MTDC Tarkarli Beach Resort – Must do…

 

I was in two minds for the title should have been - “Malvan just rocks…..”, but then without MTDC’s promise for a fulfilling vacation we wouldn’t have adventured this part of the Country-side.

Deserted looks on Tarkarli beach in the late afternoon

Para-Jeeping & Camel rides on the beach

The desire to visit south-Konkan was seeded in the wonderous description by our close college pals Niju & Harshada. They had visited Tarkarli in a big group about a year or so back. It’s so difficult to get the MTDC bookings for this very resort that me and my wife decided on it more because we had one done for us. The first timers are bound to enjoy every bit of a 2-4 day venture with parting promises to the blue sea there to return soon and tell the whole of your world that there’s paradise in Konkan.

My trekking expeditions in Sahayadri during QLC & Capgemini days, opened the doors to the greener pastures that are hidden in Maharashtra alone. Then one fine day Avaya, Me, Rajesh Hota & Hussain decided to try Ganapati Pule. At the end of 2 days @ MTDC’s beach tents we all were very disappointed. Disappointed for not planning a weeklong trip instead :) The tents were right over the beach and we were still not content with playing on the soft sand and getting ourselves drowned in the crystal clear waters. Before this, none of us believed there were absolutely clean beaches in our country. This Tarkarli trip completely tamed my mind in believing that except a few choosen well-known beaches which can be counted on our finger tips like Juhu, Alibaug, etc, all other beaches along side the Konkan are still untouched, unpolluted and the best part is most of them are unknown to a large extent and so unpopulated too….I am asking for too much if this blog is going to change this scene very soon :) :) The fact of the matter expressed by Siddu is all such paradises within the country are turned into flourishing tourist destinations in a mater of years and so it’s better to reach them and enjoy them while they are still raw. One who has been there and one it will very well resonate my condition when a bengali family(we met in our return journey by konkan rail) in a very excited mood to make their Mumbai visit memorable, were asking about Juhu beach.

Stay?

First things first – Get your bookings done. Visit this link on MTDC to check for Availability & Fare first. For a moment wonder how will a client demo go with such a date control on the website. Do all sorts of date permutations/combinations to arrive at what’s available. Best part of booking with MTDC online is that the link mentioned doesn’t lead you to the actual bookings :( One like me had to hunt the whole website on various accounts. This pain part is really worth the effort. Ok so the actual reservation is available on the home page, see the Online Booking section below on the left side. You need to register to login & book. The non-AC Konkani House which is the most economic in here too stands out very pleasant.

MTDC is considered to be the costliest along with another resort in this area. You go there once and you get to see cheaper options – some villagers rent out some portions of their large homes for tourists. The advantages of MTDC are the beach view, clean rooms, nice room-service, food within campus apart from others.

Travel?

By rail : Get down at Kudal station on Konkan railway. Rikshaw took the standard Rs.350/- for the almost one hr ride to the MTDC Tarkarli resort. (The Tar in Tarkarli is pronounced as Tar in the name Tara. Suggest me a better way of explaining pronunciations in future)

Site seeing?

You can book a car for your group. We both managed to get around using AutoRikshaws which were available on almost every known spot.

Day-I : Sindhudurg Fort, Snorkelling, Ganapati Mandir, Rock Garden(I fooled myself to expect more amazing than a standard Garden with flowery plants) & Chikula beach(sure have spelled it incorrectly)

Near the Jetty for the fort

Chikula beach

 

Day-II : Reach Tarkarli Jetty early morning 7am. Take the dolphin point ride for 2-3 hrs and get back to enjoy Tarkarli Beach whole day till sunset.

Too early

Windows blue

 

How to – Food?

Loved the food as a veggie. Mausaharis have a ball in Malvan. You get fresh sea-water delicacies, typically cooked & served in Konkan style with vadis and bhakris along them. The canteen/restaurant within the MTDC resort serves good food from morning till late nite. The thali seemed perfect for the first meal on the first day there. More over you can see my colleague Jayant & Kiran’s favourite Chitale stamped Amrakhand/Dahi/Srikhand available :)

 Best time to visit?

All year round. Though off-season is the best season to such places. Nov-Feb is best considering Snorkeling. May is worst considering whole of India with children in schools are planning holidays.

Sindhudurg Fort – The Chatrapati’s creation

The topic is worth a million books and a billion articles. One should listen to Shri Shankar Abhayankar’s talks on Maharaj to hear the plots that gave birth to this fort. The fort stands tall on the nearby island and the visit gives us a glimpse of Shivaji Maharaj’s foresight to secure an Independent state. The Architects requested for Maharaj’s Left Foot & Right Palm imprints which are preserved here. Right Palm was used to hold the sword that gained independence. The Left Foot is the first one used while climbing on the horse suggesting the swiftness in action. Bhavani Mandir is very natural on Maharaj’s forts. You will find Shiva Ling Temples for sure too.

Built on an existing island, using the existing land-mass. Maharaj employed some 3000 Mavlas with hundreds of boats working it out. It stands testimony to Maratha Architectural prowess in Fort Building.	The stones were carved out from the island itself. The cement used then was more natural consisting a mix of Jaggery, Chuna, etc. It survived centuries.
The well inside the Shiva Temple, has a tunnel just above the water level. The guide pointed that during the Maharaj’s regime it let two me to walk across the underground subway from within the island to the mainland to an outlet 8km away around another temple. Seismic activities and British officers made sure it’s closed.	The walls are thick and have watch-points every 100-200 meters. Some watch points are very large with a stone-seating suggesting command & discussion areas.
Inner view. Typical of Maharaj’s forts the entrance is curved so a frontal attack using fire-balls(toph) doesn’t destroy the main Gate.	Outer view of the same entrance.
Floral scientists must have had a fight to understand nature here. One storm blowed away the top of this normal coconut tree giving way to two branches, each giving way to branches and flowers. Another storm blowed away both the branch tops with such force that attempts from Pune Agricultural scientists to restore this beauty were crushed.	All freshwater wells are Shivalinga shaped suggesting Maharaj’s reverence to the diety. The wells are named after the panchamurtas (Dudh, Dahi, Sakhar, etc)

 

 Snorkeling – Amazing experience with the corals & Zebra fishes

Dr. Sarang Kulkarni from Solapur started this chapter of Snorkeling for the rich corals around Sindhudurg fort. The locals were and are trained to become guides. They also plan scuba diving in a couple of years. The equipment lying with the guides suggested they were being trained on the same.

Till Snorkeling started here, we had to go all the way to Andaman for a good coral view. First timers like me go all out for the well trained personnel giving you a guided tour among the very many species of fishes and the calcium rich corals of varying colors, in between we see the floura too flourishing in this sunlit shallow waters. One doesn’t need to know swimming to enjoy this sport. Carry a change, you will most likely want to have a bath after being in water for about an hr.

Hope a few of the vasanas created while we drowned watching National Geographic & later Animal Planet with tons of such underwater nature shoots, got exhausted.

YouTube search brought me to this one which is just glimpse of how it looks. We could see much larger fishes at some distance though. The guide uses some bread crump to attract hoards of smaller fishes around. The water is clear till around March. April/May the holiday season sees lots of tourists in this place and the water too is not very clear then.

Dolphin point ride

The waking up in this holiday mode was very easy considering the enticement to watch Dolphins during this time in deep sea :) But be aware there are no guarantees to watch them. The photos at tour operator offices suggest some one must have for sure sighted them. The Dolphins aren’t tamed and their hunting is banned. After the 3 hours fabulous ride in the sea which includes breakfast break on Tsunami island, one can choose to come back to Tarkarli beach to spend the whole afternoon(more on the beach a bit later).

Tsunami island	Most of the boats are supported by a float on the right hand side to keep it safe in high sea.
Seagulls migrate here every year in this season, travelling all the way across continents. They are seen devouring in this fish rich Karli river near DevBaug. Many varieties of sea-fishes swim here to lay their eggs.	Wild sea was scary. The water movement becomes larger and larger as we are leaving Karli river to where it merges with the Arabian sea.
The promises which were kept except the Crocodile point :)	One of the pics does show Dolphins :)

MTDC Resort on Tarkarli Beach

Around 5pm you will see some action packed seasoning on the beach. Para-sailing/jeeping was available(boat was replaced by jeep). Someone got a few camels in here for rides.

MTDC Office near the entrance is almost a large boat

The Konkani huts on the beach give very tempting looks

Br. Sattvik Chaitanyaji’s sms reminded of the great day. Vaikunta Ekadasi, Tapovan Jayanti & Geeta Jayanti what more to make up for a contemplative mood, which the Sea & the Sand very well respected. It was fulfilling to hear Swami Brahmanandji’s chanting on Geeta chapter-II. The magnificent Sun set, the great Sea still roaring….