Ratnagiri: Down by the Seaside

For most travellers, Ratnagiri is merely a pretty stop on the Konkan Railway, where red earth gleams under the tracks from over which trains whiz past the dark green trees laden with ripe mangoes. Just 15 minutes from the station is Ratnagiri’s glorious coastline, fringed by green hills. The port is what Mumbai must have been like in the 19th century. Indeed, the first view that greeted visitors landing at erstwhile Bombay’s Apollo Bunder would surely have been similar to the one served up by Ratnagiri today.

Its relative obscurity means that Ratnagiri has all the charms of an unspoiled seaside town: the air lulls you into a state of torpor. It boasts beaches that are mostly clean, fringed by coconut or mango trees.

THINGS TO SEE AND DO

Red earth and green mangoes are Ratnagiri’s claim to fame, and its Burmese connection adds to the town’s exotic value. There are no watersports on offer on the three beaches and of these three, only Bhatye Beach is suitable for swimming. But there are no lifeguards around, so it is risky. Ratnagiri can be covered in a day but you may want to keep aside some more time for the beautiful places around.

Bhatye Beach

Ratnagiri has an uneven sea-face, broken by a deep bay, which is spanned by the Bhatye Bridge. At the brown Bhatye Beach, the water rarely comes up above the knees for the first 50 yards. This isn’t particularly beautiful beach; the sand isn’t white or even golden. However, it is the nicest of Ratnagiri’s three beaches. The further away you go from the bridge, the quieter it becomes. The thick barrier of suru trees between the beach and the coastal highway prevents sound from travelling either way, and by the time you reach the Coconut Research Station, you have the beach to yourself. In the tourist season, you might find an odd bhel puri or nariyal pani vendor in the evening.

Ratnadurg Fort

Maratha emperor Shivaji’s Ratnadurg Fort is known as the Qila. It once sprawled across two hills, looking down at the sea. However, all that’s left of it today are crumbling walls. Inside the remnants of the fort is the Sri Devi Bhagwati Mandir, which gives the fort its other name, Bhagwati Qila. The government used the fort’s stones to build the Bhagwati Jetty, but the jetty itself was never operational. It’s still worth visiting the fort for the gorgeous views it offers. The fort is a short 10-minute drive up from the main road.

Mandavi

Though this is a lively beach, it is also rather unclean. It lies close to the Ratnadurg Fort but tourists would do well to stay away from the beach. The sand here is almost black, the area is littered and gets quite noisy. Mandavi also has the Ratnagiri Jetty, along with the unremarkable Gateway of Ratnagiri. It is an unfortunate sobriquet, as Mandavi is the least pretty part of Ratnagiri’s coastline. However, it is still quite popular with the locals.

Pandre Samudra Beach

Located on one side of the Ratnadurg Fort, this beach lives up to its name, which can be literally translated as the ‘white sea’. However, it’s the sand and not the sea that’s stunningly white. Seen from the ramparts of the fort, it’s an inviting sight but closer inspection reveals that it reeks of fish, not necessarily a desirable prospect for many. Locals say that the fishermen dump all the catch that they consider worthless on this beautiful shore.

Statue of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Tilak Ali Museum

Lokmanya Tilak’s birthplace

The freedom fighter’s house, located on Tilak Ali and close to the Qila, has since been converted into the Tilak Ali Museum. It has many of Tilak’s pictures, and is a lovely example of traditional Konkani architecture.

Entry Free Timings 9.00am–7.00pm

The Burmese link

Those who have read Amitav Ghosh’s The Glass Palace will identify Ratnagiri as the setting where an exiled Burmese king’s story unfolds. The Thibaw Palace (Tel: 02352-234249) is located close to Thibaw Point, which has a new watchtower from where one gets a bird’s eye-view of Ratnagiri. It was built for the king from Myanmar (then Burma) who was dethroned and exiled to India by the British. The palace, built under the king’s supervision, is modest by royal standards. It was completed in 1910 at a cost of ₹1.25 lakh. It also houses a museum of antiquities found in the area. The palace has undergone much renovation, and continues to be a major attraction.

Entry ₹3 Timings 10.00am–1.00pm, 1.30–5.30pm, Closed Mondays

SHOPPING

Ratnagiri District is famous for its Alphonso mangoes, grown over 61,000 hectares. If you are there during April to May, do gift yourself a box.

March is when the first batch of mangoes ripens, but the fruit is prohibitively expensive at that time (₹800–1,000 for a dozen in the orchards and about ₹1,000–1,200 in the wholesale market in Mumbai). What you can buy round the year, though, is tinned mango pulp that has a shelf life of two years. The Desais of Pawas who are famous as Ratnagiri’s ‘First Family’ as far as mangoes are concerned, have a shop (Tel: 02352-237270, Cell: 094220 52447) at Jayastambh Chowk, near the district courts, where you can get excellent deals not only on mangoes but also cashews and kokum sherbet.

WHERE TO STAY AND EAT

Ratnagiri gets many visitors as it is the district headquarters. Agents troop in during the mango season, while others drop in round the year for fish. Finally, there are the tourists and pilgrims for whom Ratnagiri is the most convenient point of access to both Ganapatipule and Pawas.

Kohinoor Samudra Beach Resort (Tel: 02352-255231-32; Tariff: ₹5,750– 15,500) is a luxury resort, located a few kilometres out of town on the Pawas coastal highway. The resort has a large open-air swimming pool, a children’s play area, fitness equipment, and several other facilities you would expect from a high-end property.

Hotel Kaanchan (Tel: 228250-51; Tariff: ₹1,100–1,800) is also close to the railway station, with a gym, a multi-cuisine garden restaurant, and a permit room (bar). Hotel Vihar Deluxe (Tel: 222944-45; Tariff: ₹1,299–3,500) was possibly the first hotel to come up in Ratnagiri, in 1980. It’s fairly large, and its two dining halls, two permit rooms and one terrace restaurant speak volumes for its popularity.

Hotel Vivek (Tel: 222162; Tariff: ₹1,500–3,500) is close to Vihar Deluxe and equally old, but is better with respect to maintenance. Amantran is popular for its seafood. Their surmai thali, pomfret thali and prawn thali are delicious.

The local Konkani cuisine is your best bet, followed by the now-international Udupi fare: idli, medu vada, dosa and uttapam. Kohinoor serves seafood, and their prawns are a speciality, while Vivek’s Downtown restaurant dishes up a variety of cuisines, ranging from Malvan to Chinese. Vegetarians may opt for Mithila Restaurant. A good place for an evening snack or quick dinner. For sweets, Helekar Bandhu Mithai is your best bet.

AROUND RATNAGIRI

Pawas (20 km)

Pawas village is well-known across Maharashtra as the birthplace and home of the 20th-century saint, reformer and activist, Swami Swaroopananda, whose ashram and samadhi are pilgrimage sites that attract lots of tourists today. Swamiji’s ancestral home has been preserved, and visitors are allowed up to its door. A little further into the village lies the Gautami stream, and beyond it is the Vishveshwara Temple. Before leaving, do stop by the Desai Agro’s shop, across the road from the samadhi.

Autos from Ratnagiri charge about ₹500 for a round-trip to Pawas.

Cracking the Nut

The coconut fruit appeared on earth around the same time as human beings. For this reason, some consider it the perfect food for humans. And improving upon this already perfect creation is the Regional Coconut Research Station at Bhatye, which has been developing high-yield varieties of the palm.

Situated right opposite Bhatye Beach, the research station is a 25-hectare, open-air lab where coconut farming is studied in minute detail.

Cracking the Nut

The research centre has realised that inter-cropping coconut with spices is very productive, so they have a nursery that sells cinnamon, pepper, kokum, nutmeg, clove and allspice plants. These are modestly priced and portable. And since Mumbai has the required humid climate, the spices can be easily cultivated in your kitchen garden.

Locals are a big help when it comes to the purchase of spices. The best tej patta (bay leaf), they will tell you, is one with a greenish tinge. This means it has been dried in the shade and not under the sun; the latter results in loss of flavour. And if cinnamon has a strong, immediate smell it means artificial flavours have been added to low-quality bark.

Entry Free Timings 8.30am–11:30am, 2.00–4.30pm, Closed Sundays

Anuradha Kumar