Why this ride
From Mālvan it runs 429 km to Mālvan; allow about 7 h 08 of riding. It goes by way of Vijaydurg, Kas Plateau and back through Vijaydurg. It suits an unhurried touring pace.
CURVESCOUT / MOTORCYCLE RIDE
Sindhudurg and Kas Plateau
Plan this ride
- Recorded distance
- 429 km
- Riding-time estimate
- 7 h 08
- Journey
- Recorded itinerary
Distance and timing basis
The recorded total and the leg detail need reconciliation. Inspect the leg notes before using this record for timing or navigation. Stops, delays, approach and any separate return travel add time. Basis: producer-declared routed record.
Reading history stays on this device. My road watch requires a separate selection; opening it does not subscribe this ride.
Distance and riding time are measured on the routed road. Check local closures and conditions before you ride.
Waypoint introductions and full write-ups
1. Sindhudurg
Shivaji built Sindhudurg on a rock. The fort stands on a small island just off Malvan, on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, a great enclosure of black stone walls, about three kilometres around, built between 1664 and 1667 to guard against sea raiders and to project the power of the young Maratha state. Its walls rise straight from the surf, with bastions, gateways and hidden entrances, and inside lie temples, wells of fresh water, and the remains of old houses. A short boat ride from Malvan's jetty takes you across, and the view from the ramparts, over the blue Arabian Sea and the coconut-fringed coast, is superb.
Read the complete Sindhudurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Sindhudurg is where the day begins. Next is Vijaydurg.
2. Vijaydurg
Vijaydurg is a sea fort on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra, built on a rocky headland where the Vaghotan river runs into the Arabian Sea, and the setting alone is worth the ride. The fort was an old hill-fort of the Shilahara king Bhoja before Shivaji took it in the seventeenth century, rebuilt it, and made it one of the main bases of the Maratha navy. Later Kanhoji Angre, the admiral who held the coast against Portuguese, British and Dutch ships, used it as a harbour for his fleet, and the walls, bastions and triple line of defences look out over water that his ships once patrolled. They say there was an underwater wall to wreck enemy vessels that came too close, a story told at the gate with some pride.
Read the complete Vijaydurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Vijaydurg comes up 94 km in. Next is Kas Plateau.
3. Kas Plateau
For most of the year, Kas is a bare, rocky plateau of black basalt, and then the monsoon arrives. Within weeks, from late August into September, the laterite surface is covered in a carpet of tiny wildflowers, in pink, yellow, purple and white, with balsams, orchids, sundews and species found nowhere else on earth. The plateau lies in the Western Ghats, a range with so many endemic plants and animals that it is one of the world's biodiversity hotspots, and it was included in the UNESCO listing in 2012. Locals call it the Valley of Flowers of Maharashtra.
Read the complete Kas Plateau write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
188 km in you reach Kas Plateau. Next is back through Vijaydurg.
4. back through Vijaydurg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Vijaydurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
back through Vijaydurg, late in the day. Next is Sindhudurg.
5. Sindhudurg
Return visit. Read the place description above.
Read the complete Sindhudurg write-up.
Recorded stop-planning note
May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.
Planning note
Back at Sindhudurg. That is the ride.
Leg by leg
Sindhudurg to Vijaydurg
Sindhudurg → Vijaydurg is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Vijaydurg to Kas Plateau
Vijaydurg → Kas Plateau is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
Kas Plateau to back through Vijaydurg
Kas Plateau → back through Vijaydurg is 108 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.
back through Vijaydurg to Sindhudurg
back through Vijaydurg → Sindhudurg is 80 km of getting across. Ride it tidily and keep the enthusiasm for what comes after.