Weekend Travel Plan To Dapoli, Harne(Harnai) - Murud Beach

I truly love the idea that my friends just plan a picnic out of nowhere on a weekend and we start making preparations for our coming trip which is few hours away. Not to mention that some of them are willing call their offices and manage a couple of days off and we're ready to go.

On Mumbai-Goa Express Highway at 01:45am approx.

           Dapoli  was one of the same plans and we 10 friends including myself sat in our friend's Scorpio for a 6 hour long drive. And really the google maps do come in handy. Starting at 11.30 pm in the night we had so much fun enjoying our chats and tease towards Mumbai-Goa Express Highway[started from Bhandup (east),our residence].

              There are two ways to go to Dapoli-

1. Via Goregaon(not the western railway station Goregaon)

2. Take a a turn from Khed which is also the nearest railway station to Dapoli

             We personally while going went from Khed but while returning we came through Goregaon.

             We reached Dapoli at morning 6.15am.Not having much clue of which beach we should pick to stay,we went to Anjarle Beach which is very inside from the main road through a village.The sun was not up yet and we reached the beach but only to see a sign board saying "Swimming is strictly prohibitated on this beach,rule under government".

            We started looking a good place to hangout on the maps and certainly started asking the local people there.Sat in the car and beautiful and scenic views became visible as the sun rised.we drived further and a beach came aside we asked the two people on a motorcycle.They said its the Harne(Harnai) - Murud beach.It seemed very clean and vast(such beaches are rare in Maharashtra) and we dropped out plan to go to Ladghar beach and decided to make stay here.

           We took a room on rent to keep our bags and relax from our long drive.We booked a low budget cottage room near the beach which charged us Rs.1000/- from 07:00 am till 04:00 pm which is expensive according to the time given as they didn't even provide us 24 hours stay.But we decided to stay anyways as we were going to be there only till evening(stay is recommended if you want to enjoy a lot of places in Dapoli).You can click on the video below to see the video we took of the beach.

         For afternoon lunch we decided to go to Harne Bunder(Harne fish dockyard) and buy some fish.The beach side eating cafes have options like if you want to have lunch there given by them or you can buy fish and give it to them and they will prepare the meal for you according to per kg rates.we gave the fish we bought,it was a tasty meal with rice,fish curry,fried fish.Then we went to the beach after changing and had lots of fun playing in the crystal clear  water.
       Dolphins watching time is from morning 6 am to 12 noon.Seagulls,starfish and various coastal creatures can also be seen.There are boat services provided for watching dolphins.Various water sports like banana rides,parasailing and different others are also available.the beach posesses clean soft white sand and clear sea waters which is delightful as we always look for a clean spot on beaches.

Suvarnadurg Fort View

Boat services for Suvarnadurg

      It was about 4.00pm and we had to cover 2 more spots so we checked out of our cottage room and first drived straight to experience Suvarnadurg fort.It had a boat service from the Harne Bunder,its also has two famous fort names Goa Fort and Kanakdurg Fort.

Fish Auction

Unfortunately,they were not selling ticket as the boat services had been closed for a week due to a drowning accident that took place somedays ago.But without feeling low we had a glimpse of the fort from the sea shore which suprisingly resembled the Janjira fort of Murud-Janjira,Alibaug.
 So we took a while on the Kanakdurg Fort and took some group photos.and went to see the aution of fish happening just a few meters aways on Harne bunder.It takes place on Harne Beach and is preety crowded through the entire day.No doubt its the biggest fishing dockyard in Dapoli.There are many types of fishes found.But not a lot of variety of crustaceans like crabs and lobsters.

Dapoli beaches being very awesome tourist spot are not so popular with most people so are very less crowded ,sanely silent,pictureque and clean.

Harne Bunder

 A lot of hill top views can be seen from this Goa fort.And we start heading to our next destination that is Anjarle to see the 'Kadyavarcha Ganpati'.

Anjarle Kadyavarcha Ganpati 

Ganpatiche paaul(Footprint)

           After about and hour long drive we enter Anjarle village and further on this beautiful lush green plateau is situated a 1000 year old temple of Lord Ganesh and the area around around it is surprisingly green,clean and beautiful(i can't help but use the word clean so many times because it was actually) It has a very ancient story to it.Photography inside the temple is not allowed, besides the temple there is a very old Lord Shiva Temple.We bought some sweets as prasad from near by stores to take home.
                   A few distance ahead was ancient monumental place were the footprint of Lord Ganesh(Ganpatiche paaul) is found on a cliff like are from where you are able to see the most beautiful view of green Dapoli. You can take a look at the video we took of the place i mentioned above. 

           New facilities like toilets and small eating cafes have been made.to have our evening tea and biscuits besides the view from the plateau is just mesmerizing.Seeing the fort in water in all the coconut tree plantation enveloping the surrounding is relaxing.
          That was our last moment in Dapoli ,but certainly not the least as weagain plan to visit Dapoli and this time for visiting more unexplored places.Its really wonderful to time from our busy lives and visit this nature abundant places for our soul relaxation without littering them.

                                                                                               


                                                                                          Thank you 

New Update : Dapoli Revisited (26th May 2017) ⧪

       After a year, was fortunate enough to revisit the beautiful Dapoli with my office buddies. Had to admit that a car makes the journey so much convinient - no curfew, no tiring walks and no problem finding a place when you actually have the energy to use google maps. Exhaustion from long time walking in the sun can really annoy you. Anyways .... But I must say got know the place better as now I know what and how to reach a certain place using the best mode of transport.     We started on Friday night 26th May 2017 booking a luxury bus to Khed (there are Dapoli buses available but we didn't get one....no seats available!). A 10.00 pm bus and we had a bit of a rush as had to go home after office and get ready for the trip within 3 hours. So I was the one being late (like sometimes things take time...in my case i was having dinner) and reach the boarding place 5 minutes late... but buses were waiting ...sigh....

      We got into the bus and then it was all chit chat and the regular office talks...blah ...blah!! So in the morning 03:00 we reach the famous Kashedi Ghat and all are sleeping. Let me tell you firstly, We booked the last five seats of the bus so that we all sit together to talk and i was in the middle.....Okay now that you know, you can keep yourself in my shoes and just imagine...Haha..... I was in the middle seat trying to sleep and a long hallway like passage with a neon light lit is just in front of you and all of a sudden the driver pulls a great stunt in the middle of the Ghat. Its so terrific that you wake up and one side is almost in the slanting position and all people's luggage is falling and people start shouting and cussing the driver. Just like a movie scene, isn't it? Well we thought that its all over but luckily the driver held his horses. Someone said "I asked the driver why is he being so careless and he replied... don't worry its my style"....... (Lol!!!!) Yeah that's his answer....Anyways everything was back to normal after sometime.

          So in the morning 05.30 we reached Khed bus stop and took and MSRTC bus to Dapoli. It took 30 mins to reach Dapoli city and then we were suggested to take shelter in 'Krushi Vidyapeeth' and they actually looked like had good room facilities available for both A/C and non A/C rooms with a reasonable price. Unfortunately, even after showing ID's they didn't allow us as we were three guys and two girls.... We even requested two separate rooms for guys and girls but they still refused saying we have lack of water. Quite overwhelmed by how they reacted which seemed like a bit irrational...like every group of youngsters is treated in remote areas (can't really blame them as someones actions can really impact others even though intentions of others are pure)..... So we continued to move on and finding place to stay and a rickshawala told us that we can go to Murud to find a place to stay. 

        So as far as i have noticed tum-tum and ST buses are very convenient and joyful mode of transport even for long distances because normal rickshaws will cost you..They don't go by the meter and charge high (sad but true) if calculations are done then a car travel (own car) cost and cost using the mode of transport is almost the same plus cars provide comfort while traveling and you have enough energy and interest to visit places. Its less hassle. Anyways enough of me bragging about car travel!! 

         All drenched in sweat it was 11:00 am an still struggling for a rent house we finally found roof on our head in a bungalow (I forgot the name but it was owned by Advocate Sawant - they were an old couple staying and providing rental rooms in their bungalow)..... So had our bath and decided to have our breakfast and it was quite had to locate a good place to have a proper lunch. So we just went to a place out side Murud  village which was just a breakfast and snack place. In short we had something that is for breakfast just double the quantity.....Haha...but the food was delicious. 

           So now I am going to list places that we visited in our three days stay skipping the unwanted details that can bore you..... ;)

Day 1 27/05/2017

1) Keshavraj temple of Asud  -

 This was the place I visited for the first time almost 3 kms away from Murud. It was a sunny day and hot as hell. But once you enter the palms and other tree plantation of Asud village its all refreshing. The walk was very peaceful with all the birds sounds and cool breeze soothing the soul. There is a river after you go downstairs and a pool over it and staircase leading to the temple. Kinda a trek you can say....

The video is here

P.S - Being the first day unaware of good transport mode and way to return home (yes we actually forgot our way home!) the rickshawala charged us unnecessary more ... and had a bit of an argument with them..... Phew!!!!

2) Harne Murud beach - 

This was the second time I visited this beach.... And only difference was it was heat of summer and a lot of crowd. And once the cleanest beach i ever visited looked a bit shabby. A lot of crowd from Pune can be seen here as its not a very far away destination for them compared to us. You can spot many MH- 12s loaded with tourist.

If you wanna watch my previous visit to Harne - Murud beach you can see my see my earlier post (scroll up) for Dapoli.

 By the way I have to mention the beach is cleaned regularly every night by the locals so its really an amazing initiative which i appreciate and yeah the beach is absolutely amazing to visit at night time...!!!!

Day 2 28/05/2017

 3) Kadyavarcha Ganpati Anjarle -

Also revisited second time but this time a different approach.... We had to go to Dapoli City to MSRTC bus stop and wait for the bus going to Kelshi.....It took the bus 2 hours to reach Anjarle village (traffic and narrow routes, drivers are literally pilots with great skill). anf then you can do a small trek of few steps to reach the temple on the plateau. The video link for Ganpaticha Paaul (Ganapti's Footprint) is in my earlier post for Dapoli (scroll up).

4) Harne Fish Market and Goa Fort -

Harne fish market revisited and also second time unlucky :( No boat service available to go to Suvarnadurg... geez! The ticket booth Fattegad fort (aka Kanakdurg fort) for boat service leading Suvarnadurg was close for some reason. So we decided to see Goa killa first and then buy some fish in the market.

And the video is here

I don't know why but for some reason I turned mental and paused my video shooting (thinking I was shooting realizing it later on) and was unable to shoot the huge freshwater well in Kanakdurg fort...:(

Day 3 29/05/2017

Tired and had to book return journey tickets as recommended by the Sawant uncle and aunt. We went to Dapoli city and booked it with a little bit of shopping.....  and then again we went to the beach. It was our last day and had our return journey start at 10.30 pm 29th May 2017. 

                                                                                   

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