Pune -Goa 565 km Coastal Bicycling Trip Jan 17-21, 2021

Immediately after Bhor, saw Nira Deoghar dam on the left. From Bhor it was 40 km to the top of Varandha Ghat. We could see the backwaters of the dam (Nira river) for nearly 30 km from Bhor. The views were quite spectacular.

The views at the Varandha ghat top were worth the climb.

From the top you could look down into Konkan. In Maharashtra, Sahyadris (Western Ghats) have developed in such a way that there is steep 2500 feet drop from the Deccan Plateau (called Desh in Marathi)  into the  Konkan Coastal Region which is nearly at sea level. This steep drop is called the Konkan kada.

As soon as we descended into Konkan, the heat and humidity suddenly increased. Even in January, it felt like summer and we were sweating profusely. We hydrated very often drinking limbu sarbat or kokum sarbat wherever we could find. The cool drinks were a big reflief.

At about 2 km from Varandha top, during our descent into Konkan, Pune district ends and Raigad district starts. As soon as Raigad district started, the road quality improved dramatically (not sure what to make of that 🙂 ). The 13 km remaining descent into Konkan was a lovely bicycle ride down, enjoying the views, but making sure that we were not going too fast 🙂

We went past Mahad, Goa Highway and we hit a relatively small Mhapral Ghat with 8 km remaining.  Though it was just a 200 ft climb it seemed very hard with tired legs.

We reached Shivam Valley Resort, our destination, at 3.45 pm (about 12 hours of riding).   We were tired but not completely exhausted. We were greeted with Kokum sarbat as a welcome drink.

Our accommodation was a small outhouse with 4 beds laid out in dormitory style. Everyone ate fish (a specialty of Konkan) and I ate vegetarian.

The first day was the toughest day with 155 km over 9 hours of riding, 12 hours of elapsed time and a huge climb.

Our climbing profile looked like this. Though Konkan was at the sea level, it also had lots of climbing. Konkan is definitely not flat terrain. 

We ended the first day on a satisfied note that we were not unduly tired and ready for the next day.

Day 2: Monday, Jan 18, 2021 – Shivam Valley Resort to Asgoli (near Guhagar) – 100 km

On Monday, we started off at 6.20 am and within 10 feet we were immediately greeted with a huge climb on Shenale ghat. Legs were not warmed up and the gradient was too high. At one point, I had to get off the bicycle and walk. As soon as we were finished with Shenale Ghat, we hit Palavni Ghat which was even harder. Within the first 2 hours, we had done two extremely hard ghats.

We had to start in the dark everyday. It would be fully light by about 7 am. It was usually cold in the morning and then around 11 am it would become searingly hot and humid.

80% of the Konkan roads were nice and of good quality. In some patches the road was quite bad. One great feature of the route we took was that there was hardly any traffic. There were many times when we could be riding side by side. Unlike riding in Pune city, we were not be bothered by speeding vehicles trying to cut us off or driving like maniacs making us feel vulnerable. In Konkan, we felt quite safe.

We passed Shenale and Mandangad (there is a fort here). Everyone else was in a T-shirt, I was in a jacket in the morning. After 11 am everday, I used to shed my jacket and keep it in the car.

The sunrise everyday had a different look.

We reached Palavni after climbing a difficult ghat and had breakfast there. I was avoiding eating a heavy breakfast, so I stuck to eating 2-3 bananas in the morning.

We passed a village called Kudawale. We met a family Vikrant and Mohini Patil and their daughter Anshul. Vikrant used to work with Makarand at DRDO. Vikrant and Mohini are both IT engineers. After living in Pune for about 10 years, they made a life choice to move to a village and settled in Kudawale. They still are in the IT profession (training and software development) but work out of Kudawale. They built their mud house themselves. They smear the floor with fresh cowdung everyday like in the village. They do no have running water and snakes are often found in their house. But they are breathing fresher air, eating better food and their stress is low. It was interesting to hear about their life choice.

We then continued on to Dapoli which is a major town in Konkan. Mohini cycled the 15 km from Kudawale to Dapoli. She then showed us the way to Ladghar, our next town and then turned back.

From Dapoli we proceeded for 11 to Ladghar which was our first sighting of the Arabian sea. From this point onwards, all the towns that we would encounter would be at sea level and on or near the coast.

We then continued on to Dabhol. We saw tropical views like this along the way.

At Dabhol, we had to take a ferry to go to the other side to Dhopave. Cost of the ferry including 1 car, 4 cycles and 4 people was Rs. 315. We also ate some Jackfruit pot icecream at the ferry terminal. It was delicious.

The ferry ride was only about 10 mins.

Along the way, we also saw Enron’s infamous Dabhol Power Project. The Dabhol plant was built through the combined effort of Enron as the majority share holder, and GE, and Bechtel as minority share holders. GE provided the generating turbines to Dabhol, Bechtel constructed the physical plant, and Enron was charged with managing the project through Enron International. From 1992 to 2001, the construction and operation of the plant was mired in controversies related to corruption in Enron and at the highest political levels in India and the United States (Clinton administration and Bush administration). The price that the state electricity board would have to pay for electricity produced by DPC (8 Rs/unit) was more than 20 times what it paid for hydroelectricity (Rs. 0.35/unit).

We finally crossed Guhagar, and 2 km beyond that we reached our destination at Asgoli at 3.30 pm. Our bed & breakfast host was Mr. Zagade at his home named “Sai Meru”. The only catch was that we had to park our car and carry the cycles about 150 steps up on top of a hill. That was a challenge after 100 km of walking. But the food was awesome and the property was very nice. My friends continued their fish diet choices and I got great vegetarian food.

The host was very gracious and he offered to walk us to Asgoli – Guhagar beach. The beach was fabulous. The waters of the Arabian were very warm even in Jan.

We did about 100 km on Day 2. As the terrain got steeper, our average cycling speed started going down.

As usual, we started at 6.15 am from Asgoli.

Beautiful sunrise on the plateau.

We took a really tough road to Palshet. The road was steep downhill and totally mud road. We were worried about the car. At one point, we simply walked our bikes down. It is good that I took my hybrid bike and not my road bike.

We then stopped at Hedavi. This village is known for its Dashabhuja Ganesh Temple. We did a quick stop for darshan.

We began to see more and more coastal views.

From Hedavi, we went to Tavsal where we had to take another ferry to Jaigad.

The heat was beginning to get to us.

The ferry ride gave us some nice views.

We saw some colorful fishing villages.

Lots of coastline was visible.

24 km from Jaigad got us to the town of Ganpatipule at around 11.30 am. According to local folklore, the Hindu god Ganapati, taking umbrage at a remark made by a native lady, moved to Pulé पुळे (a few km before the town) from his original abode of Gulé. Thus the region was named Ganpati-pulé.

The 400-year-old Ganpati idol at Ganpatipule is said to have sprung up from the soil. This Ganpati faces the west, so as to guard the western gates, unlike deities in other Indian temples who face the east. The temple is at the base of a hill, and pilgrims walk around (pradakshina) the hill as a mark of respect.

The beach at Ganpatipule is very nice, though a little steep. It is not recommended to go too far into the sea. I had visited Ganpatipule from Ratnagiri on scooter in 1990 with my family just after graduation from IIT Kanpur and before I went to the US in Sep 1990. At that time Ganpatipule was a sleepy town. Now it was busy and flourishing as an important religious and tourist destination.

We continued on to Ratnagiri, district headquarters, about 25 km from Ganpatipule.

We were stopping frequently for water and any kokum or limbu sarbat.

We got to the city of Ratnagiri at 1.45 pm. We saw a memorial of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. Ratnagiri was also the birthplace of Lokmanya Tilak.

Unlike the previous 2 days, we decided to take a break and eat lunch before continuing to cycle. We ate at Prashant lunch home, known for its fish thali. Milind, Makarand and Rajendra tried different types of fish, bangda, surmai, poplet etc.

From Ratnagiri, we continued about 15 km to Pawas. Swami Swarupanand was a great Hindu saint born in Pawas. He translated the Marathi book Dnyaneshwari, which was written by Saint Dnyaneshwar into simple Marathi language as Abhang Dnyaneshwari. He participated in the freedom fight movement where he was arrested and kept in Yerawada Jail for some time. He used this time for his spiritual development. This was a view of the river on our way to Pawas.

During our trip, we crossed many bridges such as this built over waterbodies.

The tropical views continued to be spectacular.

We reached Purnagad, a small town around 5.30 pm. We finished the day at almost 100 km.

Purnagad was a small town but it had a very nice fort, a decent climb from sea level. So we decided to walk up to the fort. The fort’s history is unclear but it is said to have been built by Kanhoji Angre, an admiral of the Maratha navy that owed allegiance to the Maratha king of Satara.

The sunset from Purnagad fort was amazing.

By the 4th day we were getting the hang of cycling in coastal Konkan.

We realized that though the road is coastal, it is not like the Pacific Coast Highway that goes right next to the Pacific. The Pacific Coast Highway was built to attract tourists. For speed, people usually take 101 or Interstate 5 from SFO to LA. However, in Konkan, the main purpose of the roads is connectivity. The villages are near the coast and at sea level. But all the roads are on a plateau a few hundred feet above the sea level. Therefore, whenever a village approaches, the road goes down from the plateau to the sea level and immediately after the village, climbs back up to the plateau level. Thus, every village means a grueling climb. In the elevation profile below for Day 4,  the lines are the villages. So we had almost 20 climbs after each village.

We started at 6.05 am from Purnagad. We had a funny and annoying incident where the owner of the place where we were staying had locked the iron  grill to the stairway for the night. So we could not get out. We tried to contact the owner by phone, but no response.  Luckily, Satish, our driver had slept in the car and he simply cut the lock and we left. Finally, we were on our way at around 6.30 am.

We first went to the Mahakali temple at Adivare, 15 km from Purnagad. As usual, we had start with some early morning climbs.

We continued on to Jaitapur. We saw some really nice fishing villages on the way.

From Jaitapur, we went to Mitgavane. The roads on the plateau a few hundred feet above sea level looked like this. Overall, the road quality in Konkan was good and very little traffic.

We went on to Padel. We were doing enough stops along the way. The enthusiasm and energy was good.

These types of bridges are the specialty of this region. Many such bridges. They also have very similar railing and structure.

Then we arrived at Jamsande and then Devgad. We stopped for lunch at Devgad around 12.15 pm.  Devgad is the capital of Hapus (Alfonso) mangoes. It is not a very big town. But the alfonso mangoes from this region are considered the best in the world (more than Ratnagiri hapus). Many tourists visit Devgad specially to purchase mangoes directly from the mango farms.

From Devgad, we continued on to Kunkeshwar where we saw a Shiva temple.

The temple of Kunkeshwar was built many years back. According to legend, a sailor traveling in the sea for trade came near the beach of Kunkeshwar. Suddenly there was a sea storm. The sailor was a Muslim. The ship seemed to sink in the sea. He saw a lamp on that beach. He prayed to that lamp “I don’t know who you are. But if you will help me and stop the havoc I will build a temple for you”. And his ship came to the seashore of Kunkeshwar without any problem. He built the temple as promised on top of the Shiva linga that was already there.

The temple interiors are nicely done. Very pleasing.

From Kunkeshwar, we continued on to Mithbhav. Our destination was Jamdul resort which was only 5 km away, but it needed a ferry crossing. But no ferry was available. So we went around and did almost 15 km to reach Achara and then a 4 km ride to Jamdul resort (Jamdul is the name of the village)

We arrived at Jamdul resort at about 5.30 pm. The resort was really nice, located on the backwaters of the ocean. In low tide, the water would recede completely.

The location was serene and the accommodations clean and comfortable.

This was the view from Jamdul resort.

We finished the day at about 105 km.

Day 5: Thursday, Jan 21, 2021 – Jamdul Resort (Achara) to Ashwem Beach (Goa) – 105 km

Day 5 was our final day with 105 km ride into Goa. We were going to end our ride at Ashwem Beach in North Goa, about 25 km north of Panaji.

Day 5 terrain started off slightly easier with nearly even terrain for the first 20 km till Malvan. There was some serious climbing towards the end, but later in the ride, we were warmed up, so we could handle the climbing.

We started the day from Jamdul  at 6.15 am. But Milind found that his back tyre had a puncture. So we fixed the puncture by simply replacing the tube. It was about 6.40 before we left.

We had gone about 13 km towards Malvan, when Milind’s back tyre burst. We thought that was due to a twist in the tube. Now we were worried how Milind would cycle that day. So Milind put his cycle on the support car and drove to Malvan to find a cycle mechanic who would fix his earlier tube.

Some really nice sunrise views along the way to Malvan.

We arrived in Malvan around 7.50 am.  Malvan is a town and taluka in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra State, India, The main occupation here is fishing and agriculture. The staple diet of the local people is fish curry and rice. The town produces Alphonso mangoes and is also known for sweets such as Malvani Khaja made from gram-besan flour and coated jaggery as well as Malvani Ladoos. Other sweets that attract tourists are Konkani meva, Aambawadi, Fanaspoli, dry fruits, Kajuwadi, Naralachya Wadya, and Malvani Masale.

Luckily we found a cycle mechanic who was able to fix Milind’s tyre. The tube was replaced but the tyre had some damage as well. So we decided to take a chance and have Milind complete the ride on a damaged tyre. We ate breakfast in Malvan. We had Misal Puri, a very unique combination not found in Pune. The usal is made from vatana instead of matki, and the they eat fried puri with it instead of paav.

We then continued on to Vengurla which was about 47 km away. Vengurla, being a safe and natural port, commercial centre was initially established during 1665 by Dutch traders and subsequently by British rulers. Signs of Dutch – British rulers are present in the city : Dutch Wakhar (Godown), St. Lukes Hospital, Crowferd Market, etc. Planned city having road & drainage system, market, commercial and office buildings, Municipal Council, Hospitals, Parks, etc. was developed by British rulers. The 130-year-old Vengurla Municipal Council is one of the oldest Municipal Council in Maharashtra State.

We had lunch at Redkar Bandhu eatery in Vengurla.

They had interesting rice flour laddu.

Their menu (as expected) was overwhelmingly fish curries, with only 2 options for a vegetarian like me. But I did get puran poli 🙂

As we continued, the heat was getting to us. We found a guy selling watermelon. We polished off a large watermelon between all of us.

Finally, we reached the bridge at Aronda which marks the Maharashtra – Goa border. The Goa side was Arambol. It was about 11 km to our destination from the border.

We expected the final 11 km in Goa to be easy, but ups and downs are a part of the Konkan. So we did quite a bit of climbing and finally reached our destination at Ashwem beach at 5.00 pm.

We finished the day at 105 km.

Makarand had booked a fantastic 3 bedroom, 3 bath spaciousAirbnb (with Felix Britto) right on Ashwem beach. Relaxing on the terrace looking at the Arabian sea was a divine experience.

In the evening on Thursday, our 4 cycles were loaded on to a tempo truck and driven to Pune. The tempo reached Pune by Friday morning.

Trip Summary

What an experience!

– 565 km in 5 days
– Extremely difficult bicyling terrain with lots of ups and downs
– Climbed 8,616 m (28,691 feet) – just 341 feet less than the height of Mt. Everest
– Overall road quality is good but not recommended to take a road bike
– Very quiet roads, hardly any traffic
– Serene tropical beauty
– Amazing beaches

Rest Day: Friday, Jan 22, 2021: Goa Tourism

We spent all of Friday in touring Goa.

Walk along Morjim beach (next to Ashwem beach) in the morning.

Helping the fisherman coming back from a fishing expedition dock their boat.

Visiting Kineco, the company that is manufacturing a sonar dome based on composite materials research done by Makarand at DRDO. Each dome costs about Rs. 4 crore (compared to importing it for Rs. 15 crore from the Germans).

Lunch at Martin’s Corner. Fantastic food. Others ate fish and chicken. I had a very delicious Pasta Primavera.

Visited Shantadurga Temple

Visited Mangeshi Temple.