A b-e-a-utiful beach
This is a travelogue of my recent trip to Tarkarli Beach(Sindhudurg, Maharashtra).
Vital Stats of the trip(Pune-Tarkarli-Pune):
Travelled by : Road; driving WagonR(Duo)
Total Distance covered : 976 KM(round trip)
Distance(Pune–Tarkarli–Pune): 880 KM
Route taken: Pune – Satara – Kolhapur – Nipani(Karnataka) – Gadhinglaj(Maharashtra) – Azara – Amboli – Sawantwadi – Kudal – Malvan – Tarkarli
Travel time(one way): 7-8 hours
Tolls(one way): INR 187/-(45+25+46+46+25)
Places visited / Activities: Tarkarli Beach, Deobag, Malvan, Sindhudurg Fort, Snorkeling, boat ride, beach walks, Bharadi-Devi Temple, Hotel Chaitanya, Hotel Swami(Malvan), Hotel Swami Samarth(Tarkarli), beach cricket, camp fire on the beach, star gazing
Tarkarli one of the best Beaches along the Konkan coast located at 7 KM. from Malvan is fast becoming a hot tourist destination. The whole area is very beautiful and is situated at the mouth of Karli River. Tarkarli has an excellent whitish sand beach and you will definitely fall in love with this beach. Tarkarli beach is on the western coastline of Maharashtra making the sunsets an awe-inspiring affair. MTDC has very good resort and there are many other resorts like Gajanan, Soham, Seaview, Sagar Sangam with well appointed rooms and / or tents. There are many bed& breakfast kind of home accommodations too available and one can get the details of these from the MTDC website. One should do a bit of a research on the net to find about various accommodation options. While contacting a resort, ensure to ask if they are on the beach. Some mention ‘beach resort’ in the name but are NOT really on / by the beach. TripAdvisor, HolidayIq, Mouthshut, Nivalink, etc have some good options and reviews for accommodation in Tarkarli.
Tarkarli is fast becoming a destination being visited by Indian and international tourists. The nearby Deobag beach is also very beautiful. It is best to avoid the summer and monsoon seasons when visiting Tarkarli(and most other coastal destinations in Konkan, Maharashtra).
I recently visited Tarkarli beach and stayed there for 6 days. I finalized the route based on internet research of various travelogues and blogs and also based on discussions with first hand travellers to Tarkarli and locals. Travelling by this route, one will exit Maharashtra in to Karnataka around Nipani and after 35-40 KM get back in to Maharashtra around Gadhinglaj. I am glad I took the route mentioned above. For one, the entire route does not have much traffic and the road is good for the most part. I strongly recommend this route for travellers by road from Pune to Tarkarli and back. There are some other routes too like via Gagan-Bawda from Kolhapur through Fonda Ghat or via Mahabaleshwar through Mumbai-Goa highway. I was told that both these routes has heavy traffic and not very scenic.
Quick Food Tips:
Try fish thalis at Hotel Chaitanya with unlimited Solkadhi and rice
One should avoid individual(A La Carte) items as this works out quite costly. For example: the Surmai thali(1 large piece of fried Surmai, Bangda curry, fish pickle, 2 chapatties, unlimited solkadhi & rice) costs INR 150 but if you order just fried Surmai(1 big piece) it will cost INR 155 or more.
The oysters(Kalva) at Hotel Chaitanya are worth a shot.
Food at Hotel Swami is just fine; nothing to rave about.
Buy Malvani masalas and chilli powder at Deolkar’s in Malvan market
Try the Chilli-Lemon-Ginger ice-cream(INR 25 for a slice) at Aroskar’s
Avoid food at Hotel Kaveri(25 KM after Nipani toll).