GUHAGAR BEACH

 Guhagar Beach is one of the cleanest and less polluted beaches in Maharashtra. It is located just within 200 metres from Guhagar S.T. Depot towards west. The beach looks pretty safe though there are warnings posted by local villagers. Off late, Chat stalls have started making business on the shore.

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UFARATA GANPATI

This temple of Lord Ganesha is 200 metres away from Bazaar, on the road to Anjanvel/Veldoor. The idol is carved in white stone (marble?) and was found by local fishermen around 300 years back

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SHRI VYADESHWAR TEMPLE

Shri Vyadeshwar is an ancient temple of Shankar and Vyadeshwar. This temple of Lord Shiva is literally a stone's throw away from the S.T. Depot, right in the middle of the bazaar.

It is the Kuladaivat of a lot of Kokanastha Chitpavan Brahmins (Surnames like Patwardhan,Godbole, Damle, Oak, Phadke, Apte, Abhyankar, Soman, Bhat, Ranade, Joglekar, Agashe, Kelkar, Deodhar, Pethe).

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VELNESHWAR TEMPLE AND BEACH

Located at 16 Kms. from Guhagar, Velneshwar has a beautiful beach and an Ancient Shankar Temple. The Temple complex has three four different temples and the secluded beach behind the temple is very beautiful and clean.

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HEDVI GANPATI TEMPLE AND BEACH

 Hedvi is a small village located at approximately 27 km along Guhagar-Narvan road, towards south of Guhagar. This small village is yet another popular location around Guhagar that boasts of 2 places worth seeing. Most famous is theTemple of Dashabhuja (10 Hands) Ganapati. This temple dates back to age of Peshwas. The idol of  Lord Ganesha is carved in marble and is supposed to be from Jammu-Kashmir. The temple is recently renovated and is very clean and simple.

Brahman Ghal

The second place is around 3 KM away from the temple, by the sea side, called Brahman Ghal (Gorge). On the same sea shore is the temple of Uma Maheshwari. One has to go past this temple to reach the Brahman Ghal. This beautiful natural wonder is a gorge in the black rock patch and is around 20 feet deep, 35 feet long and 1-2 feet wide in dimensions. During the high tide, the sea water gushes in and splashes around and a water column rises to a height of up to 100 feet in the air.

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FORTS IN KONKAN

Forts are military constructions and buildings designed for defence in warfare and military bases. Humans have constructed defensive works for many thousands of years, in a variety of increasingly complex designs. The term is derived from the Latin fortis ("strong") and facere ("to make").

For tourist who love to visit historical place especially forts; konkan is the right place to go. Here is a list of popular forts in Konkan region;

Forts in Sindhudurg District:

1. Sindhudurg fort

2. Vijaydurg fort

3. Terekhol fort

4. Nivti fort

5. Ramgarh fort

6. Rangan fort

7. Shivgarh fort

Forts in Ratnagiri District:

1. Ratnadurg fort

2. Suvarnadurg fort

3. Goa fort

4. Gopalgarh fort

5. Padmadurg fort

7. Purnagad fort

8. Kanakdurg fort

9. Mahimandangarh fort

10. Mahipatgarh fort

11. Sumargarh fort

12. Vijaygarh fort

13. Yashwantgarh fort

14. Himmatgarh fort

Forts in Raigad District:

1. Raigad fort

2. Kulaba Fort

3. Knaderi fort

4. Murud-Janjira fort

5. Karnala fort

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KILLE GOPALGAD - FORT GOPALGAD

 As a common myth, most of the people believe that forts in Konkan and Maharashtra came into existence because of Shivaji and subsequent Maratha Kingdom in this region. Many of the locals also have strong belief. There is another common myth that Konkan does not have or has very little ancient history, whatever history it has essentially starts with Maratha period. Many forts in Konkan are the living facts which easily disprove these myths.

But question is why so many forts in this narrow hilly tract which is just so obscure part of this country. But the existence of forts prove one thing that these parts were no obscure a few centuries ago, they are not the structures of one's fancy but served a practical purpose. That practical purpose was protection of trade and the people who wanted to do that. Konkan being a coastal region with so many ports which may look small or just nothing these days has been a hotspot for trade for the entire subcontinent. The trade which actually took place on these port towns needed connections with the rest of the country and were origins for trade routes. Three types of forts can be seen in Konkan region. First type of forts are built on islands in the sea e.g. Kille Sindhudurg. Second type of forts is of those which are built near the sea coast or creeks but on mainland. e.g. Kille Vijaydurg. Third type are hill forts e.g. Kille Raigad

Kille Gopalgad, a fort in Ratnagiri district was built on the banks of Vashishti creek. It was built for the protection of Dabhol an ancient port city which also finds its mention by the famous geographer from ancient Greece Ptolemy.

Past:

Gopalgad was first built by Siddisad, a sardar of Bijapur dynasty rulers in 1500's who were controlling the southern Konkan at that time. There is Persian stone inscription about that in the fort. Then it was later on occupied by King Shivaji, King Sambhaji. In 1699, it was captured by Khairatkhan who was a Siddi ruler who ruled from Murud Janjira. Tulaji Angre then won this fort in 1744 and then later lost it to Peshwas in 1755. During the Peshwa rule, the Village of Anjanvel in which this fort is situated was district headquarters and it was a centre for ship building industry and cloth weaving. In 1818 when Peshwas lost to British, the fort also went to them but not easily and they had to fight a battle for it.

Present:

The fort is in poor condition with many walls crumbling. There is one well in the fort almost at the centre around which there are remnants of palace. Some canon balls can be found in the fort. There is a private Mango orchard in the fort and due to ownership issues the entrance to fort is blocked. The fort is surrounded by deep trenches which are now filled again with soil at many places. There are many view points on the fort walls which offer views of creek and Dabhol port. One can easily imagine while looking at them, how the guards used to keep a watch on ships passing through creek and activities which were taking place on the port. Let's hope that government intervenes and restores this important landmark in the history of Konkan, Maharashtra and India.

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ADVENTURE TRAVEL / TOURISM IN KONKAN

Konkan has a lot to offer to the visitor and its diverse geographical features are such that any tourist will definitely find something of his interest. No matter what kind of holiday you are looking for, you’ll definitely enjoy your stay in Konkan with Purna Travels.
Purna Travels is coming up with ADVENTURE TRAVEL / TOURISM very soon.

Adventure travel is a type of tourism involving exploration or travel to remote, exotic and possibly hostile areas. Adventure tourism is rapidly growing in popularity, as tourists seek different kinds of vacations. According to the U.S. based Adventure Travel Trade Association, adventure travel may be any tourist activity, including two of the following three components: a physical activity, a cultural exchange or interaction and engagement with nature.

Adventure tourism gains much of its excitement by allowing its participants to step outside of their comfort zone. This may be from experiencing culture shock or through the performance of acts that require significant effort and involve some degree of risk (real or perceived) and/or physical danger.

COMING UP WITH A DETAILED ITINERARY FOR ADVENTURE TOURISM.

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PATIT PAWAN MANDIR

 Patit Pawan Mandir is a Hindu temple in Ratnagiri, Maharashtra, India. It was built by Shriman Bhagojisheth Keer in 1931.  

The name speaks for itself. Patit in Marathi is the lowest, humblest, downtrodden man in the society. Pawan is purified, enlightened, awakened, fulfillment. The temple which transforms the downtrodden to the pure form, which restores his rights as a human being.  

The place where he (the untouchable, dalit) can perform the puja, worship his god as everyone else does.
The entry of untouchables in a temple was unthinkable at that time. Even if the shadow of an untouchable fell on an upper caste man he would bathe again. Such was the social fabric of India and it was taken to advantage by the then British rule in India as the policy of Britishers was divide and rule. The caste system and discretion in the society was fully exploited by the British.

 One man who saw this and thought that this was wrong and devoteda great part of his life to fight against it was Vinayak Damodar Sawarkar. By establishing the Patit Pawan Mandir in Ratnagiri he created a storm in the society.

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WALAVAL CREEK (KUDAL TALUKA)

Offers Truly spell binding view Tarkarli creek (Estury) situated between majestic mountains that slopes down to meet its stream; but to see this view the visitor has to trek from mauli Temple to one huge rock situated towards west on the top of the hill. Here visitors turnout in large numbers in summer season. Walawal is also known for Laxmi Narayan temple. The natures amazing pecularity here is that one full moon day Lord Laxminarayan sees reflected images of both Sun and Moon in the river. That means on the full moon day when the sun is sinking towards west coincidently moon also rises in the east.

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