Women’s Road Trip from Mumbai: Tarkarli-Vengurla-Amboli

I had been wanting to drive along the Konkan coast Since Forever.

I finally coaxed my mom into accompanying me on this road trip. The plan was to not have a plan – drive towards Goa and have a stopover at any place along the route.

Yep. One of the reasons why I love road trips.

Leg 1: Mumbai to Ganpatipule

Although driving on national highways is a smooth experience and obviously quicker than the state highways, these are rarely scenic.

If it was up to me, I would have driven along the coast starting from Alibag. However, the issue with doing that is there are approximately five points where you either need to take a long road diversion or take a ferry.

Since we had a car, it was a little risky to depend on a ferry due to the frequency and probable waiting queue for cars. Hence, we played it safe and took the NH66 till Chiplun and then headed towards MSH4 via NH66E.

Also read about my road trip from Mumbai to Ganpatipule using the coastal route done in July 2021 on my way from Mumbai to Goa.

As soon as we took the turn to get on to NH66E, the atmosphere changed. I didn’t waste too much time in rolling down my windows. Nothing like taking in the countryside and feeling the wind in my hair, obviously along with a few drops of rain.

My dream road trip had begun.

We reached Ganpatipule in about six hours from Mumbai. Ganpatipule is a small beach town before Ratnagiri and has derived its name from its famous Ganpati temple.

Since we were making good time, we decided to have a quick lunch and make it to Tarkarli before sunset.

After a scrumptious fish curry at the beachside MTDC (Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation) resort, we resumed with our southward journey towards Tarkarli.

Leg 2: Ganpatipule – Ratnagiri

The drive from Ganpatipule to Ratnagiri (around 25 km) is one of the best stretches of the Konkan coastal road. In my opinion, it is Indian version of US’s Route 1  and Australia’s Great Ocean Road, albeit a little too short.

And unlike its foreign counterparts, there is enough shoulder on the Indian coastal highway to stop your vehicle and take in the views.

Much needed for the driver.

And we did make numerous stops and that’s why this leg deserved its own section.

Leg 3: Ratnagiri – Tarkarli

The Good: This stretch right till Tarkarli is very scenic with numerous backwaters, small bridges, ghats, velvety mountains, coconut trees, ample greenery and frequent glimpses of white-capped Arabian sea from the top of the cliffs.

It was like a rendezvous with nature.

The Bad: The Airtel network from Ratnagiri-Tarkarli was weak due to which we kept losing our GPS connectivity and had to resort to the traditional way of asking passersby (and boy, were they few and far between) for directions.

The astonished look on the faces of those helpful villagers was quite amusing.

Two women driving on their own in the interiors of Maharashtra is not a very common sight.

The Ugly: By 5 pm we were about one hour from Tarkarli when quite a few things happened that stressed my mom out.

• It had started to get dark since it was a very cloudy day
• We lost our network connectivity and that’s why could not access our Google maps
• There were hardly any passersby on the road to help us with directions and the few that were there did not know where ‘Tarkarli’ was. After our initial few direction enquiries, we realized “Tarkarli” was not that familiar with the locals and they knew that region by “Malvan”.
• We were low on petrol and there were quite a few ghats on this stretch

With no map, I relied on my sense of direction and just made sure to drive southward along the sea. In the hindsight, probably the situation was worth getting stressed about but at that time my mom’s stress was stressing me out further.

The stressful drive lasted for one hour before we got our network connection back.

Tarkarli

It was already nearing sunset by the time we reached Tarkarli and I was desperate to dip my feet in the sea while my mom was panicking over the fact that we did not have any confirmed accommodation. That is when I acquiesced to get to the MTDC resort, get a room and then head to the beach.

The location of the MTDC resort, Tarkarli was excellent (like all other MTDCs) – it was right on the beach with a beautiful open area leading to the beach. However, the rooms were terrible – they were dusty, swarming with mosquitoes, seemingly old construction and very poorly maintained.

Moreover, the rooms were expensive and certainly not worth it.

As much as I wanted to be done with the booking and head to the beach, I could not give in to this place. We drove along the coast and found a small place which was at a two-minute walking distance from the beach. The room was quite basic but had all the necessities.

I parked my car and literally ran to the beach, just in time to witness a spectacular sunset.

My mom strolled along behind me and in between the sound of the waves, I could faintly hear my mom saying “Phew! Boring banaa do ji ab is trip ko” a la Geet from Jab We Met.

This was off season at Tarkarli and all the adventure sports like scuba diving, snorkeling, parasailing, water scooter rides, houseboats had wrapped up by this time.

The next morning, we set out to explore the town in pouring rain. The walk from Tarkarli beach till Devbag Sangam point which is the confluence of Karli river and Arabian Sea is nothing short of blissful. You can either walk via road or via beach – we kept shuffling between the two.

The walk is nearly 8 km long and it took us around two hours. We walked on our way to Sangam point and took the local bus on our way back.

Since it was the monsoons, we could not visit the Sindudhurg fort and only saw it from the shore.

Leg 4: Tarkarli to Vengurla

This is a small town about 1.5 hours from Tarkarli and the drive between these two towns is beautiful, lined with verdant fields, deserted roads (not really an anomaly in this region, it seems) – true countryside drive.

The Chipi bridge over Karli river is a very nice spot for a quick stop to take in the views. And probably get a few photos.

The route also goes along the Sindhudhurg airport for quite a long stretch.

Vengurla

On reaching Vengurla, we booked a room in a small beach side hotel (having a total of 4 rooms) where we were the only ones staying! The staff who consisted of one manager/owner and one help were extremely helpful (after going through the initial shock of knowing the two of us had travelled all the way from Mumbai).

After a swim in the sea followed by hot tea-pakodas, we walked towards Navabag beach where Mandavi river meets the Arabian Sea.

We had some very pleasant experiences with the locals at Vengurla. Read about it here.

I did not get enough of this place and would certainly like to go back there.

Leg 5: Vengurla to Amboli

I skipped my morning swim in the sea as we were anyways planning to go to a waterfall later in the day.

After breakfast, we set out towards our next stop: Amboli Ghat waterfall.

I had planned the visit in such a way that it would be a weekday so that we could avoid the crowd.

Turns out that the crowd bit should have been least bit of my worry.

Due to the delay in monsoons that year, there was no water at this waterfall despite it being end June. Since I was already there, I decided to make the most of it and climb the waterfall.

Leg 6: Amboli to Mumbai

The state highway from Amboli to Kolhapur was another pretty stretch with lush green foliage on both sides of the narrow roads.

We took the state highway till Kolhapur and then got onto NH48

We had initially planned to halt around Kolhapur or Satara, however since we did not spend a lot of time at Amboli and were already at Kolhapur by afternoon, we decided to not stop anywhere and directly reach Mumbai.

As we were taking the busy NH48 and the Mumbai-Pune expressway, night driving was not an issue.

While crossing Kolhapur, try and stop there for a Kolhapuri spicy meal. We had some heavenly Kolhapuri Paneer there.

We reached Mumbai at around 1 AM and slept for 15 hours straight.

Afterall, we had driven for nearly 25 hours out of 70 hours.

Tips

• Network: The Airtel connectivity on most stretches of the MSH4 beyond Ratnagiri is very weak with Jio being the most dominant connection. If like me, you are dependent on Airtel, do download the offline maps.
• Weather for travel to Tarkarli-Vengurla region:
  • Winter (October – March): This is the peak tourist season for south Konkan region and watersports are in full swing during this season. From a weather point of view, this time is perfect. The only con is that the area will be bustling with tourists (especially on weekends) and accommodation will be expensive and limited.
  • Summer (April-May): Summers are very hot and humid and, in my opinion, it would be best to avoid this region during the summers.
  • Monsoon (June – September): This season is perfect for the drive. If you are a nature lover, love the sound and sight of the rough sea, want to have a relaxing trip and are not interested in water sports, this would be a good time to visit. We visited in June (just before the onset of monsoons) and by this time, most of the hotels/restaurants had shut down. It’s also a good time to get the best hotel deals.
• There are very few petrol pumps on the MSH4 and since there are quite many ghats on this route, make sure to have enough petrol.
• Cuisine: Try the Malvani thali in Tarkarli and Kolhapuri food while crossing Kolhapur.
• Mosquitoes: Especially in Tarkarli and Vengurla, we faced some issue with mosquitoes and hence it is advisable to carry insect repellant and preferably find a room with mosquito nets.
• Food availability: Since it was off season and there were no other guests in both our hotels. Hence, their restaurants were not functional and were only serving tea. If you are visiting during this season, make sure to have some food with you (instant noodles, biscuits, peanuts). Apart from the hotel, most standalone restaurants were also shut.
• Duration: We stopped for one night at Tarkarli and one night at Vengurla. I believe that was not enough. I would recommend at least three nights along the Konkan coast.

Things to Do

To be honest, Konkan region is the perfect area to not do anything at. It’s all about enjoying unadulterated nature, walking around and eating.

• Tarkarli
  • Water sports: These are open from October – March every year
  • Eat Malvani food: We ate it “Atithi Bamboo” hotel and can certainly vouch for this thali. Another recommended place was Chaitanya
  • Sindhudhurg fort: This fort was built by Shivaji in the 17^th century and is a protected monument. We unfortunately could not visit as it was shut.
  • Devbag Sangam point: Sangam of Karli river and Arabian sea
  • Walk along Devbag beach and Karli river
• Vengurla
  • Relax and enjoy the pristine beach. Walk along the beach
  • Vengurla lighthouse
  • Walk in the town to get a feel of the Konkan life
  • Mochemad beach is an Olive Ridley turtle nesting site and is about 20 minutes drive from Vengurla
  • Walk along the backwaters of Mandavi river

Accommodation

Below are some decent options. We did not stay at these places as we found these resorts while exploring the area:

• • Tarkarli: There are quite a few options in Devbag and that should be the area to stay at.  Many of these are beach facing good properties. We had breakfast at Konkan Breeze resort which seemed decent. Avoid staying in Tarkarli town.
  • Vengurla:  We came across a decent resort during our walk to Navabag beach – “Golven resort”. We did not stay here, but saw the rooms (in preparation for our next visit to this region.)  https://golvenresorts.com/

Final Words

It is definitely one of the best driving routes in India. No wonder it is a favourite with road trip lovers as well as bikers.

Contrary to our expectations, the condition of the roads throughout our 1100 km drive was very good; especially considering we were on state highways for most part. However, the condition of road is not a constant and it is advisable to check GPS for any road constructions.

The region is not as untouched and unexplored as it was about ten years ago. However, relative to its neighbouring Goa, it is definitely ‘more virgin’.

Also, Maharashtra government recently approved the plan to have beach shacks along eight of the Konkan beaches. The combination of ‘seafood-mojito-sand in our toes-sea breeze’ will soon be closer to home for Mumbaikars.

@Konkan – I Will Be Back!