Beautiful South Goa and Gigantic Jog Falls

Visit south Goa and Jog fall were on my list from a long time. We got 4 days breaks from office routine and we decided to visit south Goa. We also planned a day trip to Jog Falls.

Travelers for this trip were I and Wife Renuka

Travellers....

About South Goa and Jog falls
              From the tourism point of view, Goa is mainly divided into 3 zones known as North Goa, Panjim, and South Goa. North Goa is famous for  parties and nightlife whereas South Goa is famous for beautiful beaches and peace. South Goa consist of regions like Mornugoa, Salcette, Quepem, Sanguem and Canacona. Famous beaches are Colva, Benaulim, Cavelossim, Agonda and Palolem beach. Konkani is the local language of a majority of the people in South Goa. English, Hindi, and Marathi are understood well whereas Portuguese is also spoken by few people.
             To reach South Goa from Pune/Mumbai by fastest route is, Mumbai - Pune - Belagavi (Karnataka State) - Mollem (Goa State) - Ponda (Do not confused with Phonda from Maharashtra State) -  Margao - Your selected destination from South Goa.
Another Route is Mumbai - Mangaon (From Pune you can reach Mangaon via Tahmini Ghat) - Chiplun - Sawantwadi - Mapusa (Goa State) - Cortalim - Margao - Your selected destination from South Goa.

Goa International Airport (Mainly known as Dabolim Airport) is well connected by International flights as well as by Domestic flights. Goa is well connected by Indian rail-line and regular trains run between major cities of India to Goa. Margao (Also known as Madgaon) is biggest and busiest railway station in Goa.

Jog falls is located in Shimoga and it is 2nd highest fall in India. It was ranked 13th in the world as per tourist visit count. It is located on Sharavathi River and its gigantic view can be seen during peak monsoon time. Drive to Jog fall from Coastal line of Karnataka goes through Dense forest.

24th Sept 2016: Pune to Sernabatim (Distance: Appro 473km)
              We left Pune by 6 AM in the morning. Our parents joined us till Kolhapur and we dropped them at our relative's place. We had breakfast at Vithal Kamat restaurant near Karad town. After leaving parents, We move ahead for our planned South Goa trip.Drive after Belagavi was fantastic. It goes through dense forest Bhimgad wildlife sanctuary. We reached our Heaven Goa Guesthouse hotel located in Sernabatim.
              The hotel consists of AC and NonAC rooms. Rooms are clean, bed with mosquito net and 24 x 7 hot water is available. It has nice swimming pool. If you are a pet-friendly person then this is the best place to stay. They have 5 Dogs (3 labrador and 2 street dogs) and 6-7 cat as a pet. We enjoyed our time playing with them. View from NonAC rooms is tempted you relax with coffee and book. you get Pool view from NonAC rooms. Hotel runs by Swiss lady Karin.

              For evening, we went on Colva Beach. Due to the monsoon, we decided to avoid swimming in the sea. Colva beach is famous for beach shacks and long stretched beach. Monsoon clouds gather in the sky hence we missed the sunset. After taking a stroll on the beach we came back to the parking area. Beach area have a huge market to buy clothes, footwear, gift articles and much more. Heavy monsoon forced us to visit beach shacks. We had some snacks and went back to Hotel for some rest.

Colva Beach

               We heard a lot about Restaurant Martins corner Salcettee area. It is a Multi Cuisine a la carte restaurant serving Goan, Indian, Tandoori, Continental Chinese and known especially for tasty Seafood. The place is visited by a celebrity like Amitabh Bachchan, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and much more. you can see the visited celebrity photo collection on the wall. The food was very tasty and live music was played. It was the perfect start to taste Goan dishes.

Expenses:

• Car Petrol: INR 2000/-
• Toll 1 in MH: INR 80/- (One way)
• Toll 2 in MH: INR 55/- (One way)
• Breakfast at Vithal Kamat: INR 365/- (for 4 People)
• Toll 3 in MH: INR 58/- (One way)
• Toll 4 in MH: INR 68/- (One way)
• Toll 1 in KA: INR 50/- (One way)
• Toll 2 in KA: INR 50/- (One way)
• Goa Entry for Car: INR 250/-
• Heaven Goa stays: INR 2400/- for 3 nights
• Snacks in Colva: INR 360/- for 2 people (Panner starter, finger fries, and cold drinks)
• Dinner at Martins Corner: As per your ordered dishes (Approx 1000/- for 2 without drinks)

25th Sept 2016: South Goa
            The day begins with heavy rainfall. We took enough rest and enjoyed our time with Pets in the hotel. Monsoon took a break at 10.30 AM and we left the hotel to explore South Goa. Our first destination was Varca Beach. Due to the monsoon, Only we were on the beach.

Varca Beach

              Road to reach Varca takes a right at main circle near Colva, for Benaulim and go straight till you see an old whitewashed church on your left. Take right to reach Varca beach. The road is surrounded by coconut trees so if you are traveling during Monsoon, the journey is pleasant.Varca beach is famous for its golden sand and flat seabed. Monsoon cloud was dominating over sunlight. We took walk on the beach. Due to the monsoon, there is no shacks were opened on the beach. After spending half an hour we left for our next destination

Varca Beach

              Our next destination was Mobor beach and Betul Beach. Heavy rain started during our journey to Mobor. Paddy fields, Coconut trees, and rice plantation made our journey pleasant. When we reached the beach, clouds were disappeared and bright sunlight started shining the golden sand. few tourists were on the beach. we went in sea water which was chilled. Caveslossim beach, Mobor beach, and Betul beach appear as one beach. It is logically separated by respective village/town area. In fact, you will find same beach line from Arossim to Betul without any discontinuity. Different names to beaches were given as per nearby village/town.

Mobor Beach

Mobor Beach

               After spending an hour, we went on Betul beach. You can take a walk towards creek and end portion of the beach is known as Betul beach. To avoid the walk, we went by Car. Road is narrow and frequently use by tourist. Beach was spoiled by locals and not at all maintained. We hardly spend 20 min on the beach and left for lunch.

Betul Beach

              We heard about The Fisherman Wharf restaurant from Friends and locals.It is located close to River which offers you a beautiful view. Seafood was tasty with good ambiance. We had our Lunch and then went ahead for Agonda beach.

DND me as its Monsoon time...Sal River, South Goa

              Agonda is one the best beach from South Goa. The hilly roads leading up to the beach is serene with greenery everywhere. Beach is in curved shape covered by mountains from both ends. Sand is golden and soft. The sea is a bit rough here and the beach becomes deep at places so not very suitable for swimming especially during high tide.The water at certain points can be tricky as there are rocks and shells below and one does need to be careful.

Agonda Beach

Agonda Beach

              Beach consist of many shacks to enjoy the food. As we visited at the end of monsoon hence shacks repair work was in progress.We took a walk on the beach and then decided to return. To avoid the coastal curved road, we took Mumbai-Goa National highway till Chinchinim and then reach Hotel via Varca. Due to Monsoon, sunset view from the beach was not an option for us.

Agonda Beach

Crazy Travellers

              We went to the hotel and spend some time in the swimming pool. For dinner, we decided to visit Benaulim beach. Benaulim beach is extended part of Colva Beach. It has few Shacks located on the beach. Shacks which offers Sea view are Johncy's restaurant, Pedro's Restaurant and Rafael's restaurant. These 3 are open during monsoon whereas few other shacks open after Monsoon period. We went to Johncy's Restaurant. All hotels were hardly occupied with any tourists. We had lovely grilled Snapper fish and some Punjabi meal. Jog fall day trip was planned for tomorrow.

Johncy's Restaurant at Benaulim Beach

Expense:

• Breakfast in hotel: INR 120/- (2 omelet with toast)
• One Coffee: INR 40/-
• Lunch at Fisherman Wharf: INR 1142/- for 2 people (Mocktails, veg Starter dish, Fish starter, and prawns Thai curry with rice)
• Car petrol: INR 2300/-
• Dinner at Johny shacks: INR 1648/- (Veg starter, Full grill red snapper fish, Veg Punjabi dish, Roti and Cold drinks)

26th Sept 2016: Day trip to Jog Falls
               We woke up by 5 AM and left Hotel by 5.30 AM for Jog fall. The distance between Colva and Jog Fall is around 224km. It required around 4.5 to 5 hours without any break. The best route to reach Jog fall is Colva - Varca - Join Mumbai-Goa Highway - Polem (Goa State) - Karwar (Karnataka) - Kumta - Honnavar - Take a left at Honnavar for Fall - Drive for around 62km to reach Jog Fall viewpoint.
                The journey from Honnavar to Jog fall goes through the dense forest. Keep an eye open while traveling through the forest as it is the home of rare mammal spices lion-tailed macaque. We enjoyed forest journey. Road condition is good to expect few bad patches. To Save time, We purchase fruits and had our healthy breakfast.

Jog fall view from British Bungalow viewpoint

               By 10.30 AM we reached at First viewpoint of fall. It is British Bungalow converted into Government house. You cannot view all 3-4 falls from this place. Jog Fall appears much closer from this place. We saw Fall and then decided to go to Mayura hotel owned my KTDC. You can view entire fall from KTDC hotel premises.

Jog Falls

Jog Falls

              KTDC hotel built viewpoint area to enjoy the fall. You can see all 4 waterfall from this place. The view is simply amazing. During peak monsoon, water flow appears much bigger. In Monsoon, most of the time valley is covered with fog or cloud hence better to keep extra time in your hand. You can book a room at Mayura hotel to spend the weekend in the lap of nature.

Jog Falls

             There are multiple points built to view Fall from different angles. We spend more than 1 hour to capture nature beauty in camera. As I said earlier it is 2nd highest fall in India. It was ranked 13th in the world as per tourist visit count. Fall is beautiful and best to watch in monsoon when it is in full swing.

Jog Falls

              One can enjoy the falls having a top view or you can opt to take 1500-1600 steps down to reach the bottom of the falls to enjoy the beauty. Entry in water pond is not allowed. Just a caution the climb is a lot steep so ensure you carry water bcoz while coming up you will be dehydrated.

We at Jog Falls

              We left this beautiful place by 1.30 PM and had our lunch at nearby Dhaba. We left by 3 PM. As compare to last 2 days, the weather was clear so we decided to enjoy sunset time at the beach in Goa. We started our journey towards Polem which is the first beach after entering into Goa state.

Polem Beach, South Goa

             We reached Polem before 6 PM. We unable to view sunset because of few monsoon cloud but the weather was just a perfect. Twilight shades in the sky were wonderful. No one was on the beach and it gave us feeling like our private beach. It was a wonderful evening. We left this place after 7 PM.

Polem Beach, South Goa

Lovely Polem beach

               Our last destination was Palolim beach. We have visited this place during our Costal Karnataka Trip. It was our one of the favorite place from South Goa. After some shopping time at Palolim, we went on the beach for Dinner. Hardly 2-3 beach shacks were opened. The entire beach is full of Beach shacks which open after 10-15 Oct or after Monsoon.

There was hardly any tourist on the beach which was an unusual sight for Palolim. Beach is famous for its powdery sand, bluish green waters, and sea facing shacks. The beach is very beautiful and water is peaceful with very mild waves. I found this beach with the decent crowd (both Indians and foreigners) as compared to North Goa beaches.We had our tasty Dinner at Famous restaurant shacks Draupadi. Thet serves delicious seafood. We came hotel after dinner.

Expense:

• Jog fall car entry: INR 30/-
• Jog fall entry: INR 20/- for 2 person
• Maggi at Jog Fall: INR 25/-
• Lunch at Dhaba: INR 170/- (Veg dish, Roti, and Cold drinks)
• Goa Entry: INR 250/-
• Dinner at Palolem: INR 840/- (Mocktails, Fish starter, and Pasta)

27th Sept 2016: South Goa to Pune
               We woke up by 7.30 AM and visited Sernabatim beach. We went to the beach for a walk. It is extended part of Colva beach. We had morning walk and came back to the hotel. We pack up our bags and left heaven Goa guesthouse hotel. We had heavy breakfast in Shivsagar restaurant at Colva. we decided to drive via Amboli ghat as the drive from Amboli in monsoon is pleasant.

Sernabatim Beach

We took the path as Colva - Margao - Panjim - Amboli - Kolhapur - Pune. We took a pit stop at Amboli waterfall and had some snacks in Amboli. We reached home safely by via same NH-4 route by 10 PM

Amboli Waterfall

Amboli Waterfall

Expense:

• Brunch at Colva: INR 300/- (3-4 South Indian dishes and coffee)
• Car Petrol: INR 1800/-
• Maggi at Amboli Ghat: INR 40/- for 1 dish
• Coffee: INR 20/-
• Toll 1 in KA: INR 50/- (One way)
• Toll 1 in MH: INR 68/- (One way)
• Toll 2 in MH: INR 58/- (One way)
• Dinner at Vithal Kamat: INR 405/- (for 4 People)
• Toll 3 in MH: INR 55/- (One way)
• Toll 4 in MH: INR 80/- (One way)

Contact Number for reference

• Heaven goa guesthouse: 832 277 2201, 919890698202, 917507660997. Website: http://www.heavengoa.in/
• Mayura KTDC hotel: 082312 47288.

Drive safe,Someone is waiting for you at Home!

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Thanks for reading this Travel Blog.
Happy traveling.

Pritesh Kulkarni 

Pune