DEVBAGH- A HIDDEN JEWEL

After spending a day in Malvan, our next destination was Devbagh. If you haven’t read my post on Malvan, go do it now!

Devbagh means God’s Garden. That’s because the local villagers say this island was a no-man’s land before. Shiv temples were built here first and later on people inhabited the island.

ABOUT DEVBAGH:

Devbagh is a peninsula where the Karli river flows on one side and on another side there’s the Arabian Sea. The villagers enjoy the view of backwaters as well as the sea. How lucky! I wish I could own one of these houses and whenever I wanted to run away to find some peace, this would be my hideout.

This place is paradise. It’s a hidden jewel and also the most underrated and unexplored destination with a stunning private beach. If you wish to spend some quality time with your family, friends or loved ones, this the perfect gateway.

The local villagers are extremely generous and humble. I seriously haven’t seen people as generous as them in my entire life! I mean it.

GETTING THERE

We reached Devbagh in 30 mins by auto-rickshaw. You can also take a bus from Malvan Depot. It’s easily accessed by the Malvan-Tarkarli road. Devbaug Beach is quite close to the Nivti, Bhogave, and Tarkali Beach. IMPORTANT NOTE: There’s not a single ATM in the entire village. There is only one in Tarkarli which is 15 mins away from Devbagh. So, you need to keep enough cash handy.

We had booked Sai Raj Beach Resort, thanks to my friend Vinika for suggesting this amazing budget-friendly sea facing resort. We had booked a sea facing non A/C room as there is no need for an A/C when you have a sea in your backyard. My parents seriously loved the place.

Some of the villagers here have renovated their houses for tourists to stay, so you can enjoy the local life and local food with them. Even here, there are may homestays. So you have enough options to stay.

I’ll just mention the names of homestays and resorts I came across. You can check out their official websites for more info.:

• Breezywood Resort http://www.breezywood.com/
• The one which we stayed in- Sai Raj Beach Resort http://sairajbeachresort.com/
• Omkar Delux Beach Resort http://www.omkardeluxebeachresort.com/
• Shri Swami Samarth Beach Resort http://www.shriswamisamarthbeachresort.com/
• Gokuldham Homestay http://gokuldhamhomestay.com/
• Khobrekar’s Beach Homestay http://khobrekarsbeachhomestay.com/
• Saagar Sangam- The Resort http://saagarsangam.com/
• Konkan Sea Breeze http://konkanbreeze.in/index.html

I was smitten by the beauty this place has to offer. Devbagh was not at all crowded. We had the entire beach to ourselves! As soon as we checked in, we headed to the beach till the time our breakfast was being prepared. I soaked my feet in the cold water. Damn, it felt nice.

A DAY AT LEISURE

In breakfast, we were offered ghavane or amboli which is made of rice, and coconut chutney. It tastes just like neer dosa.

After breakfast, it was time to go swimming for which I was eagerly waiting.

There was not a single person on the beach except for us. We had loads of fun, enjoyed our lives. Away from the city life, away from the work pressure, our life was running on a slow pace and we were loving it. I wished to stay here and never ever return back.

We had a vegetarian thali (Rs. 120) at the resort as it was a Tuesday (how unlucky). However, on our polite request, fried fish was prepared for us. Each Surmai piece was for Rs. 180 and a plate of prawn fry was for Rs. 120. Cost for non-veg thali was Rs. 150. The food was extremely delicious.

You can go boating in the Karli river and visit the Tsunami island and Seagull island during mid-afternoon or evening. However, we decided to take some rest and later in the evening, went for a walk on the beach.

The white sand and the sea looked like molten gold in the sunset light. I love sunsets. It’s magical. Its DIVINE!

FLY HIGH!

The next day was the most awaited one. We were going towards Devbagh Sangam, where Karli river meets Arabian Sea, for parasailing. Yayy!! Time for some adventure! We went towards the Karli river boating point early morning after breakfast. You can hire the boat for a two way journey for Rs. 250. There was no one to share the boat with us, hence we were charged this much. If there are more people to share the boat with you, the cost gets divided.

For water-sports, you can ask any person you come across in Devbagh. They’ll let you know whom to get in touch with.

I was anxious, nervous, excited and thrilled to do it. It was for the first time for Chintu and me.

You can also enjoy all the water sports activities in Malvan.

I was initially skeptical on attempting it, but if not now, then when! So I made up my mind and decided to go.

We went on a couple parasailing and not solo, as it was for Rs. 1200 and solo was for Rs. 800 per person. Chintu and I were going up and mom and dad decided its better to stay down. She was scared as hell and dad decided to just watch us. You can also go for water-touch landing, either waist deep or full body, with no extra cost. We went for a normal landing.

We put our safety gear and here we go!! Wohoo! Floating between the ocean and sky. I could see the trail our boat left behind in the sea. We both were screaming. Adrenaline rushing through our veins. Oh man, you get obsessed with the way it feels.

Our boat looked so tiny from above. Wow! This was insane! This was the best! My best trip ever!!

AN EXCURSION TO TSUNAMI ISLAND

After parasailing was done, we headed towards Tsunami Island.

This is a small island on the delta of Karli river. This island is completely made up of sand. Some say it was formed during the Tsunami of 2004. But that’s not the truth! However, due to its imaginary name, it has become a popular tourist destination for water sports.

The island appears only during low tide. During high tide, it completely disappears. However, the water sports activities are still carried out during that time as the water here is waist deep only.

Also, the water is pretty clean. Here you can enjoy activities like banana boat ride, bumper ride, jet ski, kayaking, snorkeling and speed boating.

UNDERWATER WORLD

After the water sports activities, it was time for scuba diving.

You can go scuba diving even in Malvan during low tide. But I have seen pictures on the internet. The water is very muddy and not that clear. However, in Devgbagh- Tarkarli, the water is much clearer.

We had to do it before the high tide as here, they don’t dive during high tide. You can also opt for night diving. That’s a bit risky though. We sailed to the diving point where the water is 20-25 feet deep.

First of all, I was freaking out to attempt even this, still I was adamant on doing it. There were too many unwanted questions coming in my head. What if I run out of oxygen? What if my lungs fill with seawater? What if my ears and nose start bleeding due to the pressure? What if I get attacked by a shark? (Yes. There are sharks here.) What if a jellyfish stings me? Oh God! Diving is not that easy!

Our diving instructor was a bit strict but funny. He is a certified instructor and has worked for 6 years in Andaman.

Now, let me tell you that the diving instructors and all the boys at Tsunami island who carry out the water sports activities in Devbagh are sons of local villagers. Their fathers are fishermen and these boys earn a living by running the water sports business. They even complain that the Maharashtra Tourism Board has not provided them with any facility or any monetary help to operate these activities. All their equipment is costly. They have built the entire Devbagh tourism from scratch on their own.

Also, there is no help from the Government for maintenance and development of the village. The beach and the roads are maintained by the villagers.

With the growing popularity of scuba diving in Sindhudurg district and with growing tourism in Devbagh, our instructor decided to return to his hometown and help the villagers.

These people work extremely hard so that we could have the time of our lives without worrying a bit. So I just request you guys, if you are visiting Tarkarli- Devbagh anytime, please don’t bargain or negotiate as this is the only means of earning for them and they work really hard to run this business. All the water sports activities are not at all expensive. It’s very affordable.

We were instructed on all the do’s and don’ts, all the hand gestures we need to do to communicate inside the water, what to do to equalize the air pressure in ears. There were total 8 people with us. Two persons were going inside at a time with two diving instructors each, accompanying throughout. Chintu and I were going in the end.

All were hell scared, freaking out. I was waiting for almost an hour for my turn.

Scuba diving is not at all easy. You are going 20-25 feet deep into the sea. There’s a lot of pressure underwater due to which you get a shooting ear pain. However, once are you on the surface, the pain vanishes. It’s a bit risky, but it’s fun. However, as we had a trained instructor, we were relieved. Also, the diving equipment should be proper. Our instructors were extremely helpful and were calming us down.

People were going in scared and coming out happy and thrilled to finally overcome their fear. Chintu and I gained some confidence and after some practice, we managed to dive.

That feeling of breathing underwater is just awesome. It’s out of this world. It feels like an accomplishment.

It completely transforms you. Breathing underwater is an entirely new and beautiful experience that you would not actually know what it does to you until you experience it for yourself. Feeling yourself breathe and hearing the sound of air feels amazing. The complete calmness beneath feels serene. I just loved it!

 I am always afraid of deep waters as I cannot swim. But here, the instructors take you along with them and you just have to remain still. No movement at all. All you have to do is trust and believe them and just flow in the water and look around, colorful fishes and coral reefs everywhere. That feeling of swimming with the fishes, to see the aquatic life in its original and natural habitat, to watch the fishes around you is just insane!

The feeling is addictive. I feel everyone should experience it atleast once in their lives. I was continuously smiling with the oxygen pipe in my mouth. My smile wouldn’t stop. As we went deep, I started having extreme ear pain due to the underwater pressure.

At one point, the pain became so unbearable that I thought my eardrums have torn! I did what I was instructed to equalize the air pressure in my ears, and the pain resided, but not completely.

But it’s nothing compared to the experience you get. Also, I was walking on the sea bed. I was walking 21 feet deep! I can’t explain any further how it felt.

We returned back. My head was spinning like crazy due the the pain I felt. But still, it was a great day! Parasailing and Diving was ticked off my bucket list.

SUNRISE

The next day was the last day for us in this wonderful place. We decided to go on a morning walk on Devbagh Sangam beach were the river meets the sea. It was at a 5 mins walking distance from our resort. It’s a lovely white sand beach where you can see colorful fishing boats and also, can spot dolphins if you are lucky. We were unlucky! You can also witness the beautiful sunrise beyond the mountains from the Sangam.

It was such a peaceful morning. There are small eatery stalls at the Sangam. You can enjoy your tea/coffee with a beautiful view.

It was time to say goodbye to the most beautiful place. I fell in love with Devbagh.

We got a bus from the bus stand just outside our resort which took us directly to Malvan Depot. You can visit the Malvan market to buy some famous Malvani delicacies like malvani khaja, sev ladoo, some homemade malvani masala, pickles, kokum sherbet and much more.

From there, we headed towards Kudal to return home.

Now I’m back in the civilized world, with the most beautiful and cherished memories hoping to visit this paradise again.