Sun and sand at Devbagh

Wedged between the green hills to the east and the blue Arabian sea, the port town of Karwar itself is a charming town with a couple of pretty beaches. The unparalleled beauty of the place was what mesmerised Rabindranath Tagore to pen a poem here way back in 1882. In recent times though, after the Sea Bird Project of the Indian Navy cordoned off pristine beaches like the Binaga, the nearby islands began to draw attention. Devbagh, with its own share of beaches, patches of a forest and the lesser fauna and avifauna, has indeed become an enchanting tourist destination. 

Devbagh boasts of a rich grove of Casuarina trees, a few coconut trees, medicinal plants and mangrove swamps. A long coast adorns its western flank facing the islands of Kurmagad, Sanyasgad and Devgad, the latter equipped with a light house built in British times. As the sun begins to dip behind the outline of Kurmagad the sky gains a rosy pink colour, with the silhouette of trees making for a picture-postcard-perfect setting.

While at Devbagh Beach Resort, run by Jungle Lodges, a government of Karnataka project, you could opt for a nature walk, as part of which you can spot a wide variety of birds, including white-bellied sea eagles and their equally large nests made of twigs and leaves. The smaller trees and bushes support a variety of other bird species like drongos, babblers and kingfishers. Spotting a brightly coloured golden oriole and a flame backed woodpecker was a boon. Sarpagandhi, known for medicinal value and wild onions form part of the flora. The forest is also home to jackals. Passing by a stretch of quicksand and puddles with crabs we reached the sea water canals and rich mangroves with their typical bayonet-like aerial roots above water. 

You can also take ferry rides to the deep sea to watch dolphins. Cruising beyond the Kurmagad island that looks like a tortoise ( Kurma means tortoise) we found a school of dolphins playfully leaping and diving.  

A fishing village on the fringes of the island is where a colony of fishermen eke out a living and each day as trawlers arrive, it is a hectic time for them to sort out the day’s catch and distribute the fish. Beyond the village is a strip of land that affords access to the mainland which is why Devbagh is actually a peninsula.Devbagh offers a few watersports as well.

Getting there
Karwar, 520 kms from Bangalore, can be reached by bus/train from major cities. Dabolim,Goa (140 kms) is the nearest airport.