Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Harihareshwar and Diveagar

Place: Harihareshwar and Diveagar
Route from Pune: Pune > Paud > Mulshi > Mangaon > Mhasla > Harihareshwar > srivardhan > Diveagar. Alternate route (pune to Diveagar):Pune > Paud > Mulshi > Mangaon > Mhasla > Borli > Diveagar (175 kms).
Distance from Pune: Harihareshwar 180 kms (Approx). Harihareshwar to Diveagar 65 kms(Approx).
Places to eat: Harihareshwar: Rohan beach resort. Lot of local people serve excellent food.
Diveagar: Not many options available. Patil khanawal is good.
Places to stay: Harihareshwar: Rohan beach resort. MTDC resort, local accomodation
Diveagar: Exotica beach resort, Ganaraj resort, local accomodation (Homestays)
Best time to Visit: Anytime.
Experience:Finally...we were going to the Konkan coast and that too on a a two wheeler. We started early morning on saturday for Harihareshwar. The road is real bad after Mhasla but some repair work was going on so one can hope that it would get better in few months time. We reached Harihareshwar after a six hour journey from Pune at 12 o'clock noon. More than the beach, Harihareshwar is famous for its temples and rituals. It is also called Dakshin kashi. The place is not a very famous tourist spot but a good place to have a relaxing day or two. Lot of options for a comfortable stay are available. The best part is the food. The locals here serve excellent food at reasonable rates. Early morning walk on the beach is what i would recommend to everyone. It is just magical.
 
After a heavy breakfast we left for Diveagar via Shrivardhan. The road again is in a very bad shape. But the view around was too good. Glimpses of pure white sand beach every now and then made the journey beautiful. Harihareshwar is a typical sleepy Konkani village, though blessed with a very beautiful beach studded with coconut and supari trees. The place shot to limelight when a golden idol of Lord Ganesh was found buried in a house somewhere in the 90's. Lot of tourists (from Pune & Mumbai) come here but they have to depend on homestays for accomodation as well as food since only one or two big hotels/restaurants are available. The food is available on order so if you don't order it on time, it is most likely that you will not get it. Service is nowhere close to that in Harihareshwar. Few resorts like Ganraj resort and Exotica beach resort might provide a better stay and service.

The best part is the beach. Clear water, white sand, absolutely clean, safe and very very beautiful.
The return journey via Borli was very comfortable as the roads were in good condition.