India Travel — Green Kokan, Indian Western Ghats.
When I planned my India Holiday this time, I decided to visit the coastal areas of Maharashtra, such as Kokan and Goa, and then south Kerala.
Mumbai is always a warm-hearted place. Energy is always high and vibrant. Back home, it always feels calmer. But if you want to travel to more peaceful places to be one with nature, you must come out of Mumbai. The Indian government has started a new train called Vande Bharat in the Western Ghats. Reviews of the train were excellent. First, book tickets for Ratnagiri from Mumbai on the IRCTC website. Search for a good resort near Beach One at the best available price. During the monsoon season, the price range is lower.
The train is well designed and managed, spacious, clean, and has automatic doors, oversized windows, an electronic display, and a flight-style breakfast and lunch provided. Indeed a treat to all… especially when you go via scenario regions like Sahiyadari
We randomly booked 2 nights in Ratnagiri at the beach-located resort the Westbay Resort and Spa (Abhishek Beach Resort & Spa) near Ganpatipule https://westbayresortandspa.com/ and 3 nights in Candolim, Goa we booked for https://www.theacaciahotels.com/. Luckily, we enjoyed both places.
Ratnagiri is a small village and a town rich in nature. Home to mangoes, fish, coconuts, and kaiju (dry fruit), beautiful forts, palaces, beaches, temples, and greenery exist. The rainy season is quiet, and there is not much crowd, which was perfect for us. We managed to get a reasonable car tour in Ratnagiri for 2 days. As we headed from Ratnagiri station to Thibaw Palace, it was the residence of the exiled king of Burma, who had been built by the British, especially for him. After that, we visited Ratnadurg Fort, which has stunning views and was specially built to keep an eye on enemies coming from the Arabian Sea.
We were super tired, so we decided to go to the resort after getting up early to catch the train. It was about to be early evening. We booked Westbay Resort and Spa near Ganapatipule Temple, as we planned to visit the temple the next day. The resort is impressive in location; it is very close to the beach and has good service and food. It has individual villas, a swimming pool, a spa, and a restaurant with room services.
On the Second day, we visited the Ganpatipule temple, which is located near the beach shore of the Arabian Sea. The 400-year-old Ganpati idol at Ganpatipule is said to have sprung up from the soil. The Resort is quite close to the temple, about 1 km by walking on the beach. There are a lot of activities on the beach, which are primarily open throughout the year except during the monsoon season.
We headed next to home to our leader — Bal Gangadhar Tilak, popularly known as Lokmanya Tilak. His house is retained as a tribute to his freedom struggle. The Archaeological Department of the State of Maharashtra has conserved his birthplace as a memorial. There’s a statue of Lokmanya Tilak on the outside premises. Then we visited the home of Marathi Poet Keshavsut in Malung village, which was surrounded by green lust trees. He is known as the father of Modern Marathi poets. His home, his collection of poems, his library, and a memorial built at the back of his home mesmerise the Beauty of Koken.
Next, we had a proper Traditional vegetarian lunch thali at a local restaurant. We then head towards one more Ganesha Temple built by Jindal groups called Vinayak Temple. Jindal had a steel project nearby, so they built a Temple nearby. We also visited Rajgad Fort, which is located near the steel plant. The Temple is surrounded by a beautiful garden where people can relax. You could see a lot of Banayan trees in Kokan. Also, the soil is red. A lot of brick factories are around this region,
There are many beaches nearby. The local city center is also well known for its food, especially seafood dishes. I wish I had more than two days to visit all the beaches and the rest of the forts properly. I would need one more trip.
I still need to write about a trip to Candolim in Goa, but Kokan was breathtaking!!
