Kihim-Alibaug-Kashid-Murud

The prospect of being in Mumbai over the long weekend was not appealing, so my husband and I planned a last-minute trip to North Konkan. We were lucky to get a booking at decent resort in Kihim. I had no idea that Kihim is so close to where we stay in Vashi. The drive is short – just two and a half hours long and the route is simple. You go from Panvel to Pen, further down to Vadkhal Naka and take a right turn at Kharlakhind to finally reach Kihim. Kihim village is a quaint and sleepy village. Most of the old houses, known as Vadas, have been renovated now. However, one still gets the feel of the simple life of a coastal village. Most houses have sprawling gardens, almost acres of it known as baghs. We were lucky enough to go to the bagh of one resident of Kihim. They bought their house in 1986 and their garden has an amazing collection of tamarind trees, mangoes, jackfruits, supari, pepper and tejpatta. We actually saw fresh tejpatta tress!

That evening we went to the Mandwa Bunder. Using the ferry is one of simplest ways to reach Mumbai for the local residents. You can take a ferry to Bhau-cha-dhaka from either Mandwa or Rewas. The ferries/launches are small but efficient and the tickets are affordable – around Rs. 100 for an air conditioned launch. Mandwa Bunder is a great place to watch the sunset from. We reached just in time to catch the beautiful sunset, enjoy the lovely breeze and witness the full moon rise in all it’s glory in an overcast sky. We were invited for dinner by a local family and enjoyed a yummy dinner mainly of vegetables cooked in coconut gravy, fish and rice.

We went to Rewas Bunder the next day. It is much smaller than Mandwa and has rows of vendors selling interesting stuff like berries, prawn papads, jamuns etc. on both sides of the pathway. Right across the Rewas Bunder, on the other side of the river is the Karanjia village and hill (seen in the pic below). Apparently the village, when seen from a height is in the shape of a 'Karanji' (A well known and yummy Maharashtrian sweet dish), hence the name Karanjia. It was Holi Purnima that day. I did not know that Holi is a very auspicious festival for the Koli (fishermen) community. Apparently the full moon on this day brings out the best in the sea. Rewas Bunder was full of young boys drinking Bhaang and jumping into the sea for a quick swim. Little fishing boats were decorated with colourful flags and fisher women were dancing on their boats, singing folk songs and enjoying the moment.

Alibaug was our next destination. We wanted to just enjoy the beach so we did not go to the Alibaug Fort. The beach at Albaug is rocky and a bit crowded with vendors. We drove to Kashid from Alibaug. The drive is beautiful and passes through the villages of Nagaon and Ravedanda. Kashid beach is a beautiful white sand beach. One unique thing we saw on this beach were the artistic patterns on the sand, made by tiny crabs. You see such patterns, as the one's below all over the beach!

The most unique feature of this beach is that it has hills right opposite the beach, which makes it different from most beaches I have seen. Kashid beach is clean and one can walk on it for hours. There are stalls selling hot chai and omlette-pav on the beach. There are trees with hammocks on them for people who want to chill for a bit. We enjoyed a long walk on Kashid beach. It was a beautiful evening with a slightly overcast sky, lots of breeze and the welcoming sea ahead of us.

Our final destination was Murud. The stretch from Mandwa to Murud is a good one, and though the roads are narrow one can still enjoy a good drive on this stretch. Murud beach lives up to it’s reputation. It is a clean beach with no vendors on it. Apparently there is a ban on vendors by the local municipal corporation. Murud beach has old houses right on it. Some of the homes have been converted into hotels. Going by the crowd on this beach we realised that Murud is a hot spot amongst travelers.

On our drive back we came across innumerable groups of people gathered to light the Holi bonfires. Bonfires are lit at night to signify the burning of the demoness Holika, Hiranyakashipu’s sister. The branch of a banana tree is cut and decorated with garlands of Marigold. Colourful Rangolis are drawn on the ground and diyas and agarbattis are lit. The base of the branch is surrounded by wood and then lit. The crowd celebrates the bonfire. There were many such bonfires on our way back to Kihim.

The next day was Holi, and the Alibaug-Mandwa road was full of people playfully throwing colours at each other. The hotels were full of revelers wanting to have breakfast after their Holi celebration. We left from Kihim that morning and stopped at my husband’s friend’s place for lunch at Pen. It was a traditionally Maharashtrian lunch with Puran Poli – which is made especially on Holi. Holi marks the beginning of spring and it sure felt like it in our enjoyable drive back home.