Pune to Ganapatipule. Review on Ganpatipule

We decided to goto Ganapatipule, from Pune, as kids had X'mas holidays. I had left all the planning to family members and had no clue about how we are going to reach the destination from Pune. We left Pune at 4.30pm and was told to take Expressway towards Karad. So the journey began...

We had decided to stop over at Amba resort (https://ambaresort.in/), which is approximately 78km from Karad. We reached Karad, taking the expressway (Toll Fee of Rs. 45, Rs. 25 and Rs. 42). After crossing Karad City (second bridge), we kept looking for "Kale Phata" sign which  was very small. Had we been not driving at 40km/hr speed, perhaps we would have missed it. (It took us 2.5 hours to reach Karad from Baner, Pune on expressway). Surprisingly, the road on this side is very well maintained and the traffic was also very thin. We reached a place called "Kokrud", which is 48km from the expressway. The small town looked like it was undergoing a transformation.

Road construction work was going on in full swing even at night. Apart from the small patch through the city where heavy road construction was going on, the road was pretty good all the way. We then crossed the next small city, "Malkapur" and then headed towards Amba Resort. When you enter "Malkapur", to go towards Amba City, you make a righ turn. Thanks to a motorcyclist, we could make the right turn and the "T" junction. Amba Resort is 20km from "Malkapur".

By the time we reached "Amba Resort" it was almost 9.45pm. We ordered food. The food was cooked on order. We took veg. thali, which was charged at Rs. 65 per thali, which was good.  The resort is small and is still being constructed. We got two rooms for two families. The rooms are clean and kept ok. No mosquitoes. The charges were Rs. 1300 for two rooms, which was ok, I guess. I felt it was on a high side, but, it is a resort.... so. In the morning, the caretaker informed us that the hot water is ready and took the order for tea and breakfast. The tea was too sweet for me.

Then we had "poha" and "Shira" for breakfast. "poha" was good..."Shira", I won't recommend anyone. Kids had good time playing on the playsets in the resort. Nothing great, but, for kids it is freedom and running around that matters. Morning at Amba resort was fresh. The freshness of oxygen, the nature and the freedom makes you forget all the worries of city life....I felt it was worth paying the price to stay and have a beautiful morning.

We started off to Ganapatipule from here. On the way, we took a detour and decided to visit "Marleshwar", which has a temple and a waterfall (Go during rainy season, if you are a waterfall enthusiast). Marleshwar is approx 30km from Amba Resort and the last stretch of 18km is a narrow, winding road. If you have motion sickness, please take the necessary precautions and medication on this route. The last 18km stretch is little rough, not that bad. The waterfall, I am sure, would be gorgeous during the rainy season. The temple is situated on a mountain (approx 500 steps) and is not commercialized yet. (Thank God). You can feed the monkeys on the way (which seemed to be very friendly), no charges for "shoe and Chappal" keeping. Plenty of stalls to purchase drinking water, offerings for the god, cold drinks etc on the way to the temple. The view from the top is nice. The temple itself is situated in a cave, where you go through a very small, narrow opening. We spent an hour enjoying the fresh air, natural beauty, mountains and peace.

We then headed to Ganapatipule, which was 68km from here. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Hotel Alankar, soon after crossing "HaathKhamba" village. You can't miss this place. This is opposite a big HP petrol pump. The food here is good, the price reminds you of Pune. Had a sumptous meal here and drove to Ganapatipule. We had a booked a bungalow in Malgund (https://atharvaresidencyganapatipule.blogspot.com/), just 2km from the temple. Very well maintained place. The rooms are well kept and the air is fresh. The only problem I found here was the charges for Tea and Milk. We had asked for milk for kids and a small cup costed us Rs. 12, which was, for me, on the high side. From this place, instead of going towards Ganapatipule, we drove towards "Blue Ocean" and found a nice, open, not so crowded beautiful beach, with plenty of place to park. We had such a great time playing on the beach. Kids had a gala time in the water for almost 2-3 hours till the sunset. There was a para sailing as well, however, we refrained after hearing Rs. 500 per person price tag. In the night, we went to MTDC resort for dinner. The resort is situated just across the temple and is on the beach. If you can get a booking here, do so. This is the best place to stay and have fun. The food here was ok. They serve beer as well.

Next day we checked out of the bungalows and went towards the temple. Stood in the Q for 15 minutes before getting "darshan" of God Ganapati. I feel sad that, after waiting in line so patiently for 15-20minutes, we reach the main temple and just when you are about to do "Namaskar" and say your prayers, the priest starts saying "move on", "move on"... this is really sad about our temples. Do not know if there is a any solution..but, I guess it is just the way it is.

After visiting the temple, we went to the main beach. Kids took a ride on horse (Rs. 50 per ride) and we had some coconut water (Rs. 10 to Rs. 12). There was a raft ride (Rs. 100 per person), but, we did not go. We stayed on the beach for a while, enjoying the nice breeze and clean weather. By 11.40am, we left Ganapatipule and drove towards Hotel Alankar again to have lunch.

While coming back, we decided to take another route. So, we drove towards Chiplun (70km from Nivali Phata). Once you reach Chiplun, in the middle of the city, there is a circle and you make a right turn to go towards Karad. Karad is 90km from here. The road goes through mountain, so if you have motion sickness, be prepared. This road is also very well maintained. Once you climb the mountain and the downhill road starts, the road becomes little rough. The road is patchy for quite some distance here. We kept driving till we reached "Nisari Phata", where there is a toll booth (Rs. 14). Right after the toll booth, we took a right turn toward "Umbraj". At this junction, Karad is approx 20km and "Umbraj" is 12km. Going towards Umbraj saves you some distance, if you are driving towards Pune. At Umbraj, a left turn led us to the Expressway towards Satara, Pune. Once I joined the expressway, I realized that we also missed a toll booth and had saved Rs. 42. Should have taken this same route while going :). Anyway, once on the expressway, Pune is 2 hour drive.

Overall, the drive was good. The roads are good on this side. The beach is very well kept, air is fresh and food is good. I would recommend going to Ganapatipule for anyone looking for relaxing and enjoying a clean beach. Winter probably is the best time to visit. During the daytime it gets warmer. You will not a need a sweater in the night.

Overall a pleasant experience..wish we had more days !