It’s been a long break since my last article. Apologies. But yeah, I’m a bit disappointed to not get much of a response from the previous one. So, here’s the plan. Here’s beginning a new section where I’ll need your help. This new section, The Escape, will consist of reviews of all those getaways in and around Mumbai. Non-Mumbaikars, please book a ticket to Mumbai for your vacations and execute your plans of visiting these wonderful places. Now, it’s your turn; I want you’ll to suggest the places you’d want to visit or the ones you want me to review. Thus, we can make it more interactive.
So, last week, I and a friend of mine were warming up before our daily football match, when he asked me about, “Hari.. Harire.. Harihare.. Um, what..?”
Harihareshwar. Located in Raigad. Our first destination, just a mere 185 kilometres from Mumbai (mere, for a travel addict), Harihareshwar-Shrivardhan.
It was a while back; I visited it maybe three or four years ago, a truly splendid beach on the Konkan coast of India. Not much area is covered by the town, but that’s the fun. That makes life over there more peaceful and serene. Just two or three resorts to stay back in. Almost no noise or commotion; just the tranquil sound of waves hitting the shore. A perfect weekend, right?
So, last week, I and a friend of mine were warming up before our daily football match, when he asked me about, “Hari.. Harire.. Harihare.. Um, what..?”
Harihareshwar. Located in Raigad. Our first destination, just a mere 185 kilometres from Mumbai (mere, for a travel addict), Harihareshwar-Shrivardhan.
It was a while back; I visited it maybe three or four years ago, a truly splendid beach on the Konkan coast of India. Not much area is covered by the town, but that’s the fun. That makes life over there more peaceful and serene. Just two or three resorts to stay back in. Almost no noise or commotion; just the tranquil sound of waves hitting the shore. A perfect weekend, right?
Well, there’s not much to roam around; there’s the Harihareshwar temple, believed to be blessed by Lord Shiva. Well isn’t that surprising (not)? Every town has to have a temple in Maharashtra anyway. But it is an adobe of peace, home of faith.
Then there are two beaches, to the south and north of Harihareshwar, bounded by the four famous Sahyadri hills; Harihareshwar, Harshinachal, Brahmadri and Pushpadri. To summarise Harihareshwar, It’s one of those Konkan places where you can reach within four to five hours, book a small room and order a lemonade or a jaljeera, walk over to the balcony, admire the distant beach and take a few photographs (selfies are allowed), ask the waiter why it took so much time for a glass of lemonade (if at all the waiter looks like a waiter), walk over to the hammocks, lie down, take a sip of the lemonade, close your eyes and just… take a deep breath.
Shrivardhan, just 20 kilometres away from Harihareshwar, has more number of beaches, as it itself is a peninsula. The Diveagar beach, the Kondivali beach and of course also with the Harihareshwar beach makes this place perfectly calming. Its majestic white sand coastlines, bestowed with palm groves all around and mango plantations near the village make a traveller’s day. Shrivardhan has lots of religious places, as I said earlier, every town has to have at least one; the seafood is just awesome, the beautiful sunset and the best part, the dolphin cruise. And yes, there are real dolphins. It’s a beautiful sight if gone early morning, on a small boat and well, if you are as lucky as me, even getting to see one or two jumping over the nose of your boat. Simply, it’s a great place to refresh and rejuvenate yourself.
P.S. This section will also consist details regarding the place from now on. So,
How to Reach
By Air: Closest is the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, 185 kilometres away, in Mumbai.
By Road: Ample of A/C and Non A/C buses from Mumbai (185 kms), Pune (162 kms) and Panvel (83 kms) are available.
By Train: Nearest railhead, Mangaon, just 45 kms away from Shrivardhan is well linked with Pune and Mumbai.
Weather
Wanna get tanned? Surely visit in the summers then. Monsoon time is often considered to visit Shrivardhan-Harihareshwar, but the best time to visit is in the winters, when you can experience a pleasant weather of around 15-20 degree Celsius.
Accommodation
Few private resorts and a MTDC resort are where you can book a room. Don’t expect much of a hotel ambience, but you can be sure about the food. Pure awesomeness.
So, here it is. First article in this section. I sure need some suggestions from you’ll or else this section won’t work out. Any suggestions, comments, requests are surely welcome!
Keep Exploring :)
-RiKu
Then there are two beaches, to the south and north of Harihareshwar, bounded by the four famous Sahyadri hills; Harihareshwar, Harshinachal, Brahmadri and Pushpadri. To summarise Harihareshwar, It’s one of those Konkan places where you can reach within four to five hours, book a small room and order a lemonade or a jaljeera, walk over to the balcony, admire the distant beach and take a few photographs (selfies are allowed), ask the waiter why it took so much time for a glass of lemonade (if at all the waiter looks like a waiter), walk over to the hammocks, lie down, take a sip of the lemonade, close your eyes and just… take a deep breath.
Shrivardhan, just 20 kilometres away from Harihareshwar, has more number of beaches, as it itself is a peninsula. The Diveagar beach, the Kondivali beach and of course also with the Harihareshwar beach makes this place perfectly calming. Its majestic white sand coastlines, bestowed with palm groves all around and mango plantations near the village make a traveller’s day. Shrivardhan has lots of religious places, as I said earlier, every town has to have at least one; the seafood is just awesome, the beautiful sunset and the best part, the dolphin cruise. And yes, there are real dolphins. It’s a beautiful sight if gone early morning, on a small boat and well, if you are as lucky as me, even getting to see one or two jumping over the nose of your boat. Simply, it’s a great place to refresh and rejuvenate yourself.
P.S. This section will also consist details regarding the place from now on. So,
How to Reach
By Air: Closest is the Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport, 185 kilometres away, in Mumbai.
By Road: Ample of A/C and Non A/C buses from Mumbai (185 kms), Pune (162 kms) and Panvel (83 kms) are available.
By Train: Nearest railhead, Mangaon, just 45 kms away from Shrivardhan is well linked with Pune and Mumbai.
Weather
Wanna get tanned? Surely visit in the summers then. Monsoon time is often considered to visit Shrivardhan-Harihareshwar, but the best time to visit is in the winters, when you can experience a pleasant weather of around 15-20 degree Celsius.
Accommodation
Few private resorts and a MTDC resort are where you can book a room. Don’t expect much of a hotel ambience, but you can be sure about the food. Pure awesomeness.
So, here it is. First article in this section. I sure need some suggestions from you’ll or else this section won’t work out. Any suggestions, comments, requests are surely welcome!
Keep Exploring :)
-RiKu