The Portuguese Delight - Daman

The love for Travel takes you to varied places in search of contemporary sights, or a new generation illustration of cultures. India is blessed with the most varied setups of edifying civilization. Here, you can find not only the ethnic Indian cultures, but also foreign cultures who visited India like the Parsis, Dutch, French and Portuguese. All these cultures intermingled with each other forming blends of cultures with their unique characteristics. The west coast of India was has a prolonged history of Portuguese reign and many settlements are recorded. These places offers the visitors a complete different outlook of culture, landscaping and people. In this journey, I will be taking you to the most famed destination from Indo-Portuguese history.

Daman, the administrative capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD), a famed destination on the western coast of India washed by Arabian Sea, lying 171 km from Mumbai, India. The place receives heavy tourists during weekends from Maharashtra and Gujarat. Daman was under Portuguese rule for around 400 years. It was added into Independent India in December, 1961. During these years, the place was converted into a mini Portugal and had seen great cultural mix-up. In present political context, Daman has two administrative territory, Moti-Daman and Nani-Daman, divided by the Daman Ganga River. The Darotha River acts as the southern border, and River Kolak acts the northern border with Gujarat. People born before 20 December, 1961 can apply for citizenship of Portugal, but they need to leave Indian Citizenship. 

Places to Explore

Devka Beach:  

The beach side of Nani-Daman area, mostly known for its landscaping with pebbles and blackish sand. During low tide time, the water recedes quite a good distance. It is commercially developed with beach sports, beach shacks, and beach-side resorts. With rapidly increasing tourism, degradation of Beach has been witnessed.

 

Jampore Beach:  

The beach side of Moti-Daman area. It has golden sandy touch to the beach. The beach is also developed commercially with most beach activities. It seemed more clean compared to Devka. Stay options are less but food stalls are abundant.

Rocky patch of Jampore Beach

St. Jerome Fort:  

The fort located near riverside of Daman Ganga River in Nani Daman area, which is standing tall from Portuguese times. The construction of this fort was initiated by Dom Jeronimo de Azevado, the 12th Portuguese Viceroy of India in 1614, and it was completed during Dom Franciso de Gama in 1672. The entry gate of the fort has a beautiful and nicely intact idol of St. Jerome. The most intact building inside the fort is Church Of Our Lady Of Sea.  

 

Entrance Gate of St. Jerome Fort

Moti Daman Fort: 

The fort has a large area cover of around 30000 sq.m. and is a part of Moti-Daman area. The fort is known for big bastions, two massive entry gates and it houses many canons. Many important landmarks of Daman is encircled inside this fort. You can drive through inside the fort.   

 

Daman Lighthouse: 

It is housed inside the Moti Daman Fort, near the banks of Daman Ganga river and Arabian sea confluence. There you can see the old lighthouse, which is closed and a new lighthouse is constructed which is operational and in use.

 

The Old and New Lighthouses

Dominican Monastery:

The place is presently in ruins and lies inside Moti-daman fort, but is an old church construction dedicated to Saint Dominic and was erected in year 1567. It was an important place of worship in Daman. The place is a classic spot of photography lovers. 

 

Ruins of Convent of the Dominican

The Collector Office: 

The constructions of Moti Daman Fort are well intact and presently, these building are used as the Administrative buildings. Being the capital of DNHDD Union Territory, the place is a busy government office area. The Secretariat and Collector Office are important office buildings.  

 

The Secretariat Building inside Moti Daman Fort

Cathedral of Bom Jesus:  

An old church in Moti daman fort area constructed in 1603. The outer structure is pretty basic, but internally the central area resembles the Old Goa Church. 

 

Church Entrance and Sign Board for Tourists

Mirasol Lake Garden

The Mirasol Lake garden is an artificial setup developed for the entertainment of kids, with facilities like Toy train that circles the lake area, Paddle Boating option for families and food stalls. The basic entry fee is Rs 10, but inside all activities are separately charged. 

 

 

 

Jetty Garden:  

The city garden area built and maintained by the local muncipality. The place offers a beautiful escape beside the river. The view of the bridge is amazing at night. A selfie point is also made for "I love Daman"

 

Captioned at the river side

Confluence of Daman Ganga with Arabian Sea:

The place is near St. Jerome fort. The area is basically a fisherman jetty. But the view is marked by the merging of silent Daman Ganga River with the rapidity of Arabian Sea. It gives a beautiful scene especially early morning. 

 

Daman Ganga merges with Arabian Sea

Mini-Punjab Experience in Daman

Veera da Dhaba is a grand restaurant in Daman, which is externally themed like a fort, and internally it has a well designed setup that resembles Punjab and its culture. The food is good enough. I highly recommend a visit to this place, not for the taste but for the Punjabi ambience. 

Veera da Dhaba

How to Reach:

Daman is well connected with all modes of transport. The nearest railway station is Vapi, which is around 12km from the place and is an important stoppage for most trains running on the west coast line. The roads are pretty good and is nicely connected to Mumbai (180km), Silvassa (27km) and Surat (124Km). Daman itself has an airbase with limited flights. Airport at Mumbai and Surat provides good connectivity to Daman.

Where to Stay:

There are many options for your stay depending on your pocket size. Beach resorts are costly like the Golden Beach Resort, near Devka Beach that can cost you around Rs 5000/- per room. The place has a nice dining area with great food options. The cheaper option that i opted for is Hotel Gurukripa on Seaface road which can cost you around Rs2000/- and its dining area, The Daman Delite is a very satisfying place to eat in an optimum cost. If you are here for weekend relaxation, select Devka Beach area for beach fun, party and good beach stay options.   

 

Hotel Gurukripa

How Many Days:

A visit to Daman can be easily completed in 2 days, one day for Nani Daman and other for Moti Daman.

 

The city of Daman offers an amazing beach experience for the visitors to get a chill feel around every niche of the city. The beaches are well equipped for experiencing everything like beach activities, water sports, and dine on beach shacks. The town offers a laid back atmosphere with colonial time buildings that holds history within it. Many of the construction of Portuguese age are still intact and gives us an idea of their architectural instincts.  The only downside is the massive scale of visitors have led to excessive pollution of the beaches with wine bottles, plastic deposits damaging the aesthetics of the beautiful coasts. Anyone who is reading this, please spread the message of keeping our country's natural beauties intact and safe. Enjoy barrels of drinks, have carton full of chips, booze around with beer but at the end just deposit those things at appropriate garbage cans. This will make your next visit as beautiful as your present. 

 

Happy Traveling and Keep the Beauties Clean !

Southern Tip of Indian Mainland - Kanyakumari

Monuments at the tip of India

The mind of a traveler is a multi-disciplinary brain who learns history to understand the culture of a place. It learns Geography to appreciate the natural aspects of the region. It also learns Biology, to understand the regional growth and wildlife of the area. A traveler finds joy in every aspect of a place and appreciate all attributes the place has to offer. This open mindedness also plays a healthy role in life lessons as well.

In this journey, I will take you to a place at the very end of Indian mainland, which is a well known topic of many historical stories, site of pilgrimage and a very unique geological situation. 

Welcome to Kanyakumari !

Kanyakumari or Cape Comorin, belongs to the state of Tamil Nadu, is significantly termed as "The Land's End" and is positioned as the "Southern-most Town of India". The place is considered heaven for beach lovers, a place of pilgrimage for Hindus and a historical treat. The geological significance is the merging of three oceanic bodies of Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea. Historically, this area was ruled by many south indian hindu rulers, like the Cholas, the Pandyas, the Cheras and others. The place also witnessed Dutch rule during colonial times before British occupancy. The demo-graphical aspect shows that the people here follow Hindu culture. Islamic beliefs reached the area through Arab traders who were involved in Spice trades across this area. Christianity too is quite dominant in this area with St. Francis stepping in India through Kanyakumari, with estimate of around 45% of city population spread.

 

Places to Visit

The few famous tourist spots of Kanyakumari town area are as scripted below:

1. Vivekananda Rock Memorial

A huge marvelous architectural structure build on a huge rock, 500m from the shoreline dedicated to nation in the year 1970. The memorial spreads the life and words of Swami Vivekananda. Ferry rides are available which carries tourists to the rock. There is a dark political and religious history during the planning of this structure, which even went into judicial battle. But after years of efforts, the construction of the memorial was done. Much of the funds for the construction was actually collected from nation-wide donation process launched by social activist, Eknath Ranade, who was involved with Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and was a disciplined follower of the teachings of Swami Vivekananda.

Vivekananda Memorial

 2. Statue of Thiruvalluvar

A 95 feets statue of famous Tamil poet "Maharshi Thiruvalluvar", which is placed on a base which is around 38 feet in height, which is placed on a rock. The total height of the setup is 133 feets, denoting the 133 chapters of Tirukural. The base of 38 feets height represents 38 chapters of Virtue, and the statue represents Wealth and Love. The statue is beautifully carved by sculpture artist, Vaidyanatha Ganapati Sthapati, and was dedicated to nation on 1 January, 2000. The statue can be visited by ferry rides and tourist can reach upto the feet of the statue.

3. Devi Kanyakumari Temple

Bhagavathi Amman Temple or Devi Kanyakumari Temple is a beautiful coastal temple, which is considered as one of the 108 Shakti Peethas constructed in dedication to Goddess Parvati. The temple is considered 3000 years old, and it presents mesmerizing coastal lookouts. 

4. Gandhi Memorial Mandapan

The structure is constructed in 1956 using Odisha Architecture style to honor the grace of Mahatma Gandhi. After his demise in 1948, the ashes were carried to different parts of the country, and one was brought to Kanyakumari, and was kept at this place for people to pay their last homage. A memorial was constructed around this site, and now it is visited by tourist to witness various different angles of life of Mahatma Gandhi.The place is open for visitors from 7am to 7pm.

5. Kanyakumari Beach

A beautiful evening spot where you can spend your time to relax and have a peaceful time. The beach is properly developed with required amenities, food stalls and other stores. If you focus properly on the gushing waters, you can see three colors of three oceans as they don't mix directly, so layers of water having deep blue, Sea Green and Turquoise Blue colors can be seen. This mixing is better visualized from Vivekananda Memorial. 

Mixture of three seas

6. Thanumalayan Temple

A beautiful temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, Vishnu and Brahma but uniquely here, all the three deities are presented in the form of a "Lingam". This architectural beauty has huge gopurams (entrance) with one having 144 feets. There are numerous pillers, which you can't count but people say it is more than 1000 in numbers with intricate designs. A must visit for religious and architecture enthusiasts, and it is around 12 km outer of Kanyakumari.

Beauty of Thanumalayan Temple Area

7. Vattakotai Fort

A beautiful coastal fortification which was constructed by Travencore kingdom. The architecture was developed by Dutch invaders for military use and covers an area of 3.5 acre. The walls of fort are 25-26 feets in height. The sandy beach area around the fort is blank sandy patch. A must visit for photography lovers, with the area open for visitors from 8am to 5pm.

Walls of the Vattakotai Fort

8. Our Lady of Ransom Church

The church is beautiful, having 153 feet length, breadth 53 feet and height of the main tower is also 153 feet. This entire dimension depicts the beads of the Holy Rosary. There are 12 towers in the church which depict 12 disciples of Jesus Christ.The area has good percentage of christian community, with the fact that in 1542, St. Francis Xavier landed at Kanyakumari in his mission to spread the religion. It is said that the initial church was completed in 1700 with support from local rulers. The modern construction was initiated in 1900. 

The church front area

View of Church from Memorial

A Important Non-Touristic Place is "Vivekananda Kendra", which is a spiritual and cultural center of learning, which is working in close association with Ramakrishna Mission and Rashtrya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). It was founded in 1972 by activist, Eknath Ranade. 

How to Reach

As always, my preferred mode is Indian Railways and Kanyakumari has its own railway station with good connectivity with most Indian cities. Dibrugarh-Kanyakumari Express and Jammu-Kanyakumari Himsagar Express which are two of the longest running trains in India starts from here.  Nagarcoil is another nearby station at 20km, and has good road connectivity with Kanyakumari via state buses. The nearest airport is Trivendrum, which is 91km from here. A road drive from Trivendrum to Kanyakumari is enchanting due to the Kerala backdrop.

Where to Stay

Being a popular tourist destination, it has well developed stay options in all price ranges. It is recommended to have a sea facing options. The Gopinivas, Hotel Seaview are good options. It also has multi-state food options as it receives visitors from many states especially West Bengal, due to its connection with Swami Vivekananda. Many home style food joints are available for visitors from West Bengal. 

Getting comfortable at Hotel (I am in the shadows.. Haha..)

 

 

Banana Chips in making

Who should Visit

Kanyakumari welcomes visitors from all categories of people.

No. of Days 

1 Night, 2 Days are sufficient  but you can extend for another day.

 

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Time on the memorial (Pic of 2012)

Kanyakumari is predominantly a multi-dimensional tourist destination which has something for everyone. Beach and nature lovers can have pristine beaches, beautiful ghats; cultural enthusiasts will be charmed with Vivekananda Memorial and Valluvar statue. The religious tourists can have their choices of many temples around the area. These kind of places are perfect hot-spots for cultural interchanges where visitors from various parts of India comes together, and this is where you can witness the true soul of India.

Keep Traveling ! Keep Enriching !

 

A Portuguese Jewel - The Island of Diu

Remains of Portuguese History - Pani Kotha (Island Jail)

In India, it is said that with every next city, cultures get changed, food taste changes and you see a different way of living. This phenomenon is unique to Indian and we Indians are very proud of this multi-lingual, multi-cultural cocktail setup. History has witnessed invasions by many foreign cultures but the few noted once includes the English, Mughals, Parsis, French, and Portuguese. The impact of these cultures were so strong and long lasting that they are alive even today. These places provides the visitors with a unique travel experience showcasing different architecture, different food style and a different culture. 

The Island of Diu, belongs to the union territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Many confuses Daman and Diu as close twin cities, but it is not. Daman is near Mumbai, whereas Diu is at the far west in Kathiwar peninsula, near Somnath, Gujarat. Historically, Diu was under control by Portuguese settlement from 1535 to 1961. On 19 December, 1961, military of independent India captured Diu island. As a tourist destination, Diu offers a wonderful colonial architectural experience, tit bits from colonial history and lovely coastal food. Diu has a uniqueness of lacking high rise buildings giving a beautiful equi-level city landscape and smooth skyline.

 

Places to See

War Memorials:

 

1. Diu Fort:  

Diu fort is one of the most prominent Portuguese construction at the eastern coastal end of Diu island. It was constructed 1535 under Treaty of Bassein with ruler of Gujarat area. It is a beautiful construction. Bronze canons are still available as museum antique and Iron canon balls can be seen lying around the area. A black lighthouse can be seen at one edge of fort. 

 

Diu Fort

 

2. Fortim-do-Mar or Pani Kotha

The place is a small island fort which can be accessed only by boat. The fort was used as a jail by the Portuguese. The shape of the construction resembles a ship to confuse invaders. 

 

3. INS Khukri Memorial

During the Indo-Pak war in 1971, the ship sank 40 nautical miles off the coast of Diu taking down with her a crew of 18 officers and 176 sailors ,when hit by 3 torpedo. This memorial marks to honor the souls lost in war.It has beautiful ship model and a sea facing amphitheater.

INS Khukri Model

 

Religious  Places

 

1.  St. Paul's Church

The church constructed completed in 1610, dedicated to Our lady of Immaculate Conceptions, and is still used by locals as a place of worship and the construction is still as it was in 1610. A beautiful colonial look gives this place a significant historical significance. 

 

2. Church of St. Francis of Assisi

It is oldest constructed church of Diu which is dated to 1593. The building was utilized as a hospital. The exterior is reconstructed and repaired to give its original colonial look.

 

3. Gangeshwar Mahadev Temple

The beauty of the location is glorified by the fact that the Shivalings are placed at a cave type rock formation below sea level and are washed by sea waves continuously. It gives a beautiful outlook to the temple area. Visitors can walk down the shrine to witness this beauty. It is believed that the shivlings are placed by Pandavas from Mahabharat.

 

4.  Gomtimata Temple

A recent construction over an old temple placed on the western coast of Diu. The area around is basically a fisherman area. 

 

Gangeshwar Mahadev Temple

Beaches:

 

1. Nagao Beach

The most famed beach of Diu, which is commercially developed with all amenities. It is one of the most preferred evening spots for tourists. Its a more of a blackish white sand beach. 

2. Chakratirth Beach

A white sandy stretch of beach which is kept natural with less development. But there are signs of upcoming constructions around the area. 

3. Jalandhar Beach

A mixed rocky sandy beach and is a small stretch of area. The visit is preferred by photography lovers.

Nagoa Beach

Other Significant Locations:

1. Naida Caves

These are natural formation of rock, which has openings for sunlight to enter in giving an orange colored lookout. The place is a photographers hot spot. 

 

Naida Caves

 

2. Dinosaur Park

A children park developed for relaxation zone. The place has huge models of Dinosaur species, crabs, shrimps good for photography.

3. Snap with the Hokka Tree or Doum Palm

A unique palm tree seen only in Diu and surrounding areas, as far as in India. The pictures snapped with them in background looks pretty cool.

Hokka Trees or Doum Palms

The best thing about Diu is that most tourist spots are open free to public and maintained quite nicely. The typical opening time is 8am to 6pm.

 

How to Reach

The most preferred way to reach Diu is by railways. You can reach Somnath from anywhere in India via Ahmadabad. Diu can be reached by a small drive of 84km. The roads around the area is good. If you are a flight freak, then you can reach directly to Diu Airport from Mumbai only.

 

Where to Stay

A traveler can opt for stay options on coastal locations for a beautiful evening. A few resorts of fame are Radhika Beach Resort, Hotel Kohinoor etc. Another option is you can stay at nearby town of Somnath, and pay a day visit to this place as opted by me. A good place to have lunch is Apana Foodland, near fort area. It has great taste with good coastal scenes.

Who should Visit

Anyone can visit. It has happy spots for everyone.

 

 

No. of Days: 1 Day visit is sufficient

A colonial time fortified town entrance

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During your travel in India, you will come across many places that are small, not so famed but yet they will impress you with their calmness and pristine escape out places. Diu is one such location which has potentials of a great tourist spot, but I fear, if this place is developed as a famed tourist spot, then the place might loose the peaceful and colonial charm, which is presently the trademark of the town.

Happy Traveling !