Velas is a coastal village which falls in the Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Velas has been attracting nature lovers and travelers more for its Velas turtle festival, Maharashtra since its inception. Hundreds of Olive Ridley Turtles, one of the endangered and most treasured species of marine turtles, come ashore at Velas beach for breeding and lay hundreds of eggs. Velas accounts for 40% of sea turtle’s nests along Maharashtra’s coast. Besides Velas beach, other popular tourist attractions at Velas including the Bankot Fort and the Harihareshwar Temple. Velas has been popular for eco-tourism and weekend getaway.
Some interesting facts about Olive Ridley turtles:
- The Olive ridley are called so because of their olive colored carapace, which is heart-shaped and rounded.
- Despite being the smallest and most abundant of all sea turtles found in the world, their numbers have been shrinking and they face serious threats across their migratory route, habitat and nesting beaches, due to unfriendly human activities. The species is recognized as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red list (IUCN-international union of conservation of nature)
- Olive Ridley turtles inhabit in warm waters of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indianoceans and are popular for unique mass nesting called Arribada, wherethousands of female olive ridley amass on the same beach to lay eggs.
- These turtles are carnivores, and feed mainly on jellyfish, shrimp, snails, crabs, molluscs and a variety of fish and their eggs.
- The coast of Orissa in India is the largest mass nesting site for the Olive-ridley
- A typical village life on a calm sea beach
- A refreshing surrounding
- Baby Olive Ridley turtles
- Bankot Fort
- Harihareshwar Temple
Day 0:
10:00 pm Depart for Velas in a A/C bus (We will manage pick-ups from pre-decided locations depending upon the participants)
Day 1:
05:45 am Arrive in Velas and head to the beach to see the hatching and release of the turtles.
08:00 am Return back to the village, breakfast and time for leisure.
11:00 am Visit the strategically built Himmatgad Fort which overlooks the sea and the Bankot creek.
01:00 pm Lunch time
03:00 pm Explore the areas around Velas.
06:00 pm Velas Beach for the release of turtles. Fun at the beach.
08:30 pm Dinner. Overnight stay in Velas, fun, games and some rest for sure.
Day 2:
06:00 am Turtle release on Velas Beach
08:30 am Breakfast followed by some leisure time to explore the village
10:00 am Head to Harihareshwar via the Bankot-Bagmandla Ferry boat.
12:00 pm Explore Harihareshwar Beach.
02:00 pm Lunch at Harihareshwar And continue our journey towards Mumbai.
08:00 pm Reach Mumbai and bid adieu with a promise to meet soon.
You can make payments using any of the following modes
- UPI – mumbaitrekizens@upi
- Google Pay (Tez) – 9702332748
NEFT – Deposit the Amount into the Following Account:
- Name : Mumbai Trekizens
- Bank : The Mahanagar Co-Operative Bank Ltd
- Branch : Kamothe, Navi Mumbai
- Account Type : Current Account
- Account No : 038011200000186
- IFSC Code : MCBL0960038
What is included in the tour
- Travel from Mumbai to Mumbai
- Accommodation – Homestay
- Unlimited breakfast, lunch and dinner at base village
- Ferryboat Charges
- Local guidance
- First aid and first responder assistance in case required
- Team Trekizens administration charges if any
What is NOT included in the tour
- All kinds of extra meals / soft drinks ordered.
- Insurance, tips, porters, bottled mineral water, aerated drinks etc.
- Any kind of personal expenses.
- Any kind of cost which is not mentioned in the cost includes above.
- All expenses incurred due to unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances like road blocks, bad weather.
- Some ready to eat food like- plum cakes, fruits, chocolates, biscuits, etc
- Good shoes, Sandal
- Extra pair of clothes, socks optional
- Cap, Camera as Optional
- 1 packet of electrol, enerzal, glucon-D
- Medications if required for individual
- Avoid wearing precious ornaments on an event, if possible
- And a haversack or backpack to put all the above things to be carried, so hands are free to help each other while trekking. Sling bags / jholas / trolley bags etc not allowed on the event. Please pack accordingly.
- Velas has good facility of washroom at the home stays.
- Network is quite poor at Velas though the other destinations offer fair connectivity.
- Avoid carrying heavy weight for the trek.
- Emergence of Hatchlings of turtles is a natural process; “Mumbai Trekizens” won’t be held responsible for low or no hatchings, though the dates are fixed as per the maximum probability.
