As tomorrow is a holiday due to the festival of colors, I would review a tourist spot in Mumbai which I had visited 5-6 months ago. I went to this beach with my colony friends and everyone was excited about this outing. We totally had no clue about this beach as to how it was and what all precautions should be taken after reaching the beach neither did we have any clue about the accommodations out at this beach. All we knew was that this beach was very clean and quiet in the midst of a overpopulated city. And this was the prime reason we selected this beach where as we could have opted for many other beaches which came in the same vicinity.
One more advantage of this beach was that it was situated at the perfect place which would ensure that we wouldn’t have to struggle to get back home on our return journey. As per me this is a gem of a beach in various parameters if I had to mention, and it has its own disadvantages too. Having very clear water in the morning as the stream of water flows rigorously, by the end of the day the water turns very very salty and leaves us behind with traces of salt and at times it doesn’t leaves us behind also (Many people die here and went missing too). It’s not a joke at all, but this beach is very risky.
I would not rate this beach a perfect 5, neither would I rate it a 4. I would rate it as a 3 as I find there are many pros also in this beach.
Let me discuss one by one aspects of this beach:
Accessibility : The accessibility to this beach is very easy, and there are various routes to reach here. As it is situated at Malad, one can board BEST Buses en route to Madh Island or one can even prefer private transport or auto-rickshaws. One can even reach from andheri to Madh island and its around 25 minutes journey so travelling isn’t a big deal.
Nearest airport :
Santacruz domestic airport.
Second priority can be Andheri International airport.
Getting to these place via local trains are also easy as one would be travelling opposite to the peak hours of the local trains, so one can find the trains to be empty assuming journey to this place is in the morning and returning back would be during evening.
Local Sightseeing : There isn’t much sightseeing outside the locality of the beach, or one can say beyond Madh Island there isn’t anything worth seeing. But the beach has many beautiful scenaries which one can’t miss on and it’s a paradise for the person who loves to spend time admiring nature’s beauty. It’s one kind of a beach, of which people normally dream of, clean, beautiful, less crowded etc.
If you are a professional photographer then you can find a lot to explore over here.
Hotels/Accommodation : The hotels ain’t that costly also here as per standards, and one can find many cottages, rooms at Madh island. Booking a hotel is a MUST here as one gets really tan, and salty and tired too by the end of the day and taking a hot water shower will relieve you from the uneasiness. When we had gone to this place, we din’t book a room and thought it wasn’t a big deal and we would adjust somewhere or the other, but the sun was beating us down and by the end of the day we were all exhausted. Carrying a sun screen is a must especially for people who hate being in sun for a long time.
So when you go here, don’t forget to book a room or else at the end you would be struggling very badly like we did. If we would have booked a room, thing would have been very easy and enjoyable too.
Safety :
*Now we come to the point which I wanted to stress on very much and in detail. Safety is a big concern as there aren’t any lifeguards here. At many places the sand just slips away simply, just like quick sand and in split of a second you can be into trouble. So whenever you wish to do some toofani, ensure that your surrounded by people or your own group. By the time we reached home after the picnic more than half of us were bruised badly because there were many huge stone which aren’t visible easily.
So whenever you take a step, take it carefully. Please don’t take this as a joke, its very much a serious fact that people get drowned and missing too, so better be accompanied by elders. Even the welcome board specifies in BOLD letters that the beach is a risky affair. The worst thing is that there aren’t life guards here.*
Maybe many will say a NO to this beach due to its safety concern, but I would surely like to visit this place especially for its beauty.
One can visit this place at weekends and enjoy the nature’s beauty, click amazing pictures.
Best time to enjoy this place : Best time to enjoy this place is in the morning, when the water is fresh and clean. It’s the best time to visit the beach, and as soon as the tide start reducing get out of the beach and prefer clicking pics as the water turns out to be very salty and leaves lots of traces on one’s body.
Best season to visit : During rainy season it’s simply awesome and paradise kind of feeling one gets during rainy season.
Food : I would prefer to try the variety of fishes, and sea food here. Normal food can be eaten anywhere, but here the sea food is very tasty and fresh.
Shopping : Not available here.
Duration of stay : One day of stay is enough, but one can extend it for 2-3 days. The atmosphere here is very refreshing and serene.
Final Words : Safety is a big concern, but apart from it, this place is really awesome in all terms and one to visit and not miss.
From me its a YES for sure, but with precautions.
Better be protected than sorry.
==Regards,
Nidhinpp.
Keep smiling cheers.==