Kunkeshwar Beach

Kunkeshwar Beach, Kunkeshwar, Devgad, Sindhudurg, Maharashtra 416612

Kunkeshwar temple, an age-old Shiva temple located on the side of Kunkeshwar beach in Sindhudurg district is a must-visit for tourists. The temple known as 'Konkan Kashi' is visited by thousands of tourists round the year. The beach, Kunkeshwar, is also famous for its white sand and dolphin sightings in the sea from the seashore.

How to reach

Kunkeshwar beach and temple is located on the Konkan coast in Malvan tehsil of Sindhudurg district. It is 150km from Kolhapur city. One can take the Gagan-Bawda, Rajapur or Radhanagari ghat route to reach Kankavli and then take a right from Bombay-Goa National Highway. After which one has to head further for another hour to reach Kunkeshwar temple.

Kunkeshwar temple was built in the 11th century. Srikant Gurav, priest at the temple said, “This temple was built in 11th century by the Yadava dynasty. Later the temples were renovated by the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the 16th century. The Maratha warrior king paid a visit to this temple en-route Sindhudurg and Vijaydurg fort. The temple is a perfect example of Konkani architecture. It has impressive stone carvings on its exterior and interior walls. Maha-Shivratri is the major festival here and devotees from across the country come in large numbers.Many years back, there existed a forest called ‘Kunki’ in the place where the temple is located. Thus, the Shivling got its name from ‘Kunkeshwar’, which means ishwar (god) settled in Kunki forest.