Beach Resort - Goa and Eco Friendly Resort - Chorla Ghats

It’s end of the year – Christmas and New Year Time and what better place to have the vacation than in and around Goa. So it was - a trip to Goa and an eco-friendly resort in the midst of Chorla Ghats (between Goa and Belgaum). The route planned was – Bangalore -> Hubli ->Goa -> Cholra Ghats -> Belgaum -> Bangalore. We knew we would have lots of fun as Goa is full of colors and fun during the Christmas & New year’s time.

We started from Bangalore on Thursday 20^th Dec around 3:30PM after picking the kids from school. The plan was to reach Hubli and break at my cousin’s place for the night. We reached Hubli around 10PM. The road from Bangalore to Hubli is in pretty good condition. There are quite a few diversions until you cross Chittradurga. This can cause lot of irritation - especially if you are driving after the sunset. We reached my cousins place around 10:15PM. It was fun meeting her and her family after a long time.

Next morning was relaxed. Plan was to reach Goa by lunch time. Our booking in Goa was with Dwaraka Beach Resort (http://www.dwarkagoa.com/) – Goa for 2N/3D. We had breakfast at my cousin’s place and started to Goa. The road from Hubli to Goa is also pretty good. The route passes through lot of villages which are full of farms. Enroute we saw plenty of Tamarind trees and we stopped to pluck some fresh tamarind. We also spent some time in cotton farms. As usual, gave some gyan to kids on cotton buds, flowers, seeds etc.

Dwaraka Beach Resort - Fresh water Lagoon and the beach

We were very excited to go to Goa as this time we were planning to stay in a beach resort in Goa. Though we have visited Goa many times, it has been either day visits or staying in a relative’s house. Dwaraka Beach resort looked fabulous on their website and we sincerely hoped that the experience  also would be as fabulous as it looked on website.

Clean and Quite - Cola Beach

We reached  south-Goa around 1PM and called up the resort, as Google maps was not able to trace the resort and give us directions. The resort guys gave us directions up to a point where we could meet them. At our meeting point we were directed to follow them. This path was kuccha road and no way we would have made it on our own. We actually started wondering how can a resort exist here? But at the end of this 2-3KMs kuccha road, we had to park our car and walk few step and there it was - the most amazing view. A few cottages amidst the coconut trees next to fresh water stream flowing which forms a lagoon, followed by few feet of sand which is the beach and then the ocean. We were awed with the view we saw. An artificial bridge is built to cross the stream and go to the cottages. This resort operates only during the months of Nov – Apr. Every year, they dismantle the cottages in summer and put them up again in November.

Kids enjoying the swim in Lagoon

This resort is on Cola beach (South Goa). There are only 10-12 cottages which are placed quite away from each other. There are coconut trees all around. All cottages overlook the flowing stream, lagoon, beach and the sea. The resort has power supply only in the evenings which is generated by generators. The cottages are basic, but clean with attached bath and WC. There are hammocks around the cottages.

We checked in and headed straight for lunch. The dining area is overlooking the lagoon and beach. This was beautiful. We had a good lunch. One point to remember here – we need to specify what type of food especially if vegetarian. More options are available for non-vegetarian especially if you are sea-food lover. This place was full of foreign of tourist and people from all over the world were here. In fact we were the only Indians in this resort. After a tasty meal, I crashed on one of the hammocks under the coconut tree. I had never experience Goa to be so cool (I always remember it as humid, hot and sweating). This was awesome. I guess because of the fresh water stream and plenty of trees around , it was not at all hot/humid.

After a good nap, it was time to get into the waters. And we spent the next couple of days just doing that. We were either on the beach or in the lagoon. We had never spent so much time in the water. Since this resort is so remote, you don’t bother to get out of the resort. Apart from spending time on the beach and lagoon, we went trekking, walk along the beach, kayaking in the stream. There is also option for massage, yoga and day trips to spot dolphins.

Trek to top view

One pain point of playing on beach is you are full of sand. However here it was kind of fun. Spend as much time as you want on the beach and then just come out and dip/swim in the fresh water lagoon and you are all fresh and clean. The fresh water lagoon next to the beach was the best part. Since it is private beach, the only people on the beach were the tourists staying in the resort, which was few. We could peacefully sit and experience the sun setting and kids merrily playing in sand & water. As the sun set, the resort was lit with dim lights. The night sky was clear with twinkling stars and we could see few ships far away in the sea.

Simmering lights at the resort - sunset time

At night, there was camp fire put up on the beach with soft music playing in the background. The dinner was served. I guess we were the only ones who were vegetarian J  It was pretty cold in the night - we felt good gazing at the stars sitting around the camp fire and rough waves hitting the beach.

Camp fire by the beach

Next day morning, we took a long walk along the beach. We saw the point where the fresh water stream merged into the sea. We saw couple of more resort on the beach further down. After a long walk, we had a lazy breakfast. Each of us grabbed our favorite book and headed to the beach. The day was pretty much spent reading, playing on the beach, playing in the lagoon, kayaking, hammocking etc. The resort had arranged for a table with candle light for dinner and there was also a camp fire by the beach. We met a couple at the camp fire who happened to be actor and actress from Denmark.

Kayaking in the Lagoon

Next day morning, we went for a small trek. The views from top are good. One can see the long shores full of coconut trees. At the top it reminded me of a scene in the Hindi film “Dil Chahata Hai”, where the 3 guys sit on the fort wall facing the ocean. After the trek, it was breakfast and then time to start to our next destination “Swapnagandha Resorts” in Chorla Ghats.

Sunset view from Swapnagandha Resort - Chorla Ghats

“Swapnagandha” is an eco-friendly resort (branch of Wildernest http://www.wildernest-goa.com/) in the Chorla Ghats. Since we had already experienced Wildernest couple of years back, we had booked our stay with Swapnagandha to get different views. The activities and food is common for both Swapnagandha and Wildernest. However after the stay, realized that, the rooms are better in Wildernest. The rooms at Swapnagandha are next to each other and one can hear what is being spoken in the next room. The views however are great from Swapnagandha especially the rooms facing the Vajra falls.

Coracle ride - Chorla Falls

All the activities are at wildernest, it is better to stay there – especially if you have small children. The resorts have become very popular in the last couple of years and attract lot of crowd from Goa, Belgaum and Mahrashtra. The resort has wonderful location. The views are awesome and the food (which is north Karnataka- Maharashtra style is very tasty). 2N/3D is good to spend here. The resort offers many activities like trekking, bird watching, cruise on river Mandovi, Trek to Chorla Falls, folk dance by local villagers etc. All these activities are really fun and we thoroughly enjoyed them.  River Mandovi has many fresh water crocodiles and migratory birds. The best way to experience this is with the river cruise on river Mandovi. The cruise was for 2 hours and was fun.

Trek to Chorla Falls

Next day morning, we went for a trek to Chorla falls. This is about 1-1 ½ hour trek to the falls and easy (even the kids can do). The water at the falls was very cold. We did the coracle ride at the falls and this was a nice experience – fresh cold water spraying on you from a great height after a tiring trek. Kids love the never ending pool at Wildernest. The sunset from the pool is amazing. Best time to be in pool is around sunset.

Sunset at never ending pool - Wildernest

After spending 2N/3D in Swapnagandha, it was time to return. Before we headed to Belgaum, we wanted to visit Fort Auguda in Goa - as we had read a lot about this fort and also we had some time in our hands. After checking out, we went to Fort Auguada. We were quite disappointed with what we saw. I would anytime vote for BeKkal fort near Mangalore over this fort. Fort Auguada is just hyped. It’s pretty small and is also over crowded. I did not find anything great to rev about. If one has lots of time and has nothing to do in Goa, you can visit this fort.

River cruise - Mandovi river

After fort Auguda it was time to head back to Belgaum to spend time with the family. We planned to leave to Bangalore the following day. On the way to Bangalore, we stopped at Kittur and were taken by surprise on what we saw. This is definitely a must visit place if you are driving on NH4 towards Belgaum. This is place has the Fort and Palace of Rani Channama (the great woman worrier of Karnataka). The fort has been renovated and has been made tourist friendly. We took help of a guide to know the place and its history better and he really did a good job. The ruins of Kittur fort and palace are very well maintained. There is also a small museum. One can easily spend 2-3 hours here. This was worth the stop over. From here it was straight to Bangalore and end of another beautiful holiday.

Rani Channama Palace & Fort - Kittur, Belgaum