We were 5 friends for the trip. Laxman was with Rahul on his Pulsar, Abhijit was with Datta on his Passion and I was on my Passion Plus all alone :-( We left Kothrud at 7.00 am on Sat. and followed
route Chandani Chowk - Paud - Mulashi - Tamhini. The road was in very good condition. We crossed the Tamhini ghat and halted in Vile, at the base of Tamhini ghat. It was around 9.30 am and we were 95 km from Pune. After having kandapohe and
tea in a small hotel in Vile, we proceeded for Mangaon,
around 18 km from Vile. From Mangaon, we took Mumbai-Goa highway upto Mahad. Mangaon-Mahad distance is 30 km. Just at the entry point of Mahad, there is Raigad phata. Raigad is around
25 km from this phata.
We reached Raigad base at around 11.30 am. There are two
options to go on Raigad. First is, you have to
ascend Raigad by the steps. It takes around 2 hours to reach the top. This route takes you to the front side of the fort. The other option is to try Raigad Ropeway. It takes just 4 minutes
to reach the top by ropeway. But this is paid service. You have to pay Rs. 120 for to-and-fro ride. There are just 4 people
in a cab. This cab is attached to a rope and moves along
this rope. Ropeway takes you to the back side of the fort.
As we were having less time, we chose the later option.
It was a thrilling experience with this ride. In just 4 minutes, we reached Raigad top. It was around 12.00 noon. A small boy from the top agreed to guide us the fort on one condition, we have to take buttermilk
from him. Obviously we agreed. He guided us to all the
famous spots of Raigad. We visited Rani Mahal, Gangasagar
talav, Market, Takmak tok, Jagadishwar temple, Rajwada, Shivaji Maharaj samadhi. It took us 2 hours to visit these places. There are some hotels on the top, where water and food can be available. Also, there is MTDC resort on the top.
After having glasses of buttermilk from our Chhota Guide, we came down the fort by ropeway at around 3.00 pm. We
had our lunch in a hotel in the base. The food was delicious,
Tandalaachi bhakari and Jhunka. After taking some rest, we left for
Dive Aagar at around 4.00 pm. Going via Mahad-Dasgaon-Lonere Phata-Goregaon-Mhasala-Borlai
Panchatan, we reached Dive Aagar at 7.00 pm. The total
running from Raigad base was around 100 km.
Dive Aagar is a very small and beautiful village of Raigad
district on the Shrivardhan - Dighi Bandar road. The village
is famous for its sea beach, Supaari_chya baaga and Suvarna Ganesh mandir. There are just 2-3 hotels in the village. Those hotels were already full because of the weekend. So, we had
to look for alternative.
Most of the houses in the village provide quality food and
very cheap stay. We found one such house of Joshi kaku.
The house was a typical Konkani style, surrounded by Supaari trees. Sea beach was just 5 min. walking distance from this house. She charged just Rs. 200 for we 5 people for 1 day - 1 night. Dinner was a typical Maharashtrian food. After
dinner, we slept early.
We got up next day, and had Kandapohe and tea for breakfast
and immediately left for the beach at around 9.00
am. The beach is very safe and very clean. We were there on the beach till 12.00 noon. Then we come back and had a bath. Then we had a very very delicious lunch with Surmai fry, Surmai masala and solkadhi. Fish was prepared very nicely in typical
Konkani style. See just by remembering it, my mouth started
watering :-)
After dinner, Laxman and Rahul rested, and meanwhile myself,
Abhijit and Datta took a round in the Dive Aagar, on its
red soil roads. We all left Dive Aagar at 3.00 pm. Now Datta was with me. Following the route Borlai Panchatan-Mhasala-Mangaon-Tamhini-Mulshi-Paud, we reached Pune at 8.30 pm. Because of good roads throughout our journey, we had a less trouble.
In all, we had a very nice and memorable trip.
