Monsoon Gateways ( Koynanagar, Karde, Anjarle)

It was Monsoon season in the month of June. We wanted to visit hill station and Konkan beach both during this season. I was less interested to visit famous hill stations in Maharashtra during Monsoon like Lonavala-khandala and Mahabaleshwar as I have visited this number of times from my childhood. It becomes crowdie as well especially on weekends. So we decided to visit Koynanager which is offbeat destination for travelers. Koyna Nagar is located in the Western Ghats, about 746 m (2,448 ft) above sea level on the Chiplun-Sangli state highway on the banks of Koyna river and no. of visitors visiting this town is very less. It is very small town so do not expect much tourist facilities here.

Koynanagar is famous for Koyna Dam which has been built on the Koyna Nagar. It is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra used for hydroelectricity generation with some irrigation in neighboring areas. Backwaters of this dams forms Shivsagar lake.  Asit was just begining of monsoon and it was huge drought earlier in summer, water level in the dam was very low which you can easily spot in photos below.  

There are primarily two resorts in KoynaNagar. One is Koyna lake resort which approved by MTDC and another one is Gursale resort. Many other resorts are currently in construction phase, so in near future there will be multiple options. We stayed in Gursale resort  as Koyna lake resort was full. 

The location of this resort is amazing: overlooking the magnanimous Koyna Dam surrounded with acres of Lush green plantations. In term of stay and food this resort most pathetic you will ever visit in your life.  There are rooms available with Dam view which of spectacular view of Dam and surrounding area which is simply amazing especially during monsoon season. If you are travelling with family do not even think to stay in this resort. Bathroom stinks, rooms are full with mosquitos and beds are occupied with bed bugs. You cannot even sleep properly. On top of it you will get pathetic food.   The only reason to visit this resort is its location. I heard that other resort Koyna lake resort is much better compared to this one. Koyna nagar has tourist spots as Nehru Udyan (small park which can be skipped), Shivsagar lake (provides boating to tourists which was closed when we visited).

After spending one night like hell we headed towards Konkan. You need to take route towards Chiplun. As it was beginning of Monsoon we enjoyed this journey through fog and dense roads. There are many stalls which offer Tea, spicy corn (bhutta) and refreshments on the way.  

On reaching Konkan we quickly headed towards Dapoli as we wanted to go to Karde beach. 

On the way we took quick stop at the ancient Parashuram temple is situated near the town of Chiplun on the Mumbai-Goa National Highway.  On the way one can have great view of Vasishta river. There is a temple of Goddess Renuka behind the Parashuram Temple. It is believed that Parashuram s powerful five arrows created the primary water source here, which officially goes by the name Bandganga Lake. 

Idol (Lord parshuram in middle, Kaam on the left and Kaal on the right)

After horrific experience earlier night thankfully we got better option at Karde beach. We stayed in Sagar Raj resort which has best location. You can view sea shore from balcony of your room. Karde beach is not that clean nowadays but you can enjoy your evening walk on beach. You can feel fresh air when walking on the beach which feels your body and mind with full of energy.  You can also spot one of the sea fort called as ‘Suvarna Durg’ from beach. You need to take ferry from another village known as ‘Harne’ to visit this fort. These ferries are closed during monsoon.

Next day morning we headed towards village known as ‘Anjarle’.  We started our journey towards Anjarle through road besides sea shore and mountains. On the way to this village you will come across one view point on hill top which offers spectacular view of Suvarnadurg and Harne village.

When you move ahead on some distance around 5 kms you start travelling downwards on the mountain road. This road offers one of the fantastic view of Arabian sea and kali river meeting sea. You will not get such view anywhere else atleast in Konkan.

We visited temple dedicated to Lord Ganesh which is also known as ‘Kadyavaracha Ganapati’ in local language as it is on top of hill.

After visiting this temple we started our journey back towards Pune. This was short and sweet trip except horrific experience on first night with our resort in Koynanagar.