Dear All,

We @ शिखर वेध has arranged a Tour to VELAS specially for the Turtle festival on 5 – 6 April 2014 (Batch-4)

Some information about the area: The places that will be visiting are:1. Velas Beach – Turtle Festival visit2. Bankot Fort3. Harihareshwar Temple
Velas Beach : Velas is the birth place of Nana Phadnis, one of the great prominent personalities in Maratha history. Due to the sea-shore Velas is an existing place and it is situated near Bankot Bay. There is an old temple of Shri Bhairi- Rameshwar and in this temple all twelve months water is made available taking the benefit of favorable geographical conditions. A statue of Nana Phadnis is present outside his house. In Velas Mahalakshmi temple and Nana Phadnis house are the places to visit. Velas is also one of the popular breeding sites of Olive Ridley, which is an endangered species of turtle.

Bankot Fort:
Region: Mandangad

District: Ratnagiri

Height: Sea fort (Slightly above sea level)

Difficulty: Simple
Bankot is a square shaped fort. On the sides of Bankot fort, there is a dry moat (Revni) dug out in the Jambhya stone. Jambhya stone is peculiar type of stone adorning a purple shade and peculiarly it is incapable of storing water as the water invariable percolates through it owing to its much porous nature. The main entrance (Mahadarwaja) of the fort is north-facing with a well sculpted arch and carvings. Watch guards dug out (Devdya) align on both sides of the Mahadarwaja with some pits being dug out in the right Devdi. On the left, there are steps leading towards Nagarkhana while there is an underground storey and a tunnel on the right. A Maruti idol in the centre stands deserted now. On the west, there is a small entrance (Darwaja) leading to a Bastion on the exterior of the fortifications. A deep well (now dry and filled) occupied the centre of this bastion earlier and the adjacent water tanks too are dry and obsolete now. One can leave the Buruj via a small exit that leads to the surrounding moat and a beautiful “Revni” lying nearby.

The itinerary for the tour will be as follows:
Friday 4 April 2014

Rendezvous : @ Borivali National Park, Borivali (East) @ 22:30 Hrs sharpPick-Up En-route Andheri – Bandra – Sion – Chembur – Vashi – Panvel.
Saturday 5 April 2014
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05:30 Hrs: @ Velas
Refresh,
06:45 Hrs: Visit
Velas Beach for Turtle festival
Breakfast

10:00 Hrs: @ Bankot fort

10:30 Hrs: Atop – Fort Exploration
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Lunch at Velas (Veg. Only)Rest time
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Evening Tea & Visit Velas beach in the evening, Go for Turtle watching.

Dinner ( Veg. Only)

Stay @ villagers home in Velas (Dormitory Type only) —.

Sunday, 6 April 2014.

06:45 Hrs: Visit Velas Beach for Turtle watching.

08:00 Hrs: Breakfast – Tea

09:30 Hrs: @ Harihareshwar by crossing Veshvi – Bagmandala creek by ferry
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Harihareshwar Temple visit
Visit 2 Harihareshwar Beach
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13:00 Hrs: Lunch @ Harihareshwar ( Veg/Non-Veg to be borne by participant as per choice)

15:00 Hrs: Departure 2 Mumbai.

We will be in mumbai around 21:00 hrs ( thats – subjective)

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The Estimated expenditure for Tour is about Rs. 2000 / - per head
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This includes  Borivali 2 Borivali transportation fare for private vehicle (Non-A/c), Turtle festival charges, ferry charges, food expenses except Sunday Lunch, and accommodation charges.

NOTE- Children between 4 – 9 Yrs will b charged as Rs 1500/- per head

Children between 0-4 yrs NIL (if Seat is not offered)

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Seats will be first come 1st basis … Deposit  Rs 1500/- per head (Non-refundable) advance on following A/c …

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Name: JAGADISH GOVIND PATIL

ICICI Bank A/c No.: – 026801521464

Vartak Nagar Branch, Thane (W)

Last date for registration: – Wednesday 2nd April 2014, 5 pm

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VIMP NOTES :: For PUNE PARTICIPANTS, we can hire a private vehicle as well if we get minimum 6 participants for the Trip.

The cost remains the same as Rs 2000/- per head

The Departure time wud be 11:00 pm on friday 4 Apr 2014 from SWARGATE Bus Depo.

Other Itinerary details same as for Mumbai Participants

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Note: -

1) Emergence of Hatchlings of turtles is a natural process. So cannot give guarantee of emerging possibility of turtles on the mentioned dates.

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Things To Carry:-
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A Torch with spare battery ( a must)

A Water Bottle (~2 Ltrs) (a must)

Sleeping Bag, Mat (a must)

Towel, a napkin, Extra Pair of clothes (a must)
Camera, Cell Phone, Binoculars (Optional)
Pls avoid wearing Gold and other ornaments
Some ready to eat food. Plum cakes, Biscuits etc

Good trekking shoes,
Personal basic medical kit (Containing an antiseptic, few bandages, personal medications if any, Antibiotics for stomach infection)
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A haversack to put all these things

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For confirmation pls reply here or do contact on
Jagdish Patil : 09702121373 / 09869369836

Also join us @
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Facebook Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/shikharvedh/

Website: http://shikharvedh.org/