About the Destination
Daman, Dadra, and Nagar Haveli were chosen destinations as they were offbeat and not so popular with common tourists. We planned a 2-day trip from Chennai to these destinations as part of our quest to visit all States and Union Territories of India. Daman fort was the major attraction on our list.
Trip Plan
Trip members: Karthik, Sathish Raja, TP
Trip date: 18-21 Oct 2019 (Weekend trip)
Trip Plan : Chennai - Mumbai - Vapi - Silvassa - Khanvel - Vapi - Mota Daman - Nani Daman - Vapi - Mumbai - Chennai
Friday evening towards Mumbai and the plan was to spend the 2 days in Union Territories of Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman-Diu. Diu was not in the same area and is located in the Sourashtra region of Gujarat. The rest can be covered with Vapi as a hub. We reached Mumbai on a 2-hour delayed flight by 2 AM. We had a retiring room booked in Mumbai Central and took a couple of hours of rest before boarding train to Vapi.
Day-1
Boarded the 5:45 AM - Gujarat Express from Mumbai Central and we reached Vapi by 8:45 AM. The route by train is very scenic and enjoyable. Do not miss it! We had booked a cab for the whole day through a local cab operator to see Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman. The cab was ready when we reached Vapi. From Vapi station, if you take the Eastern exit, one can approach Silvassa while the Western exit leads to Daman. Our plan was to visit Dadra-Nagar Haveli first as Daman was beachside and we planned to stay by the beach in Daman.
We had excellent Vada-pav and Bread bhaji at Raja-Rani. The vada pav was big and simply superb.
Dadra-Nagar Haveli
Trip date: 18-21 Oct 2019 (Weekend trip)
Trip Plan : Chennai - Mumbai - Vapi - Silvassa - Khanvel - Vapi - Mota Daman - Nani Daman - Vapi - Mumbai - Chennai
Friday evening towards Mumbai and the plan was to spend the 2 days in Union Territories of Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman-Diu. Diu was not in the same area and is located in the Sourashtra region of Gujarat. The rest can be covered with Vapi as a hub. We reached Mumbai on a 2-hour delayed flight by 2 AM. We had a retiring room booked in Mumbai Central and took a couple of hours of rest before boarding train to Vapi.
Day-1
Boarded the 5:45 AM - Gujarat Express from Mumbai Central and we reached Vapi by 8:45 AM. The route by train is very scenic and enjoyable. Do not miss it! We had booked a cab for the whole day through a local cab operator to see Dadra-Nagar Haveli and Daman. The cab was ready when we reached Vapi. From Vapi station, if you take the Eastern exit, one can approach Silvassa while the Western exit leads to Daman. Our plan was to visit Dadra-Nagar Haveli first as Daman was beachside and we planned to stay by the beach in Daman.
We had excellent Vada-pav and Bread bhaji at Raja-Rani. The vada pav was big and simply superb.
Dadra-Nagar Haveli
There isn't much to see in Dadra-Nagar Haveli apart from few parks, wildlife enclosures, and lakes. We saw Vanganga Lake Garden which would be open only in the evenings.
Our first stop was the Vasona Lion safari by 10 AM. However, they said the Gir lions can be seen only by 11 AM. Instead of waiting, we then reached Deer park - which was closed because of rain. We then made way to the Butterfly Park.
The Butterfly Park is at Khanvel around 27 km from Vapi. The butterfly park is quite good hosting various species of butterflies. We cited around 7-8 species of butterflies. Though it was drizzling when we went, we had a good time citing butterflies. One can imagine very good time in early summer to see much more of these colorful species. We spent around 30 minutes here.
We also visited the Vanvihar Information center - this had lots of information on the history and culture of Dadra Nagar Haveli, their landscape, fauna, flora, and much more. It was a good 15 minutes to spend to know about their 1961 events to be part of India legally and things like that.
We drove towards Dudhani lake. It is around 17 km from Butterfly Park.
Dudhani lake
61% of Dadra-Nagar Haveli is made of hills and the views en route to Dudhani lake are fantastic. We stopped in a couple of locations to enjoy the beauty of the place before reaching the Dudhani lake. Thanks to the heavy monsoon rains, the lake was full. We climbed up the watchtower and the view of sprawling lake and hills around were mesmerizing. Walking around the boundary of the lake would be fun however the lake was full to rim and even on the roads in some areas. We spent around 20 minutes there and decided not to do boating for the time factor.
Hotel Vanavihar was available close by for lunch. The food - papad, roti, jeera rice, paneer, dal, and others were very good. We had a sumptuous meal and ready for a power nap in the car on our way back towards Vapi! Tried our luck at Vasona Lion safari and because of continuous drizzling, the safari was closed.
Way back to Vapi, we stopped by the tribal museum of Silvassa. The museum was quite small and had displays of many photographs of events, festivals and way of living; and objects used by local tribes. It was quite small and hardly 10 minutes is enough. Photography is not allowed yesterday.
We crossed Vapi and entered Daman.
Daman
Hotel Vanavihar was available close by for lunch. The food - papad, roti, jeera rice, paneer, dal, and others were very good. We had a sumptuous meal and ready for a power nap in the car on our way back towards Vapi! Tried our luck at Vasona Lion safari and because of continuous drizzling, the safari was closed.
Way back to Vapi, we stopped by the tribal museum of Silvassa. The museum was quite small and had displays of many photographs of events, festivals and way of living; and objects used by local tribes. It was quite small and hardly 10 minutes is enough. Photography is not allowed yesterday.
We crossed Vapi and entered Daman.
Daman
Daman is a coastal territory with nice beaches and Portuguese forts. We first visited the Jampore beach. Jampore beach seems to be a happening beach in Daman with a lot of activities like camel and horse riding, paragliding, and alike. We spent around 10 minutes at the beach before deciding to spend time in Moti Daman fort.
Daman Sightseeing
Daman Sightseeing
Moti Daman Fort is a living fort with various monuments and government offices inside. Most notable ones are Born Jesus Church and Dominican Monastery apart from the big fort walls facing the beach and Daman port. One can spend time walking around the place and upon the Fort walls for a nice time pass as well as good views.
Born Jesus Church is one of the oldest Portuguese churches in India - of the early 16th Century. The Architectural skills and craftsmanship of the Portuguese artisans and architects of those instances can be seen in this church.
The Dominican monastery can be best viewed from the walls of the fort. We did this next day morning.
We then reached Nani Daman. Mota Daman and Nani Daman are separated by the Daman Ganga river. Nani Daman has a fort - St.Jerome Fort also called Nani Daman Fort and a church, Church of Our Lady of the Sea. Climbing into the fort walls, we got good views of Daman port, the Arabian sea as well as a grand sunset.
Great Sunset
Born Jesus Church is one of the oldest Portuguese churches in India - of the early 16th Century. The Architectural skills and craftsmanship of the Portuguese artisans and architects of those instances can be seen in this church.
The Dominican monastery can be best viewed from the walls of the fort. We did this next day morning.
We then reached Nani Daman. Mota Daman and Nani Daman are separated by the Daman Ganga river. Nani Daman has a fort - St.Jerome Fort also called Nani Daman Fort and a church, Church of Our Lady of the Sea. Climbing into the fort walls, we got good views of Daman port, the Arabian sea as well as a grand sunset.
Great Sunset
We were very fortunate to be a witness to one of the most colorful sunsets. The grand sunset had orange, red, yellow, blue, violet, and multiple shades of them along with a rainbow! We enjoyed every moment of Sun settling safely down the horizon - the red ball sinking! We spent close to 45 minutes enjoying the sunset.
The stay was booked at Hotel Sandy Resort. This was near to Devka beach - the other popular beach in Daman. By the time we reached the resort, it was almost dark - 7 PM. The rooms were quite clean, spacious, the food was very good, swift room service and a nice balcony to sit. The resort is not on the beachside, however, any beach resort and this does not make a difference. The Devka beach is more of a slushy, rocky, and muddy landscape. We had snacks and breakfast at the resort restaurant - they were quite good. We also used the swimming pool and it was nice too.
Post some relaxation, we walked around the road and had dinner at Hotel Miramar. We had rotis, Veg Jalfrezi, and non-veg. All food was quite good and the restaurant is by the sea - may be good for lunch!
Day-2 - Relaxed start ....
A lazy morning to begin with - we spent time in the swimming pool and relaxed time on the breakfast table. We killed time by chit-chatting and watching Rohit complete his double century and Rahane making Century in Ranchi test vs SA.
After check-out, we took an auto to visit Devka beach - slushy, muddy, and rocky! The seawater was far away from the beach and we did not plan to walk to touch the water in a slushy landscape; though there were few crazy ones to walk in!
We continued in the same auto and got dropped by the Moti Daman lighthouse inside the Moti Daman fort. Walked around the place on the fort walls and then by the gardens, we got some nice views of the Arabian sea and the Dominican monastery ruins. We spent close to 1 hour around and then hired an auto to reach Vapi. Daman autos don't go into Gujarat and vice versa. Our auto driver moved us from Daman auto to Gujarat auto by the border.
We reached Vapi around 1:45 PM. We had hot piping samosas, few vada pavas, chaas, and lemon juice at Kings Vada Pav. Each of them was absolutely yummy and tasty. There were around 14 varieties of vada pavs and we tasted almost 4-5 of them.
Boarded the train to Mumbai and reached Bandra terminus around 5:30 PM.
The stay was booked at Hotel Sandy Resort. This was near to Devka beach - the other popular beach in Daman. By the time we reached the resort, it was almost dark - 7 PM. The rooms were quite clean, spacious, the food was very good, swift room service and a nice balcony to sit. The resort is not on the beachside, however, any beach resort and this does not make a difference. The Devka beach is more of a slushy, rocky, and muddy landscape. We had snacks and breakfast at the resort restaurant - they were quite good. We also used the swimming pool and it was nice too.
Post some relaxation, we walked around the road and had dinner at Hotel Miramar. We had rotis, Veg Jalfrezi, and non-veg. All food was quite good and the restaurant is by the sea - may be good for lunch!
Day-2 - Relaxed start ....
A lazy morning to begin with - we spent time in the swimming pool and relaxed time on the breakfast table. We killed time by chit-chatting and watching Rohit complete his double century and Rahane making Century in Ranchi test vs SA.
After check-out, we took an auto to visit Devka beach - slushy, muddy, and rocky! The seawater was far away from the beach and we did not plan to walk to touch the water in a slushy landscape; though there were few crazy ones to walk in!
We continued in the same auto and got dropped by the Moti Daman lighthouse inside the Moti Daman fort. Walked around the place on the fort walls and then by the gardens, we got some nice views of the Arabian sea and the Dominican monastery ruins. We spent close to 1 hour around and then hired an auto to reach Vapi. Daman autos don't go into Gujarat and vice versa. Our auto driver moved us from Daman auto to Gujarat auto by the border.
We reached Vapi around 1:45 PM. We had hot piping samosas, few vada pavas, chaas, and lemon juice at Kings Vada Pav. Each of them was absolutely yummy and tasty. There were around 14 varieties of vada pavs and we tasted almost 4-5 of them.
Boarded the train to Mumbai and reached Bandra terminus around 5:30 PM.
Mumbai by night
Having booked retiring rooms here, we got the rooms and took rest for 1 hour. We then took an auto and went to Mount Carmel Church.
It was raining quite heavily and our plan to walk down to Bandra Bandstand was a goner. We took another auto and went to Bandra local station - took the local train to Churchgate. From there, we reached Gateway of India and spent time in Taj Palace as well.
Had some snacking(dinner) at Bademiyan - they have separate kitchens and plates for veg and non-veg and saw many vegetarians have food here. The tikkas and rolls were definitely good and stomach filling. Leopold Cafe and desserts - Kahlua Mousse and Choco lava cake! They both were yummy and delicious. Fruit Ice-creams from Naturals followed - Lychee, jack fruit and Sita phal - they were all good; we did miss out tasting tender coconut and Jamun ice cream :(.
We took a cab to Marine drive and spent close to 2 hours walking around and enjoying nature. Surely, this is a place to spend time together, in the evenings and nights. One of the best and perfect time killer places in Mumbai!
Reached back Bandra Terminus RR by cab around mid-night; a couple of hours of sleep and left to the airport for the flight at 5:45 AM to Chennai.
Two Union Territories visited!
Distances:
It was raining quite heavily and our plan to walk down to Bandra Bandstand was a goner. We took another auto and went to Bandra local station - took the local train to Churchgate. From there, we reached Gateway of India and spent time in Taj Palace as well.
Had some snacking(dinner) at Bademiyan - they have separate kitchens and plates for veg and non-veg and saw many vegetarians have food here. The tikkas and rolls were definitely good and stomach filling. Leopold Cafe and desserts - Kahlua Mousse and Choco lava cake! They both were yummy and delicious. Fruit Ice-creams from Naturals followed - Lychee, jack fruit and Sita phal - they were all good; we did miss out tasting tender coconut and Jamun ice cream :(.
We took a cab to Marine drive and spent close to 2 hours walking around and enjoying nature. Surely, this is a place to spend time together, in the evenings and nights. One of the best and perfect time killer places in Mumbai!
Reached back Bandra Terminus RR by cab around mid-night; a couple of hours of sleep and left to the airport for the flight at 5:45 AM to Chennai.
Two Union Territories visited!
Distances:
- Mumbai – Silvassa – 173 km
- Mumbai – Daman – 177 km
- Silvassa – Daman – 32 km
- Vapi – Daman – 14 km
- Vapi – Silvassa – 21 km
