Traveller

My Trip to Ganapatipulé:


I had travelled to this magnificent place in 2008, which means 2 years back from now and I still have my memories fresh. One good thing to remember was because my husband rather "hubby had taken me since it was our wedding anniversary,and moreover I, oops WE love beaches. At this time my kid, one and only, was tiny and hated beaches.

 Our ride was by road from Mumbai which was not that hectic I should say or rather hectic,smiles!!. A journey which would be around 8 hrs.

 Ganapatipulé is located by the Arabian sea on the Southern Konkan coast.On our way we had our usual stopover  breaks for tea, snacks...On our way  we discovered a cave which is not having a name. So we told ourselves "we discovered this place" LOL's.....Check out a few pics.

Do you think any kind of sitings are there?Looks like its a green patch that has covered up the mountains.If you look closely there are windows inside these green patches which made me stop the vehicle and echoed,"its time to excavate"

     Its an old cave or call it as an old Buddhist Monastery. Do drop in if possible.It had a few rooms where the monks used to meditate,eat, pray and sleep. A Stupa is there as well in this monastery.These monks used to get water from a well beneath this monastery which I have clicked a snap.

Rooms

  Stupa

Underground Well

After this beautiful discovery we  reached our destination in no time. We were smart enough not to book our hotels and we were even more smarter, we started our sight seeing by booking the hotel. I always had the dream of staying near a beach....waking up in the morning,listening to those waves and then have a coffee.I had this dream sanctioned as we stayed in a hotel which was on a cliff and with beach beside.

This is  guys what I was talking about,look at the view. By this time we headed for lunch and went out for sightseeing. As usual I would make sure I get in touch with the locals and get to know all the places to visit and shopping areas as they are the best referred "Lonely planet Guide".

Ganesh Temple

The Ganpati Temple on the coast is the main attraction for Hindu devotees. And since the town itself isn't easy to get to, the beach remains clean and the water clear. The Ganpati Temple is reconstructed in special Rajasthani style stones and look, and attracts thousands of Hindus from all over India.
A nearby place called Paawas is known for its spiritual importance.

You could also visit Jaigad Fortt,the legendary fort stands high and proud on the cliff with a spectacular view of the sea. The fort is at the entrance of the Sangameshwar river and is 35 kms away from Ganapatipule.

Fort 

                                                                

We decided to visit Ratnagiri as well which  is a 2 hour journey.We visited Thebaw Palace, which was built for the exiled King and Queen of Burma (now Myanmar) in 1910 - 11. They lived for five years till their death in 1916. Also had some real catch on fish fries and curries,and or course kokam kadhi. Since Ganpatipule is a pilgrimage destination, non - vegetarian food is a little rare. But we managed to always get. When there is a will there is a way,smiles.

After these sites we headed to roam around for shopping near the temple area.The Konkan coast is rich in horticulture and the place is filled with delicious exotic fruits. These are also turned into sweet preparations like Ambapoli and Phanaspoli (pancakes of dried mango and jack fruit respectively). If you visit during the mango season, don't forget to buy the world famous Devgad "Hampus" mangoes. 

I have captured some more photographs and you could check on my photo gallery. My kudos to my dear hubby who has inspired me into photography.

Then what we did...we extended one more day just to spend at the beach(the beach was just to ourselves with clean sand)Hope you would travel to this land of Ganesha soon!!!