June 21, 2019
Alibaug is a beautiful beach town situated at the konkan coast of Maharashtra. LEARN MORE ABOUT KONKAN COAST HERE.
This was a plan being discussed for almost a year with our friends’ group that finally seems to be materializing. Date decided was 21 June and the trip would be for 2 nights and 3 days.
The trip starts by splitting into 3 cars. The road trip is quite peaceful, a couple of toll nakas and smooth roads. Once we exit the Mumbai-Pune express highway and enter the NH66, there are many small shops and dhabas alongside the road. We enjoy the sight of the small villages and farms which are seen on both sides of the highway and I advertently decide on buying a farm house – on top of my bucket list for sure. We pass through Pen, which is a high traffic zone. Alibaug is 28 kms from Pen station. We make a mental note of the same route that we should be taking during our Konkan road trip, which would happen hopefully soon. Hiren realizes he has forgotten his daily medications and we stop at Poinad looking for a chemist. Its 7.40 pm. 30 minutes more and we reach our homestay, J K Wadi, Nagaon, finally at 8.20 PM. The last 5-6 kms of the drive takes us through a very isolated place and I am sure the drive would have been beautiful during the day.
It’s a beautiful wadi, with quaint little cottages. I am really impressed. Each cottage has a swing and a hammock next to it. We have booked two deluxe rooms each accommodating 4 adults. We enjoy a yummy dinner including sol kadhi (coconut and kokum-based drink). Then we go for a night walk in the beach which is 10 minutes away from the wadi. The beach is dark and lonely, and we spend 15 minutes star-gazing in the dark and head back home. There is absolutely no light pollution and the clear skies assist us in our astrological adventure
June 22, 2019
Morning at the beach
We get up at 6 AM and go for a run on the Nagaon beach. The pristine beach has black sand and the shore is full of shells thrown out by the ocean. Not many tourists visit this beach and its less crowded. Those who enjoy this type of privacy and are looking to avoid crowds then Nagaon beach is a good choice. The morning run energizes us and fills up our lungs with fresh oxygen. A good start to the day indeed, followed by poha (beaten rice flakes), ghavan (rice crepes), coconut chutney as breakfast. Post breakfast we spend our time exploring the wadi (farm house), take lots of pictures and play cards. Our host Mr. Abhay’s wife cooks up a delicious lunch with local dishes like panchamrut, ambadi (it’s a sour tasting leafy green), vaal (lima beans) and which taste like heaven. I am glad we chose this home-made local cuisine over lunch at Radission Blu, Alibaug’s premium vacation resort.
Kashid Beach
At 4 pm we leave for Kashid beach, highly recommended by Mr. Abhay. And it surely is a beautiful ride, good roads, surrounded by coconut trees on both sides. This is our first-hand experience of driving through the coastal Konkan roads and it strengthens my decision to take the coastal drive all the way till Ratnagiri/ Tarkarli/ Malvan. The 40-minute drive from Nagaon to Kashid is all along the coast barring the initial drive through the Nagaon downtown. And I can safely claim that the oceanic drive could be compared to California’s route 1. We make a couple of stops to click the picturesque ocean and finally reach Kashid beach. Its as beautiful as I had seen on the internet pictures: White sand, clear water and clean enough to sit down and get wet in the ocean. After many years, I have seen a beach as clear and scenic as this. Mumbai beaches are pathetic. Definitely a must-visit beach.
Dinner was yummy as usual consisting of yet another local specialty, varan bhaat and surai chi vadi. Watching India win the match against Afghanistan in the world cup tournament is a perfect end to the day.
June 23, 2019
I didn’t get up for a run today, and I would repent for the rest of the day as I would be eating a lot of yummy food and feeling bloated for the rest of the day. I make a mental note to be consistent now in my work out for good health. We have the Maharashtrian delicacy Misal (yumminess goes without saying) for breakfast and leave for Nagaon beach to bathe in ocean waters.
We sit down in the water, but water is muddy as sand is very fine and have lots of shells embedded in the wet sandy floor. (feels a little weird as all these shells on which we are sitting are live shells… yes… we check it out) I make an early exit from the beach, within half an hour of ocean time, as I find it uncomfortable on sitting on these shells which have a creature inside it. So, I would say Nagaon beach is good for walk in the water / run on the sand / bike ride/ car ride (yes you could even take your car in the beach and have an adventure driving here). And if you are okay with these little creatures in shells underneath you, then you can take a dip in the salty waters for as long as you desire. Obviously, they are not hurt as they are well protected by these hard shells, its just a mental block in me, the others enjoyed the waters for yet another hour.
Lunch has another new dish called adu chi bhaji (colocassia leaves in gram floor gravy) and the other usuals. A walk in the wadi reveals chickoo trees, sitaphal trees, guava trees, colocassia shrubs, lemon grass shrub, drumstick tree, banana trees, coconut trees and lots and lots of Tulsi trees. Of course, there are lot more unidentifiable trees as well.
After a high tea, some good byes and selfies with the hosts, (Mr. Abhay even gave us a plan and route for our upcoming Konkan road trip) we finally end our vacation in Nagaon and head towards home sweet home.
Our Official photographer Haard wasnt able to make it for the trip. Hence, for this trip all pictures Courtesy- Hitesh Shah.
Traveller’s Tips
If you are going to Alibaug, be prepared for big crowds and rush at restaurants especially in the monsoon season. So, I would give 2 suggestions.
One: stay outskirts of Alibaug in other areas like Nagaon, Revdanda, Kashid, Kihim, Akshi etc. This works best if you have your own vehicle to move around the town.
Two: stay at one of the several home-stays, farm-stays options that are found everywhere. They have the option of home-cooked food as against going hunting for a restaurant at every meal to fulfill hunger pangs. In case of any queries do not hesitate to contact me.
It is in Alibaug that I had planned another Konkan trip already. Check out OUR NEXT KONKAN TRIP IN 2022