Put the always crowded Goa behind, go to Maharashtra Blue, Tarkarli the secret jewel that can be as blue as the sea. Waves are smooth enough to allow even a no-sponge person to enter the Vitamin Sea deep enough. Fresh, almost white, sand with crabs and not so many souls all over you most of the day. You wake up to the sound of the waves, you can drink tea on the hotel suite’s balcony while you watch a few people stir and rush on the beach to try selling water sports to excited visitors. Then you take out your beach clothes, get out of the resort and jump into Arabian water, which is not too hot and not too cold.
If you wish, you’re in the waves for an hour or more. You go out, you pose a few videos, and there is no soul left on the virtually deserted beach until then. You return to the resort on the beach and take a shower. You’re ravenous right now. You walk out and make some delicious, flavorful Malvani cuisine cooked and sold by the house’s women into the shack next door.
Then come back to your room and enjoy what city life takes away from you, siesta. Then wakes up, walk the beach while you watch the sunset, and goes into the market for small villages where you shop for local items such as cashews or amba vadis or indulge yourself in ice cream in the solitary ice cream chair. Welcome to the tiny Malvan town of Tarkarli.
In Maharashtra, Malvan is nothing short of a paradise with its verdant green scenery, pristine, virgin beaches, clean the Arabian Sea blue seas, Maratha Empire naval forts, fresh, tasty seafood, etc.
Tarkarli is without question the gem in Malvani’s crown, with its other scuba diving, parasailing, and other water sports attractions.
Tarkarli was a long time on my checklist, but I recently visited the intriguing hamlet of Malvani. Tarkarli is a must-go destination for any beach bum along Goa-Maharashtra’s border (Goa is just three hours away). Around 550km from Mumbai, you can get to Tarkarlis by car or train (nearest to Kudal station where you can book a car to get to Tarkarlis an hour away, almost a 12-hour journey, hardly recommended).
It’s scenic, to say the least, up and down the slopes and plains). I would suggest the Tejas express (you know, the same one that made headlines two years ago for its state-of-the-art features). Some of the trains are heading towards Kudal and end at Sawantwadi on the goa frontier. The travel time will be reduced to six hours. In the morning, you can also take an overnight train from Mumbai to Tarkarli.
Of course, the first name that comes to mind when we hear beach holidays in Goa. But with few beaches in view, Goa was heavily commercialized and mostly trapped in traffic jams during the peak holiday season, to say nothing of the opportunities to visit the planet and its aunt during a holiday, whether the same people you would like to stop. Of course, with its thriving nightlife, tasty Goan fare, and more, Goa still maintains its own magic, but what if all your soul longs to be a beach holiday in a region that has beaches as pretty as Goa but none of its hurried or crowded beaches? The response to you is Tarkarli (to be visited at a part of your Goa holiday cost). Tarkarli has the backwaters in Devbag, not just beaches, where the Karli River joins the sea. The main beach of Tarkarli is where guests can enjoy water sports such as scuba diving.
For an interesting guided tour of the sea, I suggest that you take your journey deeper into the sea, and not in shallow waters. It’s totally safe, even with a complete beginner, and you can even get a video of your underwater adventure at the end. In bananas, scooters, and parasailing, there’s something more.
Take a cruise trip on the river Karli. It takes you to the location of the sea on the Karli River. The tsunami had elevated an area known as Tsunami Island Beach, full of shacks and water sports operators. Do not eat, just go round the island with its three sides of the sea and a short, wooded hill on the other side with a small beach.
The Devbagh Beach with its most beautiful sunsets is a little far ahead.
Chivla beach is a lovely beach to which you can go, close to the local market. You should even check in a few hotels.
Another draw of the area is the Sindhudurg fort, a little ahead of Tarkarli. It was designed by Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and was an important fortification in the Maratha empire. While a landmark preserved, it is mainly situated in ruins as in other Maharashtra naval fortresses. It’s, however, an utterly grammatical position and a dekko worth it. There are ferry lines in the middle of the sea that takes you to the fort, which runs during the day.
Tarkarli vacation without Malvani local food is incomplete.
Fresh fish, chicken, and sol kadi (made with coconut and kokum), for which we perish. The meal is new and not chewy.
You will have more to do if it’s crabs or crowns or surmai. Cut the restaurants out and go to nearby women’s shacks. However, don’t forget to visit Tamhankar’s restaurant for that special dinner. After you reach Mumbai, your taste will remain in your mouth.
