Alibag (अलिबाग): November 2010

Sagargad

Sagargad, near Alibag, really simplifies choices, especially if what you want is an easy, scenic monsoon trek. Trekkers can look forward to walks through beautiful dense Sahyadri vegetation and fabulous views of the Konkan thickets here.

Nagaon Beach

This village has beautiful gardens closed to sea beach, big and small wells and temples. The beach is 2 km away from village and is famous as "Satad Beach".

Kulaba Fort

Kulaba Fort ...

Kashid Beach

This beach is calm and quite having lots of cypress trees on shore. Soft and Golden sand, pleasant climate of this beach attracts tourist from various places

Alibag Beach

Fresh air, Sandy beach,sight of the Colaba fort are the major attractions. In addition to that you may enjoy Bhel-puri, Coconut water, Ice-cream, Sea Food, Alu Bonda etc.

Archive for November 2010

Kanakeshwar

Kanakeshwar - near Alibag is a nice place and famous for cool climate and especially because of old temple of Lord Shiva. The temple is situated on a small hill and the nearby village is ' Mapgaon ' which is almost 12 kms. from Alibag. The hill is almost 1200 feet high and one has to climb 700 - 750 steps to reach the temple.

In the mid of the hill one can see 'Nagobacha Tappa' ( a Place of Snakes ) and famous step ' Devachi Payari ' . There is one popular story about this step that it was named because it is said that God itself stepped here after the construction of the temple and the steps. The temple of Kanakeshwar is very beautiful, it is a ' Hoysal ' style structure built in 1764 . A water tank - popular known as 'Pushkarni' - has water almost through out the year.

The hill and the surroundings are pretty good to visit. One can feel the hilly region and the forest on the hill. The other places to see near Kanakeshwar are ' Maruti Temple ', ' Gaymandi ' ( Sculpture of Cow ) ,' Temple of Devi Putrabai ' , ' Gaymukh ' and ' the platue of Vyaghreshwar ' ( A small temple of Lord Shiva ) etc.

Truly , Kanakeshwar is a place to feel the jungle and silence of the jungle and hills. If you want to see the beauty of Arabian sea and fort of Khandevi as well as the entire hilly region, then Kanakeshwar is the place to visit and rest for 2-3 days.

Posted by Abhijit Patil

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Kulaba Fort

Built on a rock island near Alibag town, 112kms south of Mumbai, the Kulaba for is an imposing structure, measuring roughly 275 metres from north to south and 100 metres from east to west. At low tide one can walk across to the fort. The height of the fort-wall varies from 6 to 8 metres at different places. It has a wide parapet with 17 bastions. The main gateway of the fort, called Maha Darwaja, is in the north-east corner and faces the city. The teak-door had strong iron-spikes driven in them. There is also a small gate on its southern side. The masonry of the fort is without lime mortar. Inside the fort there is a fresh water tank, a well and several temples, the Ganapati temple being still in good condition. In the northern corner of the parapet, there still stand two English canons facing the open sea. To the sough of the fort was ship-dock, visible even now at low-tide.

The Kulaba fort was Shivaji’s last construction and was completed almost on the eve of his death in April, 1680. it attained importance under the Angres and was the main base of the Maratha navy. It had palaces for the members of the Angre family, houses for their officers and storing arrangements for grain and other necessities. None of the buildings have survived. The rule of the Angres, who were also known as Kulabkar, came to an end in 1840 AD.

To the north of the main for there is a small fort-like structure called sarjyakot, sometimes referred to as the 18th bastion of Kulaba. Sarjyakot was constructed to answer the artillery of hirakot situated on the Alibag shore.

CAUTION: Many people have lost their lives while trying to walk either towards the fort or the beach during the start of high tide. Due to the Fort as an obstruction in between, the high tide waves come in from the right and left sides and tend to sweep away anything back in the ocean. Nowadays these incidents have been decreased drastically due to governments’ attempts. A timetable and a Warning Siren have been implemented on the beach with the presence of local police for help. In case of any drowning accidents the Costal Guards are informed by the local beach police, so it’s much safer now. A simple thing to follow is simply ASK!

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Sagargad: A walk in the monsoon clouds

For those who can never decide whether sunsets are best caught from the mountains or the seaside, catching one over the sea from the top of a green, grassy spur on the ruins of the Sagargad hill fort might just add a new predilection to the list.

But Sagargad, near Alibag, really simplifies choices, especially if what you want is an easy, scenic monsoon trek. Trekkers can look forward to walks through beautiful dense Sahyadri vegetation and fabulous views of the Konkan thickets here.

The weather is enjoyable almost year round, with the possible exception of summer. The fort, or whatever little remains of it now, remains ensconced in lush greenery during the rainy season, when the Southwest Monsoons from the nearby Arabian Sea sweep the Konkan.

But it is unlikely that either the views or the chirpy weather amused the unfortunate lot who, according to legend, were either prisoners of war or accused of crimes, and for whom retribution came in the form of being chucked off the hill into the green expanse below from a 'monkey point' at the southern end of the fort. War and its upshots are never pleasant, and today do not seem to fit in with what nature has reclaimed of this and other hill forts, but every fort has its history, and this one is no exception. Though Sagargad is a hill fort, unlike most other Konkan forts, which are typically either coastal or island structures; it forms part of a network.

Sagargad's history is closely tied to that of the other coastal garrisons in the vicinity of Alibaug - Khanderi, Colaba, Revdanda, Chaul, and Underi. During the course of time, the fort's list of keepers has included the Satvahan, Moryas from the Konkan, Chalukyas, Shilahara Dynasty, Bahamanis, the Sultan of Gujarat, Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar, Portuguese, Marathas, Mughals and the British. According to legend, a subterranean escape tunnel runs from Sagargad to the Colaba island fort, several kilometres away in Alibag.

Apart from Shivaji, who surrendered this fort along with several others in the Treaty of Purandar in 1655, the fort's most dynamic occupant has got to be Kanhoji Angre, the legendary Maratha admiral who was assigned the task of patrolling the Konkan coast, and whom the British dreaded and labelled a pirate, because he kept attacking and capturing British, Dutch and Portuguese vessels on their way to or from their Asian colonies.

He even had a base in The Andaman and Nicobar Islands, from where he would mastermind these excursions.

Closer home, he administered the area and maintained a naval force which methodically issued papers (dastak), authorising vessels to ply his waters. This was at a time when a struggle for supremacy flared between the Portuguese with a stronghold in Goa, the British East India Company, the Muslim Siddhis, who controlled patches like the Janjira island fort and supported the Mughal emperor, who himself was constantly being pushed to the corner by the Marathas, with their guerrilla warfare.

Angre could neither be trounced nor kept under control, even after the British and Portuguese decided to fight him jointly. He reportedly died in 1729, and remained undefeated. The Indian Navy has honoured him by naming the Western Naval Command headquarters after him.

In 1818, the British annexed Sagargad, along with nearby forts like Colaba, Revdanda and Chaul.

To reach Sagargad, take the turn from the Mumbai-Goa Road heading to Alibag via Karnala and Pen, and get about 6-10 km before the main town at a village called Khandala. Another enjoyable way to get there is by taking a ferry to Rewas or Mandwa from Ferry Wharf/ Uran or the Gateway of India respectively, and then bussing or hitching it from there. From Khandala take the trail leading up to the Siddheshwar Temple and follow it to the top of the fort. A guide would be unnecessary, and the relatively easy uphill trek should take about two-and-a-half hours. The track passes through the Katkari tribal hamlet of Maachi. The locals here, who live a hand to mouth existence, might be willing to accommodate trekkers in their huts for a reasonable sum.

Posted by Abhijit Patil

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Other Attractions.........

§ Kulaba Fort: Is situated in the sea at a distance of 1–2 km from the Alibag shores. During low tide one can walk to the fort. This was built by Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and is assumed to be the last one that he built before his death. The fort used to have sweet water well.

§ Kanakeshwar temple: Is situated on a hill near Mapgaon village, about 12 km away from Alibag and falls on the way to Mandawa.

§ Chaul: Is a historic town situated about 15 km away from Alibag.

§ Birla Mandir, Salav: Is situated about 20 km away from Alibag. On the way to Janjira, Take the right fork to reach the Vikram Ispat industry. Going a bit ahead will lead you to the temple.

§ Sagargarh

§ Kanhoji Angre Samadhi

§ Uma Maheshwar temple

§ Balaji temple

§ Murud –Janjira: Janjira is the legendary fort situated not very far from Alibag.

§ Datta Mandir: situated at bhowale,2 km away from chaul.

§ Hingulja Mandir: Situated near datta mandir,historic temple built by pandwas.

§ Magnetic Observatory: Established in 1904 by the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism.

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How to Reach Alibag??

By Road: One can reach Alibag via Pen (30 km away), which is on the Mumbai (78 km away) –Goa road. From Mumbai, one can reach Alibag by traveling on the Mumbai-Goa highway (NH-17) till Wadkhal and taking the right fork from Wadkal - the left fork being the road to Goa. The distance is approximately 108 km from Mumbai.

By Railway: The nearest rail way station is Pen. From Pen take S. T. Bus for Alibag.

By Boat: The nearest jetty is Mandwa From where launch services are available to Gateway of India, Mumbai. Another port in the vicinity is Rewas, from where a ferry service is available to Bhau cha Dhakka. One can reach Alibag by catamaran(sea) through "Gateway of India" to Mandwa OR from "Bhaucha Dhakka" to Rewas and from Mandwa/Rewas to Alibag by bus. Ticket includes journey from Gateway to Mandwa and bus journey from Mandwa to Alibag bus stop. From Rewas to Alibag one needs to take State Transport bus or a Rikshaw. Take the ferry from Gateway to Mandwa. Services available from 6:00am till 6:00pm. Ferry Journey time: 40 to 55 minutes depending on the type of boats. From Mandwa operator carries passengers to Alibag in their own chartered buses. Bus Journey time: 45 minutes. Alibag beach is walking distance from the bus-stop.Another option is to take a ferry from "Bhaucha Dhkka" to Rewas. Timings are same but schedule may change depending on the tide. From Rewas take State Transport Bus OR Rikshaw to Alibag. Bus Journey time: 1 hour to reach Alibag.

Mumbai - Panvel - Pen- Wadkhal - Poynad- Alibag. 125 km,

Pune - Lonavala - Khopoli - Pen - Alibag. 150 km

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