Within the group, we had all joined our respective jobs in April, and by the time it was September, we were desperate for a break. So, when the Dusshera break presented an opportunity for 4 days of holidays, a trip was immediately planned and executed.
We had planned to go from Pune to Diveagar. About 150 kms drive west through the western ghats would take us to this beach. We had heard of it to be quite a picturesque and clean one, so we were quite interested about it. I was looking forward to the drive, it had been quite a few months since I had gone for a drive. The Google Maps screenshot depicts the route we had taken.
We booked ourselves a self drive car from Zoomcar, a snappy Honda Jazz and we were away at the crack of dawn; at about 8 am.
The road we took, would take us through the scenic Tamhini ghat and then further on, we shall reach Mangaon and then on to the beach.
Natural beauty galore. The road is patchy at places, with ditches which needed us to creep over them, but over all, the road to the beach was kinda fine.
Once near the coast, there runs a parallel road to the beach, with multiple points of entry to the beach. Find the right fork and one can take the car directly to the beach.
The beach was quite amazing. Wide and clean. The slope is a gradual one, making it ideal for families consisting of kids to come over and have fun too. Options of water sports were present too. The water is clear and absolute fun to splash about it.
In terms of crowd density, this is not a dense beach. One can find space to run about and play happily on the beach or have their own peaceful time. Be advised though, there is almost no shade on the beach and no provisions for chairs or umbrellas are present. Only a handful of shops selling water bottles and snacks could be found, so carry your food and water positively.
Once we had exhausted ourselves on the beach, running about and splashing about in the water, we were on the ride back home. Instead of taking the route we had come by, we chose to take the alternate route, which would have us join the Mumbai- Pune expressway near Khopoli. On map, all we could see was a nice long almost straight road. What it actually turned out to be, was very close to a nightmare. The road is non existent for most of it and there are murderous ditches all along. Ditches the size of dustbins which would gobble up a wheel and some of the axle too. By the time we had reached the expressway, we were tired as hell and still had another hour and a half worth of travel left. So, take it from me, do not take the return route that we had taken, it was horrible.
We did make it safe and sound, albeit worn out and tired. Had a nice big meal at an old haunt of ours and we retired for the day.
When I look back, yes, it was tiresome; true, we could have gone to some other places too, but in the end, it was fun, and absolutely worth it.
Until next time!
Cheers!!
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