Karwar
Imagine a place where mountains rise out of the sea. This is precisely what you will see, if you are in Karwar. The Western Ghats stand out tall in the Arabian Sea. Adding to this already scenic topography, is the wild Kalinadi that enters the sea at Karwar. The backwaters here are beautiful and the estuary of River Kali is rich with fish. The captivating landscape is ringed with rugged hill ranges, thick woods and mysteriously deep valleys. There are 5 islands off the coast of Karwar of which Devbagh is the largest and the most beautiful. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is said to have spend some time here and he penned a poem as well. Karwar is situated on the west coast of Karnataka. The entire coast is beautiful and places like Ullal, Mangalore, Malpe, Maravante, Murudeshar, Gokarna, Belekere & Karwar are all worth a visit. One can plan a road trip from Bangalore to Goa on the West Coast Highway. It would be great.
It was a 3 day weekend, and as Karwar was always there on the mind, we decided to go to Karwar. This place is about 530 kms from Bangalore, and would take about 9 hrs to drive down. As we had only 3 days, we thought that train would be the best option. The sad part is the trains are not there on all days. The only available option for the day we chose to travel out was the Rani Chennamma Express. This is a daily trains and runs from Bangalore to Kolhapur. The train leaves Bangalore City at 9 pm and reaches Hubli at about 6 am, and reaches Londa at 7.30 am. Karwar is 130 kms from Londa. A drive to Karwar in a Suma or a Qualis would take about 4 hrs.
Our train reached Londa at 9 am. As soon as we got out of the station, we found that we were not the only ones wanting to chill out. Londa is the place where people going to Goa, Karwar and Dandeli get off. It is a challenge to bargain with the SUV drivers. The 130 kms distance to Karwar can be covered in 4 hrs time, and it takes that long as the roads are bad. The Ghat roads have several hair pin bends and driving above 40 kms per hour is not advisable. One can hire a SUV for about Rs. 1500. This is the best prize possible.
The route from Londa to Karwar is beautiful. The Ghats roads give a beautiful view of the valleys. You will drive through the Anashi National Park. These forests have tigers, leapords, elephants, bison, chital, bears and a wide variety of birds. We spotted several snakes, peacocks and jungle fowls as we were driving through. The Supa Dam and Reservoir are also on the route. The Supa Reservoir looks very beautiful in the sunlight. The waters are of copper sulphate blue and it looks like a ocean by itself. The Supa Dam is on River Kali that is considered to a very wild river. Hence, a lot of adverture sports like white river rafting, canoeing and kayaking are promoted in the dams backwaters.
The Dandeli Wilderness Camp ( a Jungle Lodges Property ) is about 110 kms from Karwar, and once needs to take the same route through Anashi National Park from Londa to reach Dandeli.
All the wild life freaks can also have a good time. The Bison River Lodge ( a Jungle Lodges Property ) provides accommodation and arranges for safari in the Anashi NP. Animal sighting is common.
The drive to Karwar was strenuous as the roads were full of pot holes. We reached Karwar at about 2 pm. Our journey was complete as we also had a flat tyre to deal on the way. This delayed us by almost an hour, adding to the train delay of 1 and half hours.
What next, we entered Karwar. We crossed the Kali Bridge, the bridge was huge and the water below was of the Kali river estuary or the back waters. The banks were dotted with fishermen’s settlements and there fishing boats tied to the banks. It looked liked a scene from the picture post card.
I had booked accommodation at the Devbagh Beach Resort, which is a Jungle Lodges Property. We were to report at their office in Karwar, which was close to the Bhadra Hotel. As soon as we reported, we were transferred to the Devbagh Resort by a ferry. The ferry ride is for about 15 minutes. Devbagh island is the largest island off the coast of Karwar and is said to be the most beautiful.
As soon as we reached Devbagh, we were completely fresh as soon as we had a look at the surroundings. We had sumptuous lunch. As all of us had private beaches, and as our room was right in front of the sea, a dip into the water was a absolute necessity. We played in the water for about 1 hrs, until we got tired. We also went for the banana boat ride. I did not sit in it, coz I was afraid of waters. I always am. My hubby and the other couple, who accompanied us has great time. My husband has already experienced the banana boat ride earlier, and hence he was bold. Somehow, I could not get myself to do it. May be because I never practiced swimming even though I learnt.
Devbagh beach resort property is beautiful. It has about 5 tents and 10 log huts, all of them, close to the beach, therefore each has its own private beach. You get a personal hammock, this is usually right in front of the room. Food is served in Gol Ghar. There are a lot of activities at the beach resort, at extra cost. The banana boat ride costs INR 250, parasailing – INR 750, canoeing / Kayaking – INR 300, Snorkelling – INR 750, the rate is for one person only. The dolphin cruise is on the house. The resort is in a casuarina grove, and the scenery of the resort from a boat in the sea is beautiful. Behind the resort is a forest. It is very safe and is home to Indian foxes and the 2nd largest butterly in India which is called Southern Bird Wing. I was told that one can walk for about 3 kms into the forest behing, and can reach the other end of the island. The island attached itself to the mainland during low tide.
The beach here is beautiful and it behaves like it is a different person from time to time. In the mornings, the waves are rough. And towards the evenings, during the low tide, the waves disappear and the beach becomes like a shallow lake. Patches of sand appear in the water, as the sea level is low now. Once can keep walking into the sea, and you will still find yourself standing in just knee deep water. This is great place to learn swimming. As this is a estuary, the salinity is also low.
There was nothing on the agenda throughout the day. We could order beers, take a plate of chicken or fish, and sit by the beach, on the relaxing chairs that are provided. The Kali bridge and the town on the other side of the estuary is clearly visible, and the sight is breath-taking. We met lots of other interesting people at Karwar, all of them bitten by the travel bug, to some extent or the other. We shared stories on where we came from, where we went for the previous long weekend, future travel plans, and we shared stories about previous journeys. It was good fun.
The next morning, we woke up early as we had to go to the Dolphin cruise. All of us gathered at the ferry, wore life jackets, and got into the boat. We went into the sea, and got close to another rocky islands, which is supposed to be a regular spot for dolphins. We went there and kept waiting. When the engine of the boat was put off, we realized how rough the sea was. The small boat was swaying in the waves. We were all instructed to sit down. The dolphins never came. One of the couples in the boat told us that he had spotted dolphins the previous day.
After the cruise, we had loads of time, and nothing to do. It was time for a dip in the sea. After playing to our hearts content in the rough sea, I must mention, it is pretty rough in the mornings, we had a bath, eat lunch and started walking into the jungle. My husband had heard some animals fighting in the night. He enquired with the care taker, and the sounds were supposed to be howls of foxes. The foxes were supposed to be harmless and the jungle behind the resort was harmless. We decided to venture inside. But, before that, we walked on the beach for almost a hour, with no one around us, leaving just footprints on the moist sea shore. It was like out of the world.
It was then time for some jungle adventure. We picked up sticks that would give us support and to clear the bushes. We started walking, there were several foot paths, made by the fishermen who live in the nearby fishermens settlements. We could see mountains in the back ground. We spotted a few foxes. They were shy animals and disappeared whenever they spotted us. We found a large patch of grass, it looked like a golf course in the middle of no where. We saw the Southern Bird Wing. It was beautiful. It flew on the top, near the high branches of the trees. It never sat in any place, and hence we could not take a snap of it. It was large, the upper part of the wing had a huge yellow patch on it. The rest of the wings were black. There are lot of eagles. They are fish eating eagles I guess, they are always seen flying low, close to the water surface, swooping down once in a while, obviously to grab a fish.
It was getting dark, and we got out to our room. The care taker confirmed to us, that we have indeed seen the Southern bird wing. We were thrilled.
Devbagh had a beach side barbeque in the evening. It was time again for beer and chatting with friends. We had a great time by the beach side. When it was 9, we had dinner. Then took more beer and went back to the hammock near our room. We had a great time.
The next day, we were to leave Devbagh. We went for the Dolphin cruise in the morning, I thought we may be lucky today. We went back near the same island and remained there for a while. There was another boat, it might have come from another resort. They were looking at some dolphins. We went to the same area. I do not know how many of them were there. We would see a fin glide out and glide back in, every 30 secs. So, I do not know if there was just one of them, or if there were more than one. I felt elated.
We got back to Devbagh, got back into the water, played for a while. Then, we got ready, and we had just enough time to have lunch and leave. We had booked a Sumo to get back to Londa, our train to Bangalore was at 7.30 pm. We had lunch, settled the bills for the water sports, and left the place. We reached Londa at about 6.30 pm and had sufficient time. We passed thru Supa reservoir again. It was evening, there was not much sunlight, and hence the lake looked grey in colour. Never the less, it was beautiful.
We spent all the time in Devbagh beach resort only. In and around Karwar, there are several beautiful places, that you can visit. They are
Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat: The famous Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat, a Baghdadi Saint is a place of tourist interest for pilgrims.
It was a 3 day weekend, and as Karwar was always there on the mind, we decided to go to Karwar. This place is about 530 kms from Bangalore, and would take about 9 hrs to drive down. As we had only 3 days, we thought that train would be the best option. The sad part is the trains are not there on all days. The only available option for the day we chose to travel out was the Rani Chennamma Express. This is a daily trains and runs from Bangalore to Kolhapur. The train leaves Bangalore City at 9 pm and reaches Hubli at about 6 am, and reaches Londa at 7.30 am. Karwar is 130 kms from Londa. A drive to Karwar in a Suma or a Qualis would take about 4 hrs.
Our train reached Londa at 9 am. As soon as we got out of the station, we found that we were not the only ones wanting to chill out. Londa is the place where people going to Goa, Karwar and Dandeli get off. It is a challenge to bargain with the SUV drivers. The 130 kms distance to Karwar can be covered in 4 hrs time, and it takes that long as the roads are bad. The Ghat roads have several hair pin bends and driving above 40 kms per hour is not advisable. One can hire a SUV for about Rs. 1500. This is the best prize possible.
The route from Londa to Karwar is beautiful. The Ghats roads give a beautiful view of the valleys. You will drive through the Anashi National Park. These forests have tigers, leapords, elephants, bison, chital, bears and a wide variety of birds. We spotted several snakes, peacocks and jungle fowls as we were driving through. The Supa Dam and Reservoir are also on the route. The Supa Reservoir looks very beautiful in the sunlight. The waters are of copper sulphate blue and it looks like a ocean by itself. The Supa Dam is on River Kali that is considered to a very wild river. Hence, a lot of adverture sports like white river rafting, canoeing and kayaking are promoted in the dams backwaters.
The Dandeli Wilderness Camp ( a Jungle Lodges Property ) is about 110 kms from Karwar, and once needs to take the same route through Anashi National Park from Londa to reach Dandeli.
All the wild life freaks can also have a good time. The Bison River Lodge ( a Jungle Lodges Property ) provides accommodation and arranges for safari in the Anashi NP. Animal sighting is common.
The drive to Karwar was strenuous as the roads were full of pot holes. We reached Karwar at about 2 pm. Our journey was complete as we also had a flat tyre to deal on the way. This delayed us by almost an hour, adding to the train delay of 1 and half hours.
What next, we entered Karwar. We crossed the Kali Bridge, the bridge was huge and the water below was of the Kali river estuary or the back waters. The banks were dotted with fishermen’s settlements and there fishing boats tied to the banks. It looked liked a scene from the picture post card.
I had booked accommodation at the Devbagh Beach Resort, which is a Jungle Lodges Property. We were to report at their office in Karwar, which was close to the Bhadra Hotel. As soon as we reported, we were transferred to the Devbagh Resort by a ferry. The ferry ride is for about 15 minutes. Devbagh island is the largest island off the coast of Karwar and is said to be the most beautiful.
As soon as we reached Devbagh, we were completely fresh as soon as we had a look at the surroundings. We had sumptuous lunch. As all of us had private beaches, and as our room was right in front of the sea, a dip into the water was a absolute necessity. We played in the water for about 1 hrs, until we got tired. We also went for the banana boat ride. I did not sit in it, coz I was afraid of waters. I always am. My hubby and the other couple, who accompanied us has great time. My husband has already experienced the banana boat ride earlier, and hence he was bold. Somehow, I could not get myself to do it. May be because I never practiced swimming even though I learnt.
Devbagh beach resort property is beautiful. It has about 5 tents and 10 log huts, all of them, close to the beach, therefore each has its own private beach. You get a personal hammock, this is usually right in front of the room. Food is served in Gol Ghar. There are a lot of activities at the beach resort, at extra cost. The banana boat ride costs INR 250, parasailing – INR 750, canoeing / Kayaking – INR 300, Snorkelling – INR 750, the rate is for one person only. The dolphin cruise is on the house. The resort is in a casuarina grove, and the scenery of the resort from a boat in the sea is beautiful. Behind the resort is a forest. It is very safe and is home to Indian foxes and the 2nd largest butterly in India which is called Southern Bird Wing. I was told that one can walk for about 3 kms into the forest behing, and can reach the other end of the island. The island attached itself to the mainland during low tide.
The beach here is beautiful and it behaves like it is a different person from time to time. In the mornings, the waves are rough. And towards the evenings, during the low tide, the waves disappear and the beach becomes like a shallow lake. Patches of sand appear in the water, as the sea level is low now. Once can keep walking into the sea, and you will still find yourself standing in just knee deep water. This is great place to learn swimming. As this is a estuary, the salinity is also low.
There was nothing on the agenda throughout the day. We could order beers, take a plate of chicken or fish, and sit by the beach, on the relaxing chairs that are provided. The Kali bridge and the town on the other side of the estuary is clearly visible, and the sight is breath-taking. We met lots of other interesting people at Karwar, all of them bitten by the travel bug, to some extent or the other. We shared stories on where we came from, where we went for the previous long weekend, future travel plans, and we shared stories about previous journeys. It was good fun.
The next morning, we woke up early as we had to go to the Dolphin cruise. All of us gathered at the ferry, wore life jackets, and got into the boat. We went into the sea, and got close to another rocky islands, which is supposed to be a regular spot for dolphins. We went there and kept waiting. When the engine of the boat was put off, we realized how rough the sea was. The small boat was swaying in the waves. We were all instructed to sit down. The dolphins never came. One of the couples in the boat told us that he had spotted dolphins the previous day.
After the cruise, we had loads of time, and nothing to do. It was time for a dip in the sea. After playing to our hearts content in the rough sea, I must mention, it is pretty rough in the mornings, we had a bath, eat lunch and started walking into the jungle. My husband had heard some animals fighting in the night. He enquired with the care taker, and the sounds were supposed to be howls of foxes. The foxes were supposed to be harmless and the jungle behind the resort was harmless. We decided to venture inside. But, before that, we walked on the beach for almost a hour, with no one around us, leaving just footprints on the moist sea shore. It was like out of the world.
It was then time for some jungle adventure. We picked up sticks that would give us support and to clear the bushes. We started walking, there were several foot paths, made by the fishermen who live in the nearby fishermens settlements. We could see mountains in the back ground. We spotted a few foxes. They were shy animals and disappeared whenever they spotted us. We found a large patch of grass, it looked like a golf course in the middle of no where. We saw the Southern Bird Wing. It was beautiful. It flew on the top, near the high branches of the trees. It never sat in any place, and hence we could not take a snap of it. It was large, the upper part of the wing had a huge yellow patch on it. The rest of the wings were black. There are lot of eagles. They are fish eating eagles I guess, they are always seen flying low, close to the water surface, swooping down once in a while, obviously to grab a fish.
It was getting dark, and we got out to our room. The care taker confirmed to us, that we have indeed seen the Southern bird wing. We were thrilled.
Devbagh had a beach side barbeque in the evening. It was time again for beer and chatting with friends. We had a great time by the beach side. When it was 9, we had dinner. Then took more beer and went back to the hammock near our room. We had a great time.
The next day, we were to leave Devbagh. We went for the Dolphin cruise in the morning, I thought we may be lucky today. We went back near the same island and remained there for a while. There was another boat, it might have come from another resort. They were looking at some dolphins. We went to the same area. I do not know how many of them were there. We would see a fin glide out and glide back in, every 30 secs. So, I do not know if there was just one of them, or if there were more than one. I felt elated.
We got back to Devbagh, got back into the water, played for a while. Then, we got ready, and we had just enough time to have lunch and leave. We had booked a Sumo to get back to Londa, our train to Bangalore was at 7.30 pm. We had lunch, settled the bills for the water sports, and left the place. We reached Londa at about 6.30 pm and had sufficient time. We passed thru Supa reservoir again. It was evening, there was not much sunlight, and hence the lake looked grey in colour. Never the less, it was beautiful.
We spent all the time in Devbagh beach resort only. In and around Karwar, there are several beautiful places, that you can visit. They are
Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat: The famous Dargah of Peer Shan Shamsuddin Kharobat, a Baghdadi Saint is a place of tourist interest for pilgrims.
Naganatha Temple : Naganatha Temple is a Temple where an anthill is worshipped.
Karwar Harbour: The Karwar bay, apart from its scenic beauty, also boasts of an excellent harbour which is fit for use during all seasons.
Binaga Beach (3kms) and Arga Beach (5kms) south of the town.
River Kalinadi : The river Kalinadi, flows through the town into the Arabian sea. Motor launches are available for boating up the river Kali.
Muslin Factory : Karwar town is known for its fine muslin. The muslin industry was started in 1638, by Sir. William Counten, who opened a factory here.
Kurmagad Island : The Kurmagad Island nearby has an old fort and a Narasimha shrine, worth a visit.
There are a lot of other places around Karwar that are beautiful. If you have more time on your hands you can go to these places as well. They are Ankola ( 37 kms ), Jog falls ( 50 kms ), Gokarna ( 56 kms ), Yana ( 60 kms ), Ulavi ( 75 kms ).
We did not visit any of the above places, as the agenda was to basically sack out at Devbagh. On the 3rd day in the noon, we had a sumptuous meal, and left the resort. It took 4 hrs by a Tata Sumo to reach Londa railway stations. We boarded the train at 7 pm, and were back at garden city Bangalore at 7 am the next morning
Getting There :
By Road : South Goa Border - 10 kms, Panaji 135 kms , Mumbai – 500 kms, Bangalore – 530 kms, Londa – 130 kms, Dandeli – 110 kms.
By Rail – Karwar – 7 kms. This is the main station on the Konkan Railway, Londa – 130 kms, Madgain – 100 kms
By Air – Dabolim – Goa – 90 kms
Local Transport – Autos, Ferries
Trip Duration – 3 to 5 days
Best time to travel – Winters. October to February. The SW monsoon season is to be avoided.
Accomodation :
Devbagh Beach Resort, Opposite Bhadra Hostel, Kodibagh, Karwar, Uttara Kannada – 581 301Tel: 0838-226596, 080-5597021, 24, 25 (Corporate Off), Fax: 080-5586163(Corporate Off)e-mail: junglelodges@vsnl.com, Web site: http://www.junglelodges.com/
Tariff: Log huts: Indians: Rs. 1500/- and , Rs. 1350/- for subsequent nights
The Great Outdoors : (Reservations for Kurumgad Island to be made here) , Vanashree Building, NH 17,Near Toll Gate, Sadashivgad, Karwar, Uttara Kannada – 581 301Tel: 0838-265397, 9844042152, 9845215152e-mail: thegreatoutdoors200@yahoo.com, Web site: http://www.thegreatoutdoorsindia.com/Tariff range: Rs. 750/- to Rs. 1100
Hotel Bhadra, NH 17 Road, Near Kali Bridge, Kodibag, Karwar, Uttara Kannada – 581 303Tel: 0838-225212, 13; 225412, 225765, Fax: 0838-225613Tariff range: Rs. 250/- to Rs. 700/-
There is no shortage of hotels in Karwar mainland. But, if you want a great beach holiday experience with ‘stay in island’ kind of experience with lots of water sports, then, you have to choose Devbagh or Great Outdoor.
posted by Sandhya Reddy at 2:26 AM
