Tarpa at Save Farm
Tarpa Agro-Eco Tourism is part of Save Farm, a family-run working chikoo orchard in Gholvad, Dahanu. It connects visitors with the orchard, rural skills and the cultural heritage of the Warli community.
The tarpa is a wind instrument of the Warli community, made from a dried gourd and bamboo and played at gatherings and on special occasions. Save Farm chose its name for an agro-tourism initiative that invites visitors to meet the land and the people who work with it.
The farm story began in 1970, when Mr. Prabhakar Save started a chikoo nursery in Gholvad. Long before the term “agro-tourism” was used, the farm was showing farmers and college students how it worked. It opened to general visitors in the early years of agro-tourism and is registered with the Department of Tourism.
Today Save Farm is a 25-acre working orchard and a government-registered nursery, one of the oldest private nurseries in what was then the Thane region.
Overnight rooms are priced per room, per night, plus GST, and include meals, a guided farm tour and rural activities. Group day visits are for 25 guests or more and are quoted on enquiry.
Overnight · Couples
A quiet night on the farm for two, with vegetarian meals and time to explore.
₹7,500 for 2 guests
Per room, per night · GST extra. Confirmed for your dates.
A couple room takes three people at most: one extra person at ₹2,000 per night, plus GST, or one child up to 8, who stays free.
One child up to 8 years stays free per room.
Overnight · Family
Make a little more room for everyone to slow down together.
₹11,500 for 4 guests
Per room, per night · GST extra. Confirmed for your dates.
One extra person may be added at ₹2,000 per night, plus GST.
One child up to 8 years stays free per room.
Group day visit
Bring your school, college, corporate team or community group to our working farm in Dahanu. Explore, learn and spend time together — we’ll plan an outing around your group.
Minimum group size: 25 guests
Walk through the working chikoo and mango orchard with a guide and see how the farm grows, composts and harvests water.
Try Warli painting, and ask about a Warli dance or tarpa music performance, which can be arranged on request when the performers are available.
Two rural activities, such as the pottery wheel or mat weaving, are included in a stay, followed by home-cooked Maharashtrian vegetarian food.
Two rural activities are included in an overnight stay; others can be added for longer stays or on request. Cultural performances depend on the performers’ availability and are confirmed as part of your visit plan.
Save Farm grows its crops without chemical pesticides, using organic fertilisers.
Chikoo and mango are the main crops, with coconut, litchi and seasonal vegetables. The farm keeps a collection of over 400 plant species.
Bees are kept mainly for pollination of the orchard. A vermi-composting unit turns farm waste into fertiliser.
The farm harvests rainwater and has its own farm lake, and fish are raised in canals between the chikoo rows.
A home-scale processing unit turns farm produce into products made on the farm.
Save Farm’s farming and agro-tourism have been used as a case study in teaching and research.
Manan Prakashan
A six-page case study of Save Farm.
Online International Interdisciplinary Research Journal (OIIRJ), Nov–Dec 2018
Researchers from the University of Mumbai and Maharshi Dayanand College studied four agritourism farms in the Konkan, one from each of the four districts the paper classed as rural. Tarpa is the Palghar case study, noted for the farm lake dug for rainwater harvesting.
Read the paper (PDF)Save Farm has hosted student study tours in Botany, Rural Development and Environmental Studies for many years, from one-day visits to overnight study camps. Schools, colleges and other groups of 25 guests or more can plan a day that brings agriculture and local culture into a shared learning experience.
Save Farm is in Gholvad, close to the coast. Add a nearby place to your stay; ask us for directions.
A quiet beach about 4 km from the farm.
A beach near Dahanu.
A car can go almost to the foot of the dam; the last stretch of road and the walk to the dam are on a beaten path.
Caves reached by a trek of about three hours. A demanding walk; ask us about the route before you go.
The main temple is on the hilltop, about an hour's trek up. A large, popular temple also stands beside the highway.
Home to an agricultural institute, the Gram Bal Shiksha Kendra and the village of Vikaswadi.
Yes. Tarpa Agro-Eco Tourism is part of Save Farm, the family-run chikoo orchard in Gholvad, Dahanu. You book a Tarpa visit or stay directly with Save Farm.
A couple room is ₹7,500 per night for 2 guests and a family room is ₹11,500 per night for 4 guests, plus GST, with meals, a guided farm tour and rural activities included. Group day visits for 25 or more guests are quoted on enquiry.
A Warli dance or tarpa music performance can be arranged on request, depending on the performers’ availability. Ask when you enquire so we can check for your date.
Yes. Save Farm has hosted study tours in Botany, Rural Development and Environmental Studies for many years, including overnight study camps. Groups are for 25 students or more.
At Save Farm in Gholvad, Dahanu, Palghar district. It is 2.5 to 3.5 hours by road from Mumbai, and Gholvad railway station is about a 5-minute rickshaw ride away.
No. Alcohol and loud music are not allowed anywhere on the farm.
Tell us who is coming and what they would like to explore.
