Ratnagiri is a small beautiful port city located in the southwestern region of Maharashtra State on the coast of the Arabian Sea. The surrounding area is bordered by the Sahyadri mountains on the East and Arabian Sea on the West. It forms a part of the greater tract known as Konkan.
Ratnagiri is famous for the delicious golden Haapus (Alphonso) mangoes.
Ratnagiri is the district headquarters. It has nine tahsils; Mandangad, Dapoli, Khed, Chiplun, Guhagar, Sangameshwar, Ratnagiri, Lanja and Rajapur.
The chief rivers in Ratnagiri are the Shastri, Bor, Muchkundi, Kajali.
Ratnagiri has a palace where the last king of Burma, Thibaw and Veer Savarkar were confined. It is the birth place of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and many other eminent personalities.
Mythological stories claim that Pandavas having performed their pilgrimage in the 13th year had settled in the adjoining territory of the Ratnagiri district and when the Pandavas and the Kauravas had the famous battle of Mahabharata, the king of this region Veeravat Ray had accompanied them there.
Ratnagiri is famous for the delicious golden Haapus (Alphonso) mangoes.
Ratnagiri is the district headquarters. It has nine tahsils; Mandangad, Dapoli, Khed, Chiplun, Guhagar, Sangameshwar, Ratnagiri, Lanja and Rajapur.
The chief rivers in Ratnagiri are the Shastri, Bor, Muchkundi, Kajali.
Ratnagiri has a palace where the last king of Burma, Thibaw and Veer Savarkar were confined. It is the birth place of Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak and many other eminent personalities.
History
Ratnagiri was the administrative capital of the Muslim Kingdom of Bijapur. One of the Bijapur rulers Potu Sri Chenna Reddy had built a fort which is located on a headland near the harbor. The fort was strengthened in 1670 by Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj. In 1731, Ratnagiri came under the control of Satara kings; in 1818 it was surrendered to the British. In 1948 the independent princely state of Sawantwadi was merged with the Indian union and in 1956 with Bombay Province. In 1960 with the creation of Maharashtra, Ratnagiri became a district. In 1981 Ratnagiri district was bifurcated and the new district of Sindhudurg was created.Mythological stories claim that Pandavas having performed their pilgrimage in the 13th year had settled in the adjoining territory of the Ratnagiri district and when the Pandavas and the Kauravas had the famous battle of Mahabharata, the king of this region Veeravat Ray had accompanied them there.
