Have you always wanted to get away from chaotic city life, even if just for a few days or maybe a weekend? How would it be to relax in the lap of nature, listen to the soothing rhythm of the ocean’s waves lapping at the beach, watch the birds lazily soar in the clear blue skies, tuck into a truly Konkani cuisine and gaze at the hills majestically guard Maharashtra’s long coastline? All this comes to life at Shiroda.

With the Arabian Sea to the west and the rough and tough mountain ranges of the Sahaydri to the east, Shiroda is located at the southernmost end of the Sindhudurg district and is a quiet haven with none of the usual tourists’ clamour. It is about 20 kilometers from both Vengurla and Sawantwadi and has an abundance of coconut trees that give the region its characteristic flavour. The well-known Marathi laureate and Dnyanpeeth Award winner V S Khandekar had once served at Shiroda as a high school teacher. Shiroda has therefore been the birthplace of a lot of his creative writing.

The village had also played a vital role during India’s freedom movement. At the same time as Mahatma Gandhi had initiated his salt march from Dandi in Gujarat to oppose the British-levied salt tax, a similar movement had been flagged off from Shiroda which has many ‘mithagaras’ where salt is produced. This was carried out under the active leadership of Acharya Dharmanand Kosambi and Achary Javadekar, Dr. Bhagwat, Achyutrao Patwardhan and Appasaheb Patwardhan (Konkan Gandhi) were among the revolutionaries who had supported this act of defiance. On May 12, 1930 the British carried out a lathi charge on these freedom fighters and arrested almost 90 of them.

This historical link apart, Shiroda is blessed with unparallel natural beauty. The beach has cypress trees on one side and the sea on the other. Early morning hours and the time of sunset are the most mesmerising at this place. Goa is just 7 kilometers from here but Shiroda has its own unique culture with none of the Goan influence. The bonus of course is the Konkani food with spicy curries made with a coconut base and the various fish items prepared out of the fresh catch unloaded on the beach each morning. Shiroda is about 530 kilometers from Mumbai and the nearest airport is at Dabolim in Goa.

The distance from Mumbai is 554 Kms.