Plan:
It was some time sound we have visited the Lakshmi Keshav. It's our kula Daivat. Suddenly we decided to visit as Nikita was 3 years already and we never took her there.. My sister was there just when Deepti and I decided to visit it on coming Friday. This was all on Thursday and we called her to confirm our booking at a lodge where she was staying. Now don't go by the word lodge. It's a decent place to stay and very much affordable too. Just that they don't have restaurant and hence the name.
It was some time sound we have visited the Lakshmi Keshav. It's our kula Daivat. Suddenly we decided to visit as Nikita was 3 years already and we never took her there.. My sister was there just when Deepti and I decided to visit it on coming Friday. This was all on Thursday and we called her to confirm our booking at a lodge where she was staying. Now don't go by the word lodge. It's a decent place to stay and very much affordable too. Just that they don't have restaurant and hence the name.
Since my sister was there I checked with her the owner is and how the place is.
She said the place is good and you don't worry. I checked the owner name and it turned out to belong to Shendye family. I confirmed her to reserve it for us. We book 3 bedded room so that we can stay comfortable and sleep well.
It turned out that the lodge belong to very close family friend of my cousin's mother in law.
She said the place is good and you don't worry. I checked the owner name and it turned out to belong to Shendye family. I confirmed her to reserve it for us. We book 3 bedded room so that we can stay comfortable and sleep well.
It turned out that the lodge belong to very close family friend of my cousin's mother in law.
The plan was up. I went to check the tire pressure and fill some petrol on Thursday afternoon.
We planned to take a route from kumbharli ghat which is connecting both NH4 to Mumbai Goa highway. That way there are lot of options such as Mahabaleshwar, Tamhini, Bhor and last one Amba ghat by taking an exit way before Kolhapur after Karad.
Route we took:
We left the home at 6:40AM. Of course without bathing.. :P
We planned to take a route from kumbharli ghat which is connecting both NH4 to Mumbai Goa highway. That way there are lot of options such as Mahabaleshwar, Tamhini, Bhor and last one Amba ghat by taking an exit way before Kolhapur after Karad.
Route we took:
We left the home at 6:40AM. Of course without bathing.. :P
The NH4 looked just fine before we hit the diversions. There are lot of diversions on the way and it kind of irritates the driver community. As soon as you get some speed you either get a diversion or a bad patch.
Linea concurred the road like a King. We reached the Umbraj exit in just 2 hours and 20 min. We continued our journey add we wanted to finish first part of the journey ASAP because Nikita was sleeping and it is a tiring journey for her sitting in car seat. After some bad patches we reached the Kumbharli top at 10.00 am. Again we decided to continue and stop at Chiplun. Nikita was up and she already had a big banana. She was enjoying the trip listening to songs giving get trade Mark expressions.
Linea concurred the road like a King. We reached the Umbraj exit in just 2 hours and 20 min. We continued our journey add we wanted to finish first part of the journey ASAP because Nikita was sleeping and it is a tiring journey for her sitting in car seat. After some bad patches we reached the Kumbharli top at 10.00 am. Again we decided to continue and stop at Chiplun. Nikita was up and she already had a big banana. She was enjoying the trip listening to songs giving get trade Mark expressions.
We reached Chiplun at around 10:40AM where Linea had breakfast lunch and dinner for 2000 bucks.. We stopped at Samarthya hotel outside Chiplun at 10:55AM.
It was already 11 and we had pohe as there was no south Indian option. The toilets were clean. Actually we stopped by that hoarding which was saying clean toilets.
After a bad experience in Karnataka Kerala that was priority. We left the place @ around 11:20 AM thinking that we will have lunch in Ganpatipule.
After a bad experience in Karnataka Kerala that was priority. We left the place @ around 11:20 AM thinking that we will have lunch in Ganpatipule.
Day 1: 31 Oct 2014 @ Ganpatipule
As expected we reacted Ganpatipule at 1PM, checked in the lodge and immediately stepped out for lunch. There are lots of places to eat in that lane.We skipped Durvankur by the ambiance as we thought it would serve only Punjabi food. Later we came to know they also serve thali. That being said we ate at Annapurna hotel. We had thali but the vegetables were spicy. Nikita could not eat. She are the poli with dahi sakhar.
After a good sleep we headed for the Ganpati Temple and the beach. First was beach, Nikita as always started crying as the water touched her feet. So after that she did not get down. We had a Shahala (tender coconut water) at beach huts. We later visited temple where there was Aarti as well.
Some photos from the beach and temple (all Photos by Nexus 5, was not carrying SLR for the trip so excuse the noise)
GanapatiPule Temple Collage
Security is the priority. After evening the guards were asking tourist, not to enter deep water.
Beautiful colors after sunset.
On the way back to room, we had some Sarbat at a roadside vendor. After some rest at room, we headed for dinner.
The Bhau Joshi Bhijanalaya is the best place to eat.
It is a well set diner. All food you get is by order, they dont serve Thali. So all Maharashtrian Veg dishes and Poli (Fulka). We took Batata dry bhaji which was tasty and not spicy/ hot. And we also tried Kothimbir Wadi. It was quite tasty. We also had some rice and daal (light).
Later on the way we had Ice cream at parlor which is opposite of Durvankur. All the hotels were full and we were happy that we had booked it in advance. We saw some people asking for room. Strange that they visited with Family but without booking and it being Friday that was bit risky.
Day 2 - 1 Nov 2014 - Kolisare, Jaigad, Karhateshwar
We left early at 9AM for our family deity (kul daivat) Lakshmi Keshav at kolisare. It's around 20-21 km from interior road. The road was in good condition till we reached main road which leads to jaigad. We reached at kolisare at around 10.
This place one can find solitude. Surrounded by beautiful trees one can find peace. We asked the Guruji to perform Abhishek on ekadashi and sat on the temple for some time. Deepti also did the oti to the Lakshmi goddess.
This place one can find solitude. Surrounded by beautiful trees one can find peace. We asked the Guruji to perform Abhishek on ekadashi and sat on the temple for some time. Deepti also did the oti to the Lakshmi goddess.
Photos at Lakshmi Keshav:
Raghunath Mandir at Lakshmi Keshav has been renovated in 2010 odd.
After some time, we headed for Karhateshwar temple. It's situated on the opposite side of the Jaigad fort. I had visited long back. The place is kul daivat for the Jog family.
The road to it was bit confusing as Google map road is old, but once you find it, you will notice it is good as it was around the Jindal power plant and newly constructed. We reached in 30 mins. The natural beauty of the place is in danger as there is some work going on for new port. As you can see on the photo this was all natural sea but now it's been converted to port most probably for Jindal power plant.
Work for new Port
Karhateshwar Mandir
After taking some snaps and sitting in temple for some time we started our journey back.
On the way we visited the Mehendale dining Swad, at Malgund. The food was good and we left the place with some sweets. We had ordered amra khand and srikhand. They also provide modal, delicacy of Maharashtra ( Naivedya for Ganpati) but you have to inform 3-4 hours before so that they will make it. So its basically on order basis.
We reached room and took some rest. Total km were around 66, road was good to ok so not a problem for Linea.
We then visited prachin konkan, a museum built on the hill depicting historical konkan. The place is good place to understand how konkan was and the important castes and their role.
It's around 1.5 km from Durvankur. We walked instead of taking a car.
It will take an hour for complete tour. They provide guide and without guide you cannot roam around. Guide fee is included in ticket so you dont pay extra as such.
Inside we purchased some toys made of wood for Nikita.
There is a very good museum of sea shells (shimple/ Shankh). Excellent variety of the pieces are kept. You CANNOT take a photo inside. You can buy some authentic ones as you need.
We had dinner at Bhau Joshi bhojanalay, same place, where we had dinner on day 1. Ordered sweet, gulab jam which were tasty. Nikita enjoyed it.
It will take an hour for complete tour. They provide guide and without guide you cannot roam around. Guide fee is included in ticket so you dont pay extra as such.
Inside we purchased some toys made of wood for Nikita.
There is a very good museum of sea shells (shimple/ Shankh). Excellent variety of the pieces are kept. You CANNOT take a photo inside. You can buy some authentic ones as you need.
We had dinner at Bhau Joshi bhojanalay, same place, where we had dinner on day 1. Ordered sweet, gulab jam which were tasty. Nikita enjoyed it.
We slept thereafter as we were to head back to Pune.
Day 3 - 2nd Nov 2014 - return journey to Pune.
There was buffet and no other option was there so we had no option but to go for buffet. We ate and also had ice cream. Though it was 7 hrs of journey, Nikita was very cooperative during the full journey to and from Ganpatipule.
Chiplun to Aaram Hotel - 163 Km ( 3 hrs of drive with a bad road in between from Chipun through Kumbharli till we reached NH4)
We started the last league at 2:40 PM and reached home at 3:45 PM (62 Km in an hour because of better condition of NH4 and less traffic.)
Linea Stats:
Total distance traveled: 736 km
Average kmpl : 15.5 (95 % AC on)
Average Speed: 58 kmph
I have eco drive installed, though there is some difference in ecodrive Software and Linea mid, that is marginal.
Eco Drive:
Total distance traveled: 717 km
Average kmpl : 15.1 (95 % AC on) Mpg reading is UK and not US.
All in all the road from Umbraj to Chiplun is not in great condition and you are bound to loose time in this part of the journey ( Nov 2014 condition).
Chiplun to Nivli Phata is in damn good condition, only its single lane so if there is no traffic you will love to drive on it.
Nivli phata to Ganpatipule is good, manageable, though from Chafa ( which is an exit for Ganpatipule), road to Jaigad is in bad shape. Road to Kolisare (Lakshmi Keshav) from main road is superb, though its only 3-4 kms, earlier it was in bad shape.
Thats all folks.
Hotel @ Ganpatipule
Gokul Lodge (Lodge only, No meals), Rooms are good, spacious and they provide room service for Tea and Pohe, Upama, Shira as breakfast or evening snack.
You can visit http://gokullodge.com/ and get the numbers to book or inquire the same.
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