A SHORT TRIP TO DAPOLI
It was summer of 2019, occasion was my brother's birthday, we had very few leaves left, so we planned a trip to a nearby destination. After a lot of discussion and searches, we found a place just perfect for a quick weekend trip. Though Pune has many adjacent destinations which are just perfect for small trips like we were planning, but this time we wanted to explore something new, crowd free, so we planned for Dapoli.
Dapoli is around 180 kms from Pune and 215 Kms from Mumbai. We planned to drive from Pune to Dapoli with 1 stop in between, which took us somewhere over 5 hours. We started early morning on Saturday and reached before noon with a good 1 hour breakfast halt. While crossing the western ghats, rather than speeding, I recommend enjoying the view on the way, which is breathtaking and has quite a lot of photogenic spots.
It was mid summers and there was no sign of rain, but then also Dapoli welcomed us with some drizzle and a soothing weather.
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About Dapoli
The town is at an altitude of 800fts and next to Arabian sea, has year-round cool weather and also called "Mini Mahabaleshwar". This quaint town of Dapoli was once a military camp for the British soldiers. Now it is more known for its less crowded beaches with fun water sports and Food. This place is a paradise for seafood lovers; if you are a seafood lover, you'll have many opportunities to sample lip smacking delicacies. The local meal comprises a combination of kokum kadi, rice, fresh fried fish variants and made with fiery spices. You can inform the hotel staff in the morning for lunch or by 4pm for dinner the fish you want to devour.
PS: Paradise for FISH lover ;-p
Its long coastal stretch covers Kelshi, Dabhol, Burondi with some beautiful beaches such as Karke beach, Kelsi beach, Murud beach, Ladghar beach, Kolthare beach, Tamastirth Beach. Dapoli also has history to showcase through its many sea side forts. Suvarnadurg Fort, nested at a distance of 16 kms from Dapoli on a tiny island off the coast of Harnai, built during the reign of Chhatrapati Shivaji. The Murud-Janjira Fort, at a distance of 12 km from the town of Dapoli.
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How to Travel to Dapoli
By Car: Dapoli is 4-5 Hours drive from Pune. You will drive through western ghats with many hairpin bend roads, thus speeding is strictly not advisable. There are two routes, either you can go via Tamhini Ghat or via Wai, whichever is convenient for you. I choose to go via Wai as it was more convenient for me and saved around 25 kms.
By Bus: State busses are available for early morning and late-night trips, you may get from Pune, Mumbai and Kolhapur.
By Train: The closest railway station is Khed Railway station, which is around 40 Kms from Dapoli.