[Dr.AD]

Well, driving to Goa is always a very enjoyable experience, in any season, and I am always happy to make a quick dash to Goa whenever I get a chance.

However, the monsoon in Goa is something special. It is a completely different experience than the typical 'sun and sand' experience that Goa is often synonymous with. The entire landscape turns lush green, gets nicely washed with the almost incessant rain and the sky gets occupied with dark clouds. The sea turns grey and the beaches get covered with a mesmerizing mist thrown out by the angry waves! Water becomes omnipresent, in different forms - clouds, mist, fog, rain, lakes, rivers, and of course, the sea! Add to this the beautiful roads - smooth, twisty (and yet not very slow!), hilly - and the whole concoction becomes a 'must have' for any driving enthusiast. And this concoction is what makes this monsoon drive a dream drive!

In particular, driving from Bangalore to Goa is a dream drive on many counts. The entire stretch is practically pothole-free (if you choose the correct route options), and has a splendid mix of fast highway driving on the six-lane NH4, and the scenic twists of the western ghats as you descend down to Goa.

Although Goa has been a regular driving destination for me over last 10 years or so, I had not experienced the monsoon in Goa until last year. Since I spent most of my childhood years in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, which has a very similar landscape and sees the same ferocious monsoon seen in Goa, I could easily imagine how the monsoons in Goa would be. But still, I had no first hand experience until July 2013, when I visited Goa in the monsoon for the first time. I loved the experience so much that I decided to go back there every monsoon. And I kept my promise for 2014. I just did a quick weekend (with Friday thrown in the weekend) drive to Goa - a solo drive - and this is primarily a photologue of that drive. And in the end, I could not resist including a few pictures from my last year's trip as well.

So, let the pictures do the talking now.

[Dr.AD]

The driving plan. My destination was Candolim (North Goa), and I took the Bangalore-Belgaum-Chorla-Candolim route. The entire road was an absolute delight.



The smooth and fast NH4 is always a pleasure to drive on. Now with the dark clouds hovering around, and the surroundings turned green, the pleasure increased manifolds:





After I exited the NH4, and started driving on SH31 towards Chorla, I was greeted with such scenery:











An inviting road leading up to Chorla ghat:



As I took a right turn from the above spot, this scene emerged on my left hand side:

















Driving further, continuing on this beautiful road, with rain constantly showering on my windshield and giving me a nice company:



A couple of turns further, I saw a beautiful valley in my right window. Luckily, I immediately found a safe sport to park, and got down to explore this wonderful place, which turned out to be a valley full of clouds:













A typical windshield shot in Chorla ghat, where I was practically driving through the clouds:

[Dr.AD]

A view from the hotel room balcony:



Rough seas and angry grey waves thrashing the beaches, and the otherwise sandy patches swallowed by the sea in monsoon, is a typical sight on Goan beaches this time of the year. Beauty of the nature in a completely different form – in my book it is a mesmerizing beauty. View of the famous Vagator beach, as seen from Chopara fort:



Beautiful landscapes all around, on Chopara fort:













Driving northwards alongside the coastline, via Morjim and Mandrem beaches, the road takes you to the newly constructed bridge on Terekhol River. This is also the border between Maharashtra and Goa:



After crossing the bridge and entering Maharashtra, there was this nice little shack selling wadapav. It was, very aptly, named “Parameshwar Wadapav Center”. They were just opening up for the evening, and in 10 minutes they served some piping hot wadapav and ginger tea. The wadapav was so tasty and hot, that in that weather this was really a heavenly food, and hence I call the name an apt one! It was a surreal experience to enter Maharashtra, and in the middle of nowhere, find this small shop selling the iconic Maharashtrian street food. This was surely one of the unexpected highlights of the drive:



A view of the surroundings from the Maharashtra side:

[Dr.AD]

As expected by now, lush green surroundings, sky full of dark clouds and the air filled with mist is what I encountered everywhere on my way back. Typical views on the side of the road, as I started my return journey:





Chorla ghat, which was my route back as well, winds around the cloud-covered hills seen in these pictures. Thus, these views gave me a preview of what to expect once I reach the ghat:











The road that takes me back up to Chorla ghat:



Some shots in Chorla ghat:







At the peak of the ghat, the rains lashing from my left hand side, a representative picture of what I was driving through:



With the dark clouds descending to the road level (or the road ascending to the cloud level, depending on your point of view), the visibility at the peak of the ghat was not more than a couple of hundred feet. This was my front view at around noon!:

[Dr.AD]

Flashback: July 2013

As I mentioned earlier, I experienced the beauty of Goa’s monsoon in July 2013 as well, and I thought I should post some pictures from that trip here, just to complete the story. Interestingly, even though the two trips were at the exact same time of the year (but a year apart), there is a noticeable difference in the greenery in both sets of pictures. July 2013 was a lot greener than July 2014, as evident from these pictures. They said the monsoon was delayed significantly in 2014. Probably that is the reason for this difference.


Green slopes outside Chopara fort (notice how greener they are compared to 2014):





Views around Chopara fort (again, notice the difference in greenery compared to the 2014 pictures of the same spots, posted above):













Views of the Vagator beach as seen from Chopara fort:





Entry point to Morjim beach:



The beaches look completely different in monsoon. First of all, most of the beaches are pretty much deserted at this time of the year, and even the otherwise crowded beaches wear a lonely look. The blue water turns grey, the sky is always dark, and the mist thrown out by the waves gives the beach a very mysterious look. I really loved this beauty of the beaches, and in fact, found this avatar of the nature incredibly attractive. A very different type of beauty than what you would see in the summer. I hope these few pictures, taken at Morjim beach, will prove my point:













A typical narrow beachside road, this one taking us to Keri beach:



A beautiful temple on Keri beach:



A couple of shots at Keri beach, the northernmost beach in Goa:

[Dr.AD]

Epilogue:

In summary, the monsoon in Goa is a magical experience, the one that shows you the fury, the grace, the delicacy and the sheer beauty of the nature all at the same time! The best way to enjoy this is to take your car, drive there on those beautiful roads, enjoy the twists and the turns and the ups and the downs, stop on the side when you get a chance, step out of the car and wander around soaking in the rain! This is exactly what I did, and promised myself to do it every year. So, my dear Goa, I know I will most probably see you before then anyways, but in any case, I will be back in July 2015. See you then!

Finally, to conclude the story, here are some miscellaneous pictures. The locations include Candolim beach, Mandrem beach, Terekhol River, and Keri beach.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to Travelogues. Thanks for sharing!

[vnabhi]

Thanks for the lovely pictures! Despite visiting Goa three times over the past 7 months, I am still keen on going this monsoon.

Rains seem to have painted the beaches with a lusture that is completely different from what I've seen! No wonder so many Hyderabad members keep talking about visiting Goa during the monsoons! Your pictures have fully justified their lust to go to Goa.

I could not spot a single shack on any of the beaches. Are they completely dismantled? I thought it would be fun to cocoon oneself into one and watch the grey sea for a couple of hours, sipping refreshments.

I am surprised that you did not visit Tiracol Fort, do you almost went there, as seen by you picture of the ferry.

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

Thanks for the lovely pictures! Despite visiting Goa three times over the past 7 months, I am still keen on going this monsoon.

Thanks vnabhi. And yes, you should certainly visit in monsoon, you will not regret it.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I could not spot a single shack on any of the beaches. Are they completely dismantled? I thought it would be fun to cocoon oneself into one and watch the grey sea for a couple of hours, sipping refreshments.

Most (almost 90%) of the shacks are dismantled and practically removed from the beaches during the monsoon. Once you see a beach in the monsoon, it becomes very clear that there is no way those shacks could survive the weather.

However, there are a few shacks on some more touristy beaches. In my 2013 trip, I saw a few shacks open on Baga beach, for example.

So yes, on some prominent beaches you might find a few shacks open, but these are essentially exceptions to the general rule that most shacks are closed in monsoon.

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I am surprised that you did not visit Tiracol Fort, do you almost went there, as seen by you picture of the ferry.

I missed visiting Tiracol Fort. As you correctly spotted, went almost there (drove on the new bridge on Terekhol river, very close to the fort), but did not have time to visit the fort. This was really a very short trip, so could not visit many places. But this is certainly on my list for the next visit.

[vickzkool]

Dr AD

A very crisp travelogue with some brilliant pics , Goa does look extremely beautiful in the monsoon as per the pics , roads look mesmerising , just showcases the amount of natural beauty we have in India if seen with the right attitude and perception. Thanks a lot for sharing

[BlackPearl]

Thanks Dr.AD, you could not have done a better timing of this thread. I am going to Goa this weekend in my humble old esteem. Thanks a lot for the route map and the crisp report along with the pictures.

[motorlover]

I am from Goa and had a weekend getaway last week. Most of them visit North Goa however South Goa is equally beautiful. We headed to Palolem Beach , visited waterfalls at Netravali, Budbudyanchi Tali known as the tank of bubbles, Selaulim Dam a must visit in the monsoons.Here are a few pics.

[PGNarain]

Dr. AD - Beautiful travelogue and well written. Coincidentally I along with my wife had travelled from Mumbai to Goa in August of 2013, just a month after you. Whats more surprising is the fact that I have clicked a few pictures at the exact same locations as you on the Chorla Ghats!!

Never got around to penning down my experiences but your travelogue has spurred me on and you should see my travelogue within next week!

Also, do share the details of your hotel, it looks very nice!

Thanks

[motomaverick]

Nice and green Goa, its shocking to see the Vagator beach. By the way which place did you stay?

[Dr.AD]

Originally Posted by vickzkool

A very crisp travelogue with some brilliant pics , Goa does look extremely beautiful in the monsoon as per the pics , roads look mesmerising , just showcases the amount of natural beauty we have in India if seen with the right attitude and perception. Thanks a lot for sharing

Thanks vickzkool. Totally agree with you on India having a tremendous amount of natural beauty.

Originally Posted by BlackPearl

Thanks Dr.AD, you could not have done a better timing of this thread. I am going to Goa this weekend in my humble old esteem. Thanks a lot for the route map and the crisp report along with the pictures.

Thanks BlackPearl. All the best for your weekend drive!

Originally Posted by PGNarain

Dr. AD - Beautiful travelogue and well written. Coincidentally I along with my wife had travelled from Mumbai to Goa in August of 2013, just a month after you. Whats more surprising is the fact that I have clicked a few pictures at the exact same locations as you on the Chorla Ghats!!

Never got around to penning down my experiences but your travelogue has spurred me on and you should see my travelogue within next week!

Also, do share the details of your hotel, it looks very nice!

Thanks

Thanks PGNarain. Looking forward to seeing your travelogue soon.

The hotel was Fortune Select Regina Goa, in Candolim. It is certainly a nice place and not too expensive as well. The rooms were nice, the staff was courteous and friendly, and they had a good swimming pool as you can see in the picture. The location is also good - very close to the main market street (Fort Aguada Road) in Candolim, which is full of many interesting restaurants and shops. However, this hotel is not exactly on that main street, but a little bit inside. Visiting the main street requires about half a kilometer of walk, which is usually fine, but a bit of a pain if you want to go out in the night for dinner especially with all the mud and water around. This was the only (and a very minor) negative point. Otherwise the place is nice!

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Nice and green Goa, its shocking to see the Vagator beach. By the way which place did you stay?

Yes, it is indeed shocking to see the Vagator beach (and many others) in monsoon. It looks completely different than how it looks in summer. The same story goes with Anjuna beach. When I visited Anjuna in July 2013 (unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of Anjuna) I was shocked as well. Most of the sandy stretch was swallowed by the sea and the waves were crashing directly on the rocks which are actually well inside the sandy stretch. But that is the whole beauty of monsoon!

Regarding the hotel, see the description above.