Shriwardhan Reviews by Travelers

Overview of the destination
We had been to Diveagar from 1st May to 3rd May. We stayed at the MTDC Exotica beach resort . I will come to the review of the place which was fantastic later. Let?s deal first with Travel Hungama. I booked the MTDC resort called Exotica Beach Resort in Diveagar through a Mumbai based Agent called Travel Hungama. It was the worst decision of the tour.

Food, sight-seeing and shopping
1. Suhas Bapat?s eatery: This is a truly amazing place with awesome food. You will be served authentic maharastrian food with Modak. The contact number is: 09423837967, 09271127337. you need to call in the morning and confirm your order. Ad-hoc visits will leave you disappointed, cos often the food is cooked as per orders and there is no surplus as good food never goes waste ;) 2. Suvarnaganesh Khanaval by Anant Parker: Contact no: 952147 ? 225045. Very near to Pinakin Hotel and Ambience cottages (by walk 10 min): Amazing non-veg food. The pomfret served was the best we had in long long time. The rate for a non veg thali is 150/- which includes a decent sized pomfret fry.

Activities & things to do
1. The virgin beach: The best thing to do in Diveagar is nothing. Just visit the virgin beach and do nothing else. 2. Murud-Janjira Fort: Another must see location is the Murud-Janjira fort. Note: Please hire a local guide( charges 15/- if you go in a group)..If you are a couple, you can bargain for 120/-?there is a lot of historic information which you rather have for relevance, than aimlessly roaming around the fort. To visit Murud Janjira you should be leaving Diveagar early at 8.00 and go to a town called Dighi (takes 45 minutes) and take the ferry boat at 9.15 am to go to the fort. 3. Golden Ganesha temple: And of course visit the Golden Ganesha temple. It is nerve wracking experience to see the Golden bust of Ganesha displayed in the temple .It was found buried in the ground in a 900- year old chest trunk in a wadi nearby. Don't forget to go to the wadi ( prakat sthan) and meet the lady (in seventies) who actually discovered the golden ganesha.

Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc.
Pune to Diveagar - 156 km (via Mhasala). Approx time: 4.5 hours (Route - Pune - Paud - Mulshi - Mangaon via Tamhini Ghat (turn left from the Highway and later right from the Main Market) - Sai-Morba Ghat - Mhasala (before S. T. stand turn right from main road) - Vadavali phata - Borli - Diveagar)I would say the roads were newly laid so we were lucky. And yes, as he said the view throughout was refreshing and makes the 4.5 hours journey enjoyable. The only con about the journey is lack of good places to eat. So make sure to pack some sandwiches or chips on your way. Also, only IDEA and Reliance have some kind of a network, so inform your family not to get worried if you are not reachable.