Monday, July 21, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Reveries of Guhaghar
Guhaghar- I havent yet found the perfect word to describe Guhaghar.
Lets start by introducing the statistical facts about Guhaghar.Its a small coastal village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.Less popular among the tourist hence the beaches are still pristine and impeccable and you get to experience the much cherished solitude at its lone beaches.
Apart from its serene beaches what makes this place unconventional is the amicability of the konkan families.We consider ourselves fortunate to have met such warm hearted ajoba,ajis,kaku's and mawsi's significantly contributing to our acquaintance with Maharastrian people and culture.Although hell bored with Puneri Poha but the Poha,Panah,Soul Curry and Aamras from the mawsi/kaku of guhaghar definately found way to our heart.
Luckily we had found the contact of Ravindra Bhaiya - whose beachside house has the most perfect ambience for providing solace to the frayed nerves from IT.The thatched roofed home has 2 guest rooms with attached toilet for rent which is extremely pocket friendly.The backyard of the lovely home comprises jackfruit and coconut trees ultimately finding its way to the pristine beach.
There are hammocks were you can lie down with your camerado,sharing a sip from the fresh tender coconut, listening to the waves from the shore or just reading Ayn rand experiencing insouciance .On new moon nights the orange hues from the Dhabol - Enron Powerplant provides some familiarity to the lonely dark shores.
Guhaghar is bounteous not just by its virgin beaches but by the rare Gorges in Hedvi(known as Brahmangal amongst the local),Anjanvel - picturesque fishing village and the Gopalgarh Fort overlooking miles and miles of the Konkan coast.
The dusty road in front of Ravinder bhaiya's house leads to Hedvi/Velneshwar on one side and to Anjanvel/Gopalgarh on the other side.
From Guhaghar Hedvi is around 60kms.Its is mostly known for its Uma Maheshwari temple,but for a not so religious science and physics lover the Brahmangal(Gorge) was the attractive factor.
Brahmanghal is a rare natural phenomenon where continous gradation of the rocks by the sea has created a gorge in the black rock patch about 20 feet deep and 1-2 feet wide. The sea water gushes in and a water column rises through this gorge above the rocks upto 20-50ft.we had never before heard of any gorges before in India, it was only a geographical phenomenon read in text books in school,but without actually seeing it - its hard to believe that there is this amazing natural phenomenon right there yet unknown to so many.We saw few families religiously visiting the temple,but our keen eyes were searching for that thing read about in books.Its a stretch of rocky beach,we started going behind the temple to get a better view of the sea and suddenly much to our bewilderment there was a huge splash of white water gushing into the shore rising as high as upto 50 feet at a go. Yes the description of Gorge came out right alive from the geography book of class 9. Our first encounter with Brahmangal,thereby followed with number of videos of each splash trying to record the highest ones within the span of those 2 hrs.Indeed it was the crux of the trip.Thanks to the Aji and the ajoba who had guided us with the exact time for the Brahmangal with the help of Panchang,we were able to witness yet another wonder of nature hidden beyond the facades of manmade religion.
During our 2nd trip to Guhaghar we took the other road leading towards Anjanvel and Gopalgarh.
Our friendly local auto driver charged us Rs 600/- for a trip to Chandika Devi temple,Anjanvel and Gopalgarh.One needs to cross the Dhabol Creek in a fishing jetty to visit the popular underground Chandika Devi temple.There are no lights inside the temple and the diety is swayamabhu (formed naturally).
After visiting the temple there is a half an hour drive from Anjanvel to Gopalgarh Fort.Anjanvel is a lovely fishing village where you get to see myriad of colored fishing boats.Also there are few local restaurants that boasts of sumptuous culinary sea food delights.Next a panoramic yet bumpy ride uphill enroute the dhabol powerplant - (now undertaken by RGPPL (Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited) ) we reach the beautiful lighthouse at Gopalgad.The friendly old guard at the lighthouse allows us to sneak in even though it was beyond the permissible hours.He edifies us on the reflectors/prisms,nautical miles etc.And then the euphoric 360 degree view from the lighthouse of the vast konkan coast.Yes and at this point once again we are assured that for us pinnacles of happiness is in satiating our wanderlust.We had our yet another VnV travelorgasm :) :)
Lets start by introducing the statistical facts about Guhaghar.Its a small coastal village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra.Less popular among the tourist hence the beaches are still pristine and impeccable and you get to experience the much cherished solitude at its lone beaches.
Apart from its serene beaches what makes this place unconventional is the amicability of the konkan families.We consider ourselves fortunate to have met such warm hearted ajoba,ajis,kaku's and mawsi's significantly contributing to our acquaintance with Maharastrian people and culture.Although hell bored with Puneri Poha but the Poha,Panah,Soul Curry and Aamras from the mawsi/kaku of guhaghar definately found way to our heart.
Luckily we had found the contact of Ravindra Bhaiya - whose beachside house has the most perfect ambience for providing solace to the frayed nerves from IT.The thatched roofed home has 2 guest rooms with attached toilet for rent which is extremely pocket friendly.The backyard of the lovely home comprises jackfruit and coconut trees ultimately finding its way to the pristine beach.
There are hammocks were you can lie down with your camerado,sharing a sip from the fresh tender coconut, listening to the waves from the shore or just reading Ayn rand experiencing insouciance .On new moon nights the orange hues from the Dhabol - Enron Powerplant provides some familiarity to the lonely dark shores.
Guhaghar is bounteous not just by its virgin beaches but by the rare Gorges in Hedvi(known as Brahmangal amongst the local),Anjanvel - picturesque fishing village and the Gopalgarh Fort overlooking miles and miles of the Konkan coast.
The dusty road in front of Ravinder bhaiya's house leads to Hedvi/Velneshwar on one side and to Anjanvel/Gopalgarh on the other side.
From Guhaghar Hedvi is around 60kms.Its is mostly known for its Uma Maheshwari temple,but for a not so religious science and physics lover the Brahmangal(Gorge) was the attractive factor.
Brahmanghal is a rare natural phenomenon where continous gradation of the rocks by the sea has created a gorge in the black rock patch about 20 feet deep and 1-2 feet wide. The sea water gushes in and a water column rises through this gorge above the rocks upto 20-50ft.we had never before heard of any gorges before in India, it was only a geographical phenomenon read in text books in school,but without actually seeing it - its hard to believe that there is this amazing natural phenomenon right there yet unknown to so many.We saw few families religiously visiting the temple,but our keen eyes were searching for that thing read about in books.Its a stretch of rocky beach,we started going behind the temple to get a better view of the sea and suddenly much to our bewilderment there was a huge splash of white water gushing into the shore rising as high as upto 50 feet at a go. Yes the description of Gorge came out right alive from the geography book of class 9. Our first encounter with Brahmangal,thereby followed with number of videos of each splash trying to record the highest ones within the span of those 2 hrs.Indeed it was the crux of the trip.Thanks to the Aji and the ajoba who had guided us with the exact time for the Brahmangal with the help of Panchang,we were able to witness yet another wonder of nature hidden beyond the facades of manmade religion.
During our 2nd trip to Guhaghar we took the other road leading towards Anjanvel and Gopalgarh.
Our friendly local auto driver charged us Rs 600/- for a trip to Chandika Devi temple,Anjanvel and Gopalgarh.One needs to cross the Dhabol Creek in a fishing jetty to visit the popular underground Chandika Devi temple.There are no lights inside the temple and the diety is swayamabhu (formed naturally).
After visiting the temple there is a half an hour drive from Anjanvel to Gopalgarh Fort.Anjanvel is a lovely fishing village where you get to see myriad of colored fishing boats.Also there are few local restaurants that boasts of sumptuous culinary sea food delights.Next a panoramic yet bumpy ride uphill enroute the dhabol powerplant - (now undertaken by RGPPL (Ratnagiri Gas and Power Private Limited) ) we reach the beautiful lighthouse at Gopalgad.The friendly old guard at the lighthouse allows us to sneak in even though it was beyond the permissible hours.He edifies us on the reflectors/prisms,nautical miles etc.And then the euphoric 360 degree view from the lighthouse of the vast konkan coast.Yes and at this point once again we are assured that for us pinnacles of happiness is in satiating our wanderlust.We had our yet another VnV travelorgasm :) :)
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