Bringing in 2010 along the Konkan coast. Part I - Diveagar and Tarkarli

The Konkan coast being one of the most beautiful driving routes in India and Goa being the New Year hot spot, a plan for a 4 day road trip starting in Bombay, with stops in Diveagar & Tarkarli and ending in Goa was hatched.

Decked up camels at Diveagar Beach!

Bombay to Goa is slightly under 600 Km and if you start early in the day and have two people (three would be ideal) taking turns driving, this can be covered in about 12 hours so a stopover isn't necessary. We started in the late afternoon so took a slight detour at Diveagar for the night. The most common accommodation options at Diveagar are  homes turned into hostel-style rooms for rent. We stayed at Hotel Pinakin which turned out to be pretty basic but in and around New Year's time it was our only option. There's not much to do in Diveagar, the beach is supposed to a charming, peaceful one but we found it to be quite crowded not only with people but camels and horses too!

We started early the next day to Tarkarli, a fishing village in Sindhudurg district, recommended by a friend's friend especially for scuba-diving since the waters near Sindhudurg fort are supposed to be very clear. Because we hadn't heard much about Tarkarli we weren't sure of what we'd find but the recommendation turned out to be one of the best ones given. Quaint, off the tourist map with a beautiful beach and with backwaters reminding one of Kerala, Tarkarli was quite the find. To make things better our hotel - Saagar Sangam - was amazing, the rooms were beautifully furnished and full length glass windows opened up into the balcony to make the best of the view. Situated on Tarkarli creek, it's backyard opens up right onto the river, from where you can just hop on a motor boat for a ride upto the point where the river meets the sea. The staff is friendly enough to serve you ice-cold fresh lime sodas while you're lazing about in the backyard!

View from a  river-facing room in Saagar Sangam, Tarkarli

After our lime sodas we casually strolled off the backyard into a waiting boat for a ride on the river and saw another incredible sight - two big houseboats bobbing along the river. These are another Tarkarli specialty.  
In the middle of the river is a  sand bar sliver which, innovatively, doubles up as a refreshment stop and a general scenic point. The waters around it are crystal clear so even if you're not thirsty it's worth a stop. 

Sand 'Bar'!

Next stop was scuba-diving near Sindhudurg fort. The fort itself is also worth a visit and is a short boat ride away from the beach. Some local guides will take you for a walk around the fort and tell you the history, but you can also explore it yourself quite easily. The scuba-diving, for which Tarkarli is fast becoming famous, was reported to be also fantastic (I didn't go for it, a friend did), with the only problem being that the instructor is sort of tied along with you because of safety reasons. I'm not sure if they do that only for first time divers or for everyone.

In short it was worth every minute of the day and a half we spent there. So much so that we were very tempted to continue lazing around in the backyard, gazing out to the river and not go to our next destination - Goa - at all!