Maharashtra: Mango tasting farms soar high on popularity list of travellers

A group of travellers at a farm in Nate, Ratnagiri. (Express)

WHEN Nikiti Nagori (23) sipped a glass of Alphonso amras (mango pulp) at a Ratnagiri-based mango farm last weekend, she couldn’t stop at one. While the Kolkata-based corporate lawyer has relished Alphonso mangoes at her office in Mumbai, she confesses nothing matches the joy of plucking mangoes from farms and having them amidst nature.

In the last couple of weeks, an increasing number of travellers have visited farms in Konkan region and Dapoli to experience the ‘natural’ taste of the king of fruits. While some prefer to drive to the farms, many tour groups are organising mango tasting sessions in these farms.

“Last weekend, we took a bunch of 15 travellers to an agro-based farm in Nate in Ratnagiri. During the tour, they were given a complete tutorial on how mangoes are cultivated, the time it takes for the fruit to ripen and when is the apt time to pluck them. The locals who worked at these farms act as our guides,” Mahesh Kumar from Ramblers India Group, which organises treks for travellers, said.

With urban travellers preferring to opt for farm visits, Kumar decided to introduce mango tasting in his three-day tour of Konkan region. “The group relished mango products, including aamras and pickles in their lunch, and hoarded boxes of mangoes on their way back to enjoy them during summer,” he said.

While tourists from Mumbai, Pune and other parts of Maharashtra are regulars at such tours, travellers from other areas like Gujarat, Delhi, Karnataka, and Chennai and even foreign tourists flock to these quaint Maharashtra farms to relish mangoes cultivated in the Konkan belt, tour organisers said. A quick getaway from the routine and the urge to taste fresh produce from the farm drives them, they added.

“This is the first time I have visited a farm. Our group would have plucked hundreds of mangoes. The joy of eating a fresh mango, and that too amidst its natural surroundings, cannot be compared to anything. It is an unique experience,” Nagori said.

Cashing in on the demand, prominent travel websites are arranging special trips to mango farms in Raigad, Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg. Varun Gupta, CEO, Goomo said, “Some of these farms provide for a different experience, including home stays and Alphonso tasting. These experiences are becoming popular and we have seen a 10 per cent increase in queries for the same from our weekend getaway travellers.”

A range of mango produce, namely raw mangoes in dal (lentil soup), salad made with raw mangoes, vegetable dishes made using Alphonso mangoes (savoury) and the most sought after of the lot — homemade mango icecreams — remains popular amongst tourists who visit the belt.

Rahul Kulkarni, who runs ‘Farm of Happiness’ at Pungus village in Sangameshwar of Ratnagiri, said: “In the last two years, tours offering mango tastings have become popular. Travellers love to know how the fruit is grown and hear the local lores. Despite soaring temperatures, travellers love flocking here to taste the king of fruits.”

Kulkarni said that such specialised tours also offer job opportunities to local residents and an additional source of income.