Vengurla a cleaner and peaceful alternative for Goa

Vengurla in Konkan/Malvan, Maharashtra, is cleaner and peaceful alternative for Goa. Why not a cheaper ?You might guess - well those who holiday like me for peace of mind will give more importance to the first two adjectives.

Why Vengurla and not Goa

Vengurla is a small town next to the Beach flooded state of India - Goa. The scenery which was available in Goa is also available here. Its just one and half hours drive from Goa. Now you might ask me, Whats different then Goa? The beaches are still clean and pristine. The life in Vengurla is still slow and one can experience yummy malvani or konkani sea food dishes here.

Is this the only reason to visit this place -  

Whats more my life partner Abhi is born in this place. Not just that he completed his last three years of school there. So if you think its small town then probably you have to rethink. :D

Jokes apart - our motive was to have 3-4 days beach side vacation. And why not explore unseen Maharashtra being  so called proud maharashtrian.

Where to stay

My brother-in-law Amit Suki localite to that area (who is now settled in Kudal (home town) about 40 minutes drive from Vengurla) recommended us to stay in Hotel Gajalee. He being a hard core foodie, we blindly believed him. Its different story that he himself has turned into restaurateur in Kudal - The Coconut.
Gajalee is located at Vengurla Port / Bandar. Can you imagine getting  Sea facing hotel and restaurant during peak time of December end for just Rs 2500 per night in A/C Room. Again courtesy Amit Suki we got the best sea facing room.  I would say that this place and hotel is clearly under marketed and under rated.

Hotel Gajalee Stay

 They have around 4 sea facing rooms. Best part is that the sea facing side wall is just 2 feet high and rest all is transparent window. If you sleep in the bed, one could see the wide spread sea belt of Vengurla spanning in front of your eyes. Some moments cant be explained more in words for that we have digital camera. The rooms are clean and tidy. They have split A/C.

Hotel Gajalee Food

Awesome surmai and pomfret fry, sol kadhi, shell fish masala. They have chicken starters and mains. however we opted for fish dishes.
Since we were accompanied by our four year old son we ordered room service. They have roof top restaurant on the fourth floor which is worth trying out if you do visit that area.
One could hear the sea waves dashing on the rocks of the port and nothing else.

What to do around Vengurla

Sagar Bunglow - A five star government Bunglow on the edge of the mountain cliff near Vengurla Port. If one can manage booking at this place there is nothing like that. As per sources, its rented out to only Government employees. Normal visitors can climb up the steps and view the sunset from doorsteps of this bunglow. 

Vengurla Port is one of the favorite tourist destinations for all Konkan / Malvan Packages. The Port road is very narrow. And it becomes packed once the tourist vehicles start flocking in at evening. One can enjoy hot Vada pav or only vada at the local hawkers. This followed by the sweet Coconut savories is cherry on top of icing. We do call it Khopracha Wadi. They also offer junk food such as Mumbai Chat etc. Also Icecream. Our son enjoyed his boiled egg along with us.

Vengurla Light house - Since its cliff edge the government has set Light house on top of it. It gets closed at around 5 PM. Its advisable to visit the Light house in the morning as its less sunny. We completed our morning breakfast of omelet and bread at the Vengurla Port local vendor and started our treking to the light house. Yes after climbing the steep stair cases our son did potty on reaching the light house. We also spotted couple of dolphins jumping in the sea water from the edges of the light house area. 

Sagareshwar Beach - The wide stretch of  seashore visible from the Hotel Gajalees windows is known as Sagareshwar Beach. As per the localities its not safe to enjoy swimming in these waters. Since there are frequent under water currents in them. This is not safe. However the beach is clean and too good to just sit back and relax. 

Patkar High School- Last but not the least Patkar high School Vengurla. Its one of the many schools which my husband has attended, while my father in law was being transferred as banker. I have dedicated one full post for the same.

Local Food joints to enjoy

Caution - Park car somewhere outside the main street of town and walk down the small street. Since parking the car in the small bustling streed is not possible. 

• Quality Ice cream Parlour - Its home made fresh icecream which you will send your mouths tastebuds back in the childhood memory lane. Do try out for Cocktail - A combination of milkshake, icecream and fruits. Or might be classy Faluda. 
• Ajobas wada - This is very small room kind of shop in the main street of Vengurla. Was wondering why my husband is praising it so much. Its worth mentioning it in the blog and visiting it too. One would get to taste delicious Bata wada, Sabudana wada and other Bhajis. 
• Sweets and Savouries shop - One can buy all those items from Konkan - Kokam juice syrup, ladoos etc from this shop.
• Misal pav shop - On the way to Sagareshwar beach there is a small food joint which serves delicious misal pav and wadas in the evening.  

Vengurla,Konkan, India

Vengurla, Konkan, India is a hidden gem in Indias western sea coast. Usually tourist all around the world flock to crowded beaches in Goa, India. However if you really want to enjoy stay near sea side and awesome sea food, it makes sense to discover the neighbouring towns near.
Vengurla happens to be one of them. Just relax and enjoy the nature in midst of lush green coconut trees studded sea coast.
Away from the traffic and busy life of city.
There are few beach resorts which have recently sprouted in this area.
Few tour operators in Mumbai, India - have started the Costal Konkan Tours.

Vaghator Fort, Goa

The Vaghator Fort, Goa suddenly shot to international fame and became a hot tourist destination after it being featured in the Bollywood Teen hit Dil Chata hai. I had been to Goa several times before to visit our family deitys temple and wonderful beaches of course. But Vaghator Fort was never a star attraction of our trip. Like other tourist I was also attracted towards the Vaghator Fort due to its newly acquired fame.
After reaching Vaghator Beach, one has to walk along the rightside to reach the foot of the fort. The fort is delapidated structure with hardly any maintainace. Some of the walls and other structures of the fort are still existing. However if proper maintainace is not performed it is soon going to dilapidate.

Video of Vaghator Beach from the Fort:

Vaghator Beach, Goa

Vaghator Beach in Goa, India shot to fame after the Bollywood Movie Dil Chata Hai was released. The movie boasts life of three carefree youth and their trip to Goa. Vaghator Beach and the Vaghator Fort are few of the exotic locations featured in this movie.

I had planned visit to Goa in December 2005 along with my cousin Pallu. Unfortunately due to the sudden Tsunamic attacks my aunty did not allowed us to visit any of the Beaches for couple of days. Some how we managed to convince her and grabbed an opportunity to visit Vaghator Beach in the evening. On reaching the Vaghator Beach, one has to climb down the steep steps and head towards the beach.

Canal at Ibrahimpur Goa

I had chance to visit the Ibrahimpur, Goa Temple during December 2004 along with my cousin Pallavi. The temple hosts a yearly festival to celebrate Dutta Jayanti (Lord Duttas Birthday celebrations. The festival lasts for 3-4 days. The local villagers have lunch offering at the temple. By chance, we happened to visit the temple on same day. After we finished visiting the temple, one of the locals asked us to visit the canal at the back yard of the temple. What we discovered was simply mesmerizing. Lush green paddy fields henced by coconut trees. These were accompanied by some banana trees plantations along the coast of the paddy fields. It was nature at its best. We had nice time exploring the wild for sometime which was followed by hearty lunch at the temple.

Ravalnath Temple - Ibrahimpur Goa

Visit to Goa or Sawantwadi is incomplete without visiting my family deity Lord Ravalnath temple in Goa. Its located in a small village Ibrahimpur, near Goa and Maharashtra Border. This village is around 1 kilometer away from Dodabetta in Goa. The Lord Ravalnaths temple is accompanied by Goddess Sateri Devis temple. There is a huge banyan tree and primary school next to the temple.

Few years back there was only one bus service from Goa Mapusa to reach the temple.
The Bus used to halt for hour and then start its trip to Mapusa again. Over past few years there has been significant changes in the area surrounded by temple. Some shops have sprouted up which offer you colddrinks and some snacks. There is a bus service every hour from Mapusa to Ibrahimpur now.

Click here to watch video of Ravalnath Temple in Ibrahimpur, Goa.

Animal Encounter - 4

During my visit to Goa, I had chance to capture some sea life on the rocks of the Sea shore. Small sea crabs were trying to hold themselves on the sea rocks while the sea waves are dashing on the sea rocks.