Sea Kayaking Alibaug

The major festival of the Hindu calendar is Diwali, celebrating the victory of light over darkness. It is known for decorative lights and fireworks.  However, amongst expats Diwali seems to celebrate the victory of noise over silence as the main form of celebration is letting off small and large bombs that make the city sound like a war zone. 

Put in point with Korlai Fort
on the peninsula in the background

To avoid the worst of the noise, we decided to spend the weekend in Alibaug at Kihim Beach about 100km south of Mumbai. Since moving to India, I had been keen to get the kayak down to Alibaug to explore the coast and this was the ideal opportunity.  Mansoor and I set off early on a Saturday morning with Kate and Ada following with some friends on the ferry later in the day. The 100 km to Alibaug takes about 2.5 hours with an additional hour to travel further south to Korlai.

A lone fisherman paddling into shore. The view south after launching at Korlai Beach

I launched at Korlai beach with the intention of covering 30km to Murud and Janjira Fort.  I wanted to do my long paddle on day one so I could spend more time with the girls when they arrived. I launched close to high tide and headed south in pleasant conditions.

Feeling a little weary after 24km in 3.5 hrs in the mid-day heat. 
Jadmadurg Fort, a subsidiary Fort toJanjira

The Konkan coastline is dotted with forts, a pointer to Maharashtra's martial heritage.  Different forts at different points of time were controlled by various local leaders along with Europeans such as the Portuguese and British.

Janjira is considered one of the strongest marine forts in India and its 19 rounded bastions are still intact today. The buildings inside the Fort are being reclaimed by the the undergrowth but the ruins paint a picture of a truly impressive facility. The structures include everything required for an aspiring Indian prince, palaces, quarters for officers, barracks for soldiers, a mosque and two big fresh water tanks.

A further 6km on, the bastions of Janjira

The main gate of the fort faces Rajapuri
and there is a small gate facing the
sea for escape

The fort was originally built in 15th century on a smaller scale by a local Maratha-Fisherman Chieftain- Ram Patil to protect his people from pirates/ thieves.  Nizam, the ruler from Ahmadnagar sent one of his Siddi commanders Piram Khan, who came with three ships armed with necessary weapons and soldiers and captured the fort. Piram Khan was succeeded by Burhan Khan, who demolished the original fort and built an impregnable much bigger, 22 acre, stone fort sometime in between 1567 and 1571. 

Despite their repeated attempts, the Portuguese, the British and the Marathas failed to subdue the power of the Siddi's, who were allied with the Mughals. The Marathas led by the revered warrior Shivaji attempted to scale the 12 meters high granite walls but failed despite a number of attempts. His son Sambhaji even attempted to tunnel his way into the fort but was unsuccessful in all his attempts.

The downfall of the Siddis came when they set out to recapture a nearby Fort from the Marathas. At the Battle of Riwas the Siddi's were defeated  and their leader Siddi Sat was killed. After this loss, the Siddis power was diminished and they were confined to Janjira and the forts of Gowalkot and Anjanwel. Despite their diminished power, Janjira was never captured!

The inside of the walls

I was a little weary by the time I caught up with Kate, Ada and our friends at the Mango Beach House. Despite being only 46 km north of Janjira, such was the state of the roads that the drive to Kihim Beach took 2 hours. The Mango Beach House is  a small hotel with about 12 rooms built around a pool and is set in a coconut grove which provided shade.  The customer service provided was some of the best we have experienced in India and the meals, which were included in the package were excellent. The downside was that our room although spacious and well organised was in need of post Monsoon maintenance as mould was visible on the walls and blinds and the cleanliness of some of the bed sheets and bathmats left a little (lot) to be desired. That said, it was a relaxing atmosphere and the kids loved the pool.

A post dawn lauch on a flooding tide

The next day I planned to paddle a little over 6 km off-shore to visit Khanderi and Underi Forts.  Both perched on islands off the coast. When you live in a crowded mega-city like Mumbai opportunities for solitude are rare.  A morning kayak provides a much needed release from the constant pressure of city life.

With Shivaji unable to subdue the Siddi's at Janjira, in 1660, Shivaji built Khanderi along with its sister fort Underi. They formed the major fortification along the Mumbai coast intended to contain the Siddis. 

The walls and bastions of Kanderi

However, as a result of the decline of the Siddis and a treaty with the Pune Peshwa, the  Fort became tactically irrelevant.  Most of the Fort is still intact although nowhere as impressive as Janjira. Now the  most prominent structure is a lighthouse which was built in 1837

A selfie just to prove I was there!

A few kilometres closer to shore lies Underi, a smaller sister Fort to Khanderi. From here I turn north east and headed back to shore

Underi Fort

A great Indian beach, uncrowded and only 150km and a five hour drive from Mumbai

Kate and our friends met me at the beach at Kihim to help carry the kayak back to the Mango Beach House.  After a late breakfast of cut fruit, we loaded up the kids and drove an hour south to Kashid Beach.  After a bouncy ride we were welcomed to a broad sweep of relatively clean sand, an ebbing tide and perfect body surfing waves.  It felt good sitting in the shade of a beach hut enjoying coconut water after a good body bash in the waves.

Our coconut salesman standing by...

....while we enjoy a seat in the shade

Driving back, Kate spotted this guy basking in the afternoon sun on the railway tracks. Some photos you cant go past

Last day in Alibaug and I was up at dawn again for a run down to Alibaug town,  a little over 8km away.  Mansoor was not around to pick me up and Kate wasn't keen on driving. So it was an out and back trip of about 17km with Kolaba Fort at Alibaug as the target.

Another sunrise in paradise.  The chemical and fertilizer factory was just out shot

Shivaji built Kolaba as part of his program of fortification of the coast.  As part of of a treaty, the Fort was transferred to the Peshwas who used it as a base to raid the British and Portuguese. In 1722, the British joined the Portuguese in an expedition against Kolaba. The assaulting forces consisted of Portuguese ground forces and three English ships. According to the British the attempt failed owing to the "cowardice of the Portuguese"

My attempt failed, not due to the cowardice of the Portuguese, but due to my unwillingness to face the wrath of Kate as we had planned to catch an 11am ferry back to Mumbai and I didn't want to be late.

Fort Kolba through the haze of cannon fire. Ok, maybe from car smog and cooking fires

By 11 am  we were back on the ferry and, 45 minute later back in Mumbai after a great weekend of exploration.

Despite digital photography, the Gateway still looks like a 1960's postcard