Apr 13, 2008 08:53 PM
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In keeping with our long-time desire of visiting Tarkarli, we booked three Konkani Houses(for three families) for a two-day stay(early April, 2008). Here, I must mention the excellent services rendered to us by Mr. Patki of Snehsagar Enterprises, Navi Mumbai(a booking agency of MTDC).
The drive to Tarkarli:
Vashi(11 pm) - Kalamboli - Pune(via Expressway) - Katraj Bypass - Satara - Karad - Kolhapur(5 am) - Panhala - Malkapur - Sakharpa - Pali - Lanja - Rajapur - Talere - Kankavli - Kasal - Malvan - Tarkarli(12 noon): 625 km, 12 hrs with comfortable rest spans. The road from Vashi to Kolhapur is an excellent NH-4 Toll Road(Rs. 285). Enter Kolhapur city and use SH-204 for the Kolhapur - Pali stretch - it is only twists and turns, but the road is quite ok. At Pali, turn left onto NH-17. The stretch from Pali to Kasal(NH-17) has five small ghats, but the road is undivided, and has only 2 lanes. Kasal to Malvan(30 km) is off the highway, and the road quality is average. Malvan to Tarkarli is 6 km - narrow, winding roads lined with small houses, bungalows and gardens. The way to the MTDC Resort is well marked from Malvan - nice little boards have been put up, otherwise its quite easy to get lost.
The MTDC Resort:
Bang on the beach - that is the ONLY good thing about this place, other than the food they prepare. The staff is not courteous, nor is any customer service mechanism in place. They seem least interested in the making your stay a memorable one. The'sarkari' stamp is visible on every move they make. Broken taps, non-functional ACs, non-working gensets - you name it and they have it! Bring it to their notice and you can see an air of nonchalance about it. The restaurant there has been let out to a private contractor - excellent food, but again, very poor service! Ask the waiter to pour out the Fresh Lime Soda into two glasses from one, and he'll give you instructions on how YOU could do it! And when a particular cook is on leave, there is no Punjabi food! So one must be ready to eat whatever is on the "Available" list. And there are no other resaturants around, so you're stuck with this one!
Dishes we liked: Veg Thali, Bhindi Masala, Dal Tadka, Veg Biryani, Tomato Rice, Jeera Rice, Pomfret Fry, Ghavan - all excellent! Fairly large helpings, and reasonably priced, too.
The Houseboat:
Lesser known, but MTDC has two houseboats at Tarkarli, anchored in the creek, about 3 km from the Resort. Excellent for a one-day(overnight) stay. As expected, you need to make your own arrangements to get there(no transfers by MTDC). The houseboats were only 4 months old when we visited, but the rot seemed to have set in here, too. Non-functional taps, whimsical ACs, non-working lamps.the saving grace was the food and the staff. The boys were good at their work, and cook excellent fare for the guests. The houseboat takes you for a 2-hour round of the creek in th evening, and another in the morning. Overnight, you're anchored at the Deobag Jetty, a nice place with lots of green around. The two rooms of the houseboat(with a viewing deck) cost us Rs. 7, 100 each(including taxes) and each extra guest paid Rs. 1, 000 extra. Another option is the houseboat without the deck, at about Rs. 6, 300 per room, all inclusive.
The Drive Back:
Very comfortable - we took a different route on the way back - Tarkarli(10 am) - Malvan - Kasal - Kankavli - Talere - Vaibhavwadi - Gaganbavda - Kale - Kolhapur(2 pm) - Karad - Satara - Pune(6 pm) - Kalamboli - Vashi(9 pm): 540 km, 11 hrs with generous rest spans. From Kasal, take NH-17 towards Mumbai. At Talere, turn right to Vaibhavwadi and further down, you reach the Karul Ghat - quite a long one, but has excellent roads and the traffic is sparse. The view from the top has to be seen to be believed! From here onwards, lots of soothing sunflower fields on either side - right upto Kolhapur. Break for lunch at Gokul(Kolhapur), and we drove to Navi Mumbai on the Pune-Bangalore Expressway(NH-4) to reach home in time for dinner. I would recommend this route - its better and shorter than the one we took while going to Tarkarli.
The Vehicles:
We used a Tata Indigo CS and a Tata Indica, both were the diesel variants. The Indigo returned 17.5 km/litre, and the Indica did about 15 km/litre. Both vehicles had 3 adults and 2 kids, and LOTS of luggage! A lot of people would prefer to use the train(Kudal is the nearest station - 45 kms from Tarkarli), which is also not a bad idea, since it cuts down on travel time. But for those who enjoy their drive and treat it as part of the holiday, the road is good and does not tire out the driver. While going, we drove overnight, and still enjoyed the whole day with just a small nap in the evening!
One last warning - lots of ghats, big and small, on the way and back - those who need them, keep your Avomin tablets handy!
Summary:*
Nice for a medium sized group to travel. Make your bookings in advance, as MTDC is in demand, but has only 20 Konkani houses here. Nice place to visit, with its clear pristine waters and refreshing breeze. The only two things that you should know: 1 - enjoy yourself, and 2 - demand what is rightful from the guys at MTDC.
