Dear Friends! Recently went on a weekend trip to Alibag and Murud&Janjira by car from Pune along with my friend. I myself came from Hyderabad starting a friday evening and reaching Hyderabad back on Monday morning. It was not a well-planned trip but eventually everything turned out to be fine and we had a fantastic time. I recommend folks to visit this place preferably on their own vehicle.
Read my $0.02 below:
Apparently there are only three ST buses from Pune directly to Alibag at 2:00 AM, 6:30 AM and then 2:00 PM. Best way to do this trip is by road in your own vehicle as it gives option to change your plans at runtime. Otherwise you may have to look for autos which run on shared basis.
Route to take from Pune: Pune -> Khopoli (on expressway, look out for Khopoli exit on left) -> Pen -> Alibag -> Murud. Pune to Alibag is around 150 km and Murud is further 50 km. The 30km stretch between Khopoli and Pen is bad. Remember to take bypass for Pen town especially if you are travelling during evening peak time.
Seafood is available at most of the restaurant. They have ’’thalis’’ for various fish types like Pomfret thali, Surmai thali etc. Contents of thali will be one fried and one curry piece of fish, ’’solkadhi (a very small prawn curry)’’, ’’bhakri’’ of rice powder and/or chapti and rice. Sanman restaurant in Alibag is very good and recommended, hygienic and good service.
Fish lovers or students of ’’anthropology’’ interested in fisherman communities or just for the heck of it, one could walk across many fisherman’s colony. These colonies are mostly situated near the mouth of some local river emptying into sea. Apparently such points give good bounty of fish for fishermen. You would see lots and lots of fish of various varities getting sorted by women folk or being dried in sun. The smell could be nauseating but then its ok for once in a while.
The Kolaba fort in Alibag is accessible in low tide in the evening for 2-3 hours. Go and come back on foot or horse-drawn carriages for Rs. 20/- before the water rises again. Sunset from the fort is immaculate.
There are few beaches around Alibag like Akshi, Revdanda, Satal-bunder, Kihim and Nandgaon. We visited two of them but one liking them depends on factors like crowd, time of the day you visit (low/high tide) etc.
Kashid beach, 16 km before Murud and 34 km onwards Alibag is highly recommened. This beach is unspoilt and is around 2 km long ending in small hills. The water here is less muddy (in my opinion).
There are many staying options in Alibag-Murud stretch. Apart from costly resorts there are many ’’home stays’’. Here owner have built up rooms and rent out. They may cost anywhere from 300 onwards for a night. Service is basic and ambience is of a bunglow. These homestays are apparently popular with young folks who come to these homestays to booze and owners don’t mind. Its better to rent a stay near to the beach where you want to have fun in the morning so that you could just walk there.
The Palace of Nawab of Siddis in Murud is not open. There was a ’’NO Admission’’ board hung outside. So we could not go inside. The fort is in ruins anyway.
Janjira is 4 km further from Murud and is famous for Janjira fort. The fort looks majestic from outside though inside it is in ruins due to growth of vegetation. The history of fort is amazing and is best heard from sailor of your boat who also act as part-time guide. Its amazing to know that till 1971 people used to live inside this fort!!
I can go on and on but above is the information I wanted to share. For anymore information please send me a message and I will be more than obliged to help you.