Kelwa Beach, also known as Kelva or Kelwe Beach, is a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shel ...

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

.Maharashtra Tourism
/ref> It is a popular weekend getaway for tourists from

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

. The beach is about 8 kilometres long. Although not a very famous tourist attraction, the beach is overcrowded with local tourists during weekends, which indicates its growing popularity.

Location

Kelwa Beach is situated about 80 kilometres north of

. It is easily accessible from the Kelve Road station situated about 5 kilometres away. It is also a 25-minute ride on an 8-seater

rickshaw A rickshaw originally denoted a two- or three-wheeled passenger cart, now known as a pulled rickshaw, which is generally pulled by one person carrying one passenger. The first known use of the term was in 1879. Over time, cycle rickshaws (also ...

from

Palghar Palghar () is a town in the Konkan division of Maharashtra state, India and a municipal council. It is in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, and since 2014 it has been the administrative capital of the Palghar district. Palghar lies on the Weste ...

. It is around 30 kilometers from the highway. Kelwa Beach is also connected by state transport buses which make frequent trips from

Saphale Saphale (also spelled Safāle or Saphala). is a town in Palghar Taluka in Palghar District in Maharashtra, India, north of the mouth of the Vaitarna River. According to Census 2011 information, the location code or village code of Saphale villa ...

and Kelwa Road Station.

Demographics

The most important and traditional means of earning is the cultivation of "panmala" (bettle leaves). The community which cultivates the malas are popularly known as vadvals (person who cultivates vadis). The residents of Kelwa Beach are involved in the fishing industry due to the proximity to Satpati, Maharashtra's biggest fishing centre. Some people own or work in factories in the nearby industrial areas of Palghar and Tarapur. Some people have involved in the

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring (disambiguation), touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tour (disambiguation), tours. Th ...

industry due to the growing popularity of the beach. Many restaurants and snack joints have come up near the beach to cater to the growing number of tourists.

Shitla Devi Temple

The Shitla Devi Temple, a Hindu temple, is situated just beside the beach. It is believed that Prabhu Shri Ram came here and worshipped Lord Shiva. It is also believed that Prabhu Shri Ram prepared a pond with help of his arrow which called Ram Kund and still it is there.

Forts

There are two forts on this beach. One is at the southern tip of the beach and is submerged in sea water during high tides. The smaller one is located within the coniferous trees near the northern tip on the beach.

References

External links

{{Commonscat, Kelwa beach * http://kelvabeach.in/ Villages in Thane district Beaches of Maharashtra Tourist attractions in Palghar district