Murund Janjira and Kashid

We reached Murud at around 8.30 p.m. After checking in at Mr Hamdule's homestay, we moved on to Patil Khanaval for food. This is the most famous place for food(especially sea food) in this town. Most of the homestay owners do not serve food and instead direct guests to have food with him.

Next day morning, we got up went for a jog on the beach as it is touching Mr Humdule's home. After break fast we began exploring area around.

Kashid and Murud are famous for beaches and clean water. Kashid is the first beach; which you come across while travelling down south from Mumbai; where you would find clean water and white sand. Travel to these destinations have been on the rise since last 8-10 years. At that time Murud was a town and Kashid was a village; so there were no stay options at Kashid. Most of the travellers used to stay at Murud and travel to Kashid to enjoy beach. However Kashid got quite popular among youngsters as the waves here are strong.

With the increased traffic new developments came here; as of now there are a lot of homestays which are good in quality and very close to the beach over here. There is only one resort which is close to the beach and is pretty expensive. The rest of the resorts are quite far and they arrange for transport to go to the beach.

There are few wonderful places to see in this area, which are listed here:

Janjira Fort:

The fort was under control of local fisherman head Rajaram Koli, who later lost it to Siddhi’s. The fort is impregnable due to presence of rocks under water around the fort. This prevented large ships from reaching the fort and small ones were not effective given the size of the fort. Even Siddhi’s conquered it by deceit. Siddhis later built this fort on 22 acres of land with 22 bastions on the boundary w all. There are 3 big canons here namly Chavadi, Gomukh and Kalal Bangdi. These are made from alloys, the metal is so thick that in the middle of the afternoon you would find them cold on touching.
To reach the fort first go to Rajpuri village(lot of autos are available) and then take a boat ride. You would also come to know that the sea is quite shallow, as most of the time the boat is push ahead by pushing bamboos on the sea bed and for very small interval sails are opened. These boats are not motorized at all.

Inside view of the fort

Giant Cannons: Gomukh, Chavadi and Kalal Bangdi
Ruins of Durbar inside fort

Murud Beach:
Murud beach is beautiful and flat with white sands. As it’s quite far from Mumbai you can experience clean water which you miss at Alibaug. The waves are not very strong here and hence it’s a nice beach for families and kids. Its adjoining the main road of the town hence can expect some hustle-bustle of the locals. An early morning walk on the beach can get you see fishermen going to the high seas and that is a delight in itself to watch. Later in the day till late evening you have vendors around the beach and can enjoy local snacks, coconut water etc.

Datta Mandir:
A beautiful but rarely visited location close to Murud is Datta Mandir as not many people are aware of this spot; however it is a highly recommended spot at Murud. It is great to enjoy sunset in the evening from this place as you can get panoramic view of the sea on the west and thick green forest covered hills on the east. Although vehicles can go to the top of the hill an early morning trek to this place is equally enjoyable in a group, if you are a trek lover.


View towards west and Duttmandir


Eastside view

Nandgaon:
On your way from Murud to Kashid; approx 7km from the hustle bustle of Murud is a real quiet and serene place called Nandgaon. While you travel by road, you are likely to miss this beach and as there are homes on both side of the road blocking view. We highly recommended Nandgaon beach for people who want peace and privacy. The cool breeze on this beach works like a balm to you soul. You will find the communing with air, water and sand at Nandgaon beach a supreme rejuvenation. The beach is safe and waves are not as strong as Kashid. Therefore, we highly recommend for families and young couples. As this is an unexplored locations you would not find hawkers on the beach so ensure you carry food and water. You can buy these in the village as well. There is a beautiful temple of Ganesha in Nandgaon village. Make it a point to visit the same.

Nandgaon Beach

Siddhi Vinayak Temple

Kashid:
Kashid is one of the most famous beaches near Mumbai. It is known for white sand, clear water, strong waves and blue sky. Young guys in groups flock this beach to enjoy the strong waves. Families with small children need to be careful while entering water; as you may be caught unaware with a sudden big wave after 5 or 6 small ones. Even youngsters are advised not to try stunts in the sea. Along side the beach there are food stalls and you can get refreshments here; however no beer is available.

Kashid beach view of Left/right hand side

We enjoyed our stay at Murud for 2 days. We tried convincing Mr Hamdule but he was not even interested in promoting his homestay. He wanted peaceful, no hassles life and did not show much desire to develop business.



So we moved ahead .................on the day 3 morning ahead to Shrivardhan. We had two options 1. Hit NH17 again from Mangaon go to Mhasla


2. Travel with coastal road from village to village and reach Bhalgaon from there on moving to Mhasla - Shrivardhan.


Ali and me decided to take coastal route.. we wanted to try the unbeaten tracks ... in the morning we went to meet two of our business associates and then moved on after lunch...........

For more pictures, information about places of visit and homestays/bed and breakfasts visit http://www.mygreatstay.com/

Coming next .... one of the most beautiful journeys along the coast and definitely most exciting for bikers and nature lovers --- Murud Janjira to Shrivardhan

Also coming up details of my visit to Kolhapur and Panhala