Around Guhagar

If you can bear to leave the shades of the suru trees and the turquoise blue sea of Guhagar behind there is lots to around Guhagar. A ferry ride across Jaigad creek to the south or the Vashishti river to the north gets you to Ganpatipule and Dapoli respectively. If Ganpatipule is famous for its Swayambhu Ganpati temple Dapoli is well known for its sea forts.

Dabhol a mere half an hour from Guhagar which opens up scores of sightseeing options in Dapoli. The sea forts in Dapoli is the main attraction apart from the many beaches one after the other starting from Dabhol. 35 kms to the south via Hedvi from Guhagar is Tavsal jetty from where one could get a ferry to Jaigad and visit Ganpatipule.

Explore Konkan

Near the Panhalekaji caves about 20 Kms from Dapoli is the Unhavare village famous for the hot sulphur springs. Located in the valley on the bank of a small river surrounded by hills this rustic village is definitely worth a visit if you are on a long vacation in Dapoli. The boiling spring water bubbles up into a series of three rock pools. The hot spring water is clear with a faint smell of sulphur. Unhavare is about 35 kms from Dabhol once you cross Vashishti.

The Swayambhu Ganpati Temple, known for its unique Ganapati idol, is built on the Ganpatipule Beach and opens up to the beautiful beach. The idol of Ganapati here is believed to be 'swayambhu'. The idol of 'mooshak' made out of copper is placed outside the temple. Celebrated as the Paschim Dwar devta the diety is placed in the sanctum sanctorum and at sunrise and sunset a shaft of golden light falls on and illuminates the idol.

Kanakdurg fort is spread over about of 0.25 hectares. The fort is in complete ruins now except for a few things like water tanks, two dilapidated bastions and a beautiful lighthouse. Kanakdurg Fort was built to protect Suvarnadurga slong with Fattegad and Gova fort. Kanakdurga is built on a huge rock and there are rock steps to ascend the fort. There is a lighthouse on the fort. To the left side of the steps is a strong bastion built in black rock.

Expolre Konkan

Shivsrushti

Walavalkar Shivaji Museum is situated at Dervan about 25 km from Chiplun and is known for the Chatrapati Shivaji museum of statues and paintings depicting the life and history of Chatrapati Shivaji. The museum was built by a social worker, Sitarambuva Walavalkar. The museum timings 10.00 am to 5.00 pm

Marleshwar

Marleshwar waterfalls is located about 120 kms from Guhagar. The place houses a famous cave temple dedicated to Shiva. The Marleshwar water falls is a group of many small water fall and the view is simply superb and you can enjoy it around the year. Though going near the fall could be risky in monsoon the view is magnificent.

Parsuram Mandir

A Parashuram temple is located in Chiplun near the Mumbai-Goa National highway. The temple was constructed with the help of Portuguese and incorporates European, Hindu and Muslim styles of architecture. The steps from the ghats lead to the temple premises. The main sanctum in the temple has three elaborate idols.

Suvarnadurg Fort Dapoli

Located about a quarter of a mile off the coast from Harnai port is the fascinating Suvarnadurg Fort. A rocky island, Suvarnadurg is about 8 acres big with stone wall bastions. There is no landing jetty at the Suvarnadurga fort.

Building of the Suvarnadurg fort is credited to Shivaji maharaj. Built for the Maratha Navy for defence purposes, the fort also had a ship building facility. The basic objective of establishing the fort was to counter attacks by the colonialists of Europe and local chieftains.

Suvarnadurg fort is open to tourists from November to end of May post which the ferry service is suspended due to rains. Land forts were also built to support the sea fortress and in the past, the land fort and the sea fortress were connected by a tunnel, which is now defunct.

A Quaint Temple Town

Guhagar