Ganpatipule Getaway

It was 3 months back when I last undertook any trip on a major scale. This time it was an elegantly planned trip to the land of the Elephant headed God- Ganpatipule.

4th April 2008:

A dozen of us after having a hectic schedule in office, finally managed to sneak through a gateway to getaway from Mumbai. A comfortable 14 seater mini bus was all set to hit the road at 10 pm. Exactly an hour behind schedule, we finally kicked off towards Ganpatipule, which is around 375 kms from Mumbai.

Being with a bunch of mischievous friends, it’s always difficult to doze off. While the music played its part, we pulled each others legs, which was more than enough to keep everyone awake at least for sometime.

NH-17, seldom had any rough areas and we zoomed smoothly towards our destination and were off the Mumbai-Goa highway by daylight.Ganpatipule is around 30 kms off the highway and one needs to head west from a small town called Nivali.

5th April 2008 :

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation(MTDC) resort is well known for its strategic location and decent accommodation for budget travellers. Reached the resort at 8 am and checked into our tents. 4 bedded tented accommodation was what we had opted for. We therefore occupied three tents adjacently pitched amidst tall coconut trees.

The group...even i am there. Notice the shadow.

The first thing that caught my eyes much before entering the tent was the beach. My initial reaction was a gape and an utter of the word….’WOW’. It looked pristinely beautiful with bluish waters as far as the eye could see. My fingers gave me an itch; I went clicking straightaway.

The waves just after formation on the brink of its fall, displayed its emerald green colour crashing down thereafter thus forming spumes with immense force before gently caressing the wet golden sands at the shore.

Our empty bellies then cried for breakfast. The restaurant too faced the beachfront. We took considerable amount of time to break our fast as every other minute; our eyes looked at the sea right in front of us.

It was then time to get ourselves soaked in the dangerous but beautiful waters of the Arabian Sea. It was quite intimidating to venture deep inside the sea as the waves, no doubt, lashed with great force making us wobbly everytime it hit us. There were quite a few occasions when the waves got me down; so one can imagine the power with which it tumbled down.

We spent nearly 4 hours playing like kids in the vast emptiness of the gorgeous beach. It was only when our bellies cried again that we moved out of the beach towards our tent. It was time to have lunch.
Looking at our faces, one could easily make out that our batteries had discharged and the next thing that was on the cards after lunch was a trip to the land of dreams.

Some more shots of the beach and resort before I fell flat in the tent :)

Revitalized after a good afternoon siesta, we walked on the beach towards the Temple. The beach in the evening looked different as the water had receded leaving behind some more wet sand which was arguably spotless and unperturbed.

Within 15 mins, we reached the 400 year old Swayambhu Ganpati Temple which is located right on the beach at the foot of a hill. A beautiful path around the hill is paved for pilgrims who perform the 1 km Parikrama of the Temple.

Paved path for Pilgrims.

Just while beginning our Parikrama, I noticed that the Sun God was all set to touch the sea. We just didn’t want to miss the Sunset. The pace with which we completed the km varied every minute. We started off leisurely followed by some brisk stuff and ended up jogging to finish the Parikrama and catch a glimpse of the incredible reddish orange setting ball of fire.

Attended Aarti at 7 pm and headed back to our tents. We (Myself, Preeti and Saurabh) were quite surprised to see a yummy cake on the table which was waiting to be smashed on our faces. This surprise was thrown in by Amitesh as all three of us had just recently turned a year older.

Post dinner, we went to the beach, sat on the cold sand listening to the gentle sound of the waves patting the shore, simultaneously looking high up towards the star studded sky which we rarely get to see in Mumbai.

Some of us kept chatting till 2 in the night. There were moments when none of us spoke as we didn’t have any topic to discuss on :) Moreover, we were accompanied by some boozed out men and women who were totally out of their senses, scampering in the night around coconut trees like wolves.

6th April 2008:

We had to check out of our tents by 9 am. So got up quickly and went straight to the beach to have fun for one last time.
We left for Karateshwar Temple and Jaigad fort via Malgund, some 20 kms north of Ganpatipule.

En route, we got to see some lovely scenery.

The temple and fort sit on a peninsular cliff which offers magnificent views of the Arabian Sea.

It was time to leave Ratnagiri district and head back home. The 9 hour journey began again and we once again pulled each others legs. En route we also visited ParashuRam Temple near Chiplun.

It was almost midnight when we reached home .After having seen the place, I rate Ganpatipule beach as one of the best beaches in India. A must visit for everyone.