A Konkan Coast Itinerary | Mumbai to Harihareshwar

A Mumbai Harihareshwar road trip itinerary

One is spoilt for choice during the monsoons in Maharashtra. The Sahyadris are resplendent with lush neon foliage and thick mist. The roads are freshly washed. The lakes are brimming over. Everyone and everything appears joyous and full of promise. It is as if life is renewed. There is no better way to enjoy this than a road trip, but rest assured, everyone else has had the same idea. You’ll be lucky to find any available hotel rooms at all during the weekends in the monsoon.

We chose Harihareshwar to do a Konkan Coast drive, because, well… a room was available at the MTDC resort. All in all, it turned out to be a memorable trip, because we stumbled upon a great route on our way back. Much like the Sagari Mahamarg MSH4 route we did earlier. We will also go via part of MSH4 in this route.

Mumbai to Harihareshwar: The normal route

From Mumbai to Harihareshwar, we used the direct and faster route—NH66—which takes about 5 hours. We did the coastal route on our way back to Mumbai from Harihareshwar. Of course, you can do it in reverse, but I prefer doing the longer, more arduous route on the way back home. Moreover, in terms of logistics and timings, it worked out perfectly. (Check-out time + drive time + ferry time = back home time). I’ll explain as we go along.

Harihareshwar: Things to do

Now a bit about Harihareshwar. It is a town in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, surrounded by three hills, with a pristine beachfront. Towards the north of the town is the temple of Lord Harihareshwar, said to have been blessed by Lord Shiva. Thus, Harihareshwar is also called Dev-Ghar or the ‘house of God’. It has two primary beaches − one, in front of Harihareshwar Temple, and the other, about a km long and rocky, in front of the MTDC Resort. The temple is not so impressive, but offers great views of the sea which can be turbulent! The beach is rocky, muddy, and I hate to admit, not very clean. Plastic bottles much.

Close to Harihareshwar is the Velas village which hosts Kasav Mahotsav or the Velas Turtle Festival every year between March to April, an interesting experience that we planned to do another time. Imagine little Oliver Ridley Turtles hatching from their eggs and paddling their way into the ocean. The Bankot Fort is not far and well worth a visit. Velas can be reached by a ferry crossing over the Savitri River.

Our stay at MTDC was pleasant. It’s an expansive property, as most MTDC hotels are, with very cosy rooms and a great sea view. The food was better too, as was the mobile signal strength. All in all, a good stay.

Harihareshwar to Mumbai: The Konkan Coast route

As I said, we did the Konkan Coast drive on our way back from Harihareshwar to Mumbai. It was plenty of fun! We drove by the sea for almost all of the route and crossed a lot many villages and farms with local people going about their business.  The traffic on the road was merely packs of stay dogs, herds of goats, cows, buffaloes, chickens, and one time, even a snake! We stopped to explore some random ruins and temples along the way. Every now and then we stopped for hot and spicy vada pavs and chai. It was pure bliss!

The Harihareshwar to Mumbai Konkan coastal road trip route map

Largely, we drove past the following beaches on our Harihareshwar to Mumbai coastal road trip

Kondvil Beach

Kondvil was an isolated beach with only a nariyalwala plying his wares. The beach is black sand and silty, so not so much fun, but you can while away a few minutes, savouring the waves, and the general lack of civilization. Nearby is Shrivardhan Beach which is more popular but involves a slight detour.

Diveagar Beach

Another lovely, secluded beach on the way, with white sand, some watersports, and the occasional viewing of starfish and crabs. The nearby Sarve waterfall point usually has a waterfall during the monsoons, but it hadn’t been raining the week we went and so, we didn’t see anything.

Dighi-Agaradanda Ferry

I find travelling in local ferries a lot of fun. We made it just in time for the 1 PM ferry which left Dighi (the next was at 2:30 PM and would’ve majorly upset our plans) and crossed the river in less than 30 min to reach the other end (Agardanda jetty). Agardanda is a village in the Murud Janjira Taluka, located 9 km south of Murud.

The advantage of the ferry is not only that it saves time and driving effort, but also it directly connects to NH -17. Not to mention, one can savour the cool sea breeze and the car gets a break too.

More on the ferry.

Murud-Janjira

The Murud Janjira Fort is situated on an oval-shaped rock off the Arabian Sea coast near the port city of Murud. It is an impressive fort with several of its rooms, sculptures, and cannons intact. It is accessible by sailboats from Rajapuri jetty but was shut when we visited (Covid-19 restrictions, of course).

Nagaon Beach

The Nagaon beach is located 9 km from Alibaug and is the cleanest of the lot. The beach is 3 km long and there are plenty of cosy homestays around if you have an impulse to experience local life.

One can also visit Kashid (famous for bird watching) and Kihim beaches on the way to Alibaug.

Alibaug

Alibaug, the headquarter of the Raigad district, where all the beaches we drove past are located, is also a city where the second homes of several affluent Mumbai residents are located. Many of them are rented out to tourists. Alibaug is home to a Radisson which is a popular Mumbai offsite destination. Places to check out in Alibaug are the Alibaug Beach, the Varsoli Beach and, just offshore, the 17th-century Kolaba Fort.

We took the Ro-Pax Ferry back from Mandva Jetty in Alibaug to Mumbai. Despite this being Covid times, the ferry was FULL. Food and drinks (including alcohol) are served on board. There is an airconditioned area and open-air seating as well. Overall, despite the crowd, it was a fun breezy journey through 19km of sea. The sailing time is 1 hour, and the journey shaves off about an hour of your drive from Alibaug to Mumbai, although, it isn’t much cheaper. Cancellations happen, so even if bookings show full online for a particular slot, keep on checking for openings. Report at least 15 minutes before departure time.

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