Sreevardhan - a sleepy paradise. Review on Diveagar

I have been to this haven twice, once with my friends and once with my family. I will write both experiences here, so u can decide with whom u want to share this getaway with.

*First Experience, With Friends:

*We went there at the brink of monsoon. It had not yet rained in mumbai, so we all wanted to get away from the humid n hot weather. N we were praying hard that it rains there. N boy, were our wishes granted! The trip was intended to be a get-together after a long time, n it gave us the time n space required to interact among ourselves while relaxing n chilling out n enjoying the serene beauty.

We had booked a qualis for the trip. For a group of size 10-12, this is the wisest option. It is pretty economic n it gives the freedom to do whatever u want, wherever u want to go, whenever u want to leave or stop. The route to be taken from mumbai is the mumbai-goa highway. It is to be followed till mangaon, then the right deviation is to be taken which leads to sreevardhan. The travel time from mumbai to sreevardhan is 5 n a half hours.The road after mangaon is very sleek n in a pathetic state, but the last time I was there, a major restoration work was going on, so expect a better road in a few months time.

We had gone there without a prior hotel booking. We went straight to the government guest house, only to learn that it is always booked during the weekends. The sreevardhan beach, which is right at that place, looked all black n mucky. The reason was all the dirt n garbage got washed up because of the rain the previous night. So after such a nightmarish experience, most of us lost the hope of a good weekend.

Then a few calls later (the mobile connectivity of that place is amazing) we got a suggestion to go to a nearby place called diveagar, which is a beach n has decent lodging options. We headed there rightaway.

The road to diveagar is some road!! We experienced a tiny road, highest density of potholes per square inch. But then we came across a patch of white sandy beach!! This is the point where everyone's mood got a lift.

We reached diveagar in about 50 minutes. There are only a handful of places to eat. We got a "gharguti kokanastha paddhati" (home-made, konkan traditional) lunch. We had to wait 1hour n 15 minutes. U see, there are no restaurants, n they are not designed to handle the chaos n the load that an urban hotel gets. The lunch was sumptouos, with dal-rice, chapatis, n a vegetable for the veggies, n fish for the non-veggies. All this for a modest 40 rs.

We found that more people are coming in, n we got competition for lodging from a packed private bus!! But we got a decent lodging. The typical house at diveagar is a 2 storeyed bungalow, where the upper storey (or a few rooms) are rented out to travellers. Don't expect a TV but u will get an attached bathroom/wc, n "gadis" (matresses, minus the bed) with blankets for a modest 150-250 rs (yes, the entire room, the no of occupants doesn't matter)

We even got a huge balcony n the place was right besides the beach.

The beach is heavenly!! Red soil leading into golden sand finally merging into crystalline white sand. The water is clear turquoise n so clean. No wonder the beach is crowded in the evening.

Everyone in the village seems to know the directions to the liquor shop :D Given the time we wasted for lunch, we had already ordered for dinner at 9 pm in the afternoon, n it paid!!

The night was memorable. Chit-chatting, sharing scary stories, n everyone sleeping under the same sky!! Although there were insects, but thanks to our mosquito coil n our blankets, we survived.

The next morning we went to hari hareshwar (well u know, after* paap* comes pashchatap :P). The popular temple is another 50 minutes from the place. The temple has a very ethnic n traditional touch to it. There are about 6 temples in that particular hill. U are supposed to visit the first n the main two temples in a particular order. (Ask the locals, they are very friendly).

The hill is very scenic. The pradakshina marg is the essence of visiting it. The cemented path around the mountain goes to its top among thick bushes, n leads to a long stone staircase leading down to the sea. The view is breathtaking. We had gone at a time of high tide, so we had to come back the way we had gone (climbing back up). The sight of 10 feet high waves crashing into the black stone right in front of u is undescribable.

We all took delicious vadapav, kokam sarbat n pede (sweets) before going back.

The trip was the most memorable get-together that my collegemates ever had.

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Second Experience, with mom:

Next time we went was recently, in the winter, n we went by ST bus. Although we had booked our seats in the bus, even for coming back we booked the bus seats right when we reached there, our decision of not booking a hotel seemed costly. We had to hunt places, n didn't get a single room in sagar darshan (only mtdc resort in sreevardhan) or the two resorts there. So we had to hunt for lodging on foot n finally found a decent n cozy room with non-attached bathrooms, but with all the amneties required. **Booking hotels before going (they charge an advance money, resort sites are easily found by searching on google) is definitely recommended if u go during rush periods, like the new year.

We roamed the same places as before, but not in the same order. The sreevardhan beach was much cleaner. We could enjoy the complete pradakshina around the mountain at hareshwar. I discovered that I had missed the gayatri tirth n the camel rock the last time I was there (a rock shaped like a camel, in the middle of a pool of water) n the connecting way back to the hareshwar beach.

We also went to the ganpati temple at diveagar. This temple is known for holding a 10 kg golden statue of the lord. Although u can't use the camera there, but the photos are available as a souvenier (for 20 rs n 50rs, the latter with a frame).

We had a little struggle with public transport. The rickshaws are easily available at major junctions of the sleepy town of sreevardhan, n the three wheelers (minidors) are available for travel to hareshwar/diveagar. But the rickshaws charge a little high, n the minidors are a nightmare because they pack 15 people in a space for 8. I had to travel 5 kms standing with my back hunched. The place is so similar, with dense woods around the roads n the houses looking the same, if u are not familiar with the place, u are in a soup, especially in the night, because the daily load shedding there is of 5 hours, so not even the inverters in the houses suffice. Luckily we remembered to take the card of the house we were in.

The place is heaven on earth. So peaceful, so sleepy, so calm n serene. U will definitely enjoy the exotic beaches n the hill of hareshwar.

Just remember to take sun tan lotion n things to play with at the beach.

So go there, enjoy, take someone with u who won't drink n who can drive n remember to bring back ur garbage with u

Comments welcome!!