Monday, July 18, 2011

Guhagar – A beach tucked away

Yet to register even in the frequent weekend traveler’s tourist map, Guhagar is a beach tucked away, from the prying eyes of commercialization. Featuring sugar sand beaches lined by “Suru” trees Guhagar is a pleasant getaway from the maddening crowds of the cities and a haven for the beach buff with almost 4kms long stretch of undiscovered pristine beach.
Lying south of the Vashishti river Guhagar is amongst the first beaches blessed with white sand in the 800Kms long coastline of Maharashtra. Unlike the thin film of white sand covering the underlying black sand that one  would find in the beaches north of Vashishti, Guhagar is a white sand beach true to the essence of the romantic notion of white sand beaches.
Sightseeing in Guhagar
If you can bear to leave the shades of the “Suru” trees and the turquoise blue sea behind there is lots to see in and around Guhagar. A temple town, Guhagar has scores of temples committed to various forms of Lord Shiva, The Vyadeshwar temple 100mts away from the Guhagar ST depot being the most prominent. The 16th century Anjanvel fort or Gopalgad, now in ruins, is 14kms from Guhagar ST depot. Please don’t miss out on the Anjanvel light house, a kilometer from Gopalgad, perched upon a small hillock offering some breathtaking views of the vast expanse of the Arabian sea and the confluence of the Vashishti river and Arabian  sea. 
Around Guhagar
If you are on a long holiday and want to explore this region you will find many exciting options strewn across like gems on a crown. Velneshwar and Hedvi, five kilometers from each other, is 26kms from Guhagar. Ferry across the Vashishti river and you can walk the lanes of history at the 3rd century archaeological site of Panhalekaji (24kms from Anjanvel ferry dock). A series of 29 rock cut Buddhist cave temples discovered in 1970 Panhalekaji is a delight for the follower of ancient sculpture and art. Unhavare, the village with hot sulphur springs is near the Panhalekaji caves.
Food in Guhagar
Guhagar will be a carnival if you are a sea food lover. You will find many places serving fresh seafood prepared in the rustic “Bhandari” cuisine. Visit the Hotel Rajgad for some delicious seafood, Hotel Lagoon near the ST depot is the only multi cuisine restaurant you will find in Guhagar (serves alcohol as well). There are many pure-veg restaurants serving the famous Brahmani vegetarian food. Check out the Musale Hotel behind the Vyadeshwar temple for great vegetarian dishes.

Stay in Guhagar
Accommodation in Guhagar is predominantly home based, however with the growing tourist demands a few resorts have come up.

How to Reach Guhagar
Guhagar is located approximately 300Kms from Mumbai and is 45 kms off the NH17. To reach Guhagar take the NH17 until Chiplun and follow the signboards after that leading to Guhagar.