Road trip to explore pristine Konkan beaches of Maharashtra

On an impromptu road trip from Pune to some of the most beautiful, serene and untouched Konkan beaches in Maharashtra, in my darling Hyundai i10, I made some crazy wishes that were made to come true. 
The coastal coast of Maharashtra is exceptionally beautiful and the stretch that I expored had some untouched beaches like Dapoli beach, Anjarle beach, Karde beach, Kelshi beach.

Driving my car on Dapoli beach

A dear friend in Mumbai was to fly to London for work, and before that he wanted to spend time with family and friends. One day when he was celebrating a family get together at one of the Lonavala resorts, he called me up and said that he’s coming to meet me in Pune, and he wanted to experience a short travel in my style.
When I worked in Pune, I would wait for the weekends to head out to some new places to explore, without any expectations, and return with wonderful experiences. I love impromptu road trips as they have always been the best experiences for me. My car is ever ready for road trips, with the boot stuffed with tent, sleeping bag, bed covers, cushions, maggi, a pan and a couple of bowls.

Loading my car for the trip to Konkan beaches

My friend had no idea about what was coming his way. He had strict instructions from me, not to question me about anything, give some rest to his brains and just feel life to the fullest. 
It was October, the rains in the previous months had left its traces on the Sahyadri Mountains by making them lush-green and leaving few water streams running through them. While we drove through the western ghats of Mahabaleshwar, we picked up strawberries, mulberries and a bottle of red wine.

Waterfalls in the western ghats

It was a beautiful 8 hour drive from Pune to Dapoli, we made it to Dapoli just before the sunset. We checked with a resort owner if we could pitch a tent in their ground. He agreed to it, and offered us food in their restaurant.
It was a beautiful full moon night. We collected wood from the forests near the beach and lit up a bonfire on the beach, opened up the bottle of wine and made sangrias with the mulberries and strawberries we had. ​The sound of the snow-white crashing waves filled the air with a music that was so pure and sublime!

Red wine at Dapoli beach

Everything was just so beautiful that we spent the entire night on the beach and never returned to the tent, as we had something very interesting planned for the early morning.

Bonfire on Dapoli beach

I saw the moon fading away by the effect of the sun as it gradually rose out of the horizon.

Early morning at Dapoli beach

7.30 in the morning, we went on a boat ride to spot dolphins. It was my first experience with spotting so many playful dolphins! I felt like a kid when I saw these dolphins jumping out of the ocean.

Dolphin spotting at Dapoli beach

We had a sumptuous breakfast at the resort, and headed out to explore the unexplored beaches on this coast. We drove to a completely secluded Anjarle beach.

Aerial view of Anjarle beach

The walk on the shore and the waves crashing with my legs, gave me a wonderful time to enjoy my solitude that I keep yearning for. There was a small open-hut with only a thatched roof on the beach. It was so inviting to take some rest after the entire night on the beach. I pulled out the cushoins and bed covers from my car and made my space to rest there. The ocean breeze kept brushing my skin, the sound of the waves played a lullaby for me and the roof protected me from the sunlight. This quick power nap charged me up for the day. I woke up to the sound of a few kids from near-by village playing next to me. My friend was still playing with the waves like a kid who was left alone to enjoy the world as his playground.

unexplored Anjarle beach

My quest to explore wasn’t fulfilled and i wanted to explore the inner regions on the coast. We drove to the lands where the roads didn't exist and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I sawmthousands of seagulls flocked together near a shore. I stood there for few minutes before I realised I wasn’t dreaming.

Seagulls on the beach

Seagulls on the beach

We drove further and reached a village where people were busy with their daily chores of picking firewood, women washing clothes at some water source in the open and kids playing in the mud. I parked my car here and walked through the woods to enter to a pristine stretch of beach. It felt like no outsider had ever come to this beach. I tried to enquire the name of the village and the beach and I’ll keep it a secret :)

There are moments in my life when I witness something so beautiful that it leaves me calm for hours. This was one such moment. My friend and I sat silently on the sand of the beach, whispering nothings to the ocean, without realising the time. It was 4pm already and we suddenly realised we are hungry in the middle of nowhere! There was no hope of getting any food from the surroundings. This is when my preparation came to rescue. While my friend helped me make a fire place with stones and wood, I collected drinking water, maggi, pan and lighter (thanks to my smoker friends who forget their lighters in my car). Cooking maggi in the woods, with self-made fireplace was such an interesting experience for me.

Cooking maggi on self made fire place in the woods near the beach

Undoubtedly, it was the best Maggi I've ever had.

Eating self-cooked maggi on fire place in the woods near the beach

I just couldn't resist myself from taking a walk in these tranquil woods near the beach. It was difficult to bid adieu to this beach, but there was a Monday morning waiting for me!

With heavy hearts, we started driving back to Pune after the sunset and drove the entire night to reach Pune at 3 in the night!
My friend left for Mumbai to take his flight to London that he had booked through Egypt Air. He kept thanking me all the while for giving him this wonderful experience before his tough days at work. I kept thanking him for being a wonderful travel partner! He never questioned any idea of mine and supported me completely to make my crazy wishes come true.

The dates I made this trip on:

I had made this trip on : 27th Oct 2012 - 28th Oct 2012

Best time to visit Dapoli beaches

Konkan beaches are best to visit at anytime of the year.
Its a great escape from the cities in the summers to spend time in the waters.
Monsoon makes a beautiful drive to this place through beautiful western ghats.
Winters is perfect time to spot dolphins. Dolphins can only be spotted early morning in the months of October to February. 

How to travel to Dapoli

By bus: There are overnight and early morning state busses that run from Mumbai and Pune to Dapoli.
By train: The closes railay station is Khed, 40kms from Dapoli.
By car: Dapoli beach is a good 7-8 hours drive from Pune. The road from Pune-Wai-Mahabaleshwar-Kashedi-Khed-Dapoli is in the best condition. Dapoli beach is 9-10 hours drive from Mumbai
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