Chapora Fort: Two Wheels, Two Nomads, One Thrilling Adventure

Day 8: Dec 29, 2007

Today we finally arrive at the much-awaited destination – Goa, covering of Nivti, Vengurla, Yashwantgad, Terekhol, and Chapora Fort.

Kille Nivti

Early as usual, we went up to the Nivti fort. The fort is completely in ruins and there is a dense shrubbery of wild plants. Most of the fortification ruins are covered by these shrubs and what is visible is a group of a couple of bastions. This leaves nothing much to see on the fort but we can catch up some impressive views of the Bhogwe beach on the right and the Nivti beach on the left. The virgin beauty of both beaches left us absolutely mesmerized and we fell in love with the topography of the place.

With a glimpse of natural beauty still in mind and a promise to visit here again, we left Nivti to head for the next destination – Vengurle.

Vengurle

An hour’s ride got us at Vengurle and we headed to check out an old monument in the city called Vakhar. I presume it had been a trade center to monitor the trade at the historically important harbor of Vengurle. This monument is completely in ruins and one can see nothing but dense foliage inside. It was very disheartening to see the sorry state of such an important monument.

Bhagyat & Sagareshwar beaches

A little ahead in Vengurle are these 2 small beaches. Very clean and serene and most importantly they are not frequented by people. Sagareshwar has a neatly maintained temple of lord Shiva which is worth a watch. MTDC has a beautiful resort here right next to the beach, thus promising a comfortable stay.

Yashwantgad

This was the last fort we saw before we crossed the state borders to enter Goa. It is a huge fort overlooking the gigantic spread of the sea and offering breathtaking views. This historic monument too was in complete ruins but whatever existed was evidence of the grandeur of the past.  We spent enough time exploring the wreck and wondering how beautiful it would have been in those days. We also feasted our eyes on the breathtaking view of the sea. The beach was one of the best beaches I had seen and could not resist capturing it.

Ganpati Temple

Apart from Yashwatgad, Redi is famous for its Ganpati temple. It is around 2 km from the fort & attracts a lot of tourists and devotees from all over. The idol of lord Ganesh is very pretty and there is a feeling of devoutness in the temple. We had a quick darshan and we were geared up and excited about Goa. Go Goa!

Terekhol

4 km from Redi is Terekhol which is the first destination in Goa and we reached it in no time. Wow! It gave us a feeling of satisfaction that finally we have reached where we were destined and our excitement knew no bounds.

We reached fort Tiracol which is now converted into a heritage hotel. It is a very small fort and I liked the fact that it has been maintained uniquely. The best part was that it was still open to tourists. The fort housed a small church and an idol of St. Anthony. The fort walls were strong and overlooked the sea and the Tiracol beach. It has the fame of being the nude beach of Goa, but unfortunately, we could not see any.

We then crossed the creek by ferrying across at Kery and reached the opposite end of Tiracol and set off for Harmal beach.

Harmal Beach

A half an hour’s ride on the streets of Goa took us to Harmal Beach. It is popular as Arambol beach. Loud English numbers, fancy shops, shady shacks, and plenty of foreign tourists – we could now feel the spirit of Goa.  We hung around here for a while gazing at the liveliness of the beach, grabbed an ice cream, and headed to our next destination.

Chapora Fort

The ‘Dil Chahta Hai’ fame Chapora fort was around a 45-min drive from Harmal. The stone walls of Chapora Fort resided on a small hillock adjoining the Vagator beach. We parked our bikes at the end of the road which was almost halfway up the hill. From here it was a mere 5 min climb to the Chapora fort.

The Chapora fort is in good condition. But all that is there is an enclosed open space with absolutely no monuments or ruins. But one can get a fantastic view of the shoreline from here. To the left is the ‘Ek Duje Ke Liye’ fame Vagator beach, a small private beach right below and the Harmal stretch on the right. A few good snaps here and a short rest before we thought of moving ahead.

Panji

It had been a long day and pretty sunny too. Exhausted by now and we decided to head straight to the guest house. We called up Varun for directions and headed in the direction of Panjim. We met up with Lakshmikant (Akshay’s friend) at Kala Academy which was on the way to our guest house. After a short chat and he directed us to the guest house. We took his leave promising him to visit his place the next morning.

Continued… Day 9