Vijaydurg (town)
- This article is about the city. For the fort, see Vijaydurg fort and For the port, see Vijaydurg Port
Vijaydurg (formerly also known as Gheriah) (Marathi: विजयदुर्ग) is a seaport 485 km from Mumbai on India's West Coast. It boasts a safe harbour with average depths in excess of 100 feet.
From Vijaydurg, Goa is a 200 km drive South along the National Highway 17. The beach facing the Arabian Sea has a historic fort ( 800 years old) from which the town/seaport derives its name. The region offers a very panoramic view of the creek and the fort. A number of virgin beaches abound near Vijaydurg. There is a historic temple, a church and mosque in the village of Vijaydurg.
Nearby places of interest
- Vijaydurg Fort: Maratha Admiral Kanhoji Angre's Naval Base and Dry Dock. In 1698, Angre located his first base at the Maratha fort of Vijaydurg ('Victory Fort') (formerly Gheriah) located about 425 km from Mumbai. The fort which was originally built by Raja (King)Bhoj in 1208, is located on the coast, and has an entrance hollowed out in it to accommodate entry of a vessel from the sea.
- Shri Dev Rameshwar Temple located 1.5 km from Vijaydurg City. This temple is located on the outskirts of Rameshwar Wadi (Rameshwar City).[1]
- Sambhaji Angre Samadhi: A 300-year-old tomb of Admiral Sambhaji Angre, son of Kanhoji Angre in located just outside the walls of Shri Dev Rameshwar Temple, Rameshwar.
- Konkan Krishi Vidyapith's Mango Research Institute, Rameshwar: A research branch of Konkan's most prominent agricultural research institute is located 1 km from Vijaydurg village. Hybrid varieties of Alphonso such as Ratna and Sindhu have been developed here.[2]
- Rameshwar Port: A small dock located just beyond the Mango Research Institute, on the banks of Waghotan River. It is a historic dock used by the Maratha Admirals for building ships and docking their smaller ships.[3]
Wildlife
Wildlife including the hyena, red fox, barking deer, sea otter, dolphin, porpoise, whale. A wide variety of fish including king mackerel, (surmai), ladyfish, pomfret, stingray, hammerhead shark, puffer fish, mullet, great white shark, carp, eel, black salmon (rawas), swordfish and the seemingly rare sailfish are routinely spotted here. Shellfish like lobster, clams, mussels, oyster, crayfish and many types of crab are abundant. Commonly occurring birds abound like the barn owl, kingfisher, kite, cormorant, stork, egret, red-whiskered bulbul and cuckoo. Endangered species include the great Indian hornbill, vulture, langur (black faced monkey), giant squirrel, crane and tern.
Since the mouth of the estuary opens into the Arabian Sea, the water is clean due to inter-tidal flushing. Vijaydurg also has a Port Trust, Sea & Land Customs Outposts, Shore-guard and a large State Transport Depot. Up until 1983, Vijaydurg was a port of call for the Konkan Steamer service, which ran two ships: Konkan Sevak and Konkan Shakti, which were later sent to supply the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Forces) in Sri Lanka.
See also
- Vijaydurg Port
- Vijaydurg fort
- Shri Dev Rameshwar Temple
- Rameshwar Wadi
- Rameshwar Dockyard
- List of forts in Maharashtra
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References
Coordinates: 16°34′N 73°20′E / 16.567°N 73.333°E