This summer I decided to make a road trip with my best friend to one of the most popular holiday destinations in Maharashtra, Tarkarli. Tarkali is a small village located in the Sindhudurg district of Maharashtra. It is around 546kms away from Mumbai and it took us about 12 hours by road to reach Tarkarli. This district of Sindhudurg is filled with pristine beaches that are barely 2-3 kms away from each other.
Since it is a village, we found many homestays that offered AC as well as non Ac rooms. There is also an MTDC at Tarkarli which is a beach front resort that has cottages right on the beach. We lived at a homestay resort which was just 5 mins away from Tarkarli beach. The people there were very warm and pleasant. The homestay places offer home cooked Malvan food which is just delicious. Most of the resorts and home stays in Tarkarli and Malvan follow a thali system. If you are a fan of sea food, you will not be disappointed. They always serve fresh catch cooked by the locals in their specially prepared masalas. Wherever you go, please try the Fried Prawns. They will leave you wanting for more.
On our second day we decided to go to Devbaugh beach for some water sports. Devabugh is barely 2kms away from Tarkarli. Devbaugh offers a boat tour which takes you to see a few places like the Tsunami Island, Bhogvati beach, Golden rock etc.
Tsunami Island is a hub to a variety of water sports like bumper ride, banana boat, jet ski,para sailing, kayaking that are available in packages at reasonable prices. What distinguishes Tarkarli from the other beaches in Maharashtra is that the beaches there are so clean that they offer scuba diving and snorkeling. We went there a day late and that is why we missed our chance to go scuba diving however the best time to go scuba diving would be from September to mid May. It is only during this time, that the sea water is clear and if you are lucky, you may get to see a few dolphins too! Yes, you read right. Tarkarli also offers Dolphin safari.
On the third day we went for a tour of Shivaji's famous fort, the Sindhudurg fort. Sindhudurg is about 3 kms away from Tarkarli. This glorious Sindhudurg fort is situated at the middle of the sea on a rocky island Kurte. The fort houses a few hereditary families and therefore we found a few houses and temples inside. As we went deeper inside we found ourselves isolated from everyone and we realized how beautiful the whole place is! The walls of the fort have steps attached to them which allow you to climb the borders of the fort. Once you do that, you will witness a breathtaking view of the blue ocean surrounding the entire fort and that view is just remarkable. For miles and miles you will only see the clear blue sea and sky. After lunch we headed to a place called Rock Garden. Rock garden is like a park with swings and slides and some benches to sit on. However, once we walked towards the end of it, we found a large number of rocks just before the sea. We sat on these ginormous rocks and enjoyed the view of the sea and the sound of the waves crashing these rocks.
I had the best time even though our trip lasted for 4 days only. There is nothing like laying on the beach with the sound of the waves hitting the shore, the sun shining down on your skin and the peace and quiet of the wind! If you love beaches and you are looking for a relaxed vacation, Tarkarli is the place for you!
Tarkali beach is one of the best beaches that i have ever been to! This beach is so quiet and peaceful that you can hear your own thoughts!
Kinara offers AC and Non Ac rooms and it is just 5 mins away from Tarkali beach and 10 or 15 mins away from Devbaugh and Malvan
Sindhudurg fort is one of the most famous forts built by Shivaji located on an island on the middle of the sea. You have to take a ferry from the Malvan pier in order to reach the fort.
