“The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever.” — Jacques Yves Cousteau, Oceanographer

Ratnagiri district with its Hills, sea shores, creeks, rivers, hot water springs, forests, water falls and religious places attract tourists/pilgrims from great distance.

I have been on two Ratnagiri trips so far:

  • Kotawade-AareWare-Ganpatipue-Malgund trip and
  • Chiplun-Hedvi-Velneshwar-Guhagar trip

I have yet not explored the whole of Ratnagiri but from what I have explored so far, here is the list of my top favorites:

Ratnagiri District Map

Ratnagiri District Map

  • Coastal drive along the Aare ware beach to Ganpatipule: This is one of the best costal drives I’ve been and it has amazing view points along the way.
Costal Drive along Aare Ware

Costal Drive along Aare Ware

Sit and watch the sea : Costal Drive along Aare Ware

Sit and watch the sea : Costal Drive along Aare Ware

  • Brahman Ghal: This place is a few kilometres from Hedvi. Brahman Ghal is a rare natural phenomenon where continuous 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 20-30ft!
Brahman Ghal

Brahman Ghal

Water gushing up from the Brahman Ghal

Water gushing up from the Brahman Ghal

  • Karneshwar Temple,  Kasba Peth: This is a very beautiful temple built by Pandavas. Its a hidden Gem. The statues and carvings of Hindu Deities can be seen on the temple walls.

Karneshwar-1 (2) Karneshwar-1 (3) Karneshwar-1 (1)

  • Crocodile spotting while boating on the Vashisthi River: River Vashisthi is one of the largest rivers in the Konkan Coast. The river has many riverine islands and is inhabited by a dense crocodile population.

Croc-1 (2) Croc-1 (1)

  • Watch the RORO service of the Konkan Railway(RORO means Roll On Roll Off): The unique and innovative RO-RO service of Konkan Railway, where loaded trucks are directly carried by railway wagons to their destination. Konkan Railways passes through tough terrains of India. Truck drivers find it extremely difficult to drive loaded trucks through ghats, undulating surfaces, narrow roads and poor road and weather conditions. The Konkan Railway came with concept of RORO, where loaded trucks are moved on wagons and are travelled by train. This has helped in saving of fuels, decrease in wear and tear of lorries (trucks), relief to drivers of driving in extreme conditions, can reach faster to destination. This also helps in de-congestion of roads and lowering of pollution. This concept has been beneficial for both truck operators and KRCL.
RORO Service

RORO Service

  • View the clouds at your feet from the hilltop at Chiplun: Had an opportunity to view this magnificent site from the mountain top at Parshuram (Dongarmatha Eco Resort)

CloudsAtFeet-1 (2) CloudsAtFeet-1 (1)

  • Malgund Beach: Its my favourite beach in Ratnagiri so far. Malgund or the Gaywadi beach is a long stretch of beach with a mixture of white and black sand. A safe beach for a swim and ideal for a romantic walk on the beach. The Gaywadi beach has a small private aquarium near the beach. Water sports is also available at this beach.

Malgund

Fact File:

Both the trips I mentioned above were 3 days 2 nights. You can combine the destinations and hop the resorts\homestays in case you have more time.

Details of the stay:

At Kotawade: Atithi Parinay

http://www.atithiparinay.com/

At Chiplun: Dongarmatha Eco Resort

While at Velneshwar you can have lunch at: Chandrant Gokhale: 02359243307

While at Malgund you can have lunch at: Swad :  02357 235162