Tarkarli was my dream destination from last two years. I was very much fascinated after looking the brochure of Tarkarli from MTDC. I had collected lots of information about Tarkarli and other places near Tarkarli. My intention visiting Tarkarli was to see the Konkan coast, eat lots of fish and Sol Kadhi, Snorkeling and see the Sindhudurg Fort. I had made up my mind that, even if no one joins me for the trip, i will be going all alone to see the beauty.
Tarkarli is around 550kms by road from Mumbai. I took Mandovi Express on 2nd May 2008 to reach Kudal Station. As usual, the train departed late from CST station and could not cover up the distance as there is a single track on Konkan Railway. Even though the train was late, I was not bored in the train, as I got a very good company of an Indian Navy officer named Amrujkar. He works as a Commander on INS Talwaar and flies the Indian Navy Helicopter. I got loads of information about the Indian Naval ships and the technology used by the same, Radio Communication and much more. The train needs to wait at certain places for the other train to pass. The train was supposed to reach Kudal station at 16:30hrs but it was late by 3 hours. I got down and reached Kudal ST stand but could not get a direct ST bus to Malvan as Tarkarli is 6 kms from Malvan. So, had to take the Kankavli bus and got down at Kasaal. Luckily, the Ratnagiri-Malvan ST bus was late by some time, so I could reach Malvan by that bus. I reach Malvan bus stand late in the night at 21:15hrs. Finally, somehow I managed to reach my hotel at Tarkarli by an Auto-Rickshaw.
The hotel owner Mr. Gajanan.Kubal. is a superb person I met in this trip. He just asked me to get fresh and have the dinner. That is what we call "Atithi DevoBhava". He offered me Veg and Non-Veg food option. I said, How can i think of having veg diet in Konkan? I simply want to eat Fish and Sol Kadhi. In all, I paid Rs 800 for 2 night stay, 2 dinner, 1 lunch, breakfast and tea. (Rs 300 for a spacious room, where at least 3-4 people can sleep). He has around 5 rooms and its right near the beach.
The next day i.e. on 3rd May, I woke up early and went to the Tarkarli beach. I saw a group of people pushing the boat into the sea to go for a fresh catch for the day. Within some time, the boat was deep in the sea. There were many small and medium sized boats on the beach and also there were some tourists for early morning walk. I took the breakfast and headed to the Tarkarli Water Sports Jetty. Later, I went to Malvan Jetty and headed to Sindhudurg Fort by boat. You have to shell out Rs 27 (return fare) to visit the fort. You can see the only temple in India of Shivaji Maharaj. The temple is known as Shivrajeshwar Mandir and was built by his son, Rajaram Maharaj. The sword placed near the statue weighs 2.5kgs and is 3.5ft long. It is removed from the cover once in year on the auspicious day of Vijaya Dashmi (Dassera). You will also find a coconut tree with two branches within the vicinity of the fort. There around 18-20 houses within the fort and the entry and the exit to the fort is restricted during the monsoon. You will also find the foot and hand print of Shivaji Maharaj as soon as you enter the fort. There is not much to see on the fort as the fort is no more maintained, just like other forts and the outer wall is becoming weak due to the strong sea waves.
I returned back to the Malvan Jetty and enquired about the most interesting Snorkeling. MTDC has started Snorkeling near Sindhudurg as the water clear there. Scuba Diving activity will be started very soon. MTDC charges Rs 250 for a good 20-30 minutes of snorkeling. The best part of this activity is, the non swimmers can also enjoy this activity. The divers here are of great help and they take great efforts for the tourists to enjoy snorkeling. Snorkeling can be enjoyed from 9am-3pm. I was able to see at least 4-5 varieties of fish and the corals here. You can enjoy the fresh sea food near the Malvan jetty. Malvan market is closed from 1pm-4pm. You can get the Cashewnuts (Kaaju) , Aambaa (Mango) Poli, Kokam and Aawla Syrup and much more.
Later, in the evening I went for Devbagh backwaters, Bhogwe Beach and other small islands near Bhogwe beach. I simply cannot express the view of these places. Bhogwe beach is a place where some scenes of the famous Oscar nominated Marathi film ªñhwaas were shot. I was not lucky to see the Dolphins near Devbagh. You can enjoy the Devbagh Backwaters, Bhogwe Beach, Dolphin view and other small islands by paying Rs 600, which is worth watching.
On Sunday i.e. on 4th May I again tried my luck to check the availability of the Dolphins, but could not. But I was happy to see the localites setting up the weekly Sunday bazaar to sell the mangoes, Fish, vegetables etc. The people in Konkan are very kind at heart and very very cooperative. At around 9:00am I left Tarkarli and headed to Kankavli and then Kolhapur via Phonda Ghat route, which is again a beautiful place. Planning to visit Phonda Ghat during monsoon.
For Water Sports and Beach facing resort at Tarkarli, you can contact Mr. Gajanan Kubal at 99605-04491
For detailed information regarding Snorkeling, you contact Mr. Sunil Sarang at 94207-38425
Travel Expenses
Kudal Station to Kudal Bus Stand:- Rs 10 (Share Rickshaw)
Kudal to Kasaal (ST Bus):- Rs 15 (I had to take this bus, as i missed the direct bus to Malvan)
Kasaal to Malvan (ST Bus):- Rs 23
Malvan to Tarkarli (Auto Rickshaw):- Rs 80 (They don't charge much during daytime)
Tarkarli to Malvan:- Rs 20 (Share Rickshaw)
Malvan Jetty to Sindhudurg Fort:- Rs 27 (Return Fare)
Malvan to Tarkarli:- Rs 10 (Share Fare by Mahindra Jeep)
Kankavli to Kolhapur:- Rs 90 (By good 2x2 Asiad Bus)
You can reach me at
vu2sfh@gmail.com
Thanks and Regards.
