It was summer time and my family was nagging me to take them out for few days to relax. Conditions were the place should not be known and it must be beautiful for sightseeing along with some adventure activity. After a lot of discussions and budget planning, we finally decided on Tarkarli as it was near to Mumbai.
We left on Thursday night to Tarkarli by train reaching there by 10 in the morning. We checked into the resort, freshen ourselves up and decided to move in the afternoon to explore this quiet, palm-filled village.
Exciting First Day
Sindhudurg Fort – Tribute to the Father of Indian Navy
After filling our stomach lightly, we left for Malvancho Dhakko, where we travelled through the Sea to reach the massive Sea Fort, Sindhudurg. This Fort is spread across 48 acres built in a span of over three years. The fortification wall is almost 2 miles long, 30 feet high and 12 feet in width. This fort was mainly built to keep an eye on the activities of foreign colonizers who entered India for business purpose.
My main attraction for this fort was visiting the Temple of Chattrapati Shivaji Maharaj as it was built by his younger son, Rajaram. It was an overwhelming experience to witness the palm prints and footprints of Shivaji Maharaj. For me, he was just a figure in books but to actually witness part of his legacy was very touching and exciting.
Mesmerizing Village
After witnessing the legacy of the Great Maratha Warrior, we wanted to witness the Rock Garden to view the sunset. As we had ample time we decided to roam freely on the streets of Malvan. It was beautiful to notice the shadowy patches on the road making it a stop for us to take some snaps. Even in the broad daylight, the streets were pretty isolated. But noticing the greenery all around was very refreshing, it is seldom that we are surrounded by the abundance of nature as we stay in Metros.
Rock Garden
Rock Garden is the same as Bandstand, the only thing missing was the noise of vehicles passing by. Witnessing the sunset, felt like I haven’t noticed the sun for a long time. Cursing the sun becomes the only point of discussion in summer. But this was lovely as we enjoyed the sunset with local Bhel and Garma Garam Chai.
We head back to our resort at Tarkarli, freshen ourselves again and headed to feast on the fish thali which I avoided in the afternoon. It was delightfully delicious as I kept on munching and came to my sense when I actually finished it. Later, I realized that the rest of my family had just started their dinner.
In the meanwhile, I went to reception counter of our resort and the person in charge gave me a good idea of what we can do for tomorrow. As I am an adventure enthusiast and seeing my interest, the receptionist provided many numbers of vendors who offer water sports packages in Tarkarli. So, before dozing off, we discussed our plan for the next day chronologically, as it was going to be an eventful and adventurous day.
Adventurous Second Day
Dolphin Safari
We woke up at 5:30 in the morning as we were excited to see the famous human-friendly mammal, Dolphin. We headed to Tarkarli Water Sports Point where our boat was waiting for us to take near the Dolphin’s point. As witnessing Sun yesterday was intriguing, it was nothing short of spectacular to view it from the boat. The experience was remarkable as early morning rays refreshed us, also waking the seagulls which accompanied us mid-way as we headed further to witness the Dolphins.
We waited patiently and soon the friendly mammal arrived to show off their skills. Jumping around, manoeuvring at different angles and swimming fast enough to disappear in a jiffy. We also saw few points made by nature, surprising us like never before. In the first place, Crocodile point, a small hill shaped like a crocodile. Next, we came across Seagull point and started identifying the seagulls which accompanied us earlier.
Later, we headed back to Tsunami Island where we decided to munch on the omelettes with bread and Chai.
Revdanda Beach Camping near Mumbai
Flying like a Bird – Parasailing
After our breakfast, we went for Parasailing, as we were all excited and wanted to do it. As I was the first to go, my heart was beating very fast and my nervousness was visible as I was not at all following instructions whatever the Instructor was asking me to do. I just hoped for the best.
I was slowly lifted when the Instructor opened the Parachute and in no time, I was flying. Earlier, my heart was beating very fast but later I calmed myself down and started seeing things around. The view was stunning. I could only hear the sound of wind and nothing else. My family screamed from the boat for taking a snap, but I was engrossed in the beauty of the view, the feel of flying.
After few minutes of flying, I was pulled down. When I came back, I complained about my air voyage being short lived. The Instructor said that I was in the air for 20 minutes. I was completely in shock as my family also agreed to the same. After everyone finished their quota of enjoying parasailing, we headed back to our resort to relax for a while.
Swimming like a Fish – Scuba Diving
As I was told by the Scuba Instructor that you must not eat heavy before diving, we just had some snacks at Resort and headed to the Scuba Diving Point. We entered the boat, and the boatman was taking us to the Scuba Diving Area, whereas the instructor was completing his part of duty. After riding in the boat for more than 20 minutes we reached the Scuba Diving Area. I waited till my turn came trying to learn by observing other people who entered the sea first.
My heart beats were again racing as I don’t know how to swim. But after gearing up, I just felt like going for it and finishing it. I entered the water, not gaining balance at all. My hair swaying everywhere as I came across seeing numerous fishes beneath.
The ocean is life for many creatures, I realised. Watching the prettiness of the Underwater World with utter silence with occasional noise of bubbles was unforgettable. My oxygen cylinder was held by the instructor which allowed me to stand and not sway, on the seabed for good 10 minutes.
When I got out of the water, to my surprise I thought I was living the moment from the movie “Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara”. Of course, I did not cry but was amazed by the sheer existence of such a place on Earth.
After we finished our Scuba Diving activity, we realised that our mind was very silent and peaceful. We did not feel like talking to each other as I thought the noise of words will disturb the harmonic effect.
At the same time, we were also exhausted as holding the cylinder pipe in the mouth for 10 minutes was not comfortable. We headed back to our resort and finished our dinner and slept peacefully.
Cultural Final Day
We greeted the beautiful morning with hot Chai and Ghaavan with spicy coconut chutney. After filling our stomach with the delicious breakfast, we checked out from our resort keeping our luggage their itself as our train was in the late afternoon.
We had kept our last day for shopping in the local market. We discovered many household items in the local shops and exhibition centres. From a variety of pickles of mango and lime, variety of papad, to Alphonso mangoes and Kokam. We shopped everything until we realised that we also have to head to Kunkeshwar Temple, which is an hour’s journey by road.
Temples & Beaches
We dumped our shopping bags at the resort and headed to Kunkeshwar Mandir. This temple is of Lord Shiva, which is beautifully located at Devgad beach and many tourists visit this temple often because of the history related to it.
It is believed that many years ago, a cow used to provide milk to a stone and not to her master. Furious by the behavior of the cow, the master decided to excavate the stone and throw it away in the sea. But as soon as he strikes a blow with his shovel, blood started gushing out from the stone. The master realised his mistake and started worshipping the stone, establishing it into a proper temple.
We took blessings and then we left for our resort to take our luggage and head to Kudal Station.
We enjoyed this trip to Tarkarli to the core. With a minimum amount of time we had, we tried to make most of it. We were happy to explore so many places in so less time without exhausting too much. Exciting sightseeing, Adventure activities and cultural impact, in the end, was a good combination for us which almost covered entire facets that Tarkarli offers. The laid-back Konkani culture and delicious Malvani cuisine were icing on the cake on this trip.
As we were waiting for the train at Kudal station, I thanked my wife for nagging earlier this month as it became one of the memorable trips in my life so far.
बहुत अच्छा वर्णन