Weekend à Khandala

À MALWAN

                                                                                                                           By Vaish & Amu

ENLIGHTENMENT

Here we are, with yet another of our Maharashtra’s Travel attraction, a place that’s Marvelous, Attractive, Lovely, Versatile, Addictive, and also very Natural. Confused? just collect the first letters, that’s right, MALVAN. It is a place that offers you various options of not only beaches, to chill out, but also forts to explore the past, plus the local cuisine, just yumm!

It’s a beautiful town located in Sindhudurg district which happens to be the Southernmost district of Maharashtra state. The climate here is generally warm and moderately humid. The people are very kindhearted, generally do Fishing and enjoy a staple diet of fish curry and rice. The town is well known for its Alphonso mangoes and also ‘Malvani Khaja’ (a sweet made from gram-besan and coated jaggery), ‘Ambavadi’ (A cubical cake of mango flavor) dry fruits, 'Naral wadi' (A sweet made from coconuts).

So, not long back ago, I was lucky enough to have received a chance to be with a group of working professionals who had planned a short trip to Malvan. The peculiarities of this place always get you to  wish to get a chance to visit this place and experience it for real, something that has in it a variety of options to present depending on your interests. The main highlights here are Sindhudurg fort, Tarkarli beach, Tondavali beach, Deobaug beach, Chiwala beach, Bhogawe beach, the well-known Lord Ganesha temple and many more. Who wouldn’t want to be here, right?

Therefore, being a travel freak, I was really excited to explore the place and our journey was to start on the night of 1^st June 2019.

CHAPTER 1: The Commencement & Midnight Tea

 Midnight tea break

We had kept aside almost 4 days for this trip of ours and it was supposed to start on the night 1^st June 2019. We all had gathered in ‘Sanghavi’ area of Pune. It was a group of 17 people who didn’t happen to know each other in the beginning but again, that was another excitement for us as most of us being new to each other, had a good chance to start and bond nicely. The journey being long, lasting for almost a night we had enough time to get along. So to sum up, it was a new day of a new month with new people around and with something new planned along, it was going to be a blast!

It was 23:00 when finally our bus started from our inception point with the chant of “Ganpati bappa, moraya!” (Lord Ganesha, bless us), this is mandatory for us Indians as we always remember our Lord almighty before anything important. We finally got relieved and started the journey by introducing ourselves to each other. The people were really polite and down-to-earth and within no time we had already gotten along! Just like every other journey, ours was also accompanied by songs, along with which there was singing, dancing, laughter it was all like a school picnic and for those moments we had almost forgotten the world outside.

The fun was just in process when we realized that it was midnight but no one was actually in a mood to rest so to continue with the amusement and for being fully energized, it was time for a Tea Break, that’s right at midnight! Our driver being well aware of the route, stopped by a good eatery on our request. It was cool outside, the road was dark. The security guards of the hotel had made a Bonfire just outside the hotel, It was like a cool treat planned for us, a cool breezy night, we, standing next to a bonfire taking sips of our hot tea, chatting, teasing, and also making fun of each other. We even had a session of sharing some horror stories to each other, just to scare the ones who would easily get scared, it was fun!! After a 15 – 20 min break our journey proceeded further. It was a long and exciting night for us as we were in full mood and didn’t waste even a single minute sitting idle!

                                                                                               Sunrise 

CHAPTER 2: The Arrival and Welcome:

Morning At Malwan

Good morning! or should I say the best one, which started at 08:00 for us as we reached ‘Tarkarli’. As Malvan is famous for its beaches & sea, we had booked a sea facing hotel ‘Sumati Sagar’. It was a beautiful hotel located exactly at the beach which is owned by a Retired IPS Mr. Ramchandra Kubal. The ambiance seemed to be really appealing and also the staff was quite courteous and they were taking good care of us. Our rooms were all clean like new where we took some rest for a while and after some time, got freshened up, our breakfasts were already arranged at the table. The delicious 'malvani' cuisine, almost had our mouth-watering. As Rice is primarily preferred over there being available in abundance, they Malvani food normally consists of rice as a mandatory ingredient with coconut chutney, also Non-Vegetarians are attracted most towards fish and curries.

                                                                                    Sumati Sagar Special

 Moving on, after a good & complete breakfast it was time for us to step out and head towards our first milestone:

 CHAPTER 3: Sindhudurg Fort

                                                                                           Sindhdurga Fort

This rocky marvel standing upright with pride in the Sea, was built by the great Maratha Leader Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 16^th century. It is spread in the area of almost 49 acres. It is one of the most preserved forts of the Maratha empire. One can get there by means of a boat which charges around Rs. 90 to 100 for adults and Rs. 50 for Kids. One of the many reasons that makes this fort stand apart uniquely is its door and the way inside, as it was designed in such a way that it confuses any one and makes it difficult for him / her to find its location once entered! Having some idea of the fort we figured it would be better to hire a local person who would guide us properly through the fort and also we didn’t want to keep wandering around! It was an economical deal as the guide costed us just Rs. 500 for the group. It took us almost 2 hours to explore here and every single thing that we saw didn’t fail to surprise us as every minute detail had been taken care of so intelligently which really showed us one of the reasons why Shivaji Maharaj was such a great leader. Even the palm and foot prints of Shivaji Maharaj are preserved till today which is worth a watch, it literally makes you feel the presence of the Great Leader as you get goosebumps watching those. As I am a true admirer of Shivaji Maharaj I may have been the happiest among us to have visited the Fort. This historical Heritage is surely a must watch for anyone who gives a visit here, it took us almost 2 hours to explore the fort and after we were done, we headed towards the ROCK GARDEN which is hardly 10 mins from Sindhudurg. 

                                                                                            Rock Garden

We were a bit tired, so we decided to chill out for a while there. The garden is very well maintained and it’s the best place to watch sunset because it leads to the Rocky areas near to the sea where you can sit calmly and enjoy the view of the sea water sparkling due to the rays of sun, almost feels like the presence of diamonds floating on the water! Just have a glass of some of your favorite refreshment by your side, calmness in your mind and eyes on the shore, such peace!

Later we came back to our hotel for a tea break as it was close by, they had kept our evening Tea ready on our prior intimation which again, made us realize how lucky we were to have got a chance to enjoy such prompt service. Indians being crazy for Tea or “Chai” as we say (“Chai” being close to our Heart as “Tea” doesn’t give you that feeling of satisfaction!!), we often are very emotional about it, such that we can’t skip it even once in a day, mornings and evenings being the default ones! 

Rock Garden View

After our short break as we were gazing at the Tarkarli beach, we decided to go back where we enjoyed a lot, took lots of photographs, danced in the sea water while songs being played on our portable speaker which we had carried. After this going on for almost for some while, we had gotten really tired and decided to wrap it up for the day, we returned to our hotel, had our special malvani dinner and went to bed remembering a lot of memorable moments of the day and with excitement of the next day!

 Tarkarli Beach

                                                                                             Bhogwe Beach

   CHAPTER 3: Tsunami Island

I    I don’t mean to brag here but a spot like this can be very rarely found and we were lucky that Malvan had it in store for us. Tsunami Island as it is popularly called but it’s nothing like its name, in fact it’s quite calm and popular among the tourists. For reaching there we had hired 2 boats for our group which originated from Deobaugh Beach and they costed us Rs. 800 per boat. It generally takes an hour to reach the Island, but on the way you are often greeted by the Dolphins jumping in and out of the water, that spot is known as Dolphin Point. It’s indeed a treat to watch them!

                                                                                              Boat Ride

As we reached there we saw many local people selling various food items which contained the local famous cuisine like ‘Ghawan’ as they call it there made of rice along with ‘coconut chutney’ and also a fist sized MODAK (a sweet dumpling) and some were with the snacks known to us like misal pav, maggi, etc. both being equally delicious but as misal and maggi being well known to us we tried the malwani breakfast just for a change and it didn’t fail to amaze us as it was so delicious. Also, to describe something out of the box, being on a small island, the chair on which you sit to have your breakfast, often has its legs in the Sea water as the waves approach the shore, the scene just adds to your thrill, yea, exactly like you’re imagining it right now! So, after being satiated by the breakfast, we decided to join the local people in the games they were playing like Cricket, Football etc. even they agreed to add us in, it was fun and also nostalgic as now being working professionals we were no longer able to pursue our interest in Games being so busy in our lives that day we actually just gave it all and to our surprise we still hadn’t lost our touch with the games we enjoyed it a lot. It was a really refreshing! Further we went on to try some amazing water sports, boating, Paragliding, Banana rides, Jet ski to name a few . It was an adventurous day for us as almost everything that came our way was better than before, we were just going with the flow and having our fun!

  

                                                                                          Boat House

                                                                                        Tsunami Island

     After a long day we decided to get back to Devobaugh Beach with the same boat that we had come in, again after a journey of an hour we reached our hotel, got freshened up and went to explore the local market for some shopping and souvenirs.

   Devbagh Beach

                                                                                        Chiwla Beach

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      CHAPTER 4: Jai Ganesha temple

                                                                                        Jay Ganesh Temple

This place initially wasn’t on our list but came to our understanding as we were casually talking to one of the care takers of our hotel, he suggested us to visit here as people here have a great belief on this temple and he insisted us to give a visit here. So as per our received inputs we left for the temple, it took us just 20 mins to reach there. It turned out to be exactly like we had heard about it, in fact, the visuals were better! It was built by the holy principles of architecture, the beautiful Ganesha idol placed in the temple is of pure gold having the traditional pose with Riddhi and Siddhi at their side. This holy sanctum is carved with the eight idols of Lord Ganesha which makes you feel that you are being watched by him as you pray from every corner. The fourth day of ‘Magh’ month is celebrated as the anniversary day of the Temple. The best time to visit the temple is the early morning of Makar Sankrant when the ambience of the Temple is at its best as the Sunlight falls on the Idol and it starts to shine in the rays of sun, almost as if it is being bathed by sunlight! To sum up, the place seems to be really calm and you feel relaxed as you visit. This Temple is now become a must watch for every traveler.

  CHAPTER 5: The wrap up:

I would like to advise you to give this place a try and witness all the things that you were imagining while reading this blog, I’m sure you would love it. It’s a complete place for Travelers and Foodies, you would get tired but the place won’t!

Travel responsibly

Lastly again, I would like to advice the readers as whenever you guys visit such a place always keep its cleanliness intact and try not to litter around as the nature can be best enjoyed only in its natural form. Also as we normally happen to see when we visit any tourist place, couple names are written on the walls, it is my sincere request to all to kindly avoid doing such things also stop someone if you see him / her doing so, as our places that we love to visit are also our pride and such things don’t leave a good mark on the visitors and also Foreigners who travel down to our country to explore it.