Konkan Calling - Sindhudurg
Heading
out from Wildernest towards Thivim station which is a small railhead in
Goa that was teeming with tourists catching a train to Mumbai when we
arrived.
A train delay of an hour meant we caught up with some hot phulke, sabzi and chaas at a home eatery closeby.The journey to Kudal is about 50 minutes by train.
We spent the evening strolling on the beach and then helping ourselves to a very well cooked homely Malvani dinner.
The room though small was freshly painted and the furniture was new.The family was nice and made us feel at home.
We spent some time talking with the owners planning the next couple of days for Sightseeing.
Day 2 started off with a short walk towards the Malvan Jetty. The plan was to go to the Sindhudurg fort - a half an hour boat ride in the sea.
We got our tickets and some 30 odd people assembled and got into the smallish diesel powered boat that ferries people to the fort.
This
was an amusing experience. I felt as if though I had traveled back 50
year's in time.The "Swades" experience. Old fashioned boats filled the
harbour giving the whole area a rustic feel.
It was amazing to say the least. And then seeing the fort looming up ahead in the middle of the sea was an amazing experience.
The fort took nearly 30 years to build stands as a testimony to the foresight at that time to keep foreign powers at bay.
There's not much to explore inside the fort, but the fort itself. There's a watch tower, a Shivaji temple etc.
A
coral reef was discovered just beside this fort a few year's back by Dr
Sarang Kulkarni. This discovery changed the lives of the residents here
and catapulted Sindhudurg as a tourist destination. A lot of private operators offer guided snorkeling tours of the reefs.
Snorkeling is probably the highlight of out trip!. We got into a boat and put on our snorkeling gear and were helped into the water by a guide who was kind enough to answer all our questions on marine life.
It was an experience of a lifetime to see life underneath the sea, the school of fish swimming
and moving together, fishes of different colors and sizes as well as
the beautiful multi-colored corals that adorned the sea bed.
After
a refreshing snorkeling experience we headed back to the mainland in
the swades style boat. Another intriguing aspect to mention here is that
tea is unavailable on the island fort.
It was time for lunch and
we sought the highly recommended Chintamani lunch home. The restaurant
was packed with tourists and after a bit we finally had a table for us
and Malvani Thali to grub.
After
some rest in the afternoon we walked towards the Rock Garden by the sea
to catch the sunset.From there on we walked towards the well known
Ganesh temple. The temple is beautiful and is a must see for everyone
visiting Malvan. The only problem is that the streets are not well lit and there are very few people on these inner roads.
Day 3 was spend exploring the beaches of Sindhudurg.
A Tata Sumo was hired and we made our way towards Deobag. Deobag is an
amazing location, triangulated with the sea on one side and the Karli
river on the other. The two merge forming an extravaganza of blue and
green. What was more fascinating was that this entire patch of beach was
empty.
This place is a photographer's paradise. If you like solitude, the blue seas and your camera then you should visit this place!
Tarkarli is another beach close to Deobag and is known for its fascinating white sands and blue sea. And so true are the stories!. Tarkarli is indeed as beautiful as the fables say!.
Casuarina trees flank the beach making it look even more beautiful. The MTDC resort at Tarkarli
hidden among the casuarinas is the place to stay! We were unfortunate
to not stay in this place due to non availability. Recommend booking
this resort months in advance!.
There are options of a boat ride
from Deobag to explore the surrounding area. It is recommended if the
day is not too hot. A backwater ride is also enjoyable if you have not
been to Kerala already!
From there on we drove towards Vengurla port and Sagareshwar. Nothing much of note here except the natural splendor.
Article source by :- Weekend wanderings
For More Information Visit :- http://www.travelthemes.in/
Sindhudurg - Malvan & Tarkarli
While we started from Ratnagiri to Malvan,
we saw three men walking on the road; they were foreigners so we
stopped out of curiosity. I was amazed to find that they were walking
from Mumbai to Goa. I asked them what made them walk such long distance
in a climate; which they are not used to. And one of them replied “We
are not walking for Charity; but we are walking for Clarity”. We were
amazed to hear that; but it is true. Almost 10 years back; I had walked
in the mountains of Himalayas visiting Vaishnodevi-Yamunotri-
Gangotri-Kedarnath-Badrinath; with my colleague and friend Nitin Joshi
in just 9 days(109 kms). We had walked during the worst period i.e.
August. There were heavy rains and we completed our journey facing
landslides; often getting drenched in very low temperatures. Our biggest
discovery was that; travel in tough terrains and long exhausting walks
are a spiritual experience. We wished them good luck.
We took the coastal route and first went to Kashedi. There is a temple of Kanakaditya here. It is very old sun temple
and is famous for is interiors. The pillars made of wood so strong that
hundreds of years of saline weather could not damaged them. Roof is of
interlocked wooden beams, in the ceiling are statues of gods carved in
wood. It is amazingly intricate work and don’t miss to visit this
temple.
We also went to Purangadh, it’s a nice spot but the sea is rocky and if you wish privacy go there else nothing much to see.Purangad
We reached Malvan; towards late in the evening and I tried to locate my friend of school days,
Rahul Pantwalawalkar. Going against the popular trend; Rahul had learnt Ayurvedic Medicine and settled in Malvan;
leaving behind is big home at Dadar- Hindu Colony; one of the most
prime and popular localities of Mumbai(people who are from Mumbai can
appreciate magnitude of this change). I had no clue as to where he stays
and I decided to speak to Chemists as they would most likely know a
Doctor. I found first chemist and he told me that his clinic is at the
other end of the town; but also told me not to worry and keep asking
direction for Dr Pantwalawalkar’s clinic; which everybody would know. I
was skeptical, but to my surprise everybody knew it. I amazed by his
popularity.
I reached clinic and filled the slip; which is given to
every patient and waited in the queue. I entered his room and he asked
“yes, what is the problem?” I looked at him and smiled and he stared
back at my face for few moments; and screamed “arey, you Kishor!” after
so long time. We hugged each other spoke for few minutes and then again I
waited again outside for him to complete his work.
We then
chatted for till late in the night, he is one of the most popular
doctors in the town. Meeting him is a pleasure as he radiates tremendous
energy(he even speaks too fast).
I had visited Malvan before and stayed at Tarkarli, one of the most popular beaches of Malvan. However, Rahul told me that I should try Chivala Beach this time. We went to Chivala beach
and stayed with Prof. Prasanna Mayekar. By the time we reached it was
dark, I could see the waves hitting the beach in front of his home and
could hear roar of the sea.
We went out for dinner and came back
and slept. The next day morning we got up at 5.30 a.m. and decided to go
on the beach for a stroll, as soon as I stepped out; what I saw was one
of the most beautiful scenes in front of my eyes.
The beach
was not more than 50 mtrs from our room, it was a 2 km long stretch of
the sand, in form of an arch; with not more than 10 fishermen. I had
stayed at Tarkarli before; but this was something very different. We
were staying at 15 minutes walk from heart of Malvan town and still the
beach was so secluded and private. Only seasoned travelers know about
this beach; the rest go to Tarkarli.
Chivala Beach
If you are a family and wish to avoid crowd, especially if women of the family want privacy while
going in the sea; then this is the most recommended beach.
If you are a honeymoon couple; then lso this is the most recommended
place. Entire stretch of 2 km is at your disposal with white sand and
clear water and absolutely no human beings making it as good as your private beach. Do stay at Mr Mayekar’s or Mr Ram Patil’s place they are right on the beach
We moved to Sindhudurg fort
after breakfast. It is an amazing fort in the middle of the sea. Rocky
surroundings make it difficult for enemy boats to reach giving added
protection to the fort.
This is among the last of the big forts in the chain almost 65 forts (small and big- ranging from North to South) that Chhatrapati Shivaji built along the coast of Maharashtra. The fort sprawling over 45 acres was built in record time of 3 years (1664 to 1667).
There
are 42 bastions to the fort along the boundary wall. The wall is built
with Mixture of jaggery, lime, udad dal(lentils) and molten lead. It is
so strong that after facing strong waves for centuries they are still
intact. There are three sweet water wellss namely Dhudhbaon, Dahibaon
and Sakharbaon (baon means “well” in Konkani
the native lanugage). Besides there are temples of Bhawani,
Mahadev(Shiva), Mahapurush and Shivarajeshwar. Shivarajeshwar, is temple
of Shivaji, built by his son Rajaram. This is also the only fort where
palm and foot print of Shivaji, taken in lime mortar are preserved.
These were taken when he came to visit the fort after its completion.
In
front of the Mahadev temple is a small well and apparently there is a
secret tunnel from inside the well(local legent). This tunnel goes few
Kilometers under the sea and comes out on land. It was used as escape
route, in times of trouble. But where exactly it leads; is not known as excavation is yet to be done.
This fort
again shows foresight of Shivaji; who had predicted that enemy will not
only come from land but also from sea and hence building forts is
necessary. Given the fact that, later British used the same route speaks
of this wisdom.
Our guide told us very interesting story about
construction of the fort. While this fort was being constructed, Shivaji
had to go Agra to meet Aurangzeb who put him under house arrest. The
reins of kingdom were with his mother in his absence. But obvious in
such situation; money was falling short and his mother Jijabai gave
token currency to workers with a promise that once Shivaji is back,
everybody would be paid. Later the money was paid. But the saying came
that “ye killa(fort) Kavadiyon ke Mole mein bana hai”
We came back and had lunch. We then moved on to see the surrounding area. We went northwards on coastal road to Aachare and then to Kunakeshwar.
There are some very interesting places on the way; which not many tourists know about. Once you leave Malvan
at approx 5 km is Ozar. Don’t miss to spend time at Brahmanand Swami
Samadhi here. It’s a small valley with a fresh water pond, a cave where
swami stayed and some very old trees. The environment is blessed with
absolute tranquility and is prefect for meditation.
We spend some time over there and then moved on to Aachare to see Rameshwar Temple.
It’s more than 600 year old temple of Shiva with wooden pillars and
ceiling. The pillars are big and carving is delicate. The pillars are
painted and hence at first glance you don’t really understand that they
appear to be cement or stone ones. We spent some time in the temple;
speaking to the priest. He was delighted to know that we are travelers
and not tourists. Even, he was fond of travelling and just few months
back he had come back from Kashmir. The beach at Aachare is nice and secluded so if you are want to read/write a book or generally ponder on life then this is a recommended place.
We then moved on to Kunakeshwar.
The temple here is famous and was undergoing renovation. The town is
like any other temple town; with crowded roads, lot of noise and dirt. I
personally did not like this place much. It was already dark and we did
not spend much time there. We started journey back to Malvan.
The next day we got up and went on a stroll on the beach. We then met people from the town who are running Homestays. Ghar Mithbawakaranche is the oldest operator here and is famous for food.
They chatted with us for some time. We then went on to meet Balu Padwal
of Visava. Later we met Mr Khanvilakar of Ya-hoo hometel and many
others. Their stories are worth reading. They are mentioned here and I
urge you to read on; as it not only the Beach and sea that make a place interesting but tourism is about people and knowing their stories; is to know real India.
MTDC started effort of marketing Tarkarli with setting up a resort. At that time there was nothing in that town. Mr Mithbavkar, a locale from the village
started as canteen contractor. MTDC resort became famous for two
reasons one its location and second its food. Mithbavkar operated the
canteen till 2007 but in 2008 the property was privatized and his
contract was discontinued; it is also suspected that there was political
interference in the deal. Thus, the man who helped develop tourism and
is a local lost his job and somebody outsider got it courtesy government
body which was supposed to protect them. He is now operating his homestay and the food is still a big hit.
Balu, is absolutely forthcoming and blunt; which is why I liked him. If you go to Malvan make it
a point to meet him. He started his life with selling Jambhul(Jamun) in a
crate in front of MTDC resort gate. He started interacting with
tourists and came to know that they need somebody as guide. He then
started working as guide to them. This made him understand tourist
psyche and preferences. From little money he had; he then started a homestay. He has now bought a boat and he plans to start backwater cruise(what a dream for guy who is not trained by anybody).
Mr. Khanvilkar was working working at Mumbai. There was lock-out in his company; he went back to Malvan to start a homestay as means of livelihood. He knew benefit of getting organized and hence formed association of homestay operators. They regularly meet and learn from each other.
Homestays
are thus symbols of grit, survival instinct, innovation and commitment.
It is better to support their dream of the future; than to throw money
at some resort and buy luxury; raw material to which is cheap labour of
locals, exploitation by people in power and dirty capital.
We spent evening on Tarkarli beach with plans to start for Vengurla in the morning…..
article sources by :- Travelling in India
For more information visit :- http://www.travelthemes.in/
