From
Mumbai
Thank God that
Mumbai has any number of little beaches that you can escape to when the going gets tough.
One such beach is Alibag, an evergreen favourite of the sun-and-sea-freak, a resort that
you can reach in an hour by catamaran or a three-hour drive from Mumbai.
Alibag is like a
tropical island, all lush trees and palm-fringed beaches. Coconut palms, mango orchards,
chikoo wadis and paddy fields make Alibag a pleasantly verdant and unpolluted retreat. The
area is particularly beautiful during the monsoons, with rain washed trees and the goodly
smell of wet earth making you wish you could stay here forever.
Like other
beaches on the Konkan coast, Alibag too has a historic fort, the Kulaba Fort,
which is just off the main seashore. The fort can be visited during low tide when the
waters have receded. It is important to time your trip otherwise you can get stranded once
the tide comes in. However, if you do get marooned, there is a small village within the
fort where you can potter around. From the main beach it will take about half an hour to
walk to Kulaba fort, but a tonga can get you there quickly for Rs30-40. Built in 1680 by
Shivaji, the fort is now crumbling - all that remains are the ramparts and a
moss-encrusted step well. But it's still a great place to clamber around, look out at the
sea and snap pictures of the shoreline.
Other attractions
are the Magnetic Observatory and the white marbled Shri Vikram
Vinayak Temple built by the Birlas. Though Alibag is great for sun-bathing, going
for long walks and building sand castles, the waters are not very safe for anything more
than paddling. There is a strong undercurrent and it is best not to swim out to sea unless
you are a proficient swimmer. Hopefully, you will be lulled into complete submission by
the Alibag magic and will want to spend your time lazing on the beach and not doing much
else!
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