Finding Goa's Last Beach

Have you heard of Polem Beach? Does Goa stop with Agonda and Palolem for you? Let me show you what more is available in that southern pocket of Goa.

Goa shares its borders with Karnataka in the South and Maharashtra in the North. Let's explore Goa's last proper beach, before the Karnataka coastline comes

Watch my Vlog to know how I crossed over the Karnataka border checkpost into Polem beach and how my stay was

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yw0KUqFDEUg

I travelled with my family, and my little son, loved the place and the space the beach had amidst the properties.

You had your own space outside the beach hut to put your chairs and sit, without feeling boxed. There were less than 10 other tourists living on the beach, so it makes you feel that the place has enough space for everyone

Getting to Polem

• If you are coming from Mumbai/Pune, its a lot of effort to drive to the Southernmost point beach. If you are visiting Palolem/Agonda and staying there, this could be a day trip to explore the place and if you feel comfortable you can come over here.
• If you are coming from Bangalore/Kerala/Mangalore, you would enter through Karwar. What that means is Polem is then your first beach for entry through the border.
• If you are coming by Indian Railways, then get off at Canacona Railway station, and if you are coming by Bus from Bangalore the place to get off is Chaudi. Both these places are about 10-15 kms from Polem beach. With a new highway built the travel time is less than 15-20 minutes from the railway station.
• If you are flying in, this beach is easily a 90 minute drive across the hills from the airport.
• If you are coming by road
  • From Bangalore, you take the Bangalore-Tumkur-Chitradurga-Davangere-Bankapura-Mundgod-Yellapura-Karwar-Goa Border route

Stay Options

Kamaxi Beach Resort. Room rates for a AC Cottage by the sea is around 3500 INR

Why should you come here?

Place has a mini forest with a bevy of tall trees in the woods that leads to the beach

Resort/food places are limited. Just 1 or 2 places. But the huts are on the beach. Beach is covered on both sides by hills

Highway is 400 metres from sea. You can use the highway for fuel, other food places

Quiet and peaceful village

Some History?

From an article that I read on Scroll, I found some interesting tidbit : Fun Fact: This village had a checkpoint which required a VISA/Passport to enter Goa before 1961

“When I first arrived in Polem in 1956, the Portuguese immigration staff was largely of European origin. Checks were carried out way beyond sunset, and if you missed the last bus to Margão you could sleep in the verandah of a little restaurant near the check post or under the trees. The restaurant served xitt-koddi, fried bangdas, tisreos (clams), spicy xacuti and tender coconut water, along with a host of Portuguese wines – a small Vinho Porto cost eight tangas (eight annas or fifty paise).

On two occasions, I carried a bed-sheet and timed my entry into Polem only for the experience. The leftover passengers made friends easily and broke into mandos, fados or English pop, to the accompaniment of a guitar till late into the night. To keep up with the rising number of travellers, General Manuel António Vassalo e Silva, the Portuguese governor general, visited the post and ordered a spacious shed with toilets to be built there.

On the other side of a hillock stood the Indian Customs office, a British-style building with a trellis frontage. Passenger baggage was checked in a shed outside the building next to a snack bar that served tea and samosas, and was frequented by office staff and porters. Those entering Goa via Karwar usually ate breakfast before setting out, and those leaving Goa carried staples like roast pork or chicken cafreal,  pão and bananas.The immigration and customs posts stayed open from 10 am to 6 pm, all through the week. Those whose travel documents could not be processed had to return to Karwar. But if you were on the blacklist for being pro-Portuguese, you were deported to Goa regardless of your documents”