BACKPACKING TO KOLHAPUR AND RATNAGIRI

It was a pleasant morning, Cleaners voice made me wake up, as he is informing everyone in the bus that is reaching Kolhapur. I just got up quickly packed my bag , I woke my freind up, and finally we reached our destination Kolhapur. We got down near the Kolhapur Bust stand (CBS).

We had tea near the bus stand and took an auto for our hotel. Solanki Guest House was at a distance of 10 mins drive from the bus stand. It Auto Charge till the guest house was Rs 30. We checked into our room it was very neat, 2 single bedded room costed us Rs 300 per person which was quite cheap. We got freshen up and left to explore.

Our first stop on our list was to visit Shree Mahalaxmi ambabai temple. It was built during the Chalukya rule in the 7th century.It is popularly known as Mahalaxmi Temple. The structure of the temple is very well maintained. It took us almost 2 hrs for the darshan, as one can see in pic below how I was sweating a bit after a waiting for 2hrs, my patience didn't went in vein, Finally I had the glimpse of the Durga, I was cherished, Later after the Darshan , we came out and had breakfast Which is one of popular breakfast it Costed us Rs 20.

The next stop on list was Shree Jotiba Devasthan It is located on Ratnagiri- Kolhapur Highway. We Took a Shared Auto which costed Rs 120 per person, It took us 45 to 50 mins to reach the temple. When we reached the temple what I saw was something different, the whole temple was covered with pink colour also known as gulal, I thought there is some celebration going in the temple, when inquired about it came to know , that the temple is covered in pink 365 days in a year, and yes it was crowded as it was weekend, The area near the temple had stall for snacks, sweets( Prasad), toys, Ladies footwear and much more. I had a very good experience at the temple, it took us 30 min for the darshan photography was prohibited inside but I managed to some.

Later in the evening we went to Marine drive of Kolhapur known as Rankala lake, I felt like I was roaming in Chowpatty of Mumbai , it was crowded in the evening , There was various food stall available. We had Pani Puri and Frankie over there, We reached here by auto from the city of Kolhapur and it costed us Rs 40 , One can find traffic also on the way to Rankala. Here we both had a discussion whether to go back to Mumbai on next day or to go somewhere else and reach Mumbai by night , Then I had a suggestion why don't we explore Ganpatipule. We both agreed on it and decided to go to Ganpatipule the next day. Later in the night we had dinner near the Mahalaxmi Temple and did some shopping. We had Thali for dinner and it costed us Rs 120 per person.

It was Sunday 11th November, We checked out from our room early in the morning, We had a bus to catch for Ganpatipule. An auto Ride to Bus stand costed us Rs 30. We boarded early morning bus at 06.00 am in the morning to Ganpatipule, The ticket per person was Rs 220

After a 5 hrs of tiring journey we reached Ganpatipule around 11.00 am, We had breakfast at a rest stop, while we were reaching Ganpatipule , Breakfast costed us Rs 30 per person. Ganpatipule Temple is at walkable distance from Ganpatipule Bus stand. The temple is located on the Ganpatipule Beach , Since it was Sunday it was also crowded , and it took almost 1 hr for the darshan, The temple is dedicated to Lord Ganesha. After Taking darshan I was lucky to have prasad ( khichdi) in the afternoon, Our stomach was full by then , We relaxed in the beach for some time. The beach was super clean, One can find activities on the beach.

It was time to leave for Mumbai, We headed back to Ganpatipule Bus stand, On our way I could find a local Sightseeing tour operator , having his banner on the Conner of the road, We boarded an ST bus for Ratnagiri Railway Station , Which is at a distance of 50 min to 1 hr. The ride costed us Rs 38 per person. We reached by 16:30 hrs at the railway station , since we couldnt find tickets online we had take cancelled waitlisted ticket at the station itself from the TC, A Normal Reserved Seater ticket would cost around Rs 185 per person, we had to shell out double the amount , as the train waitlisted was also full, we paid around 400 per person. The Train was also late at Ratnagiri the actual of arrival at Ratnagiri was 17:50 hrs it came around 19.10 hrs, and the train was also full , the whole journey we had to stand , there was no seat available, For the first time in my life I came standing throughout the journey for almost 5 to 6 hrs we reached Dadar railway station around 00.50 pm in the night, it was a indeed one of my great journey and will be remembered for a long period of time specially to return train journey.

After visiting the temple we were on to our next stop on the list. Shri Chatrapati Shahu Museum popularly known as " New palace" They have entry fees For the adults it was Rs 18 and for Child Rs 12, Photography is strictly prohibited inside the museum, I managed to get a few , but was caught later, I had to pay Rs 200 as fine. There is also a bullock cart ride which will take rounds of the museum A ride will cost around Rs 50 Per person, and the rider will also guide you regarding the history of museum. An auto Ride to the Museum from Mahalaxmi Temple will cost around Rs 50, The distance between them is Around 2.5 Km to 3 Km, 10 to 15 min ride by auto , Buses are also available, on a regular basis. We spend around 1 hr in an around the museum, Museum also has a small zoo which has deer.