Alibaug

Alibaug, a coastal town in the Raigad district of Maharashtra just across the harbour from Mumbai, is the city's favourite seaside weekend — a stretch of palm-fringed Konkan coast with calm beaches, old sea forts, and a laid-back charm that feels a world away from the metropolis only an hour's ferry ride north.

• Reached most enjoyably by the RoRo or catamaran ferry from the Gateway of India (about an hour across the bay), it has become a beloved getaway of beach houses, seaside cafés, and weekend cyclists.
• The town's signature sight is the Kolaba Fort, a 17th-century sea fort built under Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj that stands a kilometre or two offshore from the main beach — at low tide you can simply walk out across the wet sand to its weathered ramparts, freshwater wells, and small temples, while at high tide it rises dramatically from the waves.
• The coastline strings together a series of beaches: the dark-sand Alibaug and Varsoli beaches in town, the cleaner Nagaon and Akshi beaches to the south, and the standout Kashid beach (about 30 km away) with its white sand and turquoise water.
• Inland, the hilltop Kanakeshwar temple — a Shiva shrine reached by a climb of around 650 stone steps through forest — rewards pilgrims with cool air and sea views, while the spectacular island fort of Murud-Janjira (an unconquered Siddi stronghold rising from the sea) lies a little further down the coast.
• Alibaug has lately become a fashionable weekend-home and cycling destination, and a sunset stroll along its quieter southern beaches, or a visit to the nearby Phansad bird sanctuary, is its calm reward.
• For vegetarian travellers, Alibaug serves the lovely Konkani-Maharashtrian vegetarian table: sol kadhi (a pink kokum-and-coconut digestive drink), ukadiche modak (steamed rice-flour dumplings with coconut-jaggery), thalipeeth, piping-hot vada pav and batata bhaji, kokum sharbat, and Alphonso mango in season.
• The best season is October to March; the monsoon (June-September) is lush but rough for the sea.