Ratnagiri District

The city of Ratnagiri, located in the western coast of India is a costal district in the state of Maharashtra. It has an average east west length of about 64 km and north south extension of about 180 km. It’s surrounded by the Sahyadri hills in the east beyond which there are Sangli, Satara and Kolhapur districts, Raigad district in the north, Sindhudurg district in the south and in the west lies the Arabian Sea.

Ratnagiri district could be physically divided into three zones. They are:

Hill Area Zone: This area extends up to 10 to 15 km and includes the western slopes of Sahyadri. Forests cover a large area in this zone, although it’s failing at an alarming speed. It has a high rainfall of about 3500 mm and usually has medium to high altitude. This area comprises of ghat roads, hill forts, forests and wild life. Hiking, trekking, forests camps, bird sanctuaries, wild life safari, etc. are the possible tourists’ activities here.

Coastal Zone

This zone usually has low altitude and about 2500 mm rainfall and extends to about 10 to 15 km from the sea cost. In this area, most of the activities are linked with sea. There are various beaches, sea forts, creeks, harbors, caves, hot water springs, temples, places of scenic beauty in this area, etc. Inland and sea water ways, boating, sailing, etc. are some of the possible tourist activities.

Middle Zone: This area usually has a medium altitude and lies between the coastal and hill areas. It’s more reachable due to the Mumbai-Goa highway and the Konkan railway. This area most comprises of religious places and hot water springs and has few places of tourists’ interest.

Ratnagiri in Maharashtra state is definitely a great holiday destination to enjoy the weekend because of the sheer natural beauty it possesses.