[thirugata]

Prologue:

We were going on a road trip after 1.5 years after our previous road trip. Even without any road trip car had churned up 12.5K KMs in this period covering work and family function related travels.
Also incidentally last 3 trips including this one have started from 3 different cities because of we moving houses. Life has been on a fast track for a while now.

We were planning for a road trip to Goa for a while. Our previous trips to Goa have been all about beaches, so we wanted it to be bit different this time. So we decided to visit southern part of Goa just after monsoon where there are few waterfalls to visit.
October and November were busy again because of family commitments which meant the trip got delayed till end of November.
Monsoon was sparse this time and delay in starting of the trip meant we were risking visiting these waterfalls at the wrong time. But we were so desperate for a road trip we decided to go on with the plan.

Journey:

We booked an entire house on Airbnb for week as we also wanted to take care of work during the weekday and go out only in the evenings.
Luggage was packed and most of it was loaded in the car previous evening itself.
We left home around 6:00 AM, a rather late start for us as we didn't have much distance to cover.
Our starting point for this trip was Mangalore, we had approximate 5.5 Hrs of leisure driving to Canacona.
But soon we realized that our check in is only at 3:00 PM. So now had a huge challenge in hand to cover less than 6 Hrs distance in 9 hours.
We decided for some pitstops at interesting locations on the way to extend our drive time.

We have multiple bridges on this route as a lot of rivers which originate in western ghat drain into Arabian see in this coastal region.
On one of such bridges, we stopped for our first pit stop to watch the sunrise.









Our next stop was for breakfast at Pakashala, Kumbashi. We were missing vada, sambar and masala dosa of Bangalore style; that craving was taken care of here.

We for a brief period at Maravanthe beach. It was very hot by then, so we decided to continue our journey.





Sand plover

Most part of this route is 4 lane highway, however there are few sections where the work is incomplete. These sudden change from 4 lane to 2 lane happens without any notice so one need to be careful and keep on the look out for such narrow passages. Surface quality is really good throughout this route.



With all these stops we had covered 200 KMs in about 4 hours time and just another 100 KMs to reach our destination.
We saw a diversion towards Mirjan Fort and decided to visit.











We spent about 45 mins here and continued our journey. Our next stop was CCD Ankola. Again, this stop was more to kill time and not because we needed a break.

At 12:15 PM we entered Karwar and stopped to visit INS Chapal war museum. This was in my bucket list for a while and today we got an opportunity to visit. Our initial plan was to visit this place during our return journey.















We called our host and informed him about we probably arriving early by an hour, thankfully he had no issues with it. We reached our home for next 1 week by 1:45 PM.

This place is on the edge of the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. Bit away from the beach but right in the lap of nature, the side of Goa we wanted this time.





This was the view from outside the house.

[thirugata]

Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary:

This day being weekend, we had whole day to go out and explore. Plan was to visit Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary and also visit the Kuskem waterfalls which is inside the wildlife sanctuary.

A short distance drive to reach here, took us 20 minutes to reach the main gate where we have to enter details and buy entry tickets.

Road is in excellent condition, 2 lane twisties with canopy cover. It was a pleasant drive.







After buying the entry tickets we drove to the first gate as instructed at the front gate and parked our car. From here the trek inside the sanctuary starts till the lake (Bela).

This trek is roughly 3.5 KMs one side and you get to walk inside thick forest. Allowing people to walk makes it evident that spotting any wildlife is almost not possible. But we saw some motion sensor camera traps on the way which suggests that probably in the night time there is some movement of wildlife.
We got to hear a lot of birds chirping, got to see few but I was not able to click any as the forest is dense. Also the trees here are very tall, so its almost impossible to spot most of these birds.









Spotted an ant hill on the way





Direction marking has been done in couple of places, not that one can get lost as there is no other alternate path to walk.



Hornet's Nest



When we were closer to the lake thick forest gave way to grassland.



We reached the Bela lake in about 90 mins. There were couple pond herons and Egrets and nothing else. However walk was very pleasant and an unique experience.

A short video of this walk

We were back to the car parking in another 90 mins and wanted to visit the waterfall. Forest guard at the gate informed us to avoid the visit as water fall is completely dry.

We spoke to him about our intensions of visiting Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary the next day to visit couple of waterfalls there. He made some phone calls and informed that the situation is similar there too.

So our plans of visiting waterfalls in this trip had to be dropped. We decided to plan next visit better and come and see them.

It was late in the afternoon by then, we decided to have lunch in one of the restaurants in a resort inside the wildlife sanctuary, go back to the room and make alternate plans for rest of our stay.

[thirugata]

Beaches we visited:

Our plan during the weekdays was to work during the day and head out to some interesting places in the evenings.
Here are some of the beaches we visited in south Goa.

Talpona beach





Galgibaga beach (This place is apparently the cleanest beach and is also famous for nesting of turtles.)





Palolem:







Agonda:







Chapoli Dam:





Talpona river:

[thirugata]

Other places we visited:

Cabo de Rama Fort: A small fort and has a church inside. It was closed when we went there. There is nothing much to do here.











Spotted this list of all monuments in GOA under ASI.



Betul Fort: A small piece of the fort remains here. A local guy we met there informed that there is a fort and showed his hand in the direction. But that narrow walkable path turned into thick bush about 100 meters later. He was gone when we returned and there was no one else to cross check. So not sure if there is more to see here.







We were visiting Madgao for some shopping. We decided to go to St. Baptist church, Benaulim. But this one was closed too when we went there.



This very narrow bridge over Talpona river at Sadolxem was an interesting one. This bridge is wide enough for a medium size car. I had about 3 inches of space on either side for OVRMs. So had to hold the car steady through the length. The narrowest bridge I have ever driven. But after a couple of drives through it didn't have to worry about the width much.



We tried this local dish called Xacuti.

[thirugata]

The home we stayed being so close to the thick jungle meant we got to spot some birds around it. Here are some of the birds I spotted around where we stayed and some when we went out exploring.

Note: Trees being so close meant had a difficult angle to take photos with most having bright white sky as background, so most of these photos are just record shots.



Common Wood shrike



Yellow billed Babbler



Lesser White throat



This Brahmini kite was enjoying his meal



Large Hawk Cuckoo



Blue tailed Bee eater



White browed wagtail



Chestnut tailed starling



Common iora



Indian golden Oriol



Asian Koel



Asian fairy bluebird.
I got to see this for just a few seconds and I had almost passed it off thinking it is a Drongo. Glad I took this photo.



Black winged cuckoo shrike



Common kingfisher


Our return journey was uneventful. We left at 8:00 AM and reached our home by 1:15 PM. Stopped for breakfast on the way in Kumta. Did not find any good options for breakfast before this on the way.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[am1m]

Originally Posted by thirugata

We booked an entire house on Airbnb for week as we also wanted to take care of work during the weekday and go out only in the evenings.

Originally Posted by thirugata

This place is on the edge of the Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary. Bit away from the beach but right in the lap of nature, the side of Goa we wanted this time.

Place looks lovely! I've worked out of South Goa for a few months, tried different places. Always found reliable broadband access/hot-spot speeds to be an issue. So ended up moving closer to the bigger towns. How was it at this place, near Cotigao?

[thirugata]

Originally Posted by am1m

Place looks lovely! I've worked out of South Goa for a few months, tried different places. Always found reliable broadband access/hot-spot speeds to be an issue. So ended up moving closer to the bigger towns. How was it at this place, near Cotigao?

There was no issue with internet. There was good 4G signal and the host had broadband connection. In 8 days we stayed there broadband was down for about 15 mins once.
This place has Cotigao wildlife sanctuary on one side and Talpona river on the other. So location wise very good.
Only drawback is no online food delivery service here. So you either cook or go out and eat.

This is the link for the place

[thirugata]

I guess i got the link wrong there.
sharing again https://www.airbnb.co.in/rooms/98907...a4hdIZYIAK%2FM

Mods: I didn't have the option to edit the previous post.

[crazy_coyote166]

Originally Posted by am1m

Place looks lovely! I've worked out of South Goa for a few months, tried different places. Always found reliable broadband access/hot-spot speeds to be an issue. So ended up moving closer to the bigger towns. How was it at this place, near Cotigao?

I worked out of South Goa for about 3 weeks couple months back. Stayed near the Zalor beach and internet was never a problem. Maybe it was because of the provider your AirBnb(s) used? On the side note: Zalor was really beautiful, not crowded like the popular ones and perfect for morning runs. While South Goa is fairly far away from the good restaurants (minimum 30min for anything decent), I found the quaint and calm setting to be super productive.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by crazy_coyote166

Zalor was really beautiful, not crowded like the popular ones and perfect for morning runs.

Super, thanks. Have been to Zalor several times, loved it! Thanks to the lack of shacks or restaurants around, keeps the crowds away!

Originally Posted by crazy_coyote166

While South Goa is fairly far away from the good restaurants

Yeah, lots of people have this as a downside/complaint. But if you are ok with eating what the locals eat (fish thalis, ros omlettes), you'll find several reasonable places. Again, I like it because it keeps the crowds seeking 'tourist/instagram food' away!

[Rocketqueen22]

Zalor and Fatrade is by far the most peaceful location for anyone who needs to get away from the chaos that Goa has become.
Have my Airbnb there...also my home when I get a chance to visit...unfortunately...the route from Mumbai to Goa is always guess work since road conditions vary every season!!!

[mugen_pinaki27]

Hi@thirugata,

Lovely read! Coincidentally, me and my fiance are planning a trip to North and South Goa in December 2024. Had a couple of queries. Would be grateful if you could give me some insights:

1. We're getting a premium room for 4500 Rs at The Tamarind, Anjuna. Is that a fair price? I'm new to Goa and hence enquiring.

2. A lot of BHPians have vouched for Vailankanni Auto Hire. Did you avail of their service? If yes, how was it?

3. How was the weather in December? Too humid? Or pleasant?

4. Is Goan traffic tough to navigate? Do drivers follow rules?

Thanks in advance!

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by mugen_pinaki27

Hi@thirugata,

Lovely read! Coincidentally, me and my fiance are planning a trip to North and South Goa in December 2024. Had a couple of queries. Would be grateful if you could give me some insights:

1. We're getting a premium room for 4500 Rs at The Tamarind, Anjuna. Is that a fair price? I'm new to Goa and hence enquiring.

2. A lot of BHPians have vouched for Vailankanni Auto Hire. Did you avail of their service? If yes, how was it?

3. How was the weather in December? Too humid? Or pleasant?

4. Is Goan traffic tough to navigate? Do drivers follow rules?

Thanks in advance!

Tamarind, Anjuna is about 4 Kms from beach. It's a decent place. December month the price of everything skyrockets in Goa. Considering that fact, the price appears to be reasonable.

However, there's no dearth of good resorts in Goa and you are starting very early compared to others. You should get a better resort, much closer to the beach in similar price range. It's still 4 months to December. So explore all other options. As I said there's a ton of resorts in Goa. So do not book in a jiffy. No FOMO. Check out more options, closer to beach or a beach front property and you could get a much better deal. Generally properties close to beach tend to be expensive, the interior resorts such as Tamarind Anjuna should not be that expensive. There's a lot of choices. So don't get rattled Take your time. Shortlist some 4-5 resorts, check in Google maps to see their proximity to beach, call them and speak with them, compare all your data and feedback and take a call. People sometimes just walk in to resorts in December and get good rooms. Nothing to panic.

Vailankanni Auto in Candolim are a reputed auto rental company. Your resort (wherever you book) will have a friendly neighborhood rental agency that will be more pocket friendly and convenient to you. Just like the resorts, there are lot of Auto rentals available in Goa. All have similar rentals and not much variation or deviation. So not to worry. Again don't jump into it. Rental taxis are not a big concern.

Weather in December is pleasant but humid (like any coastal place) . Nothing much of concern.

Goan traffic is not tough to navigate (by Delhi traffic standards) and people are courteous and helpful. However December is maximum tourist month and traffic will be heavy everywhere.
If you are 2 persons, a rental 2 wheeler is a good idea and if you are a larger family, then instead of driving, better to have a driver. The reason is parking in Goa in December is a difficult proposition and you would lose a lot of time and patience in parking everywhere you go. So, when you hire a driver, you are free of all these parking hassles and the local driver knows all the Goan roads much better, this minimising your travel time and also can act as a guide, if needed.
Of course you can drive yourself, but then you have to manage the local Konkani speaking people, routes, parking etc and that could be stressful at times.

[deepak_misra]

Originally Posted by mugen_pinaki27

Hi@thirugata,

2. A lot of BHPians have vouched for Vailankanni Auto Hire. Did you avail of their service? If yes, how was it?

3. How was the weather in December? Too humid? Or pleasant?

4. Is Goan traffic tough to navigate? Do drivers follow rules?

2) I have used Vailankanni on all trips and have had a good experience till now. Please DM if it helps since my friend has an agency and helps with booking for Vailankanni

3) Weather good, though you would still need AC.

4) Depends on the area, Highways can be hell due to continious construction