I travel a lot especially to Konkan for vacations. 2 Months back I visited Ganpatipule for the 4th time. I feel there is something in this place which attract me to it. There are many things, firstly the Temple, then the beach, then the drive to Ganpatipule, the freshness in the air and lots more. My first visit to Ganpatipule was as a kid and I remember myself having a splash in the sea.
My next visit was a bit unplanned one. Me and My wife had been to Guhagar for 3 days and had one complete day empty, so we decided to visit Ganpatipule. We left to Ganpatipule in the morning at 9:30 from Guhagar. The distance between Guhagar and Ganpatipule was 110-120 KMS. Thanks to the new road build via Marg Tamhane-Abloli. This new road has reduced the distance between Guhagar to Ganpatipule by nearly 80KMS. The road was a narrow one but was in a good condition. In the entire journey till Ganpatipule hardly 10-20 vehicles passed by. But I enjoyed the drive. We reached Ganpatipule by 11:30. Just 3-4 KMS before you reach Ganpatipule you’ll get to see the breathtaking beauty of the Sea. I had never in my life saw a beach so clean and beautiful. After reaching Ganpatipule, we parked the car opposite to the MTDC resort and immediately went for the Ganpati darshan. We were lucky to be there at the time of the aarti. Adding to the luck we were served with prasad in the form of Rice Khichadi (Rice cooked with Moong dal). The quantity was so generous that I was stuffed. On the beach, I was amazed with the clean blue sea water and the white sand. I could hardly believe that I had spent about a couple of hours at the beach. We left the beach unwantingly and left for Guhagar again.
My next visit to Ganpatipule came 1yr later. The climate was better than my previous visit. It was cooler. As I was unable to book at MTDC, I had to book at the Landmark Resort. It was too a decent resort but away from the seashore. This time we lunched and dined at the Kelkar boarding. We like the konkani preparation very much and that too at an homely environment where we have the food sitting on the ground. I always used to have a hearty lunch and dinner. You’ll find this boarding just attached to the MTDC campus. Kelkar’s also provide lodging at a very cheap cost at around 400-500/-.
My last visit to Ganpatipule was a couple of months back in the rainy season. I always wanted to visit konkan in rainy season and to God Ganesh’s wish that was fulfilled this time. I literally enjoyed my drive to Ganpatipule in the rains. This time I got a booking in the MTDC resort. Everything was green around. In my 3 days stay this time, I got to visit the beach only once. It was raining like hell and the sea was fierce. But my stay was pleasent. To my surprise the MTDC resort was too good. They had good facilities. Rooms were spacious, clean, sea side facing, direct accessible to the beach. The service was surprisingly good too.
You can now book the MTDC on the net too. The link for it is https://maharashtratourism.gov.in/mtdc/Login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fmtdc%2fmtdcRRS%2fAdmin%2fMTDCResBooking.aspx
Ganpatipule is totally 350 KMS from Pune. I always take the Tamhini route. But currently the road condition of Tamhini Ghat is too bad. Till mulshi the road is good but from Mulshi to Kolad phata the 40 KMS patch take around 1hr 30 mins to cover. From Mangaon take the NH17 till Hathkhamba. Take the diversion on your RHS just 2 KMS before Hathkhamba to Ganpatipule. Ganpatipule is 32 KMS from that diversion. The entire NH17 experience was amazing.