Ganpatipule

Ganpatipule is a stretch of clean sand on the Konkan coast with a temple at one end whose Ganesha image is swayambhu, held to be self-manifested rather than installed, and unusually faces west toward the sea rather than east. The hill behind the temple is treated as part of the deity, so pilgrims perform a pradakshina of about a kilometre around the hill itself rather than around a shrine. The beach is broad and shallow with casuarina behind it, and the coast either side holds smaller bays, mango and cashew orchards, and the Jaigad and Ratnadurg forts on headlands.

History

Local folklore tells that the god Ganpati, offended by a remark of a local woman, moved from his first home at Gulé to Pulé, "forward", and so the place was named Ganpatipule. The 400-year-old image of Ganpati in the temple is said to have sprung up from the soil (Wikipedia, Ganpatipule).

The main sights

• The west-facing Ganesha - the swayambhu image looking out to sea.
• The hill pradakshina - a circuit walked around the hill, not the shrine.
• The beach - broad sand backed by casuarina.
• The Konkan coast - orchards, bays and headland forts nearby.

When to go

November to February for dry mild weather; Ganesh Chaturthi in late summer brings large pilgrim numbers. The monsoon is heavy and the sea rough and unsafe.

Practical notes

The sea has strong currents; swimming is unsupervised. Accommodation is mostly basic and pilgrim-oriented. Weekends and festivals crowd both temple and beach.

Nearby

Ratnagiri lies south; Jaigad fort is north.