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THE DESTINATION
The only inhabitants of the island are wild goats. Besides, the Indian navy often uses this island for target practice.
THE JOURNEY
To get there, one has to hire a fishing trawler from Bhatkal or Honawar. One approach to Bhatkal is from the south by road from Mangalore or from Mumbai (Bombay).
Nestled between the Arabian Sea and Saraswathy forest, Bhatkal is a small sleepy and picturesque town untrammeled by tourists. The constant travel of the locals to the Middle Eastern countries seems to have had such an impact as to create a pseudo Arabic culture and the place abounds in fancy bungalows and grand mosques.
THE ISLAND
On approaching the lee of the island, from the east face, it looks like a cake with near vertical sides topped by a gentle sloping plateau. It is really a seamount, supporting a soil layer overgrown with trees and plants. The monsoon rain percolating into the soil is held and preserved by rocks to sustain plant life round the year. Denudation through weathering and gunnery is extensive on the west face and to a lesser extent on the south, but flora reaches down to the sea level on the north and east, preserving the soil. There exists a subterranean cave opening in the south as well as north clear of the high water mark.
Scouting along the sea face, a grotto can be located further south. It contains a fresh water spring having a flow about a liter a minute. The water is cool and tastes like mineral water. Apparently these grottos under the shadow of the tree line usually possess fissures' flows.
If one chooses the dry watercourse, one would find an incline of about 60 degree that is packed with loose broken rocks overgrown with grass. After a crawling climb of nearly 170 meters, a gentle plateau appears. The place looks like a botanists paradise.
At night, it is a silent world from a city dweller's point of view. Yet it has its own decibels. Sounds of sea gently break on the rocks; wind blowing through the leaves; nesting birds calling out to each other; wild goats foraging nearby; or an occasional rat scampering about, punctuate the night.
On the plateau is a temple and mazaar, where in April pilgrims come and release a goat or chicken as an offering. The temple and the mazaar co-exist peacefully with a lone coconut palm maintaining vigil between them. The mazaar appears ancient and has numerous flags tied around it. The temple consists of a platform on which stand several deities. The lingams and the statues seem fairly old bordering on the antique. One of the lingams has some inscriptions on it.
The temple has three bells. Puja offerings of cash and other paraphernalia lay scattered. A notice nailed to a large tree nearby reads, "People are prohibited to kill and take away the birds and animals left here in the name of God. Lifters will be responsible for the consequences."
HOW TO REACH
To reach Netrani, one has to hire a trawler from Bhatkal or Honowar. It is a 22 hour-long journey by bus from Mumbai to Bhatkal. It takes almost two and a half hours to three hours to reach Netrani by the trawler.
WHERE TO STAY
One certainly can get a lodging at Bhatkal, but if one decides to stay overnight at Netrani, they should make their own arrangements like tents, sufficient food and water.
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