After exploring Bankot Fort, we headed over to Bankot Jetty to board a ferry (named Shantadurga) run by Suvarnadurga Shipping and Marine Service Private Limited, to cross over so that we can explore the beaches of Harihareshwar and Shrivardhan located in Raigad district in Maharashtra. Two reasons to hurry are, firstly we were not aware of the ferry timings and we didn't want to miss in case if it was the last ferry to crossover and secondly we didn't want to reach Shrivardhan Beach post sunset.
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| That's Manohar in the black Swift in the barge |
Now don't get confused between Shrivardhan Fort and Shrivardhan Beach. These are two different places. Shrivardhan fort aka Rajmachi is located in Karjat/Lonavala and Shrivardhan Beach is located in the Konkan.
The jetty offers a wonderful view of the hill ranges, the mosques, temples and houses in a distance. Again the waters was covered in a sheet of gold, due to the rays of the sun.
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| Fare Sheet |
A barge plies over the River Savitri. The barge can take cars too apart from us humans and motor cycles. This is the first time our car is going over the barge. It took us around 15 minutes to cross over to the other side. Had we traveled by road, it would have taken 1 1/2 to 2 hours of our time. The barge is like a blessing for travelers.
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| Panoramic view of Shrivardhan Beach |
Once you cross over, the road divides into two. One going to Harihareshwar and the other to Shrivardhan. It took us around an hours time to reach Shrivardhan Beach. We parked the car near the shore and headed straight in the water.
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| Sunset at Shrivardhan Beach |
The white sand beach, had very few people on it, which is good as I don't like too much crowd. Promenade which is around 1 to 2 KM long, is located near the entrance of the beach. There are flood lights and sitting arrangements so that people can sit and watch the sun go down.
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| Manohar , Neha and Me at Shrivardhan Beach |
We watched the sun go down as we walked through the waters of Shrivardhan. The cool breeze blowing relieved us off our tiredness. Up ahead in a distance we saw a few fishing boats in the water. How I want to spend a night on one of them, something on my bucket list.
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| Our accommodation for the night |
After watching the sun go down, we had to search for a place to stay for the night. Plenty of options are available here from home stays to hotels apart from Govt Guest House. We checked the Govt Guest House, sadly it was under renovation. but the rates were as good as free. Rs.150 for people and Rs.75 for Govt officials.
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| Pomegranate near Shrivardhan Beach |
You will notice a couple of hotels mentioning affiliated to MTDC. These are not connected to MTDC, but have boards placed so that they can gather crowds. The home stay is also a good option. We got a descend room for three at a price of Rs.600 after negotiating at Yogiraj Nivas near the market place. The rates are usually negotiable. The room rates usually vary from Rs. 600 to Rs. 1500 for Non AC. Rs1500 to Rs.2000 for AC.
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| Another Pic of Dusk at Shrivardhan Beach |
We had dinner in the form of Veg Thali at Hotel Atharva, a family that serves food in its premises. Something similar to the ones in Malvan and Devgad. The veg thali cost us Rs.70. Prices may vary when you visit this place. The food was finger licking good. Followed by a walk on the promenade to digest the food, we finally called it a night at 12.
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| Veg Thali at Hotel Atharva |
Next day we had wake up early as we had to explore Harihareshwar and later the forts near Harnai Beach.
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| Map to Shrivardhan Beach |
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