Ghats are lovely, dark and steep, and on top of that, I had a promise to keep. Enough reason to take the road to Goa. Old friends were meeting up in Dona Paula, and I had promised to be there by nightfall. Flying out from Mumbai was considered and abandoned almost immediately. Weekend buddies promised company and driving assistance; so there wasn’t much to think before reaching for the ignition key.
The 600-km Mumbai-Goa drive alongside Maharashtra?s Konkan coast is a charm, which comes with a challenge attached. NH-17 connecting Panvel to Panaji is still a two-lane road, without a median. You have to be constantly on alert for vehicles from the opposite side swerving out of lane and suddenly appearing before your car. Often, it?s a test of patience to tag behind crawling trucks for miles before the other lane is clear and you can move ahead. Hill roads are treacherous, and though there are ?ghats-ahead? signs, some of them appear without warning, just like the vehicles around their blind corners. Stay on alert, don?t blink an eye.
Small price to pay. Mumbai-Goa gives you the best drive Maharashtra can offer, with NH-17 well-paved and maintained. Unlike highways to central and eastern Maharashtra, there are no depressing, arid stretches here, and this road across rivers, streams, hills, plains and forests passes along several tourist spots and seaside townships. Got more time on hand? Take a detour to some of the picnic spots on the way before resuming your journey.
Time we were short of. We calculated that we will cover the 600 km in approximately 12 hours. Experience told us to leave home well before daybreak, and exit city limits before vehicles hit the road. At 5.00 AM, we hit the Palm Beach Marg to Panvel, one of the better roads in Mumbai. After tanking up in pre-dawn Panvel, we sped down NH-17, and passed by the Karnala bird sanctuary. The sanctuary is home to rare birds, though a previous visit to spot them was rather fruitless for me. Karnala is home to birds like red vented bulbul, horn bill and paradise fly catcher. We pressed ahead, and passed by Pen which is 30 km from Panvel.
It?s 7 AM now, and we are zooming across the bridge on Patalganga, where Arjun from Mahabharat is believed to have shot an arrow to the ground to sprout a fountain for the dying Bhishma Pitamaha. Eons later, another Pitamaha of Indian industry by the name of Dhirubhai Hirachand Ambani built his polyester and petrochemicals empire on the banks of the same river. We are on the bridge and off in less than a minute. Not too far ahead is Vadhkal Naka, where you turn left for Goa. Instead, if you go straight for about 50 km, you will pass by the beachside hamlets of Alibag, Kashid and Murud-Janjira with their fantastic views of deep blue sea from the roads above. I think of the delicious fish fry at Alibaug, the hammocks at Kashid, the island fort off Murud and have second thoughts about going to Goa.
We shake off the allure of Alibag and push ahead on the smooth, safe and practically traffic-free road. We pass by Lonere, Nagothane, Kolad, Indapur, Mangaon, Mahad and reach Poladpur, a dusty small town about 100 km from Vadhkal. We pull up by the side, and step out for vada pav, dosas and hot tea. Nothing great, but enough to keep the body?s engines running. The car gets a 20-minute rest, and we are back on the road. The road which goes left from Poladpur takes you up the hills to Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, known for their residential schools, temples, Bollywood locales and pleasant weather.
History hangs heavy over Poladpur. The place is named after Polad Jung, a commander of Aurangazeb who was killed and buried here. The historic Pratapgad fort built by warrior king Shivaji is about 25 km from Poladpur on way to Mahabaleshwar. It was at Pratapgad that Shivaji took the life of Afzal Khan, commander of the Bijapur sultanate.We have scheduled our next stop for Chiplun, which is 70 km away.
However, this 70 is not as quick to cover as the earlier 70 as there are three ghat stretches until Chiplun: the Kashedi Ghat, the Baste Ghat and the Parasuram Ghat. It rained while we were crossing the Parasuram ghat, slowing down our journey. Chiplun town, situated in a valley, is famous for its Alphonso mangoes, which go to all parts of the country. If time isn?t a constraint, check out Chiplun, get some fresh mangoes off the fruit-stall and I guarantee they will be memorable. By the time we pull up at Chiplun, the trip meter reads 230 km and the clock says 11.30 AM.
After a mini-lunch, we are back on NH-17, headed for Ratnagiri, the heart of Konkan. We drive further south to reach Hathkamba, where we pull up at Alankar hotel for lunch. From Hathkamba, if you take NH-204 to the west, you reach the clear beaches of Ratnagiri. Ratnagiri is also famous for its cashews, mangoes, temples and the Ratna Durg fort. We spend an hour at Alankar, slightly more than planned. We tank up at the gas station and move on. We are about 300 km out of Mumbai now. And the clock ticks at 2.30 PM.
The Hathkamba-Panaji stretch is the best part of the Mumbai-Goa drive. Roads are of tarmac-quality and there is very little vehicle traffic. We speed along corridors of humungous banyan trees with their aerial roots hanging from the skies. We cross Pali, followed by two more ghat sections. After another effortless drive for about an hour and a half we reach Talere Naka, from where a road to the right takes you to Vijaydurg.
About 38 km down south from Talere is Kasal, from where a right turn on state highway 118 will take you to Tarkarli, 34 km away.Far from the madding crowds of Mumbai, Tarkarli sports some of the most unspoilt beaches in Maharashtra and the tourism department has a spacious resort here with houseboats.
We pull over at Vithal Kamat?s restaurant in Savantvadi across a placid lake, when the golden light over the water reminds us that we don?t have much time left for Panaji. After some quick snacks and a brief rest for the hundred horses under the bonnet, we are back on the highway, the last stretch for Goa. We are about 500 km out of Mumbai now, and the clock reads 5.30 PM.
There is just one more mountain section to cross before we enter the runway to Panaji. The climb and descent are over in barely 10 minutes. We cross Banda, one of the last small towns in Maharashtra before the border. In the distance, we can see the road sign reading ?Welcome to Goa?. This author announces the road sign to co-travellers and the car erupts in cheers and hoots. Panjim, here we come! It?s a straight dash from here to Panaji, and the road gets progressively better as you near Panaji. As we near city limits, there are many signs inviting you to cheap, quality beer. The sun has disappeared into the Arabian Sea, but it?s not dark yet, and the parking lights are on while we cruise at a steady 100+ kmph.
Alongside NH-17 is Mapusa, famous for the Goan-Portuguese restaurant O? Coqueiro. Legend goes that serial killer Charles Sobhraj who escaped from Tihar jail had fled to Goa and was traced to this city in 1986 by an officer of Maharashtra police. According to local lore, the officer was aware of Sobhraj?s weakness for O? Coqueiro?s Chicken Cafreal served and would drop in here every evening in search of the elusive quarry. One day, Sobhraj landed up, the inspector walked up to him and put him under arrest. O? Coqueiro now has a statue of Sobhraj in its lawns with a pipe in his hand. We speed past O? Coqueiro and can barely see the white statue in near-darkness.
Mapusa to Panaji is barely 15 km, and we are near the end of the journey. Roads are lit up on both sides and the beer boards blink the brightest. Fifteen minutes after passing Sobhraj, we see the lights of Mandovi bridge ahead, the entry point to Panaji city. Headlights on, windows down, the car glides smoothly onto the bridge, even as trip meter clicks into 590 km and the clock reads 7 PM. In the darkness over Mandovi, the shimmering lights of lumbering houseboats in the distance reflect on its quiet waters. We have reached later than we expected, but the night is still young. A long time to sunrise.