Discovering the hidden Dabhol beach…

I discovered this hidden paradise when I first visited Dabhol along with my friends Atul and Rahul. I remember when Atul suggested, that we visit Dabhol, Enron was the only thing which came to my mind. We were staying in Dapoli and had just finished a tasty breakfast of “Kheema Pav”.

We were also going to the beautiful, underground “Chandika Devi” temple and the fishing jetty. But when he started packing our beach gear too…I was intrigued! “Wait and See”, he said,…“We are going to visit the hidden black sand beach”…

And hidden it was!!…Like a little green paradise. I mean…when we reached Dabhol, even in my wildest imagination, I could never have thought that this town will have such a beautiful and calm beach. Even when we started on a winding road through Dabhol (Atul said, this will lead to the beach!) we were skeptical. But lo and behold! At the end of this road this beautiful, black sand beach with thick sheoak plantations (“Suruche Ban”) lay like a little paradise before us. We nicknamed it the little ‘oasis’. And believe me…there was no one there except the three of us and a ‘Narial Pani Wala’. The sheoak plantations are ideal to relax from the sun and we lay down, looking at the sky – listening to birds chirping! After a few minutes all three of us were fast asleep.

Be sure to include this in your trip to Dabhol!!. It is about 30km from Dapoli. We have provided the road route from Dapoli to Dabhol on our site (http://www.konkaninfo.com/dapoli/dabhol.html)

Presenting Konkaninfo.com

Hi..

This is my first blog and the first time ever that I have explored this medium. But I thought..there is always a first time..:-)

Hi! My name is Alok. I was born and brought up in Pune. I love travelling. I have been always been attracted to beaches. Juhu beach in Mumbai was the first one I visited. I love to just walk along the sandy shores with the waves lapping at my feet or just sit and stare at the sea!!!

My love affair with the konkan beaches began with the lovely, serene “Murud” beach. I first visited “Murud” in my college days and it was love at first sight!! Since then, the serene beauty of the lovely, virgin konkan beaches, their clean sand, the breathtaking sunsets, and calm sea have continued to enchant me!!

It was an overnight trip organized by the Rotaract Club of Poona South sometime in Jan – Feb 2001. We used to have such trips once a year where all the club members could just relax and chill out. (Oh!!...By the way…Rotaract Club is a youth organization consisting of students / professionals between the age groups of 18 – 28. It conducts various projects to aid the overall personality development of its members).

We had booked the MTDC resort from a travel agency in Pune. I cannot describe the feeling the moment we landed on the beach. Really, we had scoffed at our travel agent when he mentioned that Murud has a long, clean beach without a crowd!! I just refused to believe it. The only places, which came to my mind for beach holidays, were Goa, Kerala, etc. But Man!!!!! What a beach!!! It was too good to be true!! We just stood rooted there for a minute or two taking in our surroundings. The beach just stretched and stretched out in front of my eyes dotted with palms, coconut trees and hills on one side and the lovely, beautiful sea on the other.

Since then I have been to Karde, Dabhol (believe it or not but Dabhol has a lovely hidden beach!), Deogadh, etc. I have also visited other delightful places like Unhavare (the hot springs), Panhalekaji (rock – cut caves), Harnai to name a few. Staying in Pune, just a couple of hours drive (4 to 6 hours) from these lovely beaches, I have cursed myself for not finding out this ideal weekend trip, summer / Christmas holiday destination earlier.

It just soothes one's mind and is a great place for relaxation. Since many days me and my friend Atul Chavan wanted to capture this and show it to people and tell them that this Paradise is just 8 - 10 hours drive from Pune and an ideal weekend picnic spot. http://www.konkaninfo.com/ is our first step in that direction.

For all the seafood lovers – Konkan’s the place to feast on yummy fresh fish including Pomfret, Kingfish (Surmai) and Prawns and that too at reasonable prices!

Cheers then...