Konkan coastal highway - An unexplored paradise

After my Ladakh trip of July 2017 I  had not gone for a long bike ride. I came across a blog which mentioned about the Konkan coastal highway (MSH-4) that runs almost parallel to the ocean and which extends from Alibag till Panaji.

 I decided to travel on this road and also see the beauty of Konkan in all it's glory. After a false start in the first week of October I finally zeroed on the 2nd week of November for the trip as it coincided with Royal Enfield Rider Mania - the annual biking event. I read 3 short Marathi booklets written by Parag Pingale who had traveled extensively in Konkan over the years and had documented the must see places which are not generally covered in the tourist guides and sites. Couple of my friends decided to back out at the last moment but still I decided to pursue the trip alone; as I was mentally prepared and itching for a long ride. I had 4 days to cover the coast and decided Dapoli as the entry point onto MSH4 - the Konkan coastal highway. Few days before the trip I got my Classic 350 serviced thoroughly.

There are many routes to enter Konkan but I thought the best route would be via Mahabaleshwar as it would allow me to cover the first 80 km at a high speed due to the 4 lane highway.

I decided to follow few simple rules. Stick to the coastal highway till Goa, visit the shortlisted sites along the route, halt at the village I find myself when the sun sets and enjoy the ride to the fullest.

Trip map

Total distance - approx. 1200 km

Day 1 - Pune-Mahabaleshwar-Poladpur-Dapoli-Dabhol-Anjanwel-Guhagar (300kms)

I started from Pune around 7am and reached my destination of the day Guhagar at 6pm. It took a long time as I took many breaks  to soak in the natural wonders and also to ensure I don't get lost!. The road after Mahabaleshwar till Poladpur is in bad condition and it took a lot of time to cover this patch. After this there were many criss crossing country roads till Dapoli - most of them isolated for long distances. I had no network coverage as well and had to rely on paper maps and offline google maps which I had downloaded before. I also got help from many people along the route in finding directions. 

Following are some highlights of this day

Ladghar beach - Near Dapoli

Crystal clear water body enroute Dabhol jetty

Dabhol jetty - I put my bike on this ship which took me to the other side in 5 mins. Was great fun!

Across the Dabhol jetty. Picture doesn't do justice to the view

Anjanwel village - Typical village in Konkan

Talkeshwar temple at Anjanwel. One has to digress away from MSH-4 for few kms to view this and the adjacent lighthouse

View from outside the temple

Anjanwel fort - around 3 kms from the temple

Lighthouse few meters from the temple

                                                                               Guhagar beach

Day 2 - Guhagar-Palshet-Hedvi-Tawsal-Jaygad-Ganaptipule-Ratnagari-Devgad (200km)

I started late at 10am and had planned to reach Tarkali. However I felt short of my target due to the numerous breaks I took and the general speed on the curvy roads. Hence I could only reach upto Devgad where I decided to spend the night. I had not done any hotel bookings anticipating this situation and had decided that I will halt wherever I find myself at sunset. Konkan is not just about beaches but there are many temples, forts, historical sites and natural wonders as well along the route and I got a glimpse of this variety on this day.

Near Hedvi - One of the several isolated beaches I came across my whole trip. One needs to move away from the roads shown on map to discover these gems

Bramhanghal  at Hedvi- Water oozes out of this  ravine several feet high and one  gets completely drenched

Another Jetty crossing at Tawsal towards Jaigad

Beautiful village while going towards Ganapatipule

White sands beach just before Ganaptipule

Ganapatipule temple

Towards Ratnagiri - Konkan coastal highway in all its glory

Another isolated beach before Ratnagiri

The Mosque in this picture gets swamped on high tides much like Haji Ali in Mumbai

Sunset at Devgad

Day 3 - Devgad-Kunkaneshwar-Maval-Vengurla-Vagator-Panaji (200km)

In order to make up for the lost time of the previous day I started at 6.00 am with a target to reach Goa by early afternoon. I had registered myself for Royal Enfield Rider Mania which is an annual bike festival and did not want to miss it.

However despite my best efforts I reached Goa around 4 pm. I took long breaks at Malvan and Vengurla for site seeing and lunch. After reaching Goa I visited  Rider Mania for couple of hours and then went to Panaji with some friends whom I met at the Mania.

Few kilometers from Devgad - morning sun

MSH-4 the overall road is 80% like this -  a true delight to drive

Kunkeshwar beach - the famous temple is located just across

I must have crossed at least 15 to 20 such bridges. Always loved them!

Malvan beach

Sindhudurg fort - Malvan

Outside Malvan

River Island - Just an amazing view - I spent much time here

Site of the new Sindhudurg airport. The next 5 kms from here were the toughest of the ride and reminded me of the bad roads in Ladakh

Sublime architecture 

Another one

Scenic view just before Vengurla

Vengurla fort in the background

Vengurla sea front - View from the home stay restaurant where I had lunch

Vagator, Goa

Royal Enfield Rider Mania parking lot - Sea of Bullets!

Modified Enfields 

Day 4 - Vagator- Amboli - Kolhapur - Karad- Satara - Pune (450km)

This was going to be a long ride hence I started early at 6.40am. I lost my way for almost 20 mins outside Vagator - the first time it had happened in the trip. I found the ride up to Amboli ghat a bit difficult due to the terrible road conditions. However the actual ghat road was a delight to drive. Once I reached the highway the ride was kind of straight for the next 275 km and I was able to reach home safely at 4.30 pm

Amboli ghat

Nothing like a nice tea break after an enjoyable ride!