 |
PLACES OF INTEREST
|
 |
GUHAGAR
Guhagar (Guhagar T.; 17° 25' N, 73° 10' E; p. 5,031), a town
on the coast, six miles south of Anjanvel, is the head-quarters of the Guhagar taluka. It was known to the Portuguese as the bay of Brahmans. In 1812, the Peshva, as a hot weather resort and for certain religious rites, built a palace on the cliff to the south of the village. Most of the materials were (1823) used for Government buildings in Ratnagiri, [Waddington's Report in Nairae's Konkan, 121.] but some of the palace ruins are
still standing. There is a rectangular patch of land of about half an acre having a temple at each corner and a temple of
Shiv in the centre. The temple at the centre was built at an early date as compared to the temples at the corners. The temple of Shiv built in black stone is known for its architecture. A fine image of Nandi in a squatted position is so exquisitely worked that even from a close distance one takes it for a live animal. The road through the village is a straggling street, three miles long. The houses are built close to the beach, and the whole length of the village is densely shaded with cocoa palms and other trees. An open roadstead, with no anchorage or tidal creek to shelter even the smallest craft, Guhagar
has never been a place of trade. From 1829 to 1873,
Guhagar was the head-quarters of the Guhagar sub-division. In that year it was reduced to a petty division subordinate to Chiplun. The nearest railway station is Karad, 87 miles south-east.
|
