Blog

Diu – Our Mini Goa

January 20, 2018

You all must have seen “Love Ni Bhavai”. It’s quite a celebrated movie now crossing over 2 months in theatre, an achievement for Gujarati Cinema!

You might be wondering why are we telling all this?

Well, it’s because we are going to talk about the place where Antara meets Sagar, not the ocean but the person Sagar when she is on her vacation to rejuvenate herself – Diu!

Diu is mostly regarded by all Gujaratis for an infamous reason, Alcohol! That is one of the reasons why people go to Diu – to chill out. Today, after reading this post, you’ll get several other reasons to be in Diu apart from just having chilled Beers. Go on and read until the end.

History of Diu:

Before being declared as a Union Territory, years ago, Diu was a port of strategic importance for trading and was included in the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The Parsis who fled from Persia reached first to this coast of India i.e. Diu in the 7th century.

Then came the Portuguese whose influence is still seen in the structures of Diu. They remained in its possession from 1535 to 1961 till the Indian army took the control over it. It was declared as a Union Territory Goa, Daman and Diu.
Wonder why we get Goa vibes while in Diu?!

Goa was separated later from this and thus Daman and Diu came into existence as a Union Territory.

Enough of History, we know. Let’s take a virtual tour of Diu now.

The prime attraction of Diu is the Diu Fort, which stands in ruins today, was at one time impregnable to all the attacks which it withstood for years after years till 1961 when the Indian army finally took over the Portuguese. Visit the fort and marvel at its beauty and don’t forget to take that snap with this structure!

There are several Portuguese Church of which only one is kept intact for its purpose, St Paul’s Chruch. The Church of St Francis of Assisi is used as a hospital and St Thomas Church is used as a museum. Visit them and appreciate the architectural grandeur with which they were built.

Go to the Nadia Caves which are not natural caves but are the result of Portuguese quarrying, to get an ethereal feeling with the sunlight playing hide and seek with you and a place which is picture-perfect!

Then you can head to INS Khukri memorial and make sure to visit around the time of sunset to get the best view of the horizon colours. Both of these places can be covered near the Jalandhar Beach.

After just roaming around Diu and admiring its beauty, gear up for some adrenaline rush by doing the Adventure Sports on Nagoa Beach and go to the Lighthouse too.

Visit the Shell Museum to see the beauty that our ocean produces. The curator has collected these shells all by himself and if you want, you can have a little chat with the man himself regarding his passion for collection and his journey so far.

At last, if you are looking for some solitude visit the Ghogla Beach which is less crowded than the other beaches. Grab your diary, get a cup of tea/coffee or whichever is your drink and head to the beach and feel elated when you return. Write down whatever comes to your mind in this peaceful surrounding and have a great time introspecting.