its own peaceful, coconut-fringed beach, where one can relax in tranquility. The village comes alive each year during the Maha Shivaratri fair, when pilgrims in large numbers visit the Old Shiva Temple. According to folklore, a fisherman had found a statue in his net which he had promptly thrown back into the sea. He again found the statue back in his net. Angered by this he banged the statue on a stone, but the statue started bleeding. The fisherman picked up the statue and place it in a small temple which then grew into the Velneshwar Shiva Temple. About 26 km from Ganapatipule lies the district headquarters town of Ratnagiri. This region has a long illustrious past and is even mentioned in Indian mythology. Malgund, a small village 1 km away from Ganpatipule, is known as the birthplace of the Marathi poet Keshavasuta, born in 1866. He is regarded as a poet who heralded the dawn of modern Marathi poetry. There is a monument at Malgund dedicated to his work and also a museum where one can find information on most of the modern-day poets of the Marathi language. Resting on a cliff, at the entrance of the Sangameshwar river, just 20 km from Ganapatipule, is Jaigad Fort. This 16th-century fort offers a view of the sea and of Konkan village life. A 15 km back road connects Ganpatipule to Jaigad via Malgund. Besides its natural environment, Pawas is well known for the Ashram of Swami Swaroopanand, a spiritual leader who influenced an entire generation of Maharashtrians. The distance from Ratnagiri to Pawas is approximately 20 km. There are extensive views from the lighthouse, around 6–7 km from Jaigad Fort. It was completed in 1932 and is still completely operational and serving on the coast. Around 13.7 km north on route to Jaigad Fort from Ganpatipule Ganesh temple is the newly built Jai Vinayak temple. The temple has pagoda-style architecture. The temple was built in 2003 by JSW group when they launched their thermal power project at Jaigarh. Transportation The town has a small bus stand, State transport buses to Kolhapur Pune are available town is easily accessible from the port city of Ratnagiri, which also has a railway station and an airport. Road Ganapatipule is 32 km from Nivali, a small village on Mumbai Goa Road (NH 17). From Nivali, one has to turn right for Ganapatipule. The distance