There is a start and a end to everything. I don’t think there is consistently going to be an end, however here is the extraordinary starting to my travel venture. Welcome to Wander With Kevin and welcome to my first travel blog – Curdi.
What is this place?
Curdi is a small village which is situated in the Sanguem taluka of South Goa. Curdi is titled as the Atlantis of Goa. Let me go I depth of this. This is not any ordinary village. This village remains submerged totally into water for a couple of months in a year and then re-emerges during the summers. Yes – nothing less than a miracle, but this is the beauty of the historical Curdi.
How did it happen?
Here is the story behind it. The Selaulim Dam was proposed to be built and the construction for the same began around the year 1976. This dam was no doubt a advantageous source of water for Goa, but it also happened to have a negative effect and started submerging the village of Curdi. This was really sad. To reimburse for the circumstance, the Government consented to offer the villagers a piece of land and houses in other nearby areas which remained unaffected by the Dam water, so that they could continue with their cultivation for the daily survival. Numerous villagers hesitated to relocate, but they were left with no choice when the village of Curdi started to totally submerge into the water on the onset of monsoons.
The village remains completely submerged under water from June to April and then resurfaces until the next month of June. This has been a cyclic process since then, due to which there is nothing really left of the village, except for the ruins, broken walls, barren lands and the very popular Someshwar Temple. A celebration is held every year at the Someshwar temple where all the devotees come together, celebrating the annual festival by partaking in the religious ceremony and reliving the good old memories of this ancestral village.
How to reach and when to Visit?
All things considered, here I got all my reasons to visit Curdi. I buzzed my friend and revealed to him that by the next end of the week, we should head out to Curdi. This place is situated at a distance of about 80 km from Mapusa and 69 km from Panaji (giving you a rough estimate). Kick-started and vroom – left for Curdi early in the morning, picked up my friend and rode for approx. 2 hours (2 hours because I live in Thivim).
You can go there by bike or car; it totally depends on how you enjoy the journey better. For me, it has always been a bike because even though it’s tiring and sometimes hurts the back, it’s always so bliss and refreshing to have the cool breeze hit you on those wide and empty roads. To be honest, that’s something that I totally enjoy.
This place has a different vibe. Once we arrived at Curdi, we felt like we entered one of those chapters from our History books where we learned about the Indus Valley Civilization – all old and broken houses, with half the stone walls crushed onto the ground and many ancient monuments still standing tall. Curdi is nothing less than that. It was so beautiful. Encompassed by rich green mountains, beneath a splendidly blue sky, the desolate grounds exactly complemented the ruins of Curdi, displaying the historical vibe. Water had already begun to accumulate since the monsoons had already rushed in. Tiny strands of grass were breaking through the barren lands, giving a perfect contrast and there were sets of crevices and cracks, with broken fences and walls all over the village. One thing that stood firm was the Someshwar temple as mentioned above.
We spent around 4 hours, clicked quite a few pictures and I definitely got my first travel video (to be honest, the travel video was not in the list). June or just around the onset of monsoons is the right time to visit this place…. You get to see the tiny green grass alongside the water bodies and mountains wearing a great coat to make the place look even more captivating. It was definitely a fantastic experience and I would not mind revisiting Curdi. Truly, Curdi is the hidden gem of Goa!
