World is too small: Travel a lot: Tourist places near Dapoli

Hi Reader, since I had taken a break from blogging for sometime, I am writing this blog little late. This trip actually took place in the year of 2017.

The month of May was approaching and a group of us 4 friends again sat together to plan for another trip. Tired of daily chores, we planned to make a two night three day trip in the beloved konkan region. The region being unique and closer from Pune, it was accepted unanimously. After discussing various destinations we narrowed down on the Dapoli region.

Considering the popularity of beaches, we chose weekdays for our trip so as to encounter minimum rush.

Day 1 (16^th May 2017):

Road to Mangaon from Tamhini Ghat

On Tuesday the 16^th we left early morning at 5:30AM. We took the Tamhini Ghat route and chose Panhale Kaji caves as our first destination. There are some spots like Mulshi lake that will evoke the photographer in you. Since we had a professional photographer with us, we had few photography sessions en route. Once you wind down the Tamhini Ghat, your take left to continue for konkan. There is a small food joint at the beginning where you can get decent breakfast items like Kanda poha and Vadapav. Later on we continued to our first destination of Panhale Kazi.

Breakfast

How to reach Panhale Kazi:

From Tamhini Ghat you reach to Mangaon which is first big town in Raigad district. Take left once you enter the town and the road leads you to NH 17 i.e. Mumbai – Goa highway. To reach Panhale - Kazi, continue straight till Khed. From Khed take right diversion (ask locals for directions) to continue on a road Dapoli. Take left at a place named Wakavali and you will start getting idea of how the further travel will be. There is a left turn before Wakavali too which is not advisable owing to poor road conditions. The road would suit a typical village route initially which will later turn into a lonely road without much travellers. Condition of the road is not so good since the spot is not yet a popular destination. Also, since the connectivity is poor your own vehicle is recommended. At the end the road goes literally roller coaster with beautiful towns at its side.

Information about Panhale Kazi:

These are a collection of 29 caves that are buddhist and hindu caves. Most of them are in dilapidated condition. There are some sculptures and idols present but not enough to deduce the history of caves. These caves are cut through a single rock thereby emphasizing the skill of the sculptors in those times (approximately 1000 years).

Some history I got from internet is as following:

Creation of these caves started approximately at the 3rd century AD, in time when influential merchants were spreading the teaching of Buddha in India. Many large temples appeared near ancient trade routes. Panhale Kaji was one of such temple complexes, located at busy route from inland to Dabhol - one of the most important port cities at Arabian Sea in these times. Dabhol has been marked even in maps of Ptolemy.

Later, around the 10th - 11th century AD caves became a stronghold of small group of followers to Vajrayana sect (Tantric Buddhism). Some of the earlier caves, for example Cave 10, were adjusted for the worship of deities like Akshobhya and Mahachandaroshana. Interesting monument of art is five Budha sculptures, possibly representing Vajrasana Buddha - showing relatedness to iconography of late Ellora Buddhist Caves.

On the Way To Panhale Kazi Caves

Flowing parallel to caves is river. The name of the river remains unknown to us. Water levels were really low (lower than the knee) and once could easily walk to the rocks at the centre. The rocks and river overall offers a good food for your DSLR.

Panhale Kazi Caves - 1

Panhale Kazi Caves - 2

We left from the caves at around 2:30pm and came to Dapoli for lunch. There is a famous restaurant named Jagadish Lunch Home at Dapoli. Renowned especially for sea food, the place was really crowded. Since we had to move to next destination we had a lunch at another hotel called Chhaya Prakash. The food was okay but the place is not highly recommended.

Near Anjarle

Post lunch, we left for Anjarle which is known for Kadyawarcha Ganpati temple (Lord Ganesha on the cliff). The road to Anjarle, a part of which passes parallel to sea, offers some good driving experience. On the way there are certain spots developed from where you can get bird’s eye view of the Arabian sea below. On one of the spots, you get a view of Harne village, Arabian sea and Suvarnadurga fort together. After the temple we visited the Harne port which is the trade centre for fishes. Fishermen return the port with the fish they trapped. There are buyers on the port who bargain with the fishermen and decide the price for the fish they want. The fish from the fishing boat is then loaded on small boats or bullock carts (during low tide only) and brought to the shore. There are cold storage facilities available on the shore for fishes. Tempos and bullock carts are used to transport material on the port. Cold storage Ice and drinking water are supplied to fishing boats for their further journey. Retail sell of fish also takes place. One can purchase a small basket of fish and ask the local residents to cook it for you at some charges.

View from Near Anjarl

There is a light house at the port which is an inevitable part of the port. Area surrounding the lighthouse looks awesome with waves slashing against the rocks.

View from accommodation at Karde

From Harne port, we came to Karde where our accommodation was booked for the first night. We stayed at the New Swapna Sagar Niwas owned by Jadhav family. Unlike photographs shown on the website, the resort is not isolated and there is no privacy at all. There is a complete array of resorts one besides the other with many visitors using loud music and alcohol. So if you are looking for a serene location this is not the place. The room was okay but the food was utter disappointment. It is advised to arrange your dinner somewhere else if you are staying at this place. AC is available.

Day 2 (17^th May 2017):

Entrance to accommodation at Karde

Second day we had breakfast at New Swpna Sagar and left for our next destination i.e. Velneshwar. From Karde we started for Dabhol to avail the ferry services there. It is really a time saving and economical option than encircling entire creek. To the other end ferry drops you at Dhopawe. From Dhopawe you can drive to Velneshwar via Guhagar. Located very close to the beach is a temple of Lord Shiva frequented by many tourists. Velneshwar still maintains cleanliness and has not yet become fully commercialized. One can find a few restaurants though you are recommended to have meal at the homes of residents. You can find the meals are very delicious and full with Konkani style cooking. One of those is Chandrakant Gokhale’s ‘Dwarkamai’. We could not avail those because we reached there pretty late. It is necessary to prebook your meal as they cook it afresh for you. On the beach there is a restaurant named ‘Kalpataru’ which offers awesome vegetarian food.

On the way back to Dhopawe, we visited a fort named Gopalgad where a famous Marathi film Killa was shot. The fort is a private property yet available for tourists. This place offers some good scenery for photography and it still maintains some of its rustic look. Approach road is very small and there are many twists and turns.

Gopalgad Wall

Just before Gopalgad, a diversion takes you to the ‘Talkeshwar Light House’. It is a lighthouse common to the coastal areas. Used as a signal to fisherman’s boats this lighthouse is available for common people to visit between 3:00pm to 5:00pm at nominal fees. You can go to the top of the lighthouse which offers an awesome panoramic view.

Talkeshwar Light House Entrance

Talkeshwar Temple

View from The Lighthouse

From Gopalgad we came back to Dhopawe and reached Dabhol via ferry boat. On Dabhol Dapoli road there is a diversion for a coastal village named Kolthare where our stay for day 2 was planned. At Kolthare we stayed at resort named Garwa Beach Resort. This resort was one pleasant experience. Owned by Bhave family, this resort has spacious rooms, ample empty space, coconut trees, hammocks, open shower and many more facilities. The beach was almost deserted except one more group apart from us. After beach we took stroll around the village. Kolthare still maintains the traditional konkan looks through its homes and backyards. Mobile networks are generally not available. The meal cooked by Garwa was really delicious. Three of my friends had Veg thali while I opted for poplet thali and a poplet fry.

Dining Area at Garva Resort

Backyard at Garva

Day 3 (18^th May 2017):

Next morning, after having breakfast of Thalipith and Amboli (both recommended), we spent some time relaxing in the backyard of the resort. Fortunately there was nobody in the resort except us giving us the peaceful time. Being there on weekday can avail you this luxury. We checked out at 10:45am.

Parashuram Bhumi

On the way to Dapoli from Kolthare, there is a spot named Parshuram Bhumi (Legend tells that it was Parshuram, a sage + warrior, who created the konkan land pushing the sea back). There is s statue of Lord Parshuram standing on the earth globe indicating that he had once conquered entire earth. Situated on the cliff, the spot offers some good view. From Parshuram Bhumi (land) we started towards Keshavraj which is the temple of Lord Vishnu. One has to take right turn on Dapoli Anjarle road near Asud village. After descending through a place called ‘Dabkewadi’, you reach the steps to Keshavraj temple situated at hilltop. If you want homemade lunch you can book it in advance at few of the houses below.

Way to Keshavraj:

Way to Keshavraj from Dabkewadi is really beautiful and full of trees. Depicting the traditional konkan irrigation system, sakav (bridge on the river) and many trees on hill slope it is really a beautiful way. Number of visitors is not too high and hence the place has maintained some tranquility. At the top there is unique water flow system that runs on the 24*7 underground spring coming to surface. The flowing water comes from hilltop through this path made of stones and exits through ‘Gomukha’ at the temple.

View from the top is just awesome.

On the way to Keshavraj

On the way to Keshavraj

Keshavraj Temple

Water Arrangement at Keshavraj

Taking the stairs down, we again reached Dabkewadi and had delicious homemade meal. You can get modaks if you order in advance.

We left from there at around 3:00pm and started our journey back. We decided to take a different route passing through Mahad - Varandha Ghat – Bhor – NH4 Pune. Take left from Dapoli ST stand to take this route. On the way we visited Shivtharghal where 17^th Century sage Ramdas Swami wrote his famous scripture that is Dasbodh. Coming back through Varandha Ghat was an awesome experience. Winding down through the ghat we landed at Bhor. From there we took NH4 and reached home at 10:30pm.