Here are the Adventures from Kokan Division !
“Nothing adventured, nothing attained”- Peter Mcwilliams.
Next on the list of the amazing things to do is exploring the beautiful villages of the Harnai-Murud. The place is home to some of the most beautiful natural attractions. If you have kids visiting with you, you will find that they love the place around. Apart from the beauty of the lush greenery around, the place is also home to some of the most impressive forts that you will witness around including Kanakdurg, Suvarnadurg, and the Fort of Goa.
Harnai is about 200 km away from Mumbai. Despite its quietness, it is emerging fast as a tourist destination as visitors from Pune and Mumbai are frequently visited this place to celebrate the weekends.
Harnai fort is also a main tourist attraction of the area. South of Harnai fort is the palm-fringed beach of Murud, famous for its clean white sands and safe waters. Panhale Kazi, the famous rock-cut monument is 30 km from Murud-Harnai.
Nearest airport is at Mumbai, which is 200 km away from Harnai, while nearest railway station is at Satara, which is 154 km away. Maharashtra government buses run from Mumbai, Pune and Mahad to Murud-Harnai. Accommodation is available at the beach resorts in Harnai.
While talking about the best scuba diving in Konkan, we cannot miss out on Tarkarli! In Tarkarli, scuba diving is carried out on the Tsunami Island along the Devbang coast of the Konkan region. The nearest station to Konkan is the Kudal railway station located at a distance of 45 km; you can take a cab or a bus from there till the Tarkarli beach. At the beach, you will be able to discover a whole hub for various water sports at Tarkarli and scuba diving definitely tops the list!
There are many well-trained professionals who will help you will the activity and teach you to be calm and maintain equanimity if you feel anxious underwater. While scuba diving, you will be able to swim across exotic creatures of the sea as you connect with the world that lies beneath us!
While at Tarkarli, you should also experience the Tsunami safari and the Dolphin safari.
If you want to experience a touch of the hill around the Konkan coast, Dapoli is the perfect answer for a wholesome experience. Dapoli is a hilly town which is located along the Sahyadri hills and is often known as mini Mahabaleshwar. The best thing about this place is the weather. Apart from the hilly areas around, you can also experience the beauty of the British settlements that were left behind before independence. You will find a melting pot of cultures and traditions around the places as well.
Dapoli is a Coastal Hillstation as well as a City in Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra. It lies 215 km south of the state capital of Mumbai. Dapoli is also known as Camp Dapoli as British set their camps in Dapoli. Many high-ranking British officers' graves are found in this town. The city also has an abandoned church from the time of the British Raj. Dapoli is home to one of the biggest Agricultural Universities in India, Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeet. Dapoli is administered by the Dapoli Municipal Council.
Not many people know of this place but the Konkan coast is home to a wide range of historical monuments in Murud which you just can’t miss out on while you are there. The unique thing about this place is that you get to experience the beauty of both the beach and the rich history that you otherwise wouldn’t. One of the most popular monuments there includes the Murud Janjira Fort which is known for its intricate architecture and beautiful surroundings that further accentuate the beauty even more. While there, check out the Palace of Nawab along with the Kokri Gumbaz house old tombs as well.
Murud is a city and a municipal council in Raigad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated at a distance of 150 km from Mumbai, Murud is a tourist destination. The Palace of Nawab is located in Murud. The palace was built in 1885 for administration purposes. The palace is still owned by the descendants of the Nawab and is a private property.
This massive complex covers an area of almost 45 acres. Built in a mixture of Mughal and Gothic style architecture, it is an elegant mansion which once upon a time housed the Royal Nawabs.
The complex also has a magnificent mosque and tombs of previous Nawab rulers. It is believed that these tombs are filled with untold riches - but nobody dares to open the graves. This royal structure might have seen many horrifying battles in the past. Now, it lies vacant as a memoir and a tribute to all that it has seen.
Suvarnadurg is located between Mumbai and Goa on a small island in the Arabian Sea, near Harnai in Konkan, along the West Coast of India, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The fort also includes another small land fort called the Kanakadurga at the base of headland of Harnai port on the coast. Building of the fort is credited to Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire, in 1660. Subsequently, Shivaji, other Peshwas and the Angres further fortified the forts for defence purposes.
The literal meaning of Suvanadurga is “Golden Fort” as it was considered as the pride or the “feather in the golden cap of Marathas”. Built for the Maratha Navy for defence purposes, the fort also had a ship-building facility. The basic objective of establishing the fort was to counter enemy attacks, mainly by the colonialists of Europe and also by the local chieftains.
In the past, the land fort and the sea fort were connected by a tunnel, but this is now defunct. The present approach to the sea fort is only by boats from the Harnai port on the headland. It is a protected monument.
Sumargad is the same as the name. This fort comes along with Rasalgad and Mahipatgad. The fort is much neglected due to its difficult forest and the difficult way to get to the fort.
The fort is located in the middle of hill range that spans in the North South direction and runs parallel to the Sahyadris. Due to its difficulty in access, height and tough climb only experience mountain trekkers can reach at this fort. It has straight rock surfaces on all the sides of the fort and the way to the fort requires some rock climbing to reach to the fort which is located on the summit. The fort is visited only by trekkers these days and gone into obscurity.
History:
Not much is known about its past. Villagers say that earlier there a festival was held in this fort in the memory of Goddess but after an accident in which two villagers fell off the cliffs while balancing the pole, the festival was shifter to Rasalgad.
Malvan is the very first place in Konkan to offer the sport of scuba diving to the people of Konkan and outside. In Malvan, people usually engage in scuba diving at the southern end of Sindhudurg fort. The nearest railway station to Malvan Beach is the Kudal railway station situated at a distance of 30 km. You can take a cab or a bus from Kudal to Malvan and then further book accommodation near Tsunami Island.
At the Tsunami Island, you can take a jetty ride to the spot where scuba diving is conducted. There will be professionals to guide you throughout the process and also train you for the sport. You can experience scuba diving at Konkon in Malvan as you jump into the beautiful and shallow waters of the beach and lose all your inhibitions as you let the water guide the flow of your body. You can ask your guide to take amazing pictures of you so that you get to keep the memories of such a captivating experience, always alive!
While you are at the Tsunami Island, you can also experience a banana boat ride, an island tour, and a bumper boat ride.
Located near Khed is one of the largest forts of Maharashtra with an area of 120 acres. Sumargad, Rasalgad and Mahipatgad are situated on a same spur 8 km long. Mahipatgad is on the northernmost end of the spur. Beldarwadi village located on the foot hill off Mahipatgad has 10 houses.
Mahipatgad Fort has a table land with six gateways which are in ruined state now and six battlements. Six gateways are called Laldevdi on north eastern side, Pusati on eastern side, Yeshwant on south eastern side, Khed still in use and connects Beldarwadi to Mahipatgad. Shiv Ganga on western side you can see rock cut Shivling near this entrance, Kotwal gateway leads to Kotwal village in Poladpur.
History:
This fort was built by Adilshah of Bijapur in the 15th century. This fort was captured by King Shivaji in 1661. Later it passed to the Peshwas and finally to the British in 1818. There are 10 houses in the Beldarvadi village, which is at the foot hill of the fort. The villagers are said to have been brought by Shivaji as bricklayers for construction of the fort.
