Beyond the Imagination

April 24, 2021

Beyond the Imagination

It's very fascinating to visit the sea forts of Maharashtra. Its unique architecture always attracts me towards it. I was in search of an opportunity that when would I get a chance to visit a sea fort and finally I got that, our trekking group planned a visit to the forts on the coastal side of Murud. As soon as I was informed about this tour I was immediately ready for it as it was a golden window for me to explore many things. As planned we all left our own residence and got onto a new journey. We all were thirteen companions including two little girls so there were two different cars in which we were traveling.

Korlai fort

It was afternoon when we reached our first destination, Korlai fort. The fort was built by the Portuguese in 1521 AD. The way towards the fort is through Korlai village. As the main occupation of villagers is fishery, we witnessed how a wholesale market of dry fish looks. We parked our cars at the foot of the fort and started to move towards the fort. In 10 to 15 minutes we reached at the main gate of the fort. As we moved forward I was amazed by the scenic beauty which I saw from the top. We also saw the hidden beach which cannot be seen while traveling through the highway. There was a way to that beach from inside the fort. While we were following that way the scene which I saw was beyond my imagination. A huge ground surrounded by some rooms of old times and a monument as well as there was a narrow pass which way out to the beach. The sunset view was even more beautiful and it was really a pleasurable moment.

Korlai fort entrance

Hidden Beach

After enjoying the Korlai beach we proceeded toward the hotel where we had booked the rooms. The hotel was in front of the Murud beach. After reaching at the hotel first we went on the terrace to make some arrangement for dinner. We had Khansama means none another than Kalpesh dada who always has the task of preparing meal.

This time he made mutton which was so awesome that Its taste still floats over my mouth. It was more delicious than any five-star hotel, everyone loved it and nothing was left over. After having such an amazing dinner we all went for a night walk over the beach. The pleasant climate and acoustic waves made our day. As we arrived at the hotel we took our sleeping bags and went on the terrace except two little girls their guardians to enjoy the cold wind. We had one member from Konkan so he started telling us the pure Kokani ghost stories which were really very scary, at the start we all enjoyed it but as the stories moved further there was pin-drop silence among us. The stories were ongoing till midnight then we thought of sleeping quietly without uttering a single word.

The next morning we woke up and had a good breakfast. Then we departed towards the main village from where a boat was going to pick us up and drop us to the Padmadurg fort. This fort was build by Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. It was unlike the other forts, it was too deep inside the sea. The Padmadurg fort was not only a part of Sindhudurg's defense but was also the main ship construction yard. We got to see some huge cannons too. The fort is quite big and has a unique architecture. There are two fresh water tanks inside the fort which really amazed me. It is a great example of engineering at the time of Shivaji Maharaj. Really it was beyond my imagination, I had never thought that the fort so deep in the sea may have such beautiful architecture and construction that still stand strong even after 400 years.

After enjoying ourselves there we return back to the hotel. While returning back to the hotel we stopped at the beach to have ice gola, everyone enjoyed having it. After that, we checked out and started the returning journey. This tour was really very thrilling and amazing, in the true sense it was beyond the imagination.