Beaches in Maharashtra

Good day to all,

After a long break of a month, we from Phila Tours & Travels, expect that you must have enjoyed the Diwali celebration and now, with this new blog we are here to inform you more about beaches of Maharashtra. 

Well, when someone talks about beaches in India, the first thing comes in mind is Goa, and no doubt about that, being the state proclaimed as tourist state, having enormous number of beaches and all well known worldwide, but it would not be wrong to mention Maharashtra’s beaches too to be breathtaking and beautiful. Though not all are so peaceful and possible for good time of swim, but nice to relax on or enjoy some time spending there. Not only Mumbai, but the whole stretch of more than 700 kms from northern part touching Gujarat and southern side going way down till Goa, some of the beaches are awesome, breathtaking and beautiful. So, let’s get started knowing some of them, we will start with the some of them in Mumbai.

JUHU BEACH:

This most popular beach of Mumbai on the shore of Arabian Sea is sorry to say not good for swimming as is always crowded and lots of stalls of food items, road games, horse rides etc possible there, this beach is very near to the places of good luxury hotels and also nearby are the residences of the Bollywood stars, this beach was also a favorite place for shooting of earlier Indian movies.

MARINE DRIVE and CHOWPATTY:

Located at the Heart of the City, was built during 1920-30 claiming land form the sea. As the street passes in curve at this place, during evening the illuminated street lights looks as if a shining necklace, so this also is known as the Queen’s Necklace. The Chowpatty beach is on the end of Marine Drive, which is again a beach but now good enough for much of the swimming, people flock here during evening for enjoying the food sold on the stalls such as Bhelpri, Panipuri, Ice Gola (made of crushed ice and sprinkled with various flavored syrups for taste), ice creams and Kulfi (handmade pot ice cream), Paan (beetle leaves filled with various ingredients to taste sweet). On the beach a small park is opened for senior citizens called “Nana-Nani Park”.

MADH ISLAND:

Though this place is located near the rural fisherman’s village, treacherous sea currents making is not safe for swimming and not so picturesque or scenic, still the tourists come and enjoy the place for parties with friends and relaxing from the fast and exhausting life of Mumbai. 

MARVE, MANORI and GORAI BEACHES: 

About 30 kms form the downtown of Mumbai, this beach lies near Borivli, though now an industrial and business hub, still one can see the remains of colonial times, the view of sunrise and sunset is marvelous here and a ferry for about 15-20 minutes from here will take you to Manori beach or Gorai beach. Manori beach is famous for its all night parties under the moon light. Gorai Beach is safe for swimming during the time besides monsoon season, which is near 4 months from June onward  this beach gives the relaxed feeling from the city’s hustle-bustle and even the locales of Mumbaikar do come and enjoy the time here.

Here we mentioned some of the beaches in Mumbai, not let’s move out of the city limit of Mumbai and go to find some more places to enjoy the time with sea, sand and sun…

MANDWA and KIHIM BEACHES:

Kihim, this beach is just 10 kms away from the city limits of Mumbai, though it seems a totally different experience due to the dense coconut trees, pollution free air and serene atmosphere, it is a sort of nature lovers’ outing spot, with sea adds up to the atmosphere to the surrounding area and enjoy the surfing in the sea with an advantage of forest near by giving the more reason to enjoy a perfect stay near beach in a tent or cottage.

The mandwa beach on the other end gives a serene atmosphere just few kms away from Kihim, and one can enjoy the peace and quietness around spending some time here. One can visit the nearby Colaba fort which is again a few kms from the beach also can be seen are the Portuguese fort ruins, Buddhist temple, hamam khana, church, a temple as well as a synagogue.

BASSEIN BEACH:

Near to nalasopara, just about 10 kms away, and around 75-80 kms from Mumbai, have the feel of one of the seren beaches of Goa, with added advantage of less crowd. Quite a historical place surrounding, one can visit the Portuguese forts in ruins inside the dense forest of brushwood and palm groves, it also has nearby place of Buddhist relice, vajreshwari temple, alkoli hot water springs and few other old temples and churches during the portuguese time.

DAHANU BORDI BEACH:

Nearly 145kms away from Mumbai in the Thane district, towards the southern side of state, this tidy and clean beach boast not only the beautiful place, but also has a surrounding vast plantation of chikoo fruit. Between the stretch of 17 kms from Dahanu to Bordi, one can find many safe, beautiful and peaceful beaches though during the summer time weather is hot, but the cool breeze makes it a pleasant and enjoyable temperature.

Mecca of the Zorostrians, a magnificent temple which is believed to have the flame of eternity being alive for more than 1000 years and the place is more exotic with the culture kept alive of Iranian and Persian. It is said that the Persians landed at this beach in search of peaceful place to live out of their country and they were accepted by the then king of the area.

MURUD JANJIRA:

Located near Alibagh in Raigarh district were not so famous beaches till some time back, but nearly emerging more and more likable by the enthusiast with the outing for a night not only for the beaches of Murud Janjira but also for Kashid and Nandgaon beaches which are close by. Now becoming the most popular and alluring beaches of Maharashtra added with the beauty and freshness thanks to the lush green palm trees.

There is also a fort with marvelous design which I about 300 years old, along with the nawab’s palace and Janjira caves making it more interesting place to visit.

SRIWARDHAN HARIHARESHWAR:

Nearly 200kms from Mumbai, the speciality of the beach is picturesque and tranquility, where adventure as well as food lovers both can enjoy, as there are lots of verities of seafood available on and near the beach and the adventure lovers can take a boat ride to venture to explore where the Peshwas were originally residing. This place is also known for the historical monuments of Peshwas, temple and Fort. 

HARNAI BEACH:

Harnai, about 200kms from Mumbai, earlier not very famous beach, being now enjoyed for its white sands and safe water by many from Mumbai as well as Pune for getaway of relaxed, peaceful and scenic beach. Near to this beach is Harnai fort, one of the old and historical place to visit and in south of this fort is Palm Fringed beach of Murud, From this Murud - Harnai, about 30 kms distance is Panhale Kazi, a famous rock cut monument. Accommodation is available near the beach of Harnai at resorts for night stay too.

VELNESHWAR BEACH:

About 370kms away from Mumbai near Chiplun (by road or by train from Mumbai) the Velneshwer is a small village but its beach is quite famous for swimming and sunbathing. Water sports are the frequent activities, which are carried out here. The green coconut palm grooves and rock free sea water make the beach so beautiful and attractive. It very well comes in between on old route of Mumbai to Goa or Vice versa.

GANPATI PHULE:

375 km south of Mumbai, Ganapatipule is regarded as one of the most important beaches of Maharashtra. The waters are crystal clear and pristine, entire stretch of beach is covered with fresh greeneries, water sport facilities are also available over here, silver sands, a gentle lapping sea, which soothes frayed nerves, attracts large number of tourists. One can see a glimpse of the entire beach, which is covered with white sand and blue waters from the top of the hill.

Ganapatipule is also known as a pilgrimage site for its 400-year-old temple of Swayambhu Ganpati (naturally formed monolithic Ganesh). Other nearby attractions worth visiting are Malgund and Ratnagiri.

VIJAYDURG – SINDHUDURG:

Vijaydurg is 425 km from Mumbai and Sindhudurg is 510 km, apart from the picturesque beaches these places have lots of historical sites to see, most important of all is the Vijayadurg fort built by hhatrapati Shivaji in the 17th century. The great Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji used Vijaydurg - Sindhudurg as naval base during his reign. Sindhudurg has temples dedicated to Bhavani, Mahadeo, Jarimai, Mahapurush and Shivaji spreading over 48 acres.

VENGURLA MALVAN BEACH:

Vengurala is 514 km away from Mumbai and 200 km from Ratnagiri. Kolhapur is the nearest railhead, while one can also access this place through Ratnagiri, which is well connected by road. Vengurla is famous for its long stretch of iridescent sand, lined up with thick groves of cashew, coconut, jackfruit and mango. Vengurla rocks is so near to this beach. 

Malvan is thickly covered with palm trees. This place is famous for the temples as well. Malvan was once an important center for trade, which was twice destroyed by the attacks between 1664-1812. There are also forts to visit near by of Malvan namely Sindhudurg and Padmagadh.

TARKARLI BEACH:

Tarkarli is situated 6 km south of Malvan and 546 km from Mumbai on the west coast of India. This place has gained prominence because of its long and narrow stretch of beach with pristine waters. Takarali beach is known for is clearness of water. One can sometimes see the seabed unto a depth of 20 ft. If we look the beach panoramically, the beautiful sailboats and the tiny magnificent islands make the beach more delightful.Nearest railway station is at Kudal on the Konkan Railway, it is easily accessible from Malvan by bus and rickshaw.

All in all, the beaches of Maharashtra are also the place to be visited though they all are not so famous as of Goa, but sure one can have a nice weekend at these places and the best part of the beaches of maharashtra are, the places are not only for beach, but also has some importance including the production of fruits, serving of seafood, pilgrimage of temples and other religion places as well as historical importance, so one can never get tired of sitting on beach, can always have some other activities also possible to do.

So, with this we end this blog and hope you are now well informed of some of the beaches also possible to visit in Maharashtra, hope you enjoyed reading and we look forward for any assistance we may be able to provide for you by contacting us. 

India and Festivals - Diwali

Hello Friends, 

Here we are again from Phila Tours & Travels Pvt. Ltd. with yet another blog, giving information about India and this time we are right on time of the Festival of Diwali, also known as Deepawali. This festival is one of the most important, hugely awaited and immensely cherished also popularly known as “Festival of Lights” is celebrated with great gusto and is observed as an official holiday across India and in parts of Nepal. Originally, the name was Deepawali, which has its origin from Sanskrit, meaning “Rows of Deep”.

The Importance of Diwali: 

The festival of Diwali is not only significant to Hindus, but, has importance in Jainism, Arya Samaj and Sikhism also. It was on the birth of the new moon in the month of Kartik (Diwali Day) when Maharshi Dayananda, one of the greatest reformers of Hinduism and the founder of Arya Samaj attained his nirvana. Mahavir Tirthankar, considered to be the founder of modern Jainism also attained his nirvana on Diwali day. The third Sikh Guru Amar Das institutionalized Diwali as a Red-Letter Day when all Sikhs would gather to receive the Gurus blessings. In 1577, the foundation stone of the Golden Temple at Amritsar was laid on Diwali. In 1619, the sixth Sikh Guru Hargobind, who was held by the Mughal Emperor Jahangir, was released from the Gwalior fort along with 52 kings.

There are many Hindu Mythological stories over celebration of Diwali, some of them as such as: Welcoming Lord Rama with Sita and Laxman, after their 14 years of Exile from Ayodhya, another says about Goddess of wealth, Lakshmi being incarnated on this day of the Kartik month during the churning of the ocean (samudra-manthan), Also it is believed that on the day preceding Diwali, Lord Krishna killed the demon king Narakasur. The celebration of this freedom went on for two days including the Diwali day as a victory festival. Again another story goes as of Lord Vishnu, who in his dwarf incarnation vanquished the tyrant Bali and banished him to hell. Bali was allowed to return to earth once a year, to light millions of lamps to dispel the darkness and ignorance, and spread the radiance of love and wisdom according to the boon given by Lord Vishnu. It is also believed form Mahabharata Epic, it was this day when the Pandavas appeared from their 12 years of banishment as a result of their defeat in the hands of the Kauravas at the game of dice.

Even it is true that just like Christmas, Diwali also is celebrated world around, wherever Indians - Hindu are living, the Diwali is celebrated with the same enthusiasm, even, in 1999, Pope John Paul II performed a special Eucharist in an Indian church where the altar was decorated with lamps, the Pope had a ‘tilak’ marked on his forehead and his speech was bristled with references to the festival of light.

Traditional Celebration :

The Tradition of Diwali is ultimately symbolizing victory of good over evil and freedom from darkness, and it is always celebrated in such a way by decorating “Rangoli” and lighting “Diya” (earthen lamps), cleaning and decorating homes keeping doors and windows open, wearing new clothes and celebrating with fireworks. Each has its own meaning; Rangoli at door steps is for inviting good omen at home, lighting Diya is to illuminate light over darkness; cleaning and decoration of places by keeping doors and window open is to welcome Gods in the clean and pure place along with the happiness and prosperity, wearing new cloths is specially to feel the pureness and cleanliness of body and soul to pray towards Gods and Goddesses and celebrating the fireworks to thwart away the evil spirits and celebrating joy.

Though as each and every day has its own importance, Dhan Teras, is the day when tools of the trade are cleaned and given priority with worshiping, next day of Kali Chaudas, is the day when Goddess Kali had killed the Evil Asura Mahisasur, so on this day, Goddess Kali is worshiped and prayer are for keeping devotees away from the bad omen and make them safe, healthy and happy. Main days is the Amavasya, which also the last day of the Hindu calendar year and this day Goddess Laxmi’s pooja, prayer is done to show the gratefulness of the Goddess during the year which is ending and welcoming her to be with the devotees for the next year and bring the prosperity along with her. The next day, is the first day of New year, and it is celebrated by wishing near and dear for happy and prosperous new year, elders are praised and thanked for their support and guidance, young ones are given wishes to progress and happiness. The last day is Bhai Dooj, the story goes as The God of Death and keeper of Hell, Yamaraj, was invited on this day by his sister and was worshiped and served well, by this he was happy and asked for a boon to his sister, and she replied that, all bother be safe from going to Hell and sudden death, and Yama added that  if they go to Sister’s home and the sister who serves well to her brother on this day will not become widow.

Thus all 5 days are auspicious and celebrated with enthusiasm by young and old alike, New clothes are purchased for whole family, shopping of ornaments and other things are done, sweets are prepared or purchased eaten and shared along the family, friends and relatives, fireworks take place and the decoration and atmosphere becomes so lively, that without actually seeing, it would not be possible to understand,  So, we invite you to come to India during Diwali and enjoy the Festival personally and with friends and family, any information more required, do not hesitate to contact us.

Wish you Happy Diwali and Prosperous New year. May God bless you and wish you all be health, happiness and prosperity in life.

Graceful Winter of India

With regards to all,

On behalf of Phila tours and Travels Pvt. Ltd., we welcome you to the time of graceful winter in India, which starts from November and till March next year, Though the winter in India is never too harsh in many parts of the country, we take this opportunity to inform you about such provinces/States where the climate will still be very pleasant and comfortable to spend time of holiday season.  Though being a much diversified country and difference in topography, India has warm weather at one place and still snow fall in different part of Country at the same time, so whatever you are looking for, everything is here in India.

The winter is very mild in the Provinces like Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka in South and in Maharashtra, pleasant in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Moderate in Utter Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar and Haryana and you may find temperature near to single degree centigrade in some of the states of north like Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, and a snow fall at the peak of winter season in Uttranchal, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

So, here you are, now you have a clear Idea of winter of India has decreasing temperature in the provinces as you go from South to North, and there are various packages available for your good time to spend at any part of India, for any reason you want to, could be such as for Honeymoon or simply Family outing for few days, for Shopping or visiting new places, may be just relaxing or enjoying the view of surroundings from your hotel room balcony, trekking or adventure tours, you name it and we can arrange for you in the most comfortable way for you.

For warm weather during winter, we can suggest you to take your holidays time in southern states as mentioned above to see cities and places such as Cochin, Wayanad, Calicut, Alllepey, Kovalam, Kumarkom, Trivandrum and a hilly area of Munnar which will be a bit cooler compared to the other places, though will be pleasant. It is said that all ayurveda treatments will have more positive effects during winter and what better places can be there besides Kerala? So you can have specialized packages and tours like Ayurveda Treatments or Backwater and houseboat tour. Even if you are around Andhra Pradesh or Tamil Nadu, you still have a chance to avail the specialized Temple tour to visit famous temple and pray for peace, prosperity and betterment of life. The most important, if you like to visit the Heritage sites, this will be possible in Karnataka, with the Ancient Civilization of Hampi.


While you go still upwards in India from Karnataka, you can spend time on the lovely beaches of Goa, here, it is the best time to spend your time on the beach, for relaxing, swimming or simply strolling on the sand, Goa has numerous beaches, forts, churches and temples, and you will have all the best options to choose suitable hotels or any category as Goa is developed as tourist state.

If you are planning to enjoy your time in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, we can suggest you something beautiful related with heritage tours covering AJANTA and Ellora in Maharashtra and Khajuraho in Madhya Pradesh, oh and not to forget the Tiger Safari in Pench near Nagpur in Maharashtra and Banghavgadh in Madhya Pradesh, besides all other tours or holidays packages.

Similar way for Gujarat; the only Province/Region having ban/restriction on sale or consumption of alcohol drinks without proper permit occupied in advanced; here, we can also offer different bird sanctuaries, Gir Lion Safaris and Jungle Safaris along with visits to some of the world famous temple of Ambaji, Palitana, Somnath, Dwarka, besides the Proclaimed tour of Foot Steps of Mahatma Gandhi.  As Mahatma Gandhi (real name Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also called as Father of the Nation) was born in Porbander town of Southern Gujarat. 

With Rajasthan, the Province/State which has most of the Havelis and Castles, now very beautifully converted to Heritage Hotels, we have specific tours related with stay in such old palaces and Havelis while along with that you can also enjoy the Desert Safari with camel ride in Jaisalmer, Elephant Ride in Jaipur, boat rides in Udaipur or Mount Abu, and also visit the Arcitectural monuments of old palaces and temples to enjoy the fine stone work, colorful paintings on the walls and see the magnificent furniture used by the original kings during their era of rule, Oh did we mention anything about the karni mata temple near Bikaner, don't forget to visit this temple, it sure has surprise tucked in different way you would ever see in the world.

Now let us move to the moderate Winter conditions, where temperature drops even to single digit at night and during the peak winter time, an early morning fog is normal view, that can happen in the northern states of India, one of them being Bihar. Still the day temperature is very comfortable in the range of high tens to mid twenties Celsius. Here we can arrange for the Buddhist Pilgrimage tour covering cities of importance with the Buddhist religion such as; Bodh Gaya, Nalanda, Vaishali, Rajgir, Gaya, Patna etc. Similar way in the Province of Utter Pradesh The Ayodhya, the birth place of Lord Rama is again a pilgrimage place for Hindu, though in the capital city Lucknow, you may enjoy sightseeing of architectural places such as palaces, mosques and other monuments erected during the Moghul Era. Another city Varanasi right on the banks of Holy Ganga River, has an importance as a sacred place for Hindu religion.

Here is the best part of India for all those who are visiting this lovely country for the first time, I am sure they will not accept to miss the famous Golden Triangle Tour, covering the Capital City of India, Delhi for its modern and medieval architectural and historical places, Agra for the top best of the Seven Wonders of the World Taj Mahal, the monument of love and Jaipur for the heritage and cultural of respect love and care, the colorful life and culture.

Some of the Eastern States, not yet so famous in the foreign countries for tourism purpose, but when this Country itself has so much to see, it will be unwise to miss anything, such as Jarkhand having its capital city of Ranchi and Chhatisgarh with Raipur as its Capital, there sure is lots to offer, such as Jungle Safaris, nature tours, Temples and cultural tours of local tribes. Another Province, Orissa for world famous temples of Konark and Puri and West Bengal for the lovely Sunderban River Cruise and tiger camp.

On the farther part of East, the North-East States/Provinces such as Sikkim, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh, have a joy of spending your time for relaxing and detoxicating yourself from the hectic life of metro cities, take a peek at those plantations of Tea and Coffee, the lovely hilly areas with the beautiful greenery view, These will be the best places to spend early or late winter with beautiful weather with low temperature and high altitude.

Though this is not the end, we have reached to the level where the winter will start showing its white shades during the peak season. In Uttaranchal Pradesh one can have the Jungle safari in Jim Corbett, also this province will be very much suitable for those who are interested in Yoga, visiting ancient temples of India and even for trekking and white water rafting in and around Rishikesh, Haridwar, Badrinath and Kedarnath. You can have a peaceful relaxing holidays in Dehradun too and Auli could be the place for skiing. From here we will move upwards to Himachal Pradesh, where now you will start seeing snow and peaks of high mountains, Kufri, Shimla, Kullu, Manali could be named few.

Finally, we come to the top of the Country, to province/State of Jammu and Kashmir, the Crown of India, with beautiful temple of Mata Vaishnodeviin Katra near Jammu and have a lovely road trip to Srinagar, with scenic view. Here is the place which would be lovely snow covered peaks and skiing possibilities in peak time of winter, Moghul era constructions of Gardens, famous Dal lake and house boat stay, all to be enjoyed in most relaxing with ease of time some of the places to see also can be mentioned as Gulmarg, Sonmarg, Pahalgam worth enjoying during Winter as well as Summer.  

Well, as the weather of India is dramatically different during the months around the year, but the best time to visit India is during the winter and the small information we provided here in the blog will give you idea where to spend your holiday during the winter as per your choice of coolness in weather as well as activities you would prefer for holidays, and all the places mentioned will have their own specific style of Food for you to indulge your taste buds too, moreover, each and every province have their own specific specialties of producing and/or manufacturing items, which can always be searched and brought to bring back with you to cherish the memories of places, in details about such special items to purchase as souvenir, we will discuss later, meanwhile you enjoy the reading and we will be back soon with more information about India. Meanwhile we look forward to have a chance to manage your tour to be much enjoyable and memorable. So do Contact Us.