This month I got a fortunate opportunity for a business trip to Mumbai. Which extended to an exploratory weekend getaways to the coastal town of Ratnagiri.

After the morning and evening quick stroll at Marine drive and nearby areas. We took a bus to Ratnagiri, that would drop us at 5 am in the sleepy town.

Clocktower

Entering MTDC

Day 1: Beta! Bus me left side me baithna, accha dikhega.

The bus dropped us in the near proximity of the bus stand. It took a while to finalise on the correct bus to Ganpatiphule beach. Ganpatiphule is a pristine white sand beach, known for the Ganpati temple where the idol is said to have sprung up from the soil some 400 years ago. An old local guy really helped us in deciphering the correct bus and also told us to sit on the left side to get the best views on this 22km journey. We threw our bags and quickly went to explore the beach.

View from MTDC

Very pocket heavy Juices

At the Beach

Beach shots

Camels for the Beach ride

The beach was very pristine and calm. Blue ocean waving across the white sand made the time stop for a moment. Later in the evening we enjoyed the amazing sunset while eating Bhel Puri.

Sunset to die for

Day 2: Sir! Jaigad ka last bus to nikal gya !

We planned to visit the Jaigad fort from Ganpatiphule the next day. But the last bus was not available when we reached the bus station. Instead we hopped on the next bus that came to the stand which dropped us in Malgund. It was a 2 km tedious walk to the malgund beach in the itching sun. It was no way we could go to the beach in this soaring mercury, So instead, we sat on the stairs and enjoyed the views.

Malgund Beach

We sat at an old an uninhabited temple as we waited for the bus back to Ratnagiri. After reaching the city and having a delicious lunch at Mithila we headed towards Thiba point.Thiba point is situated on a small hillock. This is also a best sunset point and provides good view of the kajali Mangroves, the port and the Arabian sea. We had to wait for a couple of hours to get in as the place opened up at 4 pm. From there we took an auto to explore Ratnagiri Fort and Bhagwati Mandir.

At Thiba Point

View from the Mandir

Ratnagiri Lighthouse

Boat ready to float

The trip ended on (not-so-good-but-anyways-the-auto-dropped-us-here) Mandavi Beach. However while enjoying the Cold sea breeze and calm waves we said goodbye to this beautiful beach town.

Sunset from the Mandavi beach