Tarkarli Experience: A drive further north of Goa, and one ends up in this extremely calm and beautiful place called Tarkarli in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. It's only about 130 odd kilometers from Calangute, but took us about 4 hours to reach (including lunch). The route is nice in most parts, but the bad parts are terribly bad. the biggest attraction, or why we even set out to this place was that one can snorkel here. So enthusiastic and short on time as we were, we headed straight to the jetty near the Sindhudurg fort. the Guy charged us 300 rupees a head for snorkeling and a stop over at the fort, which lies in the middle of the sea waters. Another place to visit is the beautiful Chivla beach. the views from the Sindhudurg are breathtaking with the Arabian sea lashing against the walls of the Fort. Snorkeling was an unbelievable sort of experience, where all of us on the boat were left spellbound, gasping for more!! the view of the fish in plenty, the corals and the patience with which the guys there carried it all out was very good. the waters in thsi place were so blue, that i have to say that i have never seena sea more blue!!
Food, sight-seeing and shopping: Malvani food is a must have. since i am a vegetarian, can't say much. but trust me the fish looked extremely tempting. there are plenty small home-stay sort of places in Tarkarli and they all serve authentic Malvani food. The food at the popular MTDC resort however is passable.
Activities & things to do: Snorkeling is a must do here. Next is the boat ride in the backwaters at Deobagh. On the boat ride, one actually gets to go to a point where you can see the sea turning into a backwater, dolphins are also said to be sighted, though we didn't find any. the most beautiful part of this boat ride were the innumerable seagulls we saw on 'Tsunami Island', a piece of land said to have surfaced after the Tsunami.
Travel tips, How to reach, travel warnings etc: One way to approach is drive from Goa (130 kms from Calangute) or from Mumbai (500 kms). the nearest train station is Kudal. trains are available both from Mumbai as well as Goa.
