Enjoy a slice of Konkani culture

Pune: The Konkan Tourism Development Board (KTDB) is organising a mango tourism festival that will go on till June 15 to promote the region, its culture and specialities to a wider audience.

Sanjay Yadavrao, KTDB president, said the festival would have tourists exploring the Konkan, besides savouring mouthwatering delicacies and visiting largely unexplored areas. ‘‘At the moment about 200 tourists from Mumbai have undergone the experience and now we expect about 1,000 tourists from Pune to make the visit. Once this is a success, we will spread the invitation to more cities,’’ said Yadavrao.

Among other things, a visit to mango farms for a taste of the hapus mangoes is also included. On every weekend, a day-long experience in the backwaters in the 40-km stretch between Chiplun and Dabhol is being arranged to explore the coastal regions of Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri. The organisers have offered two packages, a coastal Ratnagiri package for Rs 4,000 per person and a coastal Sindhudurg package for Rs 4,500 per person. For the backwater experience, one will have to shell out Rs 2,800 per person. Meanwhile, KTDB has put up five stalls in different parts of the city where the Ratnagiri and Deogadh hapus mangoes and Kashmiri apples are on display.