January 28th 2018

For years I was reading about the Olive Ridley turtle hatching season, and how environmentalists and animal lovers flock from everywhere to witness this beautiful wonder of nature.

If you haven’t heard about this yet, the Olive Ridley Turtles are known for their peculiar behaviour of laying eggs in large amounts. Also, the female baby turtles who are born on the beach return to that same beach to lay eggs when they grow up.

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This breed is listed as threatened, and more and more people are now coming to see the hatching and ensure that the baby turtles reach the water and are put to safety.

The pristine Velas beach is where the mothers lay the eggs

How to reach

Velas is an eco-village in Ratnagiri district Maharashtra.

If going by road, you will have to take a ferry to reach the village

The lovely jungle just before the beach

Here in the jungle and at the beach, you can really feel at home with nature

Eco volunteers and wildlife conservationist groups keep the area covered where the eggs are laid

These are constantly monitored to make sure the temperature is correct, so that more eggs get a chance to hatch and the baby turtles don’t die even before they are born.

The stay

If you really want to witness this beautiful thing you will have to stay in one of the village homes (and be prepared to live on a sharing basis). Velas does not have any resort and all the villagers are gracious enough to open their homes and kitchen to you in return for a minimum amount. The eco volunteers take care of all this and you can find all details online about who to get in touch with.

The home stay means you stay in true village style, which is a great experience and adventure!

This is the room I stayed in, which belonged to a family there

Being served regular home food on a banana leaf, which is then given to the cattle in the cattle shed in the family’s courtyard

People start queuing up from the crack of light

The volunteers will give you approximate dates of between 5 and 7 days during which the eggs are most likely to hatch. You may have to return from the beach without any hatching for a day or two. The luckiest ones actually get to see it.

The race to life begins!

The loud cheer that erupts from the crowd, very small children to grown-ups alike, is something you can’t stop joining in. Everyone cheers and claps for the babies to reach the water, after which they can safely start their life.

The volunteers help the Olive Ridley babies into the water to prevent any accidents

Once it is over, everyone congratulates and talks about what a beautiful sight it was. There is so much happiness and a feeling of togetherness all around it is impossible to explain it in words, unless you are there.

When is the hatching season

Breeding season happens between November and March.

Read Also: Have You Heard Of The Butterfly Beach In Goa?

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