Daman- Upcoming Goa??

Daman is at a distance of about 167 kms from Mumbai. One would have to get off the Mumbai- Ahmedabad highway few kilometers short of Vapi, towards your left. This is the entrance to Moti-Daman. Daman is divided into 2, Moti (Big in Gujarati) Daman and Nani (Small) Daman by the river Daman Ganga.

Our first impression of Daman was very nice. We entered Daman from Vapi side and passed the area at 11 in the night. It felt we were passing through a forest. Dense vegetation on both the sides of the road with not a single soul on the road. Then there is a huge gate with a big statue of a fisherman welcoming you to the Union Territory of Daman. The roads are broad, well maintained and well lit. This was Moti Daman, where all the administrative offices are located. Ahead on the road, is a church (It is Basilica of Bom Jesus, I think) and many old houses reminding you of the Portuguese occupation of Daman. Along with Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Goa, Daman was a Portuguese colony for over 300 years and was liberated in 1961.

Well-lit Daman Fort also looked formidable. You pass on the Rajiv Gandhi setu(bridge) to reach Nani Daman. This bridge again was very well maintained, which got us thinking if it was a general phenomenon being a Union Territory maintained under the aegis of the President of India himself. After crossing this bridge, you enter Nani Daman.

We stayed twice at Daman both ways, while going to and coming back from Gujarat. We stayed the second time because the first time, we felt there was more to explore at Daman. The first stay at Daman was at Silver Sands Beach Resort just off

Sunset @Daman Jetty

Devka beach and the second one was at Hotel Emerald near Daman jetty. These fare among the affordable range of hotels at Daman. There are more luxurious ones too, along the Devka beach, near the Coastal Highway like Hotel Miramar, Ocean Panorama etc.

Daman has many similarities with Goa, the Portuguese influence being the obvious one, beaches and beach shacks are the other ones.

However the beaches of Daman do not have the usual brown sand. Instead they have black sand and due to the beach shacks and incessant use of plastic, the beaches are quite filthy, especially Devka beach. As we stayed right in front of Devka beach, we went for an early morning walk and found plastics wrappers and covers strewn all over the beach. The water too seemed quite dirty. Moreover, there are lots of rocks preventing you from swimming.

Empty shacks at Devka beach 

Rocky sea

The scene at Jampore beach at Moti Daman seemed much better. There are beach shacks here too, but the beach looked better maintained. These beach shacks serve all kinds of alcohol (at a premium) and sea food, like fried fish, prawns etc You could also pick the sea food you like at Daman markets and ask one of the shack owners to prepare it according to your taste for a fee. We tried some seafood and found the preparation quite good. This beach also offers rides on camels, horses etc. One interesting feature at Jampore beach is that, waters does not flow to the beach, instead you would have to walk in soft sand ahead to reach the sea.

The most popular thing at Daman is liquor. Daman lies sandwiched between Maharashtra and Gujarat and the latter one being a dry state, there is a steady inflow of people from Gujarat to quench their thirst. There is good variety of liquor available at Daman, which is not generally available anywhere else. The prices are also cheaper. In fact, liquor shops at Daman open much before any other shops.

Relaxed pace of life at Daman

All said and done, Daman is a place where you can spend a day or two in leisure, as it is not as crowded as Goa. The roads are relatively empty and the town still retains the old world charm, especially Moti Daman, with its fort , churches and old Portuguese architecture.