Turtle festival at Velas

My first trip of the year! I had read about turtle hatching in a novel, but the story was based in some exotic location. Never imagined I would get to witness it so close to home.

A friend mentioned about the turtle festival taking place in Maharashtra and I was intrigued. I started researching on it and after reading few articles, I couldn’t wait to witness it myself! And I never thought the trip could offer so much more.

A bit about Olive ridley turtles: The Olive ridley is the smallest of all sea turtle species. It gets its name from the olive green color of its shell. These turtles are known for their unique mass nesting (called Arribada), where thousands of female ridleys come ashore to nest in the span of a few days. And when the eggs hatch, millions of turtle hatchlings emerge and return to the sea. These turtles spend their entire lives in the ocean. Interestingly, the females return to the same beach to lay eggs, from where they hatched.

(Olive Ridley baby turtle, in the picture below, making its maiden journey into the sea)

Why a festival for turtles? To put it simply, the festival is a part of the Olive ridley turtle conservation program. Around a decade back, before the conservation efforts started, most of the Olive ridley turtle eggs were consumed by dogs, fox, hyenas and even humans (as the eggs are rich in protein). Gradually, driven by awareness and large-scale participation from locals, almost 20,000 hatchlings have been released in the last ten years. From the start of the nesting season beginning November, locals maintain a vigil for the female Olive ridley turtles that come ashore to nest. Females lay up to three clutches per season, each clutch containing about 90-150 eggs. The volunteers involved in the conservation, scout for the eggs early morning based on turtle pug marks and then relocate these eggs to a safe hatchery in order to prevent loss from wild animals and predatory birds. The hatchery where the eggs are kept, replicates conditions similar to the nests built by the female turtles, but is protected from natural dangers. The eggs are buried deep in the sand and the area is covered with bamboo baskets and jute cloths. A barricade is built around to ensure that no wild animals eat the eggs. It takes about 45-60 days for the eggs to hatch. Once born, the turtle hatchlings are then immediately released into the sea.

After reading such interesting information, we decided to visit Velas at the earliest. Luckily, the festival time (February-March) was just around the corner. 🙂

We started from Mumbai on a warm night in late February towards Velas, a relatively unknown village in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. It took us about 7 hours to reach our destination. Velas, being a small village, has no hotels or resorts. Not even mobile network coverage in the village. But decent home-stay arrangements are provided by the locals, who also serve delicious home-cooked Maharashtrian meals. Around 19 families have registered for home stay at Velas to host almost 3,000 tourists during the festival. The event is hosted by Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra (http://www.snmcpn.org/marine-turtles/turtle-festival) in association with Kasav Mitra Mandal.

People eagerly waiting near the hatchery

A beautiful view of the Velas beach

Twice a day (early morning and evening), the egg baskets are opened to check for hatchlings. It is amazing how the hatchlings, with no knowledge of the sea or even their mother, rush to the sea immediately after being born. It is said that even if you place the baby turtles in the opposite direction, they will find their way towards the sea. We were lucky to see one baby turtle being released to its natural habitat. The way the hatchling moves the last few meters towards the sea with its tiny feet is truly a sight to behold! :).

Here we go !!!

Last few steps towards the sea

Later in the day we also had a pleasant walk on the beach and sighted few dolphins which was an icing on the cake!. The beach waters are dangerous to play in or swim into and thus venturing into the sea is forbidden in Velas.

Apart from turtles festivals, Velas also offer some good simple attractions for the adventure seeking. Right on the beach is a small hillock and a short hike to its top is worth the effort to get rewarded with the view of the beach from the top. We also had a good time on the Bankot fort, a short distance away from the village, which again offers interesting view of the coastline.

Next day we took a ferry to Harihareshwar, a town in Raigad district, Maharashtra. Towards the north of the town is the temple of Lord Harihareshwar, said to have been blessed by Lord Shiva. Besides a major pilgrimage center, Harihareshwar is also popular for its two beaches, one to the north and the other to the south of the temple. Parikrama (circumambulation) of the temple took us to a secluded part of the beach from where we saw more dolphins, displaying their acrobatic skills, just a few feet away from us. The weather was cloudy and the rocky beach with the porous stone structure and natural pools around the shore looked amazing. The Harihareshwar beach is safe enough to venture into.

A dolphin arcing gracefully at Harihareshwar beach

The rocky and placid Harihareshwar beach

From Harihareshwar, we headed home with beautiful memories of the wonders of nature.

Trip cost: Approx. Rs. 2000 per person, including:

• Transportation: Mumbai-Velas-Mumbai (by non-AC bus), Velas-Harihareshwar (by ferry)
• All meals (breakfast, tea, lunch, evening snacks, dinner)
• Turtle festival charges
• Velas home-stay charges

Hello world! Here we come

Why another travel blog? Well, every traveler has his/her own story to tell, experiences to share and useful tips to give. In today’s world, where all commercial travel websites are trying to shove their products in your face (sometimes literally!), it’s good to get a neutral view on a place, and the kind of journey and experience you can expect from your destination. Not to mention, tips and tricks to make your trip most economical and yet enjoyable. Because that’s how we plan our trips, traveling backpacker-style and getting the maximum out of a destination, without compromising on the fun.

So tag along and enjoy with us the beautiful journey of life 🙂