One Big Step - Anjarle turtle festival

Watch Olive Ridley Turtle Hatchlings prepare for their awe-inspiring journey into the sea at Anjarle beach.

Anjarle is a village in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra about 200 km from Pune. It is famous for its beaches and turtle ‘festival’ which is held by the local people of Anjarle. Every year thousands of Olive Ridley sea turtles (females) return to the coastline of India and Sri Lanka from where they had left once 15-20 years ago. Science may not know how, but the turtles know exactly which beach they were born on, when and how they will return to lay their eggs to the same beach where they had once taken their baby steps into the sea.

In an attempt to prevent this mass destruction, the Anjarle Turtle festival is an effort by the locals. The project involves in preserving the Olive Ridley sea turtle population by collecting the Olive Ridley turtle eggs along the coast and after 45-60 days successfully releasing the hatchlings into the sea in a phased manner.

Please Note: Only when the hatchlings are ready they are taken for the release, thus it is a complete natural phenomenon and one cannot promise how many hatchlings entering the sea can be witnessed. We will be visiting the release 3 times (day 2 morning and evening, day 3 morning) during this trip to maximize our chances of seeing the baby turtles sticking their head out of the sand and taking the first breath of fresh salty sea air.

Date: March 27 - 29

Trip Duration: 2 Days 2 nights.

Cost: INR 3780/- veg INR 4305/- non veg (inclusive of GST)

The following is the plan for our trip to Anjarle:

Night 1

Date: Friday March 27th

11:30 pm Our private bus will do the pick-up at Blue Nile restaurant on MG Road

Day 1

Date: Saturday March 28th

5:30 am – Reach Anjarle and freshen up.

6:00 am – Leave for the beach to see the hatchling release batch 1

8:00 am - Return to the homestay and have breakfast

9:00 am - 1:00 pm - Rest

1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Lunch

3:00 - 5:00 pm – Optional boat ride to mangroves

5:00 - 5:30 pm – Tea and biscuits

5:30 – 7:00 pm – At the beach for hatchling release batch 2

7:00 - Return to the homestay for dinner.

8:30 - 9:30 pm - Dinner

10:00 pm - End of day 1

Day 2

Date: Sunday March 29th

5:00 am – Wake-up call

6:00 am – Leave for the beach to see the hatchling release batch 3

8:00 am - Return to the homestay and have breakfast

9:00 - 12:00 pm Leave for Shrivardhan

1:00 pm - 3:00pm - Lunch at the Homestay with authentic Konkani

3:00 pm - Depart for Pune

9:00 pm – Arrive in Pune.

Home-stay is a comfortable cottage of a local teacher who offers his residence for the weekend travelers by giving a great experience of a coastal Maharastrian home. It has western toilets and Indian toilets. Separate room for men and women (We will allocate the rooms and make sure everyone has a proper mattress, pillow and bedsheet.)

Trip facilities:

• AC bus Travel and toll: Pick up and drop off from our selected pick up points.

• Meals covered on the trip: Morning tea, Breakfast, Lunch, Tea and refreshments and Dinner on Day 1. Morning Tea, Breakfast and Lunch on Day 2.

• Non veg meals would be pre-decided - Lunch on day 1 - Veg, Dinner on day 1 - Chicken and Lunch on Day 2 Fish

• Shared accommodation with 4-5 in each spacious hotel room, with proper bedding.

• Mineral water for drinking throughout the trip.

• Tour guides and camp leaders all along the trip.

• Medical assistance if required.

Trip excludes:

• Personal expenses (beverages, snacks, equipment)

• Personal medication

• Any of the beach adventure rides.

Things to carry:

Please non-bulky full body clothing preferably light colored

Good hiking or sports shoes

Caps and Hats

Sunglasses and sunscreen

Hand Towel

Munchies and personal snacks

Personal medication

Camera (optional)

Binoculars (optional)

Shawl (optional)

One liter water bottle

Torch

Umbrellas (Optional)

IMPORTANT:

Please take care of all your belongings.

Notify us immediately in case of any medical emergency.

Anyone found under the influence of drugs or narcotics will be requested to leave the trip immediately, without any refund.

Adventure camping and outdoor sports/ recreation is purely for nature lovers and not for party groups; we respect nature and do our best to spread the awareness about wilderness preservation.

Be sure that you are responsible for your own personal belongings.

We like to keep the wildlife wild; please do not litter the forest/ sanctuary and the campsite.

Our account details below:

Name: Rivers and Ridges

Bank Name: Punjab National Bank

Bank account Number: 6631002100001031

Branch: Kondhwa

City: Pune

IFSC Code: PUNB0663100

Account type: Current

Availability is first come first serve basis. Last day of confirming is 2 days prior to the event date, but please book your seats as soon as possible to avoid any disappointment.

For any questions, call Rohan: 7350064961. Looking forward to seeing you all.

Thanks,

Team Rivers and Ridges.