From Pune I was headed due west over the Western Ghats to the coastal fortress of Janjira and the ancient Princely State of the same name. However, there was no transport. Everything went via Mumbai, so I took a taxi. The reason there were no buses was probably because the land was fairly sparsely populated and we had to descend through one of the few valleys of the Western Ghats, the long chain of mountains running parallel to the west coast of India.  The landscape was incredible but it was difficult to take photos from the back of a speeding car.

160kms and 4 hours later we arrived in Murud. I was slightly concerned that I hadn’t been able to secure a reservation at any hotel. One, the Murud Marina, has a great website and a contact form to make a reservation, which didn’t work (I see they are now actually on booking.com) but when I arrived they had decent rooms at decent prices (2200Rs), so all good. And the bloke said I would be able to rent a scooter so happy days.

I got settled into my room and then headed out for lunch. I found a great place right on the beach, Hotel Vinayak and had a very tasty fish thali.  I did notice that there were a few people on the beach but no one in the water. Not a great surprise as it was a very muddy green come grey colour. No thanks. The hotel actually had a pool as well but strangely enough the closest I got to water was the shower and a boat trip (more on that later). That afternoon I took it easy and as the sun was setting walked along the beach. There were a few Indian tourists about and the pony carts were very popular.

Janjira Palace overlooks the beach

Padmadurg fort is just off the coast but not accessible. The following day I went a bit further south to visit another offshore fort.

The evening stalls were setting up at sunset outside the hotel.

After a good nights sleep, breakfast was one of my old favourites, aloo paratha.

However, the news after that was not so good. No scooters available to hire so no exploring along the coast. However, I was able to get a three wheeler to a nearby boat jetty where I could get a boat to Janjira fortress.

We had to wait a little bit until there were enough people to fill the first boat. We were soon on board, given life jackets for the short trip and then away! Although the fortress seemed quite close to the shore it took us a bit of time because there was no wind and we just had the one sail but we were soon disembarking at the other end and the bloke on the boat was very insistent we were only allowed one hour on the island.

It was quite an interesting place and of course I had to have the obligatory photos with my fellow tourists.

The journey back was even longer than the trip over as the wind had completely disappeared but it wasn’t that long until were were on dry land again.

Not far from the jetty I stopped at a cafe for a couple of samosas and chai. I had planned to get a 3 wheeler to the Khokri tombs which were nearby. These are three 500-year-old massive stone tombs of the early rulers of the erstwhile Janjira State. However there were no 3-wheelers about so I had to walk a couple of kilometres around the coast. Firstly walking past the distinctly disgusting Janjira beach. Unfortunately a common site near many Indian fishing villages and another reason not to go anywhere near the water.

I do like an Islamic tomb and these didn’t disappoint.

While wandering around the tombs I had noticed a bus go by, so as it was now getting very hot I waited for the next one. Which didn’t arrive. There was hardly any traffic on the road but I did eventually manage to get a lift back into Murud.

Due to my failure of securing a scooter the following day was spent just wandering around Murud town. It must be said it was quite an attractive little place.

And I also made a video of the fish market:

So overall the trip was going pretty well, apart from the trouble I was having trying to hire a scooter, so I didn’t see as many things as planned. Not to worry, the following day I was off to my final destination: Mumbai. For this I had to get a couple of buses up the coast and then a short ferry trip to the Gateway of India.

More photos here:

And here is a map of the India 2025 journey: