Velas Turtle Hatching Festival 2022
Velas, Ratnagiri
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- Beachside
- Couple Friendly
- Food
All About It
- 2 Days 2 Nights
- 20 Slots
- Best Season - Summer (May, June, July)
Velas Turtle Hatching Festival Slow and steady wins the race! Join us to witness the extremely delightful phenomenon of hatching an olive ridley turtle at the most beautiful and serene beach of Velas, Ratnagiri. The experience is all about visiting the Turtle Village - Velas, being part of a phase where life begins, living the most peaceful Konkani village life, having mouth-watering Konkani food and exploring some unique places at Harihareshwar Beach. About Turtle Hatching : The extremely appreciative move taken by Government in association with villagers; led by local environmentalists. The early roots of this movement go back in 2002. Since around 18 years with continuous efforts and dedication Velas today converse one of the most unique breeds, observed in India named Olive Ridley Turtles. These efforts lead to the increase in the population of these turtles which were on the verge of extinction from our country. Normally observed in the coastal areas of Maharashtra and Odisha, Olive Ridley Turtles can be considered as the National Turtle Breed of India. Let's come together to witness and appreciate these beautiful and amazing efforts and to be part of the turtle hatching Festival. About Olive Ridley Turtles : The olive ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys olivacea), also known commonly as the Pacific ridley sea turtle, is a species of turtle in the family Cheloniidae. Growing to about 2 ft (61 cm) in carapace length (measured along the curve), the olive ridley sea turtle gets its common name from its olive-coloured carapace. Hatchlings are dark grey with a pale yolk scar, but appear all black when wet. The olive ridley sea turtle rarely weighs over 50 kg. Although these are the most abundant species of turtle it has seen that the population has decreased globally by 30%. The olive ridley is classified as vulnerable according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). Velas - Kasavanche Gaon (Turtle Village): An Eco Village. A small, yet beautiful village located in the coastal area of Maharashtra in Ratnagiri District is now blessed with Turtles. The village is very small but extremely welcoming and full of happy go lucky people. The major occupation being farming and tourism. A typical Konkani place with lots of mouth-watering dishes seafood and fruits like Kaju, Jackfruit, Mango and others. One can visit local Shankar temple, Bankot fort or just relax and have a chit chat with villagers in this amazing place. If you are lucky you will witness fireflies and bioluminescence phenomenon happening in this village. Also don't forget to have mouthwatering local food like solkadhi, ukadiche modak, fanasache gare, kokam and other delicious food items along with seafood!
Highlights
Turtle Hatching* Fireflies* Bioluminescence* (all depends on climatic conditions) Mouthwatering local food Beach Games Visit to Bankot Fort Visit to Harihareshwar beach and temple Holi Special Celebration (only on 18 March Batch)
Who should attend?
Nature Lovers, Families, Photographers, Friends and Groups.
Private Vehicle
AC Seater Tempo Travellers
Homestay
Meals Not Applicable
We are going to start from various points from Mumbai and Pune at around 11 pm. We will reach Velas the turtle village by 5.30 ama and after getting fresh we will head to the beach for first sighting of turtle Hatching. Pick Up Points as follows. Pune : 1. Noble Hospital - Near Magarpatta - At 11.00 pm 2. Yerwada - Gunjan Chowk - At 11.10 pm. 3. Shivajinagar - Near JM Food Corner at 11.20 pm. 4. University Circle - Infront of Chaturshrungi Police Station at 11.30 pm 5. Wakad near Indian Oil Petrol at 11.45 pm. #PLEASE REACH 10 MINS BEFORE TIME AT RESPECTIVE DEPARTURE TIME AND PLACE.
Hatchery Set Up
People watching baby turtles diving into sea
Baby Turtles after taking Birth
Local Coordinators with baby turtles
Private Vehicle
Homestay
All Meals
After first session of hatching, we will come back to Homestay and later after breakfast we will be visiting Bankot Fort. We will return back by 1 pm for delicious lunch - konkani special. After lunch we will be having lots of fun activities like playing cards, antakshari and other activities or one can take rest in this happy and relaxing village. At around 4 pm we would head towards Velas beach for second session of hatching and to witness beautiful sunset and one of the most cleanest beach. We would having fun at beach with beach games and clicking amazing photographs. After dinner at homestay we will be taking rest to get ready and all set for next day.
Pic of baby turtles sighted last year
Few Best clicks of 2018-19
Konkani Food
Bankot Fort
Private Vehicle
AC Seater Tempo Traveller.
Stay Not Applicable
Breakfast
The last and third session which is optional will start on Sunday at 5.30 am. After watching baby steps of turtles last time; we will return to Homestay back our bags and head to Harihareshwar by Jetty. We will be visiting Harihareshwar temple and beach and explore the area and start return journey by 2pm towards Pune and Mumbai. We will be reaching Pune back by 8 pm.
Harihareshwar Temple and Beach Area
Sunset at Velas Beach
Last Year Batches near Jetty
Last Year Batches
Hosted by
Sand2Mountain
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Inclusions
Transport by Non AC Seater Tempo Traveller from Pune/Mumbai to Pune/Mumbai 2 Breakfast 1 Lunch with Special Ukadiche Modak 1 Dinner with Special Solkadhi (All Meals Veg) Shared Stay - Homestay All Entry Charges Jetty Ride and Charges
Exclusions
Camera Charges Day 2 - Lunch Food during travel Anything not mentioned
THINGS TO CARRY
Along with ID proof and Screenshot/Email of booking confirmation Extra Clothes. Swim Wear Clothes. Food during transit. Extra pair of Sandals - Recommended. Amazing Camera. Extra Blanket as a backup in case of stay. Fun Things : Fun games like uno, jenga etc. Some exciting things like guitar, mouth organ etc General Things to carry : Personal Medicines and Personal Hygiene Things. Odomos. Suncream, Cap and goggles. Personal things if any.
PICKUP LOCATIONS
Noble Hospital - Near Magarpatta - At 11.00 pm
Yerwada - Gunjan Chowk - At 11.10 pm.
Shivajinagar - Near JM Food Corner at 11.20 pm.
University Circle - Infront of Chaturshrungi Police Station at 11.30 pm
Go to Google Maps
Wakad near Indian Oil Petrol at 11.45 pm.
HOW TO REACH
Pick Up Points as follows. Pune : 1. Noble Hospital - Near Magarpatta - At 11.00 pm 2. Yerwada - Gunjan Chowk - At 11.10 pm. 3. Shivajinagar - Near JM Food Corner at 11.20 pm. 4. University Circle - Infront of Chaturshrungi Police Station at 11.30 pm 5. Wakad near Indian Oil Petrol at 11.45 pm. #PLEASE REACH 10 MINS BEFORE TIME AT RESPECTIVE DEPARTURE TIME AND PLACE.
Policy and Terms
Ticket/Booking transfer from one batch to another batch is not allowed. All cancellations will be entertained only through mail request to [email protected] with subject line as follows along with UPI Id or no. and/or bank account details. ‘Booking Cancellation | (Event Name) | (Batch Date) | (Booking Name) | (Booking Amount) Cancellation requests only through mail will be accepted. Cancellation requests over whatsapp, verbally or through any other channel than mail will not be entertained. Refund will be generated in 3 to 5 working days based as per below policy Cancellation before 24 hrs. 20% refund of event ticket price. Cancellation before 48 hrs. 50% refund of event ticket price. Cancellation before 72 hrs. 80% refund of event ticket price. Cancellation before 96 hrs. 100% refund of event ticket price. No cancellation request will be entertained between the window of event time and till 24 hours. ( Last Day before start of Event ) Irrespective of booking time and date, cancellation policy will remain the same (even in case of last day bookings etc.) In case of partial payments, total event ticket price will be taken into consideration and not the amount paid. In case the event is cancelled by organisers due to any unavoidable reason full refund will be initiated. If the event gets cancelled completely or partially after departure time due to natural calamities or by things which are out of control; no refund will be initiated. Sand2Mountain holds all rights to alter/change cancellation policy at any point of time as per situation demands.
Terms and Conditions
Velas is Eco Village, hence there are no hotels and everyone is expected to mention it as a eco village. Turtle Hatching activity is natural phenomenon and no one can assure that, although we will be visiting hatching area 3 times to ensure maximum probability of witnessing first steps of baby turtles. Also, during 2019 we sighted baby turtles in all our 6 batches. But no one can assure sighting of baby turtles.
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