Palolem Beach is one of the clean and beautiful beach in Goa. Surrounded by Palm trees, situated in South Goa (Canacona)... this is the place where you can (definitely) hope to find clean water.
Clean and beautiful beach...
Although there were a lot of accommodation options on the beach itself, we preferred to stay @ Colva... there are a lot more resorts around Colva to choose from, also since we had a car with us... the idea was to cover all south Goa beaches staying at one central place...
Beach Hut
Lots of options to choose from... Right on the Beach!!
Tip: If you plan to stay at Palolem, book the resort in advance as here are only a few of the good ones and they tend to fill fast during the holiday season, also same day booking may cost you more...
Palolem is an hour drive from Colva and the other beaches in between are - Varca and Agonda (there are others as well, just listing the ones which are worth visiting if time permits)
When we came to the beach, the first things we observed were:-
Peace!
Kayaks!
Clear water!
Shacks!
Clean. Peace. Calm!
Ferries which will take you to Butterfly Island...
The beach was not much crowded. Once we were done enjoying in the water, there were a lot of
shacks
available to relax. You can sit and enjoy the beautiful beach in the
shacks... they won't charge you as long as you are ordering food and
drinks from them :-)
Chilling ... view from the shack!
Nice Place...
Kayak's are available here for as cheap as INR 100 for an hour (~$2).
This is a must to do activity here...
One must do thing is to visit the Splendid Butterfly Island or Honeymoon Island through ferry.
It was a fun day on definitely one of the best beach in South Goa.
While coming back from the waterfalls, most of the guides and locals suggested visiting the Spice Farms as they were on our way back to Goa. At first, we didn't liked the idea as 'Being Indians' we assume to have all the knowledge about spices ... and this visit proved us wrong!
We reached the place located at Collem, and inquired about the tour and facility. The entry charge was INR 400, which included a Tour of the spice farms followed by Lunch. Another attraction here was Elephant Bath for INR 600 ... couldn't get the full idea about this thing from the ticket counter but definitely sounded something fun!
Entry
The locals welcomed us with garlands at the entrance. This place is mainly famous with European Tourists but there were equal number of Russians too... you will hardly find Indian tourists in here. The guides were able to speak both English and Russian. We were taken to the dining area to have welcome drink (Lemon Tea) and a brief about the tour.
Hot Lemon Tea and some munches...
The tour started with a glimpse of a traditional dance by the locals around Holy Tree of Tulsi.
Local women performing a traditional dance...
Holy Tree of 'Tulsi' in the middle
The Tour
Although we see all kinds of spices everyday, but it was cool to see and learn about the actual trees where the spices are actually being extracted from. It was an interactive tour, our guide asked us to guess the spices by smelling the leaves.
It was also nice to find out about health remedies these spices can provide. These guys have booklets having this information (you can purchase them, or take pics of the book itself.)
Tried to remember all the names, missed a few...
Vanilla Leaves (never knew these are the most costly one's out there...)
Pineapple
Kokum Tree
Lemon Grass (was easily able to guess by the scent)
Neem (very important in ayurveda)
Our Guide .. explaining the importance of each spice...
The Gardens...
Black Pepper (see the small bunch of seeds near the trunk...?)
Cashew Seed
Cinnamon (this is extracted from inside of tree's bark)
Aloe Vera... this one's very common in Indian Homes
The tour was followed by a buffet style lunch, they had both veg and
non-veg offerings but was on a healthy eating theme (pure-veg people
might not find the food too promising).
The Dining area
Elephant Bath
This was one of a kind experience, although we
imagined a lake where the elephant would take u when this 'Elephant
Bath' was described to us, but nevertheless even without it... nothing
stopped the fun!
There is a platform through which you will be
sitting on the elephant and then the elephant will bathe you by
showering you with cold water from his trunk! A total of approx 15 such
showers and the whole experience will leave you amazed and refreshed.
This is not to be missed kind of experience.
Amazing shower...!!!
Small water reserve in front of the Elephant
There are ample of changing rooms where you can change wet clothes.
This was overall a nice experience getting to know the spices and their origins and the refreshing bath... 3-4 hours worth it.
This is one of the hidden gems in Goa!! A must visit for an unforgettable experience (includes a ride on uneven terrain, some trekking, fresh water, and much more...)
The falls are very popular with the foreign tourists, and recently has been a center of attraction for Indian tourists as well ... all thanks goes to Mr Shah Rukh Khan for shooting a scene here in his movie - "Chennai Express"!
If you're interested: This is a video of the making of Chennai Express (the scene @ the falls)
Some Info...
In English, the name means - "Sea of Milk"
It's a 4 tier waterfall located on the Mandovi River
60 kms from Panaji City, Goa
India's 5th tallest fall (227th in the world) at 310 meters
Coming to 'The Experience'
Reaching There
We
were advised to get there early in the morning. The first tour to the
falls starts at around 8AM. We started from our hotel at
6:30AM. It's around 90 minutes drive (considering minimal early morning
traffic). If you don't have your own ride, get in touch with any Taxi
driver in Goa and book a ride. We reached 'Colem' at 7:30AM. This is
where the tour starts from. All the locals in this town provide parking
facility in their personal premises for a nominal charge.
The Tour
The
ride to the falls is all through uneven terrains. There are 4x4's which
will take you to the falls, book yours as soon as you reach the spot.
They take 6 persons in a car (If you are a group of less then 6, they
will club you with someone else). Charge is INR 600 per head. You can
book the whole car to yourself by paying 6*600 = INR 3,600.
We got
lucky there, as there was a group of 4 Russian tourists already waiting
and we were clubbed with them. Were the first car of the day to leave
for falls. Note: You will not get anything to eat up there, make sure to carry some snacks & water along with.
IMP: It's
actually worth to reach there early, as you will get less crowd and cool
morning breeze will be a delight. As the day progresses, the rising run
(heat) and increasing tourists might spoil the fun.
The Ride
We
started for the falls @ around 8AM. It's a very bumpy ride with
absolutely no roads. Many a times we crossed water streams and... it
will take approx 1 hour to reach there (if you have back pain condition,
avoid...!). The waterfalls are located inside "BHAGWAN MAHAVEER
WILDLIFE SANCTUARY & NATIONAL PARK". Reached their gates in 30 min
and stopped for tickets. Took another 30 min to reach the falls.
This is the road ahead!
These kind of even patches are very rare...!
Yes... Still in the car ;-)
Our Ride...
@The Gates... while we were waiting for out Tickets
Note in the below mentioned pic ... "Professional Camera - Rs. 7500"! Even we were surprised by this pricing... but nobody cares (We were carrying a SLR)
Note the price for 'Professional Camera'
The Falls
We trekked the remaining patch. It was a good
experience and once we started getting a glimpse of the falls, the level
of excitement started rising. The scenic beauty along the whole path
was really enjoyable.
The car will halt there for about and hour
and a half. We spent our most of the time in and around the fresh water
pond on the base of the falls. (Take great care while swimming
there as there have been many cases of people drowning recently... You
will be provided life jackets BUT there will be no lifeguards... you
will be at your own risk!!)
Fresh and Chilled water from the falls...
Just the beginning ...
Get.. Set...Go!
Awesome Experience!
There's a reason it's called 'Sea of Milk'
The Monkeys
As soon as the first batch of the tourists
arrived there, a lot of monkeys started climbing down the trees.
They won't hurt you... but will go after anything they can get hold of,
specially the food!.
This is the most happening beach (alongside with Baga, obviously). It's a must visit for the tourists coming to Goa. Most of the people like to stay @ Calangute / Baga in North Goa, which makes both of these areas full of people, hotels, B&B's, restaurants, pubs, spas, shops ... Also, night life is awesome here!
We came to Calangute @ mid-day. There are a lot of options to eat around here... we did took some considerable time to zero down on a restaurant for Lunch. Post that, the rest of the day was dedicated to the beach!
As you approach the beach, the road is filled with a lot of restaurants and shops having all kinds of stuff that will surely keep one busy. If you have right skills, you can get a good bargain here ... ;-)
The Restaurants/Pubs on the way to Beach
Roadside eateries... (don't look for hygiene here)
Coming to the beach, people mostly come here for two reasons:
Water Sports: The best place for water sports in Goa. Also, if you are visiting during off-season, the prices are very low (less than 1000 INR for 3-4 sports) ... They have - Paragliding, Speed Boats, Jet Ski, Bumper and Banana rides.
Most of the crowd can be seen enjoying the sports...
The Shacks: This beach has the most options for shacks. And all of them are free to sit (till you are buying food/drinks from them). Best place to relax, have some beers and enjoy the sunset. Also, do enjoy the local food, it's worth it!
Awesome view of Sunset from our shack
The candle(s) lit by the owners on every table... lovely!
All that definitely makes this beach very crowded (and obviously, as a side effect of that - DIRTY). But as long as you are having fun, these things can be ignored.
There are also many artists seen here, we met a sand artist (from Germany) who had made a beautiful sand castle right in front of the beach entrance!
Also, this is a good place to get yourself inked (temp tattoos, don't rely on the locals for a perm) for a good price.
It was a fun day @ Calangute ... especially the evening at the Shack followed by awesome dinner!
