Guhagar: 

Guhagar is situated on west coast of india. Guhagar is a census city in Ratnagiri district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The guhagar is known for its virgin beach, coir items, coconuts, betel nuts and mainly Haapus Alphanso mangoes. The nearest city and railhead is Chiplun, about 44 kilometres (27 mi) away. The economy of Guhagar boomed after the Dabhol Power Company, a few kilometres north was commissioned in the early 1990s.

A word GUHAGAR means cave house in local language. Guhagar is a scenic town with hilly terrain. It is even called a temple town. To name few, Ancient hindu temple of Vyadeshwar , temple of durgadevi, temple of Lord Ganesh or Kopri Narayan mandir . Guhagar beach (about 6 kilometer long ) is one of the main tourist destination, and is a unique places to enjoy Konkani culture. Long lonely beach with silky white sand is a perfect getaway to rural tourism. This uncontaminated and secluded virgin beach is simply addictive to almost all the people visiting this small town.

Comprising of waterfalls, mountains, spectacular sunset view on beach, temple and lush green valley during monsoon season Guhagar offers you splendid traveling experience.

How to reach at Guhagar:

By Road:

The best way to get in is by road. Maharashtra State Transport (S.T.) buses ply from Mumbai, Thane and Pune. The S.T. Bus depot is right in the heart of Guhagar Town.

Chiplun is the nearest major city and is directly on NH17. The state highway turning off to the right when approaching Chiplun from Mumbai on NH17 leads to Guhagar which is approximately 40 KM away.

Pune to Guhagar : People travelling from Pune can reach Guhagar by traveling to Satara on NH4 and then to Patan, Koayana Nagar and then by descending Kumbharli Ghat to reach Chiplun and finally Guhagar.

Pune to Guhagar : 288 kms

Pune -> Shirval -> Patan -> Koynanagar -> Chiplun -> Guhagar 

Mumbai to Guhagar: 320 kms

Mumbai -> Vashi -> Panvel -> Pen -> Wadkhal -> Kolad -> Mangaon -> Mahad -> Poladpur -> Khed -> Chiplun -> Guhagar

Ganapatipule to Guhagar:  190 kms

Ganpatipule -> Bhatgaon -> Rai bridge -> Welamb -> Shrungartali -> Guhagar

By Train: 

Nearest Railway station is Chiplun railway station in the Konkal railway region. It is connected to Mumbai and Goa. From the railway station to Guhagar is about 40 km.

Places to Visit near Guhagar:

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, Gadre). The Main Pujari at this temple is Bhave Guruji.


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. There is a legend associated with this idol, that's worth taking a note.

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.

Velaneshwar - Approximately 25 KM south of Guhagar, along Guhagar-Hedvi road, is located this beautiful temple of Lord Shiva. The temple is right on the pristine sea shore. Just like Vyadeshwar, this too is Kuladaivat of lots of Kokanastha Chitpavan Brahmins. (Surnames like Gokhale, Raste, Dev, Gadgil, Tulpule). There are smaller temples of other gods like Shri Vishnu, Ganesha, Kalabhairav around the main temple. At the entrance is located a tall Deepamaal.

Hedvi - Hedvi is a small village located at approximately 27KM along Guhagar-Narvan road, towards south of Guhagar. This small vilalge is yet another popular location around Guhagar that boasts of 2 places worth seeing. Most famous is the temple 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. 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.

Budhal - The sea shore of Budhal has both kinds to offer - serenity and danger. This small town is located around 5 KM from Village Adoor Phata along Guhagar Hedvi Road. The town is scantily populated - hardly 40 houses. The approach road is pretty bad and terminates at a spot that offers commanding view of the entire Budhal village and the rough rocky sea shore it has. One can also see a small temple and a virgin beach of yellow sand past the village.

Chandika Mandir - Chandika Mandir is located around 15 KM north of Guhagar. One has to travel to Veldoor ( 10 KM away from Guhagar) and cross the Dabhol creek by launch to reach Harbor Dabhol on the north side. From Dabhol the Chandika Mandir approach road is around 4 KM when traveling towards Dapoli. The temple is 15-20 feet under ground in a cave. Electricity is forbidden inside and hence only source of lighting is lamps and candles lit. The idol of Goddess Chandika is swayambhoo (self-borne) and supposed to be from the ages of Pandava. However, it was discovered only 300 years back. Outside the temple is a tomb of the discoverer of this temple.

Enron Project - 

Along Guhagar - Veldoor road, near Anjanvel is this controversial project of electricity generation from gas. One can see 70-80% of this project while traveling along the road.

Gopalgad - This ancient fort is located near Anjanvel - 11 KM North of Guhagar, along the coast line. It is believed to be built at the start of 16th Century by the Siddis. It was captured by Shivaji Maharah in 1660. What remains today is only the ruins of this huge fort that spans 7 Acres of land.

Read More

Tarkarli Beach:

Tarkarli is one of the best and most safe beach of coastal Maharashtra, also called Kokan. The beach has flat table land which can accommodate 5-6 football grounds ! Very safe to swim and play group water games. Tarkarli is a small beach side village in Taluka Malvan, Sindhudurg Destrict. You will find that almost every alternate local home has started lodging and boarding facilities.

 Tarkarli is one of the most amazing beaches in the Konkan region. A beautiful beach to spend time with both friends & family surrounded with plenty of hotels & home stays.  The majestic Sindhudurg fort can be sighted from this fabulous beach. Overall, this beach is gorgeous. It's secluded, sunny and perfect for an entire day of just lazing around, playing frisbee, drinking cold and soul-wrenchingly good solkadhi, and a good game of frisbee. Tarkarli is 8 km south of Malvan and 546 km from Mumbai on the west coast of India, at the confluence of the Karli River and the Arabian Sea.

How to reach at Tarkarli Beach:

•         By Air: 

Nearest airport is Dabolim Airport in Goa.

•         By Rail: Following options exist:

•         Sindhudurg, but all trains don't stop there and also connectivity by means of bus and rickshaw are not very good.
•         Kudal on the Konkan Railway. This is around 1 hour 15 minutes by road from Malvan. Buses are available from and to Malvan after every 30 minutes. Frequency is slow in the evening. If you want to go to tarkali directly, taxis and rickshaws are available from kudal station east, 700rs for taxi after a bit of bargaining. (November rate 2012) Takes you directly to tarkali beach road where you can find accommodation by asking the cab driver to stop for couple of minutes
.•         Kankavli on the Konkan Railway. This is around 1 hour 30 minutes by road from Malvan. Buses are available from and to Malvan after every 30 minutes. Frequency is slow in the evening.

•         By Road: 

Tarkarli is easily accessible from Malvan by bus and rickshaw. Tarkarli is 475 KM (Panvel Kochi Road, NH 17) and 576 KM (Mumbai Kohlapur Road NH 4) away from Mumbai. Daily private, luxury and State Transport bus service available from various parts of Goa, Mumbai, Pune to Malvan.

Places to Visit near Tarkarli Beach:

1. Sindhudurg Fort 
2. Malvan Market
3. Sangam
4. Nivati Beach
5. Golden Rock
6. Rock Garden at Malwan
7. Malvan Plateau

 Adventure Sports on Tarkarli Beach:

 1.    Snorkeling ( to see corals and fishes )
2.    Scuba diving
3.    Scuba Diving and Snorkeling
4.    Boating
5.    white water rafting

You can hire an entire boat. It will take you for dolphin seeing, golden rocks, tsunami island (for water sports) and snorkelling if you wish even if you don't know how to swim, they have floats.

Read More