Guhagar is tehshil in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra. Guhagar is famous for Durga Devi temple, Guhagar and Shree Vyadeshwar temple. The pristine white sand beach of Guhagar is the main attraction for the tourists. Guhagar beach is of the longest beaches in the Konkan region that boasts of its clean and vast stretch of white sand. I remember my first trip to Konkan when I was in collage. I really liked this small town which had one long street and had houses with wadis of coconut trees leading up to the sea on one side.
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| Guhagar Beach |
Day 1 - 26 Oct 2022
We started our journey around 5.30am as wanted to avoid traffic and need to reach Dervan before 12 pm. The journey felt very pleasant due to the rosy cold, dark fog that continued at the end of the ghats till Mahad. The green fields, fog and breeze was a wonderful combination.
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Road to Tamhini Ghat
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Somewhere near Mulshi
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We had a quick stop for tea after Tamhini ghat and reached Dervan around 11.45am. Ram mandir closes at 12pm, you can allow to enter in the temple only if you are fully dressed. Its compulsory for ladies to wear saree and full length pant for gents.
We were not dressed like this so missed visiting ram mandir but could see all statues of maratha worriers and Chhatrapati Shivaji maharaj.
After spending an hour there we headed towards Guhagar and reached Seawinds Hotel around 2pm.
I booked a room at Nakshatra Resort but there was some miscommunication and our booking was not confirmed then I booked a room at Seawinds Hotel. Room is spacious and clean; only corridors are not that much neat and clean. Ample of parking space is available but no covered parking for your vehicle.
After having some rest we went out at 5pm and visited Vyadeshwar Temple dedicated temple of Lord Shiva, which is main temple in the town and considered as the Kuldevata of many Chitpavan from Konkan region. In the premise there are few more temples.
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| Vyadeshwar Temple |
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| Deepmal |
After Vyadeshwar we visited Ufrata Ganpati temple in Guhagar, it is said that this Marble Ganesh idol was found in the sea of Guhagar to Fishermen while fishing. Then they handed over the idol to the Brahmins. The Brahmins installed this idol at the Varcha Pat in Guhagar. About 400 years ago, the sea once flooded. Water started to enter in the village and the whole village was about to drowned.
One of the devotees of Ganpati invoked God and prayed to him to save Guhagar from this calamity.
At that time, this east-facing Ganpati turned west and calmed the sea. Since then this Ganesha is called as Ufrata Ganpati. The temple is of old Kaularu style and the roof is wooden.
Then we went towards beach to capture sunset, its very memorable to spend an evening on the beach with your loved ones.
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| Sunset at Guhagar Beach |
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| Sunset at Guhagar Beach |
Before going to Seawinds Hotel we has dinner at Suruchi Hotel near Beach. It is a clean, hygienic restaurant, with many authentic konkani food products served! Food was very tasty food. It's been so long that I go to Konkan but rarely I get authentic Konkani veg food items. We ordered tandalichi bhakri, Kelful bhaji and walachi usal which were just amazing, only thing to complain is size of bhakri is too small. We decided to visit the place again as we want to buy pickles and mango pulp and reached hotel around 9.30pm.
Day 2 - 27 Oct 2023
We decided to visit all places this day so we will be having a day only for rest and chill out in hotel.
At 9am we reached at Bamanghal near Hedvi which is 30km from Guhagar. After reaching beach you will find Uma Maheshwar Temple.
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| Bamanghal, Hedvi |
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| Hedvi Beach |
Bamanghal is an incredible creation of nature. It is a small walk along the rocky beach and one can observe a large crack formed in the slopes. The water vigorously enters this crack and fills the 3-4m deep and 1m wide crack and sprays upwards through the narrow opening. But be careful and do not try to go deep inside as this place has different shapes of hard coarse rock which makes it a bit slippery,
few accidents were happened and people died after falling in to it. Sun was too bright to stand there for long time hecne we left the place within 15-20 minutes.
On the hedvi ganpati mandir we visited Shri Laxmi Narayan Temple which is a typical konkani but very beautiful temple surrounded by trees. A small path descends from the temple and there is a small river on reaching the place, it feels like an old village. The surrounding area was very quiet.
Some women in the village were carrying water, washing clothes there and it looked like a typical village in a any Marathi story book.
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| Shri Laxmi Narayan, Hedvi |
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| Local Shop |
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| Small Shack but good quality food |
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| Kokum Sarbat |
After spending 30 minutes there we reached to Hedavi Ganesh Temple. The name of this temple is 'Dashbhuja Ganapati Temple' or 'Laxmi-Ganesh Temple'. The temple is situated approximately 3 km away from Hedvi Beach. The deity has been founded on the top of Mountain. The ganesha statue is carved in white stone and has ten hands. This symbolic representation of warrior Lord Ganesha is extremely rare. This is an ancient temple erected during the period of Peshwa.
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| Panhala Fort made by Kids during Diwali Vacation, its somewhere near Hedvi |
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| Konkani House |
While returning to Guhagar we visited Shri Velneshwar Temple. this temple is located very close to the beach. Velneshwar Beach is positioned at a distance of roughly 7 kilometers from Hedvi Beach.
This beach is celebrated for its crystal-clear waters and the scenic coconut groves that grace its coastline. A notable attraction nearby is the Velneshwar Temple, It is believed to be one of the ancient temples dedicated to Lord Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati.
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| Shri Velneshwar Temple |
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| Deepmal at Velneshwar Temple |
We reached at hotel around 1.30 pm and after freshen up went to Jog Aaji's place for lunch. She offers authentic maharashtrian food one should not miss. Highly recommend this place for the most amazing food and experience. Please make sure to place your order in advance before going for meal. Modak she served are the best modak I have had till date, you must try if you are near Guhagar.
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| Jog Aaji home |
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| Dining area |
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| Selfie with Jog Aaji |
After lunch we left for our next destination, The Anjanvel Lighthouse which is a nice place to visit especially in the evening. The Anjanvel Lighthouse is one of the primary attractions and one can climb up to the top by paying a nominal fee. Though not very tall, the view from the top of the light house is magnificent. The visitor timings are 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm and they do not allow cameras to be taken to top.
Just outside the lighthouse there is a small temple of Tolkeshwar Temple, dedicated to Lord Shiva. On 2kms distance there is Anjanvel Fort but we skipped it due to lack of time and we tired up as we were roaming since morning.
After spending an hour at Anjanwel, Dabhol-Dhopave Ferry as we were going to visit Chandika Devi Temple at Dabhol.
The Chandika Devi temple housed within a small cave in the mountainside. It is believed to be from the Pandav era. The idol of Goddess Chandika here believed to be Swayambhu means have formed naturally on its own. To reach the deity, you have to pass through a low darkened passage. Even though the space inside the Goddess looks small in the dark, it is enough for 400 people to stand around the Goddess. So by circumambulating the Devi we can come back to the original entrance.
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| Chandika devi mandir, Dabhol |
A natural cave formed in purple rock houses a black stone shendur-encrusted idol of the goddess about 3 feet tall. Devi has four arms, sword, shield and other weapons in hands. The entrance to the cave is very small in height and one has to bend down to enter. The entrance of this cave is covered with silver sheet. As soon as you enter, there are steps leading down to the cave. After moving forward with the support of the wall, the light of Samai appears in front of the goddess and the auspicious form of the goddess is seen. Coming into this dark cave and seeing the radiant form of the Goddess is an extraordinary experience. Moreover, only the nandadeep is lit in the cave. Other lighting devices are strictly prohibited here. Photography was not allowed inside the cave.
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| Sunset at Vashishti River near Dabhol |
While returning to Guhagar we had a break for tea and snacks as we were too tired, we skipped dinner and reached hotel around 9pm.
Day 3 - 28 Oct 2023
We wake up little late and went to beach around 7.30 am, we wanted to just chill and relax so we enjoyed swimming and other water sport activities and were back hotel around 9 am.
We enjoyed TV time for an hour and went to explore Guhagar town and visited few temples in Varcha Pat, Guhagar.
Durga Devi Temple which is also considered to be the Kuladevata or clan goddess of many Brahmin families from the Konkan region. The Temple is old with full of greenery along with Bhakta Niwas in nearby location. It is located in an area surrounded by lush green coconut plantations and farmlands.
We also visited Kopari Narayan Temple, Ashtavane Ganpati Mandir and Shree Datt Mandir.
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| Kopari Narayan Mandir, Guhagar |
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| Kopari Narayan |
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| Shree Datt Mandir, Guhagar |
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| Shree Datt Mandir, Guhagar |
After having lunch at Jog Aaji's place we went back to Hotel around 3pm. We enjoyed evening on the beach and our days ends after having meal at Suruchi Hotel.
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| Quick capture from Hotel Window |
Day 4 - 29 Oct 2023
We decided to leave early to avoid evening traffic in Pune, so our plan was to reach Pune before 5pm.
We left Guhagar around 10am after having delicious breakfast at Suruchi followed few konkan products shopping. While our return journey to Pune we visited Parashuram Mandir in Chiplun.
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| Parashuram Mandir, Chiplun |
Parshuram Temple is a temple of Lord Parshurama, the sixth avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism located in Parshuram village near Chiplun in Ratnagiri district. Since Parashuram created Konkan land, he is considered the presiding deity of the Konkan region. Srikshetra Parashuram is a pilgrimage site on Mahendra mountain with a history of hundreds of years. The temple was built by initiative from Swami Paramhans Brahmendra. As it was 12.30pm so they offered us Khichadi, Shira and Pickle as prasad. Khichadi was too good, its taste still lingers on my tongue.
Our wonderful trip ended at 6.30 pm when we reached home.
Highlights -
Trip duration - 4 days (26 Oct 2022 to 29 Oct 2022)
Distance travelled - 850 Km
Budget - approximately 25K
Useful Info -
1. Room charges at Seawinds Hotel, Guhagar - 1650 per day (including discount as booking was done through yatra.com)
2. Veg meal at Job Aaji - 170 Rs per person (excluding Modak 20 Rs per piece)
3. Veg meal at Durga Devi Mandir - 100 Rs per person
4. Anjanvel Lighthouse visitor timings - 9:00 am to 12:00 pm and 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm
Useful Contacts -
1. Nakshatra Holiday Homes, Guhagar - 9403646277
2. Seawinds Hotel, Guhagar - 9920994229
3. Vasudha Jog (Jog Aaji) for veg food - 9158158316
4. Shalaka Khare (Durga Devi Mandir Guhagar for stay) - 9421604134
5. Sukhada (Durga Devi Mandir Guhagar for Prasad) - 9422998937
6. Hotel Suruchi, Guhagar -
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| Hotel Suruchi |
