My first trip to Vaishnodevi was unimpressive. Climbing was hard, and it only served to highlight how badly out of shape I was, while my in-laws managed to cope so much better. Further, I hadn’t quite realized that the cave experience wouldn’t be the same as I had imagined, since the original cave was only opened at certain times a year, and that we only entered a newly created tunnel, one far easier to access, and hence more manageable with the crowds that thronged the mountain shrine. The resulting experience at the shrine, for barely a fraction of a second, hardly compared to what I had expected / imagined / heard about. So, for me, Vaishnodevi was like any other temple, nothing to write home about, something that was reflected (though not explicitly mentioned) in the blog post I wrote then.
We usually look forward to Ganesh Chaturthi, and not having the puja this year seemed to bring in a sort of vaccum. Which is why, we decided to make use of the holiday by doing something different - We headed out to Palghar, where my in-laws are, presently. and spent the festival morning at Kelwe Beach.
Kelwe Beach is quite a popular resort for Mumbai-ites, especially since it is quite easily accessible from the city. This is attested to by the huge number of boards and placards announcing homestays, hotels and resorts advertising themselves all over the place!
Our auto driver informed us that we were lucky to get the beach so empty - the beach is usually packed with tourists on weekends and holidays, but thanks to the Ganesh Chaturthi Puja, most of them must have stayed home!
We, on the other hand, made the most of the beach!!
Samhith enjoyed playing in the water, while, I, as usual, collected shells. He then joined me, and we collected more shells.
Then came a camel, and he enjoyed a ride....
and came back, all excited, shouting, "There are more shells there, Amma!!!" so off we went, on our 'shell quest' again!
This beach was a treasure of shells! There were certain portions which seemed to be covered with shells of all shapes, sizes, and colours! We could have sat there all day, sifting through the masses of shells washed ashore!
But by then, we were hungry.. a few shops had opened up... so it was time for food....
Some one was even selling mushrooms!!
The huge trees reminded me of our visit to Akshi beach at Alibag... this looks so similar...
And just like at Akshi, there was a temple by the beach.... but this post is about the beach, not the temple, so that will come later :D
And here are all the shells we came back with...since we have so many, we have decided to decorate our next year's Ganesha with them!
A nice way to celebrate a festival, wouldn't you agree?
P.S. All photos have been clicked with my mobile, since I had apparently forgotten to charge my camera before leaving.
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Kelwe beach is located just 80 Km from Mumbai. The nearest railway station is Kelwe Road, on the Virar-Dahanu line. However, Palghar, about 20Km away, is a bigger town, and more vehicles are available from there to the beach. Besides, many long distance trains from Mumbai Central or Bandra also stop at Palghar, which make it a more convenient place to approach the beach.
What a lovely tour. Thanks for taking me on your picture journey. I loved all your pictures, but especially the beach and shells.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Wanda.. glad you liked the pics!
DeleteBeautiful Anu.. Breathtaking pics, esp the 1st one.. Infact i remember a friend talking about this place few yrs ago and how back then it was pristine, untouched, almost virgin...
ReplyDeleteThanks, Aarti!! It is still quite pristine and unspoilt without the crowds.. of course i can imagine what it would be like on busy days!! but its still worth a visit..
DeleteThat is a beautiful beach. Lovely shots Anu. Am new to this beach. Thanks for sharing it.
ReplyDeletehttp://rajniranjandas.blogspot.in
Thanks, Niranjan!
DeleteTruly a great way to spend the festival! Far away from crowds in a beach!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Indrani... except that it is sometimes tough to get away when we celebrate the festival at home.. making the most of it, this time!!
DeleteWOW! Am really surprised to see such a clean beach that is close to Mumbai. Love the tree cover too. It must have been a great holiday for you and your family.
ReplyDeleteBTW, touring during festivals is one of the best ways to avoid crowds in India. This concept doesnt work outside India though (most of the places).
Yes, Sankara.. it was just too great for us! And I was surprised to see it so clean too.. had read loads on the net about it, so expected the same mess as everywhere else... but then again, we must see it 10 days from now to see the real state of affairs.. and on weekends and holidays when the tourists arrive...and yes, i agree about the festival times being good for travel. we went to varanasi during diwali, and though it was crowded, the diwali day was great.. at least the temples were empty :D
DeleteExtremely beautiful set of pictures Anu, difficult to choose a favorite this time.
ReplyDeleteThanks Mridula! Its good to hear that :D
DeleteLooks like a nice place to spend weekend. Beautiful snaps!!
ReplyDeleteThanks Aravind! its a great place to unwind!
DeleteThanks a lot, chubskulit! heading over to your page now!
ReplyDeleteI was thinking how good are your photos and then I read they are all taken with your mobile ! Now, which mobile do you use ? :)
ReplyDeleteNever been to this place, have marked this post as a guide for my visit there. Thanks for sharing.
And that's a nice collection of shells!
Thanks so much, Nisha!!!! I have a Nokia E5.. and must say, am surprised its camera is so good :D and you should def go.. its a wonderful place! there is a direct train from panvel which goes there, so you should give it a try.. as for the shells, next time you go to a beach, u know what to get us :D :D
DeleteI could have spent more than a day sifting through the shells. Wonderful indeed and the beach looks so pristine in its beauty!
ReplyDeleteyes, Zephyr, me too.. and samhith too, for that matter. this is one activity that will never tire him!!! unfortunately, our house is already filled with shells, stones, postcards, stamps.. feathers, fir cones.... name it and we collect it.... hubby will soon throw us out saying that there is no place left for us with all the things we have collected :D but seriously, the beach was wonderful!!! much better than I expected!
Deleteone's heard much about kerala's coastline but karnataka's has remained largely unknown. and now it seems there are many places in maharashtra also which deserve to be better known! more power to the bloggers ! never seen beaches covered with shells like this.
ReplyDeleteand i never knew cell-phones can yield such good results! thanks
Thanks so much!!! I didnt expect such photos from my mobile. I have had it, and used it for a while now, but this is the first time I uploaded the photos, and am so surprised!!! as to the beaches, I am sure there are many many more like this.... we just dont know about them!
DeleteIt is a wonderful seafront. It's a quite a long beach and especially if you walk farther from the beach, it tends to be less crowded. I must say that even from a mobile camera, the photos have come out quite well. It's time I headed there again. :)
ReplyDeleteIt is a wonderful seafront. It's a quite a long beach and especially if you walk farther from the beach, it tends to be less crowded. I must say that even from a mobile camera, the photos have come out quite well. It's time I headed there again. :)
ReplyDelete