Panju Island

Alt. title : Ile Panju

This is a small strip of land in the Vasai (Bassein) Creek. A small village by the name of Panjugaon is situated on this island. It is accessible only by boat from the Bhayendar side or from the Vasai side (closer). The other option is to trek on the railway bridge. Infact when you cross the Vasai creek by train, the bridge is constructed in two parts, giving unsuspecting passengers a feeling as if they've crossed two creeks.

Now another thing is that there are no roads, no electricity and no police presence on this island. Most villagers there have a rough time. Their main occupation is fishing and must be mostly relying on Vasai for basic infrastructure and amenities.

The Vasai fort is said to have some tunnels that originate from the fort. One goes towards Virar side (to the Arnala fort in the sea) and one goes towards Panju island. These are pretty inaccessible to the outsider, since they are secretly guarded by locals. These tunnels are also said to go beneath the sea, before they reach their destinations. In any case, if this is true, it must be pretty exciting to go through them. It is essential to know a local of the area to do so. The secret about these tunnels also stems from some folklore that some treasure belonging to the Peshwas lies somewhere buried in them.