24 to 26-Jan-2009 Sangameshwar, Marleshwar, Mahimatgad

We did not know what is Marleshwar and where it lies. We just wanted some outing on this particular week end. Seeing that Marleshwar jungle trek is organized by Trekdi, we enrolled ourselves.

One has to go to Sangameshwar in Kokan. Marleshwar temple, and Mahimatgad are in the vicinity of Sangameshwar. From Sangameshwar, there is a village called Kundi. This is one of the base village for the jungle. Sangameshwar is accessible by bus and train (Kokan Railway). We had taken a bus from Pune.

24-Jan-2009
11:00 PM Departure from Pune
We started from Ferguson Collage main gate. The bus was little late.

25-Jan-2009
6:00 AM Sangameshwar railway station
The bus halted at a hotel opposite to Sangameshwar railway station. It was dark. All of us waited for the hotel to open and have breakfast. The hotel did not open for long.

Meanwhile, Pinakin had setup a spotting scope in the open field to watch birds. There were several birds that one could identify. We interacted a lot with Pinakin. He had an amazing knowledge about several things. It was time well spent interacting.

On the flip side, we did not utilize our time for the purpose we were there.

Finally the hotel opened at around 9:30 AM. We had our breakfast. Plan for the day was laid. At last, we started for our first place.

11:00 AM Sambhaji maharaj memorial
We reached Sangameshwar village. We saw a statue of Sambhaji maharaj. It was sad to know how he was captured from this village and taken as a prisoner to Aurangzeb. Sambhaji maharaj's own brother in laws were involved in this treachery.

11:30 PM Karneshwar temple at Sangameshwar
A few meters from this statue, we visited a very old Shiva temple. This is Karneshwar temple. The temple is very old. It has beautiful carvings in stone. One should fall in love of this temple. It is a priceless heritage that our ancestors have left us.

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Karneshwara temple

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Karneshwara temple

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Karneshwara temple

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Karneshwara temple

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Karneshwara temple

12:30 PM Shiva temple at Sangam
After seeing Karneshwar temple, we left to the confluence of two rivulets. The sangam has one old temple. This is Shiva temple. There are few trees surroundings. The place was very calm and peaceful.

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Sangam of two streams

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Shiva temple at sangam

5:00 PM Lunch
Our next destination was Maral. However, it was 2:00 PM when we were at the base. We decided to have our lunch first and then go to Maral.

The wait was too long! Meanwhile, we went behind the restaurant. This was a dry river bed. We spent some time in the calm place.

Finally at 5:00 PM, we could have our lunch.

6:00 PM Marleshwar temple and waterfalls at Maral
After our lunch, we went to Maral to visit the Marleshwar temple. The temple is situated in the hill. Nice steps are constructed along with railings. At last, we reached the cave. Had darshan of Shiva. The scene is very beautiful outside the cave. It is said that until a few years ago, a lot of snakes used to lie in the cave. Now that everything is constructed, there are only idols of snakes.

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Marleshwar temple

Behind the temple, there is a waterfall. Some of us had a bath in the waterfall.

By the time we were back at the base of the temple, it was pitch dark. This was no moon night. The sky was very clear. Pinakin explained us how to track the directions from the night sky.

9:00 PM Halt at Kundi village school
We came to the village Kundi. Arrangement was made for night stay in a school. It was supposed to be inaugurated the very next day on the 26th Jan.

11:00 PM Dinner
Initially, there was no light in the school. We took out torches. Soup and pulav was prepared for dinner. We slept in the school keeping in mind that we must vacate the school very early the next day.

26-Jan-2009
7:30 AM Start trekking to Mahimatgad
We woke up before the daybreak and readied ourselves for the trek. The students started gathering in the school for flag hoisting.

We kept our bags in the bus and started to trek.Immediately afterwards, we could experience that this was a forest with lot of trees. By chance, there is a half constructed road. This road was supposed to cross the Sahyadris and open on the other side. However, since this was an area of dense forest, the permission was denied fortunately.

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Palash tree

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Jungle around

At one point, we left the road for small foot way. This traversed through dense trees. At one point there is a slope with slippery grass.

9:30 AM Reached the fort
Finally we reached the entrance of the fort. It is broken with lot of stones falling in front of the entrance.

As soon as we enter the fort, there is a temple. Now there is nothing left. Some base of a pillar gives testimony that the temple must have been constructed a few centuries back.

10:30 AM Flag hoisting
We settled near another temple. There one police had also come. We hoisted our national flag.

From Trips - Marleshwar Mahimatgad Jan 09 Small Shiva temple

There are 3-4 canons lying near this temple. They are rusted. There was a challenge to lift the canon lying there. One person successfully did it!

We prepared Maggi and had our breakfast.

12:00 PM Summit
After having our breakfast, we reached summit. This part is little slippery due to the grass. There is a flagpole on the summit.

Some of us clicked photographs there. The place offers beautiful view of the surrounding area. We could see that the forest area was really big.

We started to descend the fort. Four of us stayed back to explore the fort. This fort is not very often visited. Due to time constraint, we could explore only a part of it. Lot of trees have grown way wards all over the place.

2:30 PM Kundi
Finally, we started for Kundi. In half an hour, we caught up with others. In the village, we met a group who were trekking for 5 days continuously.

5:00 PM Lunch at Sangameshwar railway station
We came back to Sangameshwar railway station and had our lunch again at 5:00 PM.

5:30 PM Return journey via Chiplun, Kumbharli ghat
After our lunch, we started back for Pune via Chiplun and Kumbharli ghat. The bus reached Pune at around 10:00 PM.

17 to 18-Jan-2009 Suvarnadurg Fort

Suvarnadurg is one of the most important sea forts built during Shivaj Maharaj's era. Shivaji Maharaj laid emphasis on building strong forts. This was one of the pillars of swarajya. Suvarnadurg, along with Sindhudurg, Vijaydurg, and some others searve the testimony of this strategy. The rising dominance of the foreigners through sea was rightly recongnized. Building strong sea forts and army was the answer to the prevailing situation.

This is the place where Kanhoji Angre spent his earlier part of life.

17-Jan-2009
11:30 PM Departure from Pune via Dapoli
We took a vehicle from Pune. The vehicle started very late due to some problem with the vendor. In the night, the vehicle stopped for a halt in Dapoli.

18-Jan-2009
5:30 AM Reached Harne beach
At last, we reached Harne beach. One accomodation was booked on the beach for the entire night. However we could reach in the morning. We tried to have some sleep. Some of us managed to sleep for an hour or so.

8:30 AM Started from Harne
After having our breakfast, we started to Suvarnadurg by a motor boat. The Harne beach is very dirty. If someone come to this place for beaches, they will be disappointed.

10:00 AM Suvarnadurg fort after seeing some dolphins
These boats offer to show the fort along with dolphin sightings. This is a good attraction in Harne. The boat went well inside the sea in search of dolphins. The boatmen have now become experts in knowing when and how to sight the dolphins. At last we could see the creatures. We were told that dolphins are never captured by the fishermen. Even if they are cought in the net, they are released back in the water. I am not sure about the reason. Surely some economics must be behind this. Only mercy will not be the reason.

Finally the boat took is to the fort. Sindhudurg is nearly a kilimeter inside the sea. It has very well built fortifications. Not much has survived inside the fort.

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09

Giridarshan had another agenda in this visit. Some of the team members were involved in doing some cleanup activities inside the fort. They cut the trees growing out of the strong ramparts. After seeing the mighty fort, we left by the boat to Harne harbour.

12:30 AM Kanakdurg
The harbour is at the base of a hillock. This hillock has a lighthouse on top of it. There is nothing to indicate that it can be a fort. Only a small section of the hillock has a constructed wall.

1:00 AM Skipped Fattedurg
Fattedurg fort is also an hillock. It has been occupied by residents for every square meter. There is no sign as of now to indicate that this might be a fort sometime. We skipped this fort anyway.

1:00 PM Goagad
The third fort was Goagad. Amongst the three, this is in far better shape. It is also closest to Sindhudurg. However, this fort has been sold to a private party! A new construction has blocked the majestic main entrance fo the fort. There is a small temple in the main entrance.

From Trips - Suvarnadurg Jan 09 Main entrance of Goagad

A makeshift entrance has a security guard. One has to sign in the register to enter the fort.

There is nothing much inside the fort. The ramparts are also collapsed in a couple of places.

2:00 PM Lunch
We had our lunch in Harne village.

3:00 PM Started for Pune
Immediately after our lunch, we started for Pune.

9:30 PM Back to Pune via Tamhini ghat
We reached back to Pune via Tamhini ghat.

Except Suvarnadurg, there was nothing much to see. However, Suvarnadurg is worth visiting.

24 to 28-Dec-2008 Kokan Trip

I have always heard that Kokan is beautiful. Prior to this trip, I visited Ratnagiri and Ganapatipule. (Leaving Mumbai aside). Giridarshan Trekking Club had arranged a trip of sea forts in South Kokan. Since all the forts were almost at ground level, we decided to take children with us. Aditi and Omkar Wagh were also joining the trip. Hence the four kids formed their own team.

24-Dec-2008
11:00 PM Started from Pune
We started from Pune by a 17 seater van. Both the families were sitting on the last two rows. It was cold in the night.

25-Dec-2008
3:00 AM Reached Kolhapur
The bus stopped at a couple of places and reached Kolhapur.

7:00 AM Malvan via Gaganbanda
From Kolhapur, the bus proceeded to Malvan via Gaganbanda. We reached Malvan at 7:00 AM. Since the bus was not not comfortable to sleep, many of us were deprived of sleep. Some of us could sleep for an hour or so at the hotel where we had our breakfast.

10:00 AM Sindhudurg fort
After breakfast, we went straight to see the famous Sindhudurg fort. The fort is off the coast of Malvan. This is one of the most famous sea forts.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Malvan coastline

We took a trawler (motor boat) for 2 hours. Most of the fortification is intact. There are 2-3 temples inside the fort. There is hand and palm impressions of Shivaji Maharaj. A temple is also dedicated to him. Inside the fort, there is a coconut tree which has two branches forked.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Entrance of Sindhudurg fort

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Forked palm tree

There is one small doorway which opens in the sea. A small beach is formed in front of this door. The fort is quite big. No building has survived.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

After spending nearly 2 hours inside the fort, we came back to Malvan.

Between Malvan beach and Sindhudurg fort, there is one small rock cluster. It is called Padmagad. There is some fortification visible. A flag is also posted on the fort.

1:00 PM Lunch at the same hotel
Had our lunch in the same hotel where we stopped in the morning.

3:00 PM Kunakeshwar temple
We immediately proceeded to Kunakeshwar (Lord Shiva) temple. This temple is adjacent to Kunakeshwar beach. The beach is on the back side of the temple. The temple has been renovated. The hillock behind the temple and before beach offers magnificent view.

5:00 PM Devgad fort
Our next stop was Devgad fort. Devgad is very famous for hapus mangoes. On the way to the fort, there were several windmills. At one particular place, the road had sharp turns to climb a hillock. A lot of fishes were thrown on the ground. Several flamingos were came to eat the fish. The entire area was stinking. However, the scene was very nice.

Inside the fort, there is a temple. After spending some time in temple, we realized that the light house will close soon. Hence we rushed to light house. The view from the lighthouse was very nice. We could see the creek. The guard on the lighthouse explained us the mechanics of lighthouse. The mirror rotates with some specific frequency. This frequency is different for each lighthouse. By knowing the frequency, the fishermen can know where they are. Since the mirror starts rotating from dusk to dawn, no one is allowed on top of lighthouse during this time. There are few quarters inside the fort. There is nothing significant except the fortifications. Only a couple of structures are remaining in a dilepid condition. We saw some birds. For the first time, I know that there is something call Bramhiny Kite, Fish Eagle. We could click a photo of a fish eagle holding a fish in the claws.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Devgad fort from the Lighthouse

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Lighthouse in Devgad fort

7:30 PM Night halt at Padel near Devgad
After dusk, we went to Padel near Devgad. We stayed in a hotel in the night. The hotel was good as compared to the location it was in. There were 3-4 mango trees in the front yard. We had our dinner and slept. Most of us were deprived of sleep in the previous night.

One would imagine that Devgad has mango trees all over. But that is not true. It has some fields.

26-Dec-2008
10:00 AM Vijaydurg fort
The next day morning, after having our breakfast, we visited Vijaydurg fort. The fort was seat of Kanhoji Angre during early 18th century. He had built a fleet of navy which checked foreign intrusions in the Arabian sea and Bay of Bengal. Due to him Andaman and Nicobar islands are in India.

Just before entering the fort, there is a very small temple on a small rock in the sea. The temple is tilted.

The bastions of the fort are very strong. One can see the bottom of the sea at some places. Such is the clarity of the water. There are lot of dolphins in the area. We spent some time watching the dolphins. There are lot of cannon balls kept inside the fort. At some sections, the rampart of the fort are collapsed recently. It pains a lot to see such historic monuments crumbling due to neglect and want of proper care. We can see how lime used to be prepared in the ancient times. The same lime which used to hold the walls for centuries.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Vijaydurg fort

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Tilted temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Entrance of Vijaydurg

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Entrance of Vijaydurg fort

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Beautiful hamlet outside Vijaydurg

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Canon balls

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Fortification

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Lime grinder

Vijaydurg is also the historic place from where Helium was discovered on 18-Aug-1868 by a French scientist Johnson. The spectrometer readings on this solar eclipse day confirmed a new element on the sun - Helium.

The fort has a covered place for the ships to dock. It also has an underground tunnel to Dhulap's palatial home. However, we did not see either of these.

12:00 PM Rameshwar temple
Rameshwar temple is very old. Most of the construction is wooden. From the road, we can see only one arch and no temple. However when we actually enter through the arch, there is a gradual descent cut through the rocks. On each side of the rock, several small holes are carved out to put lamps. At the end of this descent, the main arch of the temple is present. The temple has beautiful wooden carvings all centuries old and urgent need of repair/ conservation. There are many old articles like lamps, etc still in use.

The grove surrounding the temple is very nice with lot of green trees. The valley transports us to a totally different atmosphere.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08 Rameshwar temple

We came back to Padel. Had our lunch and proceeded for the next stop.

4:30 PM Mahakali temple at Adiware Wadapeth
This is Mahakali temple at Adiware. The temple has very beautiful wooden carvings. Pictures are also painted on the ceiling. It has a peculiar pot to lift water from the well.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

5:30 PM Kanakaditya temple at Kasheli
This temple is constructed in stone as well as wood. The main temple faces the opposite side that of the entrance. Actually we enter the temple complex from behind. The main sanctum has paintings from mythology.

The temple complex has two other smaller temples.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

6:30 PM Purnagad and temple
The next stop was Purnagad fort. This fort has nothing except the ramparts. We climbed ramparts and saw the view. It was a very nice view. The fort stood as a guard to a creek. The sun was setting by the time. The darkness increased. Finally we had to come out of the fort within half an hour.

At the base of the fort, there are two temples. We took darshan and sat there for some time. A news reached us from Pune that there was some trouble in Ratnagiri. Some people were seen in suspicion at railway station. Hence police are inspecting all vehicles carefully.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

8:00 PM Dinner at Ratnagiri
Naverthless, we decide to have dinner at Ratnagiri. The restaurant was small and crowded. We had ordered rice plate. However, there was nothing special Kokani in the rice plate food.

11:00 PM Halt at Ganapatipule
After having dinner, we proceeded to Ganapatipule. Since this was a long weekend, everything was full in Ganapatipule. We had booked a makeshift hall which did not have walls. It was cold in the night. I was surprised to experience such cold near the sea.

27-Dec-2008
7:00 AM Ganapatipule beach
Woke up early in the morning. Somehow got ready to go to beach. I have visited Ganapatipule before. This is one of the best beaches in India. We spent nearly more than an hour on the beach. Some of us bathed in the sea. Women and children enjoyed the waves crashing on their feet.

We returned to the place where we slept in the night. Had a bath. Had breakfast in another hotel.

11:00 AM Ganapatipule temple
Ganapatipule temple is very famous amongst devotees. The temple is renovated. It is clean. The crowd management is effecient.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

12:00 PM Ratnadurg fort (Ratnagiri)
After having a nice darshan, we proceeded to Ratnagiri to see Ratnadurg fort (Bhagirathi fort). The city derives the name from the fort.

The bastion has a temple and a statue of Kanhoji Angre. One can see Ratnagiri harbour from the fort.

4:30 PM Kolisare temple
Laxmi Keshav temple in Kolisare is one of the best renovated temple one can see. It is situated at a very nice location in a green valley. The old temple was pulled down. A new temple was put in place with exact similar structure similar design. This made the temple very attractive.

This is how a renovation shoud be. Keep the original spirit intact. But reinforce it from time to time so that the place does not look crumbling.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

5:00 PM Karhateshwar temple at Nandiwade
The next destination was Karhateshwar temple at Nandiwade. This is Shiva temple. Immediately after seeing renovated Kolisare temple, this temple does not inspire. The location of this temple is also very good. But the temple itself is very old and crumbling.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

6:00 PM Jaigad fort
Our next destination was Jaigad fort. This fort has only walls and one temple inside.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

9:30 PM Reach Velneshwar
After seeing Jaigad fort, we went to Velneshwar. This is the place we halted for night. We had dinner.

11:00 PM Velneshwar beach
Some of us decided to visit the beach in the night. Others slept in the rooms. In the pitch dark night 7-8 of us took out our torches and went to the beach. We talked till well past 12 in the midnight. Finally we came back and slept.

28-Dec-2008
9:30 AM Velneshwar temple
In the morning, we watched the sun rise. And visited the Velneshwar temple. This is an ancient Shiva temple.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

10:30 AM Hedvi beach
Next destination was Hedvi beach. There is a rock pach on the beach. Due to erosion, the water from wave has formed a channel across the rock. When a high wave crashes, the water rises through the narrow channel and rises like a jet.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

12:00 PM Ganesh temple at Hedvi
The Ganesh temple in Hedvi is very famous. The idol has ten hands. Hence the name Dashabhuja ganapati. The stone of the idol is found in Kashmir. This is also very nice and clean temple. It is situated in a valley with lot of green trees.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

1:30 PM Gopalgad (Anjanwel) fort
The last fort in our itenary was Anjanwel fort near Guhagar. While going inside the fort, we had placed order for lunch in Guhagar.

This fort has been sold out to some private party! The walls of the fort are crumbling. But it has an iron gate. A lot of mango trees are planted inside the fort. Security guards are placed. There is nothing much to be seen inside the fort except a couple of tanks.

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

From Trips - Konkan Dec 08

3:00 PM Lunch at Guhagar
We came back to Guhagar and had our lunch.

3:30 PM Vyadeshwar temple in Guhagar
After lunch, we saw Vyadeshwar temple in Guhagar. This temple is also neat and clean. The temple complex has 5-6 smaller temples apart from the main temple.

4:00 PM Start journey to Pune via Chiplun, Kumbharli ghat
We started our journey back to Pune via Chiplun through Kumbharli ghat. By 10:00 PM we reached Pune.

Afterthoughts
Kokan is very beautiful. However, the beauty is not exploited by the human. Kokan remains one of the poor regions.

The temples in Kokan are very nice, neat and clean. One would fall in love with the temple first and then with the god. This aspect should be taken across all the temples.

The temples are renovated in a nice manner. The renvation retains the basic essence of the structure.

The forts all over the country are in dilepid condition. They need to be restored.