Velas Turtle Festival from Pune

Velas Turtle Festival

Maharashtra is blessed with a 720 km long coastline. Shared with Konkan, Thane, and Ratnagiri also Sindhudurg districts. Many marine creatures come to visit. However, the exact count and type are unknown. As from what is believed there is not a detailed study available. In the year 2000-01, it was found that a species of turtle, Olive Ridley is a prominent visitor to the shores of Maharashtra for breeding purposes. Other species are the Green Turtle, Hawksbill and the Leatherback. A lot of the other information is already available online, like what do turtles eat, how a turtle looks like. The difference between a turtle, tortoise and a terrapin.

Why Velas Turtle Festival?

Velas is a small fishing village on the western coast of Maharashtra. About 220 km away from Mumbai, a little over a hundred houses on the coast of the Arabian Sea. It is that time of the year again - when a tiny grey head pokes out of the golden sand and takes a breath of the fresh salty air of the Arabian Sea. It is a culmination of a lengthy process, which started when, under the cover of darkness, its mother emerged out from the rolling waves to lay her heap of 100-120 eggs on the sandy beach.

Oblivious to the world that awaits it outside its sandy cocoon, the tiny hatchling is soon followed by a hundred others, all crawling their way towards the brightest lights of the horizon- in this case, the sea. TreksandTrails, India invites you to this journey from the nest to the sea which draws oohs and aahs from tourists - each of whom is gathered on the shore to witness this miracle of Nature. The location is Velas, a remote village in Mandangad taluka in Ratnagiri district approx. a 6-hour drive from Pune.

Kindly Note

• Traveling by A/C Bus
• Hatchling sighting is not guaranteed.
• Maximum batch size is 30 travelers on a first come first basis.
• Pick up and Drop at centralized locations only.

Event Details

• Travelling by A/C Bus
• Event Type: Tour
• Food Arrangement: Homestay with Veg food already arranged
• Transport: Travel by the same private vehicle for the entire tour
• Height of Bankot fort: 500 ft.
• Base Village: Velas
• Taluka: Mandangad 
• District: Ratnagiri
• Region: Konkan
• Route from Pune: Pune Banner Khopoli - Velas
• Distance from Pune: 195 km approx.
• Total time required for climbing Bankot Fort: None
• Total distance for climbing: None
• Parking available: yes