6 best friends and a sleepy little coastal town: Diveagar

What happens when you have best friends who love to travel? Yes, unlimited fun and some unforgettable experiences. This is a story of 6 girls dragging through the mundane IT life and who have not met in one and half years. So, after lines and lines of WhatsApp discussions, vetoing against Goa; the reunion special, we zeroed it down to a sleepy town in the district of Raigad, Diveagar.

The journey

Flying across the country, all the way from Kolkata, Bangalore and Mumbai, we pitched our tent in the Deccan queen Pune. An early morning start ensured that we hit the majestic Western Ghats with ample time in our hands to enjoy the route. The monsoon has just begun receding, and the time could not have been better for a long 190 kms drive to the Konkan coast. We were lucky to witness the Sahyadri Ranges in it complete glory. The breathtaking lush greens of the Ghats, engulfed in the misty clouds are a treat to the eyes. The roads are decent enough so we completed the whole journey via Mulshi route passing the beautiful Tahmini ghat, then Mangoan to the town of Diveagar in 4 and half hours.

The destination: Diveagar

We had a quick lunch then we drove towards a guest house near to the coast that we had booked earlier. The guest house was managed by a super friendly elderly couple. Almost all the homes in the area are converted into guest houses and are available at really affordable prices at around 600-800 Rupees for a single night. This small village will transport you back to the summer vacations spend at your grandparent’s place. The narrow muddy lanes and thatched roofs are straight out RK Narayan’s Malgudi days. You can experience a sudden change in the air quality and you will definitely understand why this is such a great weekend getaway from Pune and Mumbai.

After settling down at the guest house we started walking towards the beach which is around 750 m away. Again the sheer untouched beauty of the village got to me and the photographer in me jumped in delight. Diveagar is not one of your crowed beaches, and that makes it even more beautiful. The local authorities provide variety of water sports like parasailing and banana rides at dirt cheap prices. We indulged ourselves to a banana ride. For someone who has not experienced it I would like to add that the series of moments that you will experience when the instructor lowers you down into the sea a few kms away from the coast is out of the world. I cannot think of anybody other than my friends to experience this moment with. Diveagar is safe for bathing and playing as compared to the nearby beaches. We saw the sun going down the horizon and with a smile on our faces we walked on the beach. We were at the beach until it was dark and fought our chillness with some kanda bhaji and tea.

For people like me who are always confused, whether they like the hills more or the sea, this place is the answer. The Konkan coast has beautiful gems hidden within it. The sea surrounded by hills in Diveagar is the exact landscape hanging in your living rooms. If you are looking for some untouched beauty, this is your place.

We returned to our rooms to clean up and then we went out to hunt for dinner. All of us hail from the coastal state of Odisha and the word coast reminds us of sea food. So very particularly we were looking for a good sea food place. After walking around a while we found the most popular hotel in the area, Rane Bandhu. Since it was one of those extended weekends, we had to wait for around 45 minutes. The wait was totally worth it, we ended up gorging on fresh surmai and prawn curry. With this ended the first day at the Konkan coast.

Shrivardhan and Harihareswar

The next day began with delightfully sore bodies and some freshly made poha and tea by our hosts. We paid our dues and started for the next phase of the journey. As told by our reliable friend Google, we started off to another beach called Shrivardhan situated at 21 kms from Diveagar. Little did we know that we were going to be struck by the enthralling beauty of Shrivardhan. This beach was pristine clear and even less crowded than Diveagar. The artist in you will crave to take out a sketch pad and start painting. The roads to the beach were straight out of the postcards. With each turn and bend we got to see a view surprisingly more beautiful than the previous one. We ended up spending more hours on the route than the beach itself.

Thanks to our driver we found out about a small temple nearly 20 kms away from Shrivardhan in another coastal town called Harihareswar. This Shiva temple dates back to 16th century and is popularly known as Dakshin Kashi in Maharashtra. The temple is situated on the sea shore and the pradakshina route comprises the shoreline itself. The beach at Harihareswar is not safe for bathing and it is not advised to get down in the water, so with heavy hearts we stayed clear of the sea. Here we were introduced to another specialty of the Konkan coast, Kokam sarbat. Sipping the refreshing kokam sarbat and taking the blessings of lord Shiva, we ended our journey of the 3 towns of Diveagar-Shrivardhan-Harihareswar.

None of us wanted this journey to get over because of obvious reasons, but the duty calls and we started our return journey to Pune. To our surprise the last leg of monsoon was waiting for us in the Western Ghats and again we were lucky to witness the Ghats at its best. Hence bidding adieu to the monsoon we finished our reunion.

Excellent getaway from the hustle bustle of Pune and Mumbai.

The undiscovered beauty of Konkan.