Text and photos: Disha Shetty
Imagine this – You are in Mumbai, have a weekend off and want to go on a trip that involves sightseeing, good food and maybe even a little bit of trekking. But here’s the rider: You want to do it in under ` 3,000. If you think that you need to prune your long list of demands to be able to do so, then hold on, because the Konkan coast is just what will work for you. It is cheap, scenic, a haven for your taste buds and a great place to soak in the nature.
Velas – the fishing village
Yes, Konkan is a large area and there is only so much that can be covered in one weekend. So to help you sort out the confusion of where to go along this coastline, I would recommend going to Velas first. It is a small village in Ratnagiri district famous for its turtle festival during which newly hatched Olive Ridley turtles are released in the open waters.
The coastal village offers an unrestricted view of clear water that seems to stretch on forever. Most of the narrow but well maintained roads lead to the beach that is frequented by tourists. The destination is also famous among groups of bikers and cyclists who travel the around 220 km distance from Mumbai to Velas to soak in the sun and sand. You will spot men on Harley Davidson and Royal Enfield kick up a storm in the bylanes of the village as they zoom past.
You can leave Mumbai on a Friday night and be back by Sunday evening. All in time to get to work refreshed, on a Monday morning. Here’s how.
Reaching Velas is fairly simple. Take an overnight bus from Mumbai on a Friday night. The journey takes around 6-7 hours depending on the traffic. There are several tour groups that offer package tours around the turtle festival in the months of March and April as well. You will be in Velas at the crack of dawn, breathing fresh air.
Living like a local
Once you reach Velas, the best option is to live at one of the homestays in the village. The stay will cost you merely a few hundred rupees but you will be treated to the warm hospitality of the locals, coupled with sumptuous and fresh home cooked food that will leave you asking for more.
Of course, you cannot leave Velas without doing some star-gazing. After your dinner, just walk outside the village and plonk yourself down at the side of the road. While the sky above will be studded with thousands of twinkling stars, let the rhythmic sound of the waves crashing against the shore serenade you.
Hatching of baby turtles, a sight to behold!
The Velas turtle festival is the reason tourism in this village shot up in the past few years. A local NGO Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra has joined hands with Kasav Mitra Manda (Velas), the gram panchayat and the forest department to ensure that the eggs of the Olive Ridley turtles that are found on the beaches of this village and along the coast are conserved.
The NGO members collect the eggs laid by turtles and let them incubate away from predators, in a common hatchery which is barricaded from all sides and is guarded throughout the day. They are covered with a basket and left. The incubation time for these eggs is between 45-50 days. Every day at 7.30 am and 6 pm during the nesting period, the NGO volunteers open the basket to check if the eggs have hatched. If they have, then you have the chance to witness their journey back to the open water, tracing the same path their mothers had taken.
While you are there, also clean the beach
So you think you can throw plastics on the pristine beach of Velas and walk away? Well, not so easily. The NGO members will politely ask you to be a part of a beach cleanup and with hundreds of tourists present, all it takes is 15 minutes for the beach to be cleaned and the garbage neatly piled up in a corner. Congratulations! You have just done your little bit for the ecology of the place and set an example for the young kids watching you.
A breathtaking view from the Bankot Fort
You thought nothing could beat the view of the sea like the forts in Goa offer? Think again. Twenty minutes away from Velas is the Bankot Fort. It is a small fort that you can walk around in a few minutes, but the view from each and every corner of the Fort will make you want to spend hours just gazing into the horizon. Clear water as far as your eyes can see and blue sky to match. As the view fills you up with awe, breathe in some much needed fresh air.
While the Fort’s history is still not clear, it is over five centuries old and has witnessed several rulers. Inside the fort are several trees and most visitors rediscover the small joys of climbing trees in here.
Time to trek along the shore
While the return to the Velas village is just a short bus journey away, for the trekking enthusiasts there is another path – longer and certainly prettier – that holds more attraction. I was one of those who ditched the bus and decided to settle for an hour long downhill trek.
The path took me through dense foliage, a walk on the road along the sea shore, and finally the sandy beach itself, as I made my way back to the village with fellow trekkers.
Where else can you boast of having trekked along such a diverse terrain? Mind you, neither are we very far from Mumbai, nor did we shell out a bomb to enjoy this piece of paradise. Makes you wonder why the place is not teeming with tourists but I also quickly say a silent prayer, “Thank God this place is not teeming with tourists.” In essence that is the beauty of the Konkan coast.
Next stop – Harihareshwar
We have spent a day in Velas. What? All of the above in just a day? Well, yes. So on Sunday it is time to visit the Harihareshwar temple that is nestled alongside, what else, but the coast.
Temples need not always be cramped spaces with thousands of devotees swarming for a glimpse of the deity. Some like Harihareshwar are places of worship blending into their natural surroundings – come here not just for a spiritual journey but also a visual treat.
After offering prayers to the deity devotees can take climb up a narrow trail that first leads uphill and then downhill to a rocky bed. As your eyes adjust to the brightness, you see massive waves crash against the rocky shore – the perfect place to lose yourself. You thought you had come here to worship a deity, and end up impressed with Mother Nature instead. This is a place where you can take that perfect picture to remind you of the trip later, as soon it will be time to go home.
But wait, there’s more Konkan food to be had!
The MTDC resort of the Maharashtra government is a five minute walk away from the temple and also the best place to catch up a sumptuous lunch before beginning the journey back to the city.
The resort offers both a perfect vegetarian and a non-vegetarian spread with authentic items from the region. What’s a trip to a new place without tasting the local fare? So go ahead and binge on hot chapattis, spicy chicken and sol kadhi among others, that will leave you salivating long afterwards. The trip back to Mumbai will take about seven hours on a Sunday evening. The memory of the Konkan trip will take a lot longer to fade!