velneshwar shiva temple – velneshwar is known for its beaches and the old shiva temple about which i am going to write in this post. i had never heard about velneshwar before. when i visited ganpatipule temple in ratnagiri. then for the first time i heard about this shiva temple and also about dashbhuja laxmi ganpati temple in hedvi.
both these temples are old and located in silent places. visited by local people but not known much outside the konkan area. in fact, velneshwar is known more for its silent beaches than for this old shiva temple. lets take a virtual tour of the temple.
pictorial tour of velneshwar shiva temple:
velneshwar shiva temple main gate. its quite a big sized gate considering the temple area.
there are 3-4 very big banyan trees in the temple entrance. so there is lot of calm and quietness around the place.
as you enter inside the temple you come across nandi statues. nandi statue has to be there in the shiva temple.
the day i visited the shiva mandir, there were not many devotees. but 8-9 pandits were inside the temple.
that means on special days like monday (lord shiva day) more devotees will be visiting the temple.
few people were doing special pooja along with priest. we had to sit outside the main shivling shrine.
as only those people who are doing pooja can go inside the inner sanctum.
har har mahadev. praise to lord shiva.
these idols are of different deities. i can’t recollect the name now.
lord vishnu temple was also inside the temple. located adjacent to shiva temple. there are also statues of lord ganesha and few other deities.
lot of light towers are build in this temple.
temple premises has lot of coconut and ashoka trees. it was a very silent and quite temple in a sleepy village known for its beaches and greenery. the village is silent, full of greenery and pollution free. good place to relax your mind from city noise and also for taking lord shiva blessings.
how to visit velneshwar shiva temple:
i visited the temple from ganpatipule temple. its 40 km from ganpatipule. from jaigad, we crossed the sea in a big boat. per person they charge 50 rs. even cars and buses use the ferry boat to go to other side. for car, they charge 250 rs (excluding the per passenger fee of 50 rs).
distance from major cities via road:
1. from pune – 285 km via karad chiplun road.
2. from mumbai – 289 km via national highway 66
3. from ratnagiri – 81 km
4. from chipun – 46km via chiplun-guhagar
nearest railway station is at chiplun.
stay – velneshwar beaches are slowly coming up in tourist map. currently there few beach resorts like MTDC.