Great beaches at Karde, Anjarle and Harnai. Review on Karde Beach, Dapoli

I had been to Karde 4-5 years back as a bachelor. I remembered it as a place where you could have the whole beach just to yourself (and may be a stray dog :-). When I went back there (with family) this weekend, the place was almost the same - like frozen in time. Same great beach, same shy and helpful people, tiny villages, cool breezes, same great food but also the same bad and narrow roads and a bit more of the crowd. I wish this place stays as much same as possible because that's it's beauty.

We started from Pune on Friday early morning. Our plan was to reach Karde by lunch time. There are 3 routes from Pune to Karde:

• Satara Road - Bhor phata - Bhor - Varandha ghat - Mahad - Dapoli - Karde (190 kms)

  
  




• Paud - Mulshi - Mangaon - Lonere phata - Goregaon - Mandangad - Dapoli - Karde (205 kms)

  
  




• Satara Road - Wai - Mahabaleshwar - Poladpur - Khed - Dapoli - Karde (250 kms)

  
  

(Mumbai folks can take the second route - reach Mangaon using Expressway and/or NH-17 aka Goa highway)

Although the Bhor/Varandha ghat route is the shortest, the road in Varandha ghat is in a really bad shape and that would increase travel time. But its okay if one is driving a 4WD or a big vehicle (e.g. jeep or SUV). It's also eerily empty at places and hence not advised after dark or before dawn. On the good side, there are many beautiful sights like Bhatghar dam and Shivatirthgad on the way.

We took the Mahabaleshwar route while going (takes 5-6 hrs) and Mulshi route while coming back (takes 4-5 hours). Being early morning, Mahabaleshwar was not crowded and we could drive lazily appreciating the scenery. We had breakfast near Wai (in a nice open place called Gandharva restaurant) and fresh strawberries in Mahabaleshwar (vendors hawking all along the road). The ghat section from Mahabaleshwar to Poladpur is not in a very good state, so the going was slow. Poladpur to Khed is the somewhat crowded Goa highway and from Khed to Dapoli is a smooth state highway. Dapoli to Murud phata is also a good road, but after that the road to Karde village is extremely bad - most of the places the surface is non-existent and some places, the potholes are a foot deep. It's also very narrow, so only one vehicle can go at a time. But, the scene that greets you after this ordeal makes up for the jerky ride.

Karde beach is clean, bright and long. It has mostly white sands, clear waters and is palm-fringed in most of the places. It runs for a few kilometers and connects to Murud beach as well. Although, IMO, Karde is a better beach than Murud. Karde is also supposed to be one of the safest beaches in Konkan - the waters are only knee-deep for many feet into the sea.

We stayed at the Whistling Palms Beach Resort ( thepalm.co.in), which is probably the first property one will encounter on the Karde coastal road. It's a new property (less than a year old) and is spanking (in Konkan hotels sense). It cost us Rs 3000 for an AC room and food was included. The hotel is good - clean, nicely big rooms, generator backup (incl. AC) - which is a must on hot days in Konkan, and a nice sea-facing restaurant. All the staff there was local and was very helpful and courteous. The hotel is about 50 meters from the beach and all the rooms having a balcony facing the sea. The restaurant serves buffet for all meals and the food is decent (sea food is good). My only grouse was that they don't serve as much sea food for a beach resort and they also discourage ordering a-la-carte. They also serve liquor (although you'll be billed for grape juice ;-) and you can also ask them to refrigerate your own stuff. There are a few other hotels nearby e.g. Hotel Kinara and Sagar Sawli. I've heard that they are all decent. There are also a few home stays. A comprehensive list is available at rtne.co.in.

There are many excursions around Karde/Dapoli like Harnai port, Suvarnadurg fort, dolphin ride, parasailing, ancient caves, few temples etc etc. Being with two toddlers, we decided to just do the Harnai port and visit the Anjarle village. The fish market at Harnai port starts every day at around 4 PM when boats from the sea arrive with their catch. Bullock carts go into the deep sea water to get the fish trays out on the shore to the waiting vendors. Once all the boats are unloaded, the whole place bursts into a chaotic auction market with fish and prawns and lobster and crabs being sold at dirt cheap rates. One can buy the fish from here cheap and ask any of the many restaurants (in and around Harnai/Karde/Murud) to cook them for you in any way you want (fry or curry or roasted etc).

From Harnai port we took the coastal road towards Anjarle (the road goes on to Kelshi). This road goes along the beach and criss-crosses the "khadi" in a few places. We visited the "Kadya-varcha Ganpati" (Ganesh temple on the cliff) and then headed to Anjarle beach. This beach is also good - secluded, clean and clear waters. But it is smaller than Karde and not as safe. From Anjarle, we headed back to Karde - but this time took the Harnai bypass road that goes over a hill. The views from this road are truly amazing. One can see the Anjarle beach, the Ganesh temple and the bay as the road climbs up the hill. At the top, a platform has been created as a "sunset point" from where one can see the whole Harnai area, the port and the Suvarnadurg water fort in the distance. The location and the view is out-wordly.

Next day, we returned back to Pune via Mangaon-Mulshi road. The road from Dapoli to Mandangad is very scenic with most of the trees blooming in their full spring colors. There were a lot of Palash trees with their fiery flowers (fire of the forest as they are called). Sunday is also a good day to buy fresh veggies, fruits, grains, etc from the Dapoli market.