EP 8 Ganpatipule to Ratnagiri | Konkan Tour | Ganpatipule temple | Maharashtra Tourism
Namaskar friends! Welcome to Visa2explore! This is your host Harish Bali. You know already we are on a Coastal Maharashtra Tour. This whole region is known as Konkan. I have already mentioned it several times.
We reached Ganpatipule last night. We have booked our accommodation at an MTDC resort. Right now, I am standing inside the resort and... ...showing you the sea view from inside the resort. I am impressed with this place. One reason for that is that you can view the sea from inside the resort.
The second thing that has impressed me about this place... ...is the abundance of greenery around it. Nice place! It is feeling good to be here. The tariff at this place is in the range of Rs. 1600 to Rs. 5000, Rs. 7000.
The staff here told me that during weekends, it is better to come... ...with a pre-booked accommodation. Now let us go and have some breakfast first. Afterwards, we will go and visit another property of theirs in the vicinity. It is at a walking distance from here.
After that we will leave for local sightseeing. The main purpose of coming to Ganpatipule is visiting the temple,... ....the beach, and, of course, enjoying the pristine nature. Let's go for breakfast! You know already we've been travelling from Mumbai in a taxi.
They are loading our luggage right now, which will take 5-10 minutes. Till then, we are going with him, in this battery-operated vehicle,... ...to visit another property. Our taxi will join us there.
Shall we go? Let's go. I have with me Vaibhav Bhai, who is the manager of this resort. Namaste! You told me about the dormitory accommodation here. Yes. Please show that to me. We are standing near the Bamboo House, so let us see it first.
After that we will also like to see the cottage. Sure Sir! Great! The accommodation is nice. What is the total number of beds? 12! 12! What is the tariff of this accommodation, on weekdays and weekends? Rs. 3300 on weekdays and Rs. 5300 on weekends. Good! Nice! I really liked this dormitory. For a group of 10-12 persons, it would be very comfortable.
How many toilets/bathrooms? 3 Sir! Three! Hmm! Good! We've reached the breakfast point after a short walk. I am really impressed with this place. The place where I am standing right now, has these chair & tables,... ...and it is covered too. You also have a clear view of the sea from here. These waves and the breeze.... You can enjoy all of this while enjoying your food.
Such a nice place! I had already ordered Poha and Upma for breakfast. So, after breakfast, we will go from here, to see your boat club as well. (Nods) Come! Let's have breakfast! Poha! Upma! Poha tastes better with some lemon juice. Nice! Good preparation! And the thing that is making this breakfast better is the sea beach. The charm of this breakfast is doubled since I am sitting next to the beach. Very tasty! And I am enjoying it very much.
I really liked the taste of Upma. Both Poha and this were delicious! He informed me that in a few days, water sports activities... ...will begin in the Boat Club, like Kayaking, speedboat, motorboat,.... ....banana ride, what else do you have? Parasailing! Very Good! This section, Bamboo Hut, is meant for guests. Yes! Nice, absolutely next to the sea! It looks good. Overall, the sea beach is also nice! We will visit the cottage and then leave. So, this is Bamboo House! Yes! Good accommodation.
Nice & comfortable! And if you want to look at the sea, just pull it up. Nice! Good! So, you've told me the tariff of this accommodation is Rs. 3100... ...on weekdays and on weekends? Rs. 4000! Rs. 4000.
Yes! Nice! Let us go. One thing that I forgot to tell you is that where we are standing... ...it has sea on one side, as we have been enjoying the sea view for a long time. And on the other end is the bay. The water level of the sea and bay remains equal.
During high tide, the water level of the bay rises because of the sea water coming in. While during low tide, the water level reduces in both the bodies. So, this is part of the natural beauty of this place. This aerial view will explain to you better that there is sea water... ...on both sides of this property. Okay then! Bye bye! And Dhanyawaad (Thank you!) We've come to visit the temple dedicated to Lord Ganpati.
However, this temple hasn't reopened after Covid-19. So, we saw the temple from outside and that is what we are showing you too. Let me tell you more about the significance of this place. It is said that about 400-450 years ago....
...the local village pradhan (village head), Mr. Bhede,... ...faced a serious problem, which he seemed unable to resolve. So, he prayed to Lord Ganpati, left food altogether,... ...and asked the God for a solution to his problem. Ganpati is believed to have appeared in his dreams and said that... ...at that time, he was in a place called Ganeshgule, which was... ...20 km from the place where Mr. Bhede was doing worship. The lord told him that he would take time to reach a certain place.... ...so he should get a temple constructed for him there. Such was his dream. It wasn't easy to identify the exact spot to build the temple...
...considering this region is so vast. So, a cow helped. She used to pour milk over a particular stone... ...on which Ganpati resided. The villagers saw this happening and they discussed it among themselves. That is how this place came to be identified.
And the temple was finally built on this place. It is since then that pilgrims continue to visit this temple. The main highlight of this temple is that this place is "Swayambhu",... ...which means it has appeared on its own. A lot of pilgrims who come here, do the parikrama (temple walk)... ...not just of the temple but that of this whole area... ...which is about 1 km in circumference. It is because the stone on which Ganpati is believed to be residing... ...is connected to this mountain. Therefore, the whole Parikrama.
Now why is this place called Ganpatipule? "Pule" in Marathi means white sand. The beach outside the temple is covered in white sand. So, that is how Pule was connected to Ganpati and...
...this place became Ganpatipule. It is said that different temples of Lord Ganpati in India... ...face different directions. Here, the statue of Ganpati faces towards the West. Now we have visited the sea beach and the temple as well. Now, there is an Ancient Konkan Museum about a km from here. It showcases glimpses of how this whole Konkan region used to be in the ancient times.
So, it is going to be a good experience for us as well as our viewers ...to visit that museum. I will join you after reaching there. After travelling for about a km from the temple, we've reached.... ..."Pracheen Konkan" (Ancient Konkan). We've purchased the entry ticket for Rs. 40 per person.
The entry fees for the camera is Rs. 20. We have with us Rupali Ji, who will guide us on this visit. All the visits to this place are guided visits. They assign a staff member who helps us tour this place for 45 minutes or so. From here? Yes! First of all, we have reached this Peepal tree, which is 400 years old.
Look at it. The tree is still green and standing tall at its place. So, you told me that Kavi Madhav (Poet Madhav) was...
...a renowned poet of the Konkan region. Yes! So, this is a poem he wrote a century ago, which you got inscribed... ...on this stone, and displayed to the tourists. Yes. This is Kokum tree! Yes.
Wow! We've been drinking Solkadi for so many days now but... ...it is the first time that we've seen this Kokum tree. You've made a replica of a python here to show that this region... ...has enough number of pythons and snakes. And on this side, you have Lomadi (fox).
And there is "Lakkadbaggha" (Hyena). This is Lord Parshuram. This whole coastal region is also known as the "Parshuram Bhoomi." It is because Lord Parshuram wanted to meditated here but this land was...
... submerged in the sea at that time. It is written here how he forced the sea to move back. It is written here how he forced the sea to move back. Since Rupali Ji doesn't know Hindi that well, she is telling me in English and... ...I am explaining it further to you. This installation is called "Gaon-Shikaar". During those days, villagers used to hunt for animals and...
...bring the dead animal back for all the village to consume together. This is what is explained here. This is Triphal Tree. It is also known as Sichuan Pepper. It is used in cooking Chinese dishes as well as fish preparations and... if you place even a bit of it on your tongue, your tongue will go numb for some time. Wow! I am seeing this tree for the first time.
It is used in spices, right! This "Madiwala" installation is also an interesting concept. I was told that villagers here visit the coconut tree to extract "Madi"... ...which they drink and then leave for the fieldwork. If the Madi is kept stored, it ferments. So villagers drink it at pre-fermentation stage. Is this practice followed even today? Yes, it is.
Some villagers must be doing that? Yes, some villagers do so. Alright! Konkan is also famous for its Kali Mirch (Black Pepper). This is the Kali Mirch creeper, going up this tree.
Right now, it is green in colour. Once it turns orange, it will be boiled, then sun-dried and... ...it will turn black. We have come to visit a replica of the Marleshwar Cave, which... ...she has told me, is actually 80 km from here. Hundreds of years ago, Lord Shankar appeared before a "Charmakaar" (someone.... ...who works with leather products), inside this cave. Devotees visit this cave because of its significance as a place where.. ...Shankar Bhagwaan appeared before a mortal being. This is "Kathha tree", whose inner bark is red in colour.
This bark is extracted, boiled, and then used. To explain this whole process, they have made a model here. This is a furnace, on which the bark is boiled. Though, this process isn't followed at present.
The red portion of the tree bark is mixed with water in these clay pots... ...and boiled. The water is boiled till it attains a syrupy consistency. Then the water from four pots is transferred to the fifth one and...
...it is again boiled to thicken it further, and then it is sun-dried. That is the whole process that she informed me about takes place over 4-5 months. Watching this tree is a first-time experience for me. I had no idea that Kathha is made like this. We all eat paan. But not all of us know where Kathha comes from.
There is a shop inside the complex, which sells wooden toys. And this is magic lamp. Can you show me how do we pour oil into it? Though she is adding water here, but the demonstration is for oil. Now you will turn it upright. So, it has turned upright but the oil didn't fall out.
And this is where the cotton flick will be placed for the lamp to burn. So, you've installed a pipe inside because of which the oil doesn't flow out. Interesting! Do you sell spices too? These are some pickle varieties.
And these are the spices. What is this one called? "Dagad Phool" (Black Stone flower) Dagad Phool. I have never seen it before. Can I pick it up in hands? Dalchini, Laung, Kali Mirch, Javitri. The prices are Rs. 20, Rs. 30 and Rs. 40 for the last 3 varieties. Our visit is complete now.
If you are a knowledge enthusiast, and want information about trees... ...and Ayurvedic plants, then this is a good place to visit. Our tour was over in about 45 minutes. So, Rupali Ji, Dhanyawaad! You explained everything well. Though she was speaking bits of Hindi, but we managed to understand what she wanted to convey. Okay the, bye-bye. It is 3 in the afternoon.
There is a restaurant inside the complex. So, this is where we will eat our lunch and then continue our journey. Let's go. This is what we are having for lunch. This thali has Konkani Bhaji, Toor Dal (called Varan in local dialect),... ... Chhaas (Buttermilk), Kachumbar (salad) & Modak. Rice, Chapati and Papad! Let us taste this Bhaji first.
By God! Mixed vegetable but with a unique impact of spices, All spices are locally-produced. A little spicy because of the Black Peper. Hmm! Wah! This Dal is delicious! Thank you! Ukadiche Modak! They have already added ghee to it because ghee enhances its taste.
See, the outer covering is made with rice flour and the stuffing is made with... ....coconut, jaggery and elaichi (green cardamom).. Good taste! I have had Ukadiche Modak 2-3 times so far. The best way to eat is when it is freshly cooked. It tastes best like that. Overall good food! It was a good decision to stop here and taste this food. This is the restaurant where we had lunch.
In front of the restaurant, they have created a replica of the Jaigad Fort. If we had taken the Coastal route from Velaneshwar, we could have visited... ...Jaigad Fort before reaching Ganpatipule. But we went to Chiplun, which is why we missed visiting this fort.
If you take the coastal route, you must visit this fort, though... ...it isn;t visible in this form now. But you can see the boundary wall of the Fort intact. When Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj built this fort, its primary purpose...
...used to be to collect revenue from the inbound ships. So, this is a model of that fort. Rupali Ji had told me that there is a shell museum nearby. So, we will visit that museum and then move on. This looks like quite a large collection. Yes! Will you tell us about the main varieties of shells? Yes! This is called Ganesh-Mukhi (Ganesha's face) Shankh (conch-shell) because...
...it resembles Ganesh Ji's face a bit. It is auspicious to be stored at home. This is a pearl shell, which gives us pearls. When a foreign particle enters the shell, it irritates it. The shell excretes calcium deposits over that particle over time. That excretion is what we know as pearls.
These shells make black, white and red pearls. These are colourful shells. These are usually seen in that area of the ocean where there is zero pollution.
This is the largest sound-making shell in our collection. You must have seen Shree Krishna using this shell too. Its sound is so loud that during war times in ancient India...
...this Shankh (conch shell) could be heard throughout the battlefield. This is the largest and most significant shell of our collection. It is 18-20 inch long. At the time of its birth, it is as large as a grain of rice.
To reach this size, it takes about 80 years. This is Stingray fish, which has a poisonous thorn in its tail. If the tail touches a human being, it might cause death.
But if the tail is removed, then the fish is edible. This is Octopus. its blood is blue in colour. Our blood is red in colour.
But an octopus possesses 3 hearts. Tell me one thing, all these shells are for sale? Yes. Is this pearl? Yes! What is its cost? These pairs are sold at Rs. 100 or Rs. 150. Alright. Can you show me one?
You can identify a true pearl through a process. No two pearls are same in color or shine. If you rub a pearl, it leaves a powder behind, but... ...its shine remains the same. If you burn it, it won't burn, or melt or blacken.
Okay. this is how we can identify a real pearl? Yes! If it was an artificial pearl, it would have burned but... ...since this is an original one, nothing will happen to it. It must be hot right now. You've got a nice collection of shells here.
And a good variety for sale as well. So, I am going to buy this pair of pearls from you. Yes! Alright! Give me this one pair and I will make the payment. All this collection is for sale to tourists. Earlier, I had planned to have lunch at the Abhishek Resort in Ganpatipule,... ...before visiting the beach and then leaving for Ratnagiri. But we ate our lunch at the museum.
So, I thought to have a cup of tea here before moving on. The main purpose of coming here was to see this aerial view of Arabian Sea. It is looking nice! The sea isn't far from here. Hardly 150 m? The road is also not more than 70-80 m away. Good! It is a nice view and environment.
As you now, we are travelling in the Ratnagiri district. You can visit here throughout the year, except for 2 to 2.5 months of rainy season. This means from July or August to mid-September. We came here in September but the rains continue to play hide and seek. That has its own charm. If you come here in the months of April or May,...
...you will get to taste the famous Jackfruit here. And the world-famous Haphoos (Alphonso) mango. We missed both! Anyways, our trip is going great as you can see. The best part of coming here in October, November, December is... ...you will get to enjoy abundant greenery. Lush green, as we call it, will be visible everywhere during this trip. Now we will go to the Aare-Vaare beach, which is 2 km away. We've just travelled half a km from the resort.
And we've stopped our car to see this amazing view. Wow! What a view! We are showing you the beach view from atop a mountain. Just like a drone view, but through naked eye. Superb! The Aare-Vaare beach is nearby, hardly a km away.
I think that is our beach, I can see a few people roaming about. Lovely! Doesn't it look good! We can even walk down to the beach, I can see some stairs built there. So, you can walk down to the beach on foot. But since we have our car with us, we will drive down instead. Let us go. After travelling for 11 km from Ganpatipule, we've reached Aare-Vaare beach.
Actually these are two, not one, beaches. We saw Vaare beach a km back. It is located near a village called "Vaare." And the village here is called "Aare." And together the beaches are called Aare-Vaare. We've parked our car nearby and now we are going to the beach.
Take a look at the route through which we came here. You can see that road coming out from among those mountains. From there, we came out, took this small bridge and reached this side.
Now why I am impressed with this location? On my right hand is the Arabian Sea. And the seawater is flowing under this bridge to go to the other side. Just take a look! Those are the backwaters. You can already see the mountains and the greenery. This view is wonderful.
Let us walk down to the beach. We've reached the Aare beach. It is time of Low tide now.
There was high tide a short while ago, because we saw the water level... ...at Ganpatipule. We've visited several sea beaches in the past 8 days. If we say that all the beaches are same, it would be true.
But again if we say each beach is unique in itself, that would be true as well. Let me tell you the reason as per my personal observation. The seawater is the same everywhere but when you look at the surroundings... ...the dynamics start changing. For example, we are now walking towards the sea.
But if you look at the surroundings, you will see lots of trees in a straight line. And on this side is the mountain. So, if you are travelling on this route, you must make it a point to stop at... ...as many beaches as possible, and enjoy the environment available... ...at each one of those. Right now, there won't be more than 15-20 tourists on this beach.
Let us go into the water. We saw shell collections at Pracheen Konkan. And here, you can see innumerable shells lying on the beach. See in front of me! You will see shells lying after every metre or half.
Look at these shells. Wow! This is part of the natural beauty of the beach. One thing is there, the sea water is very clean.
I can see shells lying on the sand under the water here. If I take a closer look, I can see the shells clearly. Wow! I am able to notice shells upto half a feet underwater on the beach. Wonderful! One more thing I want to tell you is that watching the sunset from this beach... ...could also be a great experience. The sun is right in front of you. Since there are clouds, we might not be able to see this sun in another few minutes.
However, in the later months of the year, you will be able to see the sun ... ...for longer and much clearer. It would look as if the sun has dipped into the water. Wow! Natural beauty of this place is amazing. We will enjoy for a while more and then we will go to Ratnagiri,... ...which is 20 km away. We reached Ratnagiri at 7.45 pm. We've booked our accommodation at Hotel Seafan.
Our room belongs to the Double Premium Category. And its tariff is Rs. 5000 including taxes and breakfast. When I was doing research before coming to this region, ...
...I had read about Petroglyphs too. For your information, Petroglyphs were first discovered in Ratnagiri... ...only a few years ago. Petroglyphs are animal or human shapes carved on a huge rock,... ...at least 8000 years ago. They provide clue to the ASI about the civilization that existed in this region... ...all those years ago. These carvings also tell about the shapes of particular animals like elephant,... ...or humans too. Petroglyphs have opened up a new chapter in Human history.
You will get to know more about it if you google it. I will try to visit Petroglyphs before leaving tomorrow. But only if it is possible. Now tell us your opinion about today's episode. We are enjoying this overall journey. As for the journey further, after Ratnagiri, we will also...
...visit the Sindhudurg district before reaching Goa. We will not be shooting any videos in Goa. In Goa, we will say bye-bye to you. because we've already done Goa Series. Now I am saying bye-bye to you here. We will meet again soon. Our tomorrow's journey would be something like a day in Ratnagiri.
So, I will see you soon. Thanks for your time and... ...Bye for now! As I told you earlier, the Ratnadurg Fort is on top of a mountain. So, after travelling 3 km in our car, we've reached the entry gate of the fort.
Let us go inside the fort. It tastes good with or without Thecha (local pickle). This dish is called Karvewala (Karve means bitter).
But I don't find it "Karve" at all! I've found it very delicious. Very good taste! Lovely!
2021-12-12 15:20
