The Trigger

A free Saturday in February. The plan: ferry to Alibaug, lunch on the coast, climb the sea-fort, ferry back before sunset. Easiest start point is Churchgate or CST, then a cab to the Gateway of India.

We boarded the same ferry counter that runs to Elephanta. Schedule and rate chart here. Our pick: Maldar Ferry, non-AC, top deck, wind in face.

90 minutes across the bay. The Bombay dockyard parade unfolds on the way: cargo, naval, ferries of every girth, with seagulls picking off whatever the wakes turn up. Agneepath fans, yes, this is that Mandwa. The jetty is clean and well-kept, a surprise after Mumbai’s standard.

From the jetty steps, the Arabian Sea reads calmer, bluer, less encroached than any Mumbai beach. Crabs scuttle around your feet. Banana rides operate further down. The garbage line that follows every popular Bombay beach is missing here.

The complimentary bus into Alibaug town runs every 30 minutes. We were impatient and hungry. We took an auto for 450 INR over rough road. Worse roads exist. The ride was fine.

Try Neera on the way. It is fresh palm-tree sap, cold, and only available in the morning. After noon, it ferments past the point you want to drink it.

On reaching Alibaug beach, the lunch hunt began. Restaurants line the road, but every paanwala unanimously pointed to Hotel Samman. About 20 minutes on foot from the beach, in a sun that did not help. We walked it anyway, through the coastal lanes.

Veg thalis are reasonably priced and the room is better kept than the menu suggests.

If you eat fish, the Konkani thali is the order. The flavour is regional and uncompromised.

Order the oyster masala on the side. It does not come with the thali. I never got a photo because all my attention went into the oysters. We closed lunch with cold drinks.

Walking back, we hit the beach entrance again. Resorts line the strip on either side.

Here is the calculation. Kolaba Fort sits in the sea, walkable on foot at low tide. We were at high tide. No spare clothes. Group split in half: one team committed to swimming over with what they had on, the other took a 100 INR speedboat that crosses in five minutes. I had the camera. I took the boat.

The fort holds up better than its hill counterparts. Walls broken in places but the structure still reads. Footprint is large. The information tablet at the entrance lays out the basics.

Then a moment to sit. The rocks at the corner of Kolaba run as long as you want them to. Dil Chahta Hai framing in the head, eyes scanning back across the water for the swim team to confirm they were still alive.

They were not visible from the fort. We moved on to the inner caverns and observation slits. Several of the ports clearly served as lookouts for incoming threats from the water.

A small white temple stands in the center. The far end of the fort is in worse shape than the entrance.

Mandatory cannon. Children doing what children do with a cannon, photographed from a Canon.

Update on the swim team: they did not make a quarter of the distance. They had pivoted to throwing wet sand at each other instead. Both gangs got the trip they wanted.

Back on the beach, water sports operators were drying their gear and themselves. If you want a camel ride or a banana boat, this is the strip.

End of the beach: changing rooms, separate by gender, properly maintained. In front: a row of street stalls running golas, corn on the cob, and assorted snacks.

The thing to track is the last ferry. Miss it and the bus back to Bombay takes 3.5 hours. Mandwa Jetty at sunset earns the wait.

Amazing is undersold.

On the return crossing, the seagulls do their thing. They will take chips out of your hand. Cameras started failing as the light dropped.

Field Notes

• Get there early. Nagaon beach reportedly beats Alibaug for swimming. We never made it. Late and lazy.
• Ferry, not bus. Bus is 3.5 hours and a sentence. Ferry is the trip.
• Spare clothes if you swim. Otherwise carry an extra 100 INR for the speedboat.
• Try Konkani food. Marine fish, prepared local. Neera before noon; after that it has turned.
• Keep GPS on. Useful for restaurants, bus stops, and the way back to the jetty.

One Recommendation

Feed the seagulls on the return ferry. Chips work. Biscuits get ignored. Both are sold at the jetty. The other thing worth holding the camera up for: Mumbai’s lights from the middle of the bay at night.

That frame took more attempts than I want to admit. Worth it.

Until next time,
Sayantan

Update (2020)

I went back to Alibaug for company offsites. The format was a bus ride to a farmhouse, well clear of the touristy beaches. The first one was fun. I was the camera guy and the experience was new. The second visit, same farmhouse, same plan, was a flat repeat.

I tried to skip the third and was talked into it. A colleague and I made an excuse and left early. The way out was a 9-seater shared auto with the local villagers heading to the ferry point. That hour was honestly more fun than the offsite that produced it.