Life in Mumbai is like a busy freeway with everyone racing off to their next destination. With a million cars on the road and hordes of people breathing down each other’s necks, the city of dreams can easily become an overwhelming experience. The only remedy is a quick getaway ? fortunately not too hard to find. The city’s extensive coastline offers a host of picnic spots and options for day-long jaunts.
So grab your sunhat and let us take you on a few crowd-beating excursions. Along the northern coast lie several choices where you can escape the ratrace and chill out. Manori Beach, Gorai Beach, Aksa Beach, Utan Village are all a couple of hours away from the main city. Easily reachable from the western suburbs of Malad and Borivilli, the beaches offer a host of dining and lodging options if you want to stay overnight. But the ruins, the sand and the Arabian Sea are what one must look out for.
The twin beaches of Gorai and Manori are a quick hop from Malad via a 5-minute ferry ride. Part of the Portuguese colony, Manori and Gorai have a predominately East Indian population with crumbling churches, Portuguese ruins and small fishing hamlets. The island beaches are Mumbai’s few stretches of sand that are still untouched by modern life. Dotted with quaint villages on either side, the islands of Manori and Gorai offer peaceful retreats. Sights of dried fish, kids running hither and thither and palm trees swaying greet the visitor.
The locals here rent out rooms for overnight visitors at nominal rates of Rs 50 to Rs 100. But you want to live it up? State-of-the-art resorts too have mushroomed in the past few years ? Manori Bel, Domnicas and Pali Beach Resort are some famous ones. Utan Beach, at the northern tip of the Gorai island is a fishing village with a beautiful coastline. Fishing boats laze on the beach while Bombay Duck dries in rows in front of small shrines of Mother Mary. U-Tan, the only resort in the village atop a cliff offers a breathtaking view of the rocky beach.
But if all this idyllic scenery is too tame for you, then the action-packed Esselworld may grab you. Located on Manori island, Esselworld has its own ferry service that carries tourists across for an excitement-filled day. The newly built Water Kingdom is situated right next to the theme park and is open year-long with the exception of the monsoon months between June and September.
The Dahanu-Bordi belt in Thane district ? Central Mumbai ? too has a clutch of good beaches down the coast. Towards Gujarat, the journey is a scant few hours and easily doable by road or rail. Fringed with casuarinas, Bordi is a safe beach where water does not reach above the waist for half a kilometre. The entire 17 km stretch from Dhanu to Bordi offers beautiful scenery with its backdrop of orchards featuring various fruits, notably chikoos.
Besides the MTDC resort, one can also put up in spacious Parsi bungalows on the beach. It’s an ideal place to unwind as there’s nothing much by way of tourist attractions besides the sand and the endless sea.
Another easily reachable getaway is Kelve Beach just eight km from Palghar station in Thane district. The only problem is that with the largest stretch of coastline ? around 7 kms, the place is packed over weekends with visitors from Mumbai, Vapi, Valsad and other places. But escape from the city on a weekday and you’ll have the place much more to yourself. And for the religious-minded, the Sheetladevi Temple is near the beach. For those who like to combine a beach outing with shopping, there’s an annual fair in June.
Alibaug, yet another idyllic getaway on the western coast of India, is a three-hour drive from Mumbai. Launches for Mandwa and Alibaug leave the Gateway of India every 15 minutes. Catamarans too, are available at regular intervals. Alibaug has a number of lovely, unspoiled beaches. A historic fort that is now in ruins is located off the beach and the hill range of the Western Ghats line the other side of the town giving it a unique character of greenery and the blue of the ocean. An unhurried pace of life characterises the town free of pollution and noise.
An old town relating to the Marathas, Alibaug is about 300 years old. Twelve miles from the town, you will find two beach fronts ? Mandwa and Kihim. Mandwa is a beautiful, untrodden beach. On a clear day, one can enjoy a breath-catching view across the bay, up to the Gateway of India. Mandwa village too, has a charm of its own ? with its beautiful groves of coconut palms.
Unspoilt and isolated, Kihim beach has a soothing effect on anyone suffering from city blues. For nature lovers, Kihim has a lot to offer ? woods filled with wild flowers and rare butterflies and birds. The Kolaba Fort, a few hundred yards from the shore, is worth spending some time. And 15 kms from Alibaug is Chaul, a historic place with Portuguese ruins, Buddhist caves, the Hamam Khana, a church, a temple and even a synagogue.
Sounds tempting? Pack your bags.
