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| Devbagh Beach |
Mohan Rao was making tea in tea maker in our spacious room at "The Club Mahindra Resort", Verca, Goa. We had wonderful time exploring south Goa. Mohan was a retired IAS officer, a good riend and a travel freak like me. He sat in front of me pushing a tea cup.
"I don't want to go to North Goa. It's a high season and everything is too expensive, I mean for Indians like us," Mohen added and continued, "and crowded".
I was a bit puzzled unable to understand his objective.
"So?" I asked.
"Have you heard about "Karwar" close to where we are, in the state of Karnataka and it's exotic beaches?" asked Mohan.
"Well, I have heard but I don't think It's a hot tourist spot," I replied.
"Ah!, that the very reason I mentioned" said Mohan with a sudden glint of excitement on his face. I understood the plot then and knew very well that soon we shall be heading to Karwar. Consequently, Mohan organized verything by the evening and next morning we left for the exotic beaches of Karwar, Karnataka, not very far from Goa. The distace from Varca, Goa to Karwar in Karnataka was about 75 Kms, a drive of about an hour and half. You can reach Karwar by train from Mumbai or from Bangalore by train or by bus.
It was the end of September, weather pleasant with rain drenched greenery still all around. We took NH17, passing earlier
Chichini Church, Goa's western ghats, Palolem beach, passing through Kotigoa wild life sanctuary (my goodness, it was awesome!), reaching finally our detination
"The Majali Beach Village" before crossing the bridge over beautiful Kali river to Karwar which was about 10 Kms from our resort.
It was a splendid place and we had a choice of "wooden houses" or "tree tops" or "mini tree tops" (recommended for honeymooners! ha..ha..me and Mohan Rao? Wish we were gay!); We opted for a "wooden house" (Rs 2500 p.p.) which was just irresistible! Awesome! It was like living in a fantasy!
We decided to go to Karwar city to have an authentic Karwari Lunch. Karwar was famous all over for its characteristic coastal cuisine and we picked up "Hotel Amrut" which had an "Local Environment". A minimal decor and ambiance, noisy crowd , (as it had a bar attached). Overall, was worth a visit. We had fish curry and rice and Bangda Masala fry (a dry spicy fish).
We returned to our Majali Beach Village, visited one of the finest beaches, Majali near by and the lake close to our resort. In the evening played "Antakshiri" (singing competition where the other person has to starts a song with the end word of a song sung by the first person) sitting outside our wood house and had a mouth watering dinner and went to sleep early.
Next day we visited many places the summery of which I'm givind below:
Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat:
The famous Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat, a Baghdadi Saint was a place of tourist interest for pilgrims.
Naganatha Temple:
Naganatha Temple was a Temple where an anthill was worshiped.
Kurmagad Island
A visit by launch to the Kurmagad Island, which had an old fort and a Narasimha shrine, a must see!
Devbagh Beach: (picture as a post header)
Devbagh Beach was located on an island called Devbagh, which was around 3 km out in the Arabian Sea. To reach the beach regular ferries were available from Karwar and were sponsored by various beach resorts, situated around the beach. The local resorts also permit tourists to enjoy varied exciting activities such as
para sailing, snorkelling, banana boat rides, speed boat cruises and more.
Visitors can also hire trained instructors in order to safely enjoy these activities. Children were seen making sand castles, collecting seashells and chasing crabs all around Devbagh Beach. Sands of the beach were bordered by Casuarinas. Though we were in September end, the most opportune time, I think, to visit Devbagh Beach is during the months of October to March. The weather during these months is pleasant and is apt for various water activities.
 Rabindranath Tagore Beach |
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Rabindranath Tagore Beach (See video at the end of the post):
This beach was one of beaches in the country which is said to have inspired Tagore to pen his first drama. The Kali river flows through the town into Arabian Sea. Motor launches are available for boating up to the Kali river.
Next day in the evening we stumbled upon a pictue of "THE JOG FALLS" and we fell in love that place instantly. Decided to visit next day though it was around 100 Kms from Karwar
Related post on hidden heavenly beach and rural paradise:hereOther resorts in Karwar: