Posted by sindabad

DD, Beautiful TL! Thanks for sharing so much info on these amazing places. Regarding misal-pav you make me feel nostalgic man! Out of a number of times I have had misal pav I was allways served with PAV and not bread.

Thanks sindabad. Strange.. all the time I asked for Misal Pav, was served Misal and bread. But the bread was very soft and fresh.

If you happen to visit Kolhapur sometime , make sure not to miss Phadtare's Misal Pav.

[dreamdiesel]

Day 2 continued....

The road towards Ratnagiri is in very good condition with a few bad patches when NH204 merges with NH17. The drive towards Ratnagiri was uneventful with beautiful curving road opening up beautiful vistas at every turn. The hills around was at its greenest and looked as if the entire place was carpeted in green.


NH204 towards Ratnagiri - Green all around.


NH204 towards Ratnagiri - Smooth curving road.


Sunlight on the hill in the distance - Fluorescent effect.


Beautiful fields all around - NH204.

Approaching Amba Ghats around 4:00PM we encountered some fog. We stopped at the place for some time, and after the fog cleared the view around were breathtaking. After taking some photographs we continued our journey towards Ratnagiri. At a place called Pali, NH17 from Goa merges with NH204. With Goa being so close, I was so tempted to visit Goa, but had to stick to the plan and plan a Goa road trip some other day.


View at Amba Ghat.


NH204 - Amba Ghat.


Swift D at Amba Ghat.


Check out the color of the grass around. Its almost Fluorescent Green!!!!


Driving away from Amba Ghat on NH204 towards Ratnagiri.

About 15kms before Ratnagiri the NH splits with NH17 turning right towards Panvel and NH204 continues ahead which ends at Ratnagiri. As we neared Ratnagiri, the humid sea shore climate made me happy sensing the Sea coast nearby. Nearing Ratnagiri, while driving down a hill I could catch a glimpse of the glimmering ocean at the distance. The first glimpse of the sea always is very joyous moment. I am sure many of us here have had similar moments. We enter Ratnagiri a little after 5:00PM.


Towards Ratnagiri.


Beautiful NH204 towards Ratnagiri


See how the highway twists and turns with so much greenery around.

Ratnagiri town is on both side of NH204. We find Hotel Vivek, right on the main road next to a HP fuel station. A well maintained budget hotel with prices ranging from Rs.800 to Rs.2000 which includes complimentary breakfast. There is a huge parking place behind the hotel and also a good restaurant. We check in to the hotel and relax for some time. By 5:30PM, we decide to head out towards Ganapatipule before it gets too dark. We take the road from Ratnagiri to Ganapatipule which goes via Aare and Ware beaches. As we leave the main road the road towards the beach turns narrow similar to the ones you find in Goa. I am missing Goa very much!!!

As we drive, we still don’t see the ocean, then we cross a bridge with a fishing village nearby and suddenly the road is heading straight to the sea. The only other place I have witnessed a road right next to the sea was at Marwanthe in Karnataka. But this road was even more exciting. The road on the cliffs hugs the sea shore for about 7kms while the waves crash below. The road is super smooth with amazing twists and turns suitable for a high speed drive or a relaxed drive. We chose the latter, stopping every few minutes for photographs. Aare and Ware beaches are named after Aare and Ware villages situated on this road. We don’t venture into the beach but view these beaches from a distance.


The sun almost setting as we leave Ratnagiri Town.


Fishing boats seen enroute Aare and Waare Beach.


Sunset at Arabian Sea - Ratnagiri.


I think this is Aare beach.


The road travels right next to the Arabian Sea.


Sunset at Arabian Sea - Ratnagiri.


Ware Beach in the distance.


Sunset at Arabian Sea - Ratnagiri.


Ware Beach - Belt of Suru trees coming fairly close to the water’s edge.


Ware Beach.


Objects in the mirror are closer than they appear and is definitely serene.


Towards Ganapatipule with the Arabian Sea on the left.


Approaching Ganapatipule.

The sea is rough and the beach is dirty due to the rough waves dumping debris on to the beaches. But I have heard that during other seasons the water is calm and beach is clean. We spend a few minutes and drive towards Ganapatipule after sunset.

Continued....

[MX6]

You could have skipped Ratnagiri. You could have driven directly to Ganapatiphule and stayed there for the night.
Amba ghats look transformed. I drove the same route from Kolhapur to Ganapatiphule in April. Wasn't so green then. But then Amba ghat roads are some of the best ghat roads I've driven in Maharashtra!

[dreamdiesel]

Day 2 continued....

Reach Ganapatipule around 6:30PM, park the car and run towards the beach. With the sun already set and place getting dark, we spend about 30mins at the beach and head towards Ganapati Temple right next to the beach. After a nice relaxed darshan we head back to the parking lot and make our way towards Ratnagiri. While exiting Ratnagiri I somehow miss the turn to the road we previously took and end up taking the longer route towards Ratnagiri. Reach Ratnagiri around 8:30PM and do a little shopping for drinking water and other essentials.


Ganapatipule beach in the distance.


Ganapatipule Beach - The sun had already set by the time we reached.


Ganapatipule Beach, Ratnagiri


Ganapatipule Beach


Ganapatipule Beach


Ganapatipule Beach


Ganapati Temple at Ganapatipule


Ganapati Temple at Ganapatipule


Vehicle of Ganesha at the entrace of the temple.

Once back in the room, we have dinner at Hotel Amantran serving excellent Konkan Sea Food next to hotel Vihar Deluxe, very close to our hotel. I badly wanted to have sea food and this hotel was recommended by a friend. The Surmai (Seer Fish) was very fresh and yummy. We walk back to the hotel and get in just before heavy rains started. That’s the end of Day 2.

Day 2 was definitely better than the first day. The food we had has totally different and tasty. The visit to Panhala fort is a must if anyone visiting Kolhapur. The drive from the hills in the morning to the sea by evening was relaxing. The beautiful road from Kolhapur to Ratnagiri offered views of some of the greenest hills I have ever seen. Tomorrow we will try and explore different places around Ratnagiri town and then head towards Mahabaleshwar.

Continued....

[krish3]

Boy!!! A few days back, I was just wondering where you were, and whether you are doing any drives at all. And here comes one.

Nice travelogue as usual.

[dreamdiesel]

Forgot to add the picture taken in Panorama mode at Amba Ghat. Here it is...

[dreamdiesel]

Originally Posted by MX6

You could have skipped Ratnagiri. You could have driven directly to Ganapatiphule and stayed there for the night.
Amba ghats look transformed. I drove the same route from Kolhapur to Ganapatiphule in April. Wasn't so green then. But then Amba ghat roads are some of the best ghat roads I've driven in Maharashtra!

MX6, the main reason I chose to stay at Ratnagiri was the flexible accomodation available. At Ganapatipule, I was hoping to stay at MTDC which is affordable. But due to availability issues I had to stick to Ratnagiri. Also I wanted to cover some places around Ratnagiri town.

Originally Posted by krish3

Boy!!! A few days back, I was just wondering where you were, and whether you are doing any drives at all. And here comes one.

Nice travelogue as usual.

Thank you krish. Had planned this big roadtrip for quite sometime and finally it happened. Its been almost 8-10 months since I posted a travelogue as I never happened to visit a new place, only few places around Bangalore.

[abhinav.s]

Wow! Stunning roads with amazing green landscapes around. It should have been bliss driving on these roads. Very nice captures there.

And like I said in my earlier post, i like the detailed way in which you post the log as well as put a caption for each snap

[C300]

Wow! Stunning pictures and excellent write-up. Amba ghat in monsoon is surely treat to eyes. Last year I drove from Ratnagiri to Ganpatipule in March and the colours were completely different.

Just to add to MX6's point on staying at Ganpatipule, one can also stay at Malgund. Its a small beautiful village just 2kms from Ganpatipule and has some good hotels and holiday homes. Malgund is also Birthplace of famous Marathi Poet 'Keshavasuta' (1866-1905) so those who grew up reading his poems in textbooks can surely pay a visit to his ancestral home which is now a museum.