Ganapatipule Reviews

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
The MTDC Resort has a decent restaurant, and the prices are not too steep. There are a few options around the resort too, Many of them are homes turned into tiny lodges and restaurants, and the food is reportedly very good. We inquired at a couple of places, but they were not too eager to prepare small quantities. Perhaps they would have been more welcoming in the holiday season. A few shops near the temple offer mango products at a discount.

Activities & things to do
There is little to see around Ganpatipule. The 35-km ride from Ratnagiri is spectacular, especially the first half where you pass lagoons and backwaters and ridges. Three villages fall on the way: Vaare, Aare and Nevare. The sight of the sea as you peak the ridge just before Aare is breathtaking, and worth making the journey. The bus ride may not give you this view. Once you reach Ganpatipule, you stay put there. The main draw here is the Swayambu Ganapati temple on the sea. An unsubstantiated legend claims that Shivaji sought blessings here before a naval conquest. There is enough evidence that the Peshwas were the greatest benefactors of the temple: the wife of the first Peshwa was a resident of Nevare, the neighbouring village. The idol in the temple is a naturally occurring rock that was accidentally discovered by a shepherd. When he was grazing cattle in the hill around it. Later, another piece of earth shaped like a trunk was discovered on the eastern side of the hill. A temple was built around the rock, while the trunk has been enclosed in a chapel-like hut. The idol in the temple faces south, a rare occurrence. Twice every year, in November and in February, the slanted rays of the sun eportedly lights up the idol. The base of the hill has been converted into a pradakshina, so instead of circumambulating a temple, you go round the hill. The pradakshina or walk is one kilometer, and it is auspicious to walk around the temple five times. We took 80 minutes to do the 5 km walk. If you are game, you should start at 5.30 in the evening so that you are right on time for the 7 pm aarti. I found the evening walk ideal, as it built up thirst for a few bottles of beer!

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
Ganpatipule is an ideal weekend getaway from Mumbai and Pune. If you have a car, the journey (around 350 kms) should get done in 6-7 hours , marginally lesser for Puneites, marginally longer for Mumbaikars. We did not have a car. We took the Janashatabdi from Mumbai, an ideal train to get there. It leaves Mumbai at the crack of dawn and touches Ratnagiri before 11 am. Ganapatipule is less than an hour?s ride by auto, so we were checking in by 12 noon. The autorickshaw guys charge a flat Rs 350. For those on a budget, there?s the bus option. You could take the excellent bus service from the rail station to Ratnagiri ST bus stand (7-8 kms), and find a bus from the ST stand to Ganaputipule. There is a bus almost every hour. The bus ride is a bit longer and lasts approximately 90-120 minutes. You could end up reaching Ratnagiri after 1 pm, which, if you ask me, is not the same as 12 noon. A third option, if you can put up with night travel in a bus, is a direct ST bus from Mumbai or Pune. The ride is around 9-10 hours. A bus leaves Vashi at midnight, while there are buses from Borivli and Pune in the morning as well as the evening. You can check with the nearest MSRTC depot. The advantage of the ST is that you don?t need to change buses to get there. The fare is also economical (Rs 175 one-way for standard STs) but I don?t savour a night ride in a bumpy bus. I did when I was in college, but not any longer. We stayed at the MTDC resort. The location is terrific as the resort hogs the beach. It spans half a kilometer of the prime beach front and is adjacent to the Shree Kshetra Ganapati temple, which lords over the rest of the beach. The gates of the resort and the temple face each other, the temple on the south and the resort on the north. The resort is divided into two sections, upper and lower. Separating the two sections is a hillock which is part of the MTDC estate. The two sections run like independent hotels, with independent receptions, room services and restaurants. It is wise to select your rooms depending on which section you would like to stay. The section closer to the temple, and therefore closer to the main gate, is the upper or higher section. This upper section has more rooms and has a larger and better-stocked restaurant. It is 30-75 feet above sea level, depending on the type of room you take. The price of the rooms goes up with the altitude. The rooms closest to the main gate are the cheapest, as they are non-AC rooms in one-storey buildings. The most expensive rooms in this section, the Sea View Cottage, are at the highest altitude (75 feet). In between them are the Super AC row houses. Each type of room has an independent flight of stairs heading down to the beach. The second section is nearly a kilometre away from the main gate. The path to this lower section skirts the hillock that separates the two sections. If you take an auto from Ratnagiri and have chosen the lower section, ensure that you take the auto right in. The lower section is at sea level, so you don?t need a flight of stairs to reach the beach. The independent rooms in this section are called Konkani huts. These huts are barely 50 metres away from the beach and the windows in the huts have a breathtaking view of the ocean. For budget travelers, this section has tents. I wouldn?t recommend the tents. The lower section also houses an unimpressive ayurveda centre and a rudimentary water sport facility (read paddleboats and motor scooters). The restaurant here is a satellite of the main restaurant in the upper section. It is open air and is very close to the beach, making it ideal location for beer (Rs 100 a chilled bottle). On the flip side, some of the dishes available in the upper section are not available here. Upper or lower, where to stay: We stayed in a Konkani hut. When I visit Ganapatipule again, I would opt for the Super AC row houses in the upper section. These are roomier than the Konkani huts: they have a little parlour inside beside the bedroom and toilet. They also have a sheltered verandah outside. The view of the sea from the altitude is breathtaking; the wooden benches in front of the row houses are breezy cuddling spots. The only problem with these row houses is that you need to climb down 30-40 steps to reach the beach. On the way up the stairs is a shower in an alcove where you can wash the sand away. I really wouldn?t climbing up and down, but I can understand why some guests would find that inconvenient. The lower section is at sea level and senior citizens would find it easier on the knees. My problem with the Konkani huts is that they lack the shower, the parlour and the verandah. You come out of the beach and you are into the room. You drag sand in with you. If you are driving there, you can always drive down to the lower section for a beer or for a dip, if stairs are discomforting. The best thing about Ganpatipule is the clean beach and the cleaner water. Early March is a great time to visit as the place is not too crowded and the weather is pleasant. I can imagine it getting warmer in April and May. The sea is not very rough, either; if anything, perhaps a bit too gentle. There are warnings all over the beach cautioning you not to venture deep. The beach lacks a lifeguard, so you are pretty much on your own. We returned to Ratnagiri to take the Janashatabdi back. On hindsight, the choice of train was wrong as we chugged into Mumbai around midnight. The MTDC check out is at 9 am. It would be ideal to return by the Netravati which leaves Ratnagiri at 10 am and reaches Mumbai by 5 in the evening. You have time to unwind before heading for work the next day. Those who don?t have the luxury of the extra day could consider a return bus journey (the only option for Puneites, really). The ST stand is just outside the MTDC resort. There are also a few private buses that leave in the evening.