Revdanda

Revdanda is a village near Alibag, India. It is 17 km away from Alibag and 125 km away from Mumbai.

Till a few years ago the coastal road that goes south from Alibag used to terminate at Revdanda where it encountered the Kundalika creek. A bridge now spans the creek and the whole stretch southward of Revdanda up to Murud-Janjira has now become accessible. Revdanda is a pretty little place. Part of the town is situated within the premises of an old Portuguese fort.

If you drive through the town, the road enters through an old archway and then exits from another before getting to the bridge.

If between these two archways you turn right and make a detour to the western portion of the fort, which reaches out into the sea, you have found a great vantage point. During high tide the waves crash onto the palm-fringed ramparts of the fort and you get a magnificent view of the creek to the south and the beach to the north. There is an entrance from the beach to the fort, but it is clogged with trash.

To get to the beach, you will have to double back north along the main road to Alibag and then inquire at at the edge of the local market for the road. The beach has very little shade and the sand is made up of black rock, giving it an unattractive shade of dark grey. The view from the fort is rather pretty.

Revdanda is also the location where St. Francis Xavier delivered one of his early sermons in India. The chapel still exists in a run down condition. The chapel is within the walled fort, on the south side and not far from the main road. There are many places to watch out in Revdanda. Revdanda is a historical place and resembles closely to the era of shivaji,though its not one the famous place in history related to shivaji.----Datta Mandir : Its one of the prime attractions of Revdanda it is located in the chaul part of Revdanda.Its Mandir of Lord "Datta" which mainly the maharashtrian people worship. The mandir is on top of the peak, the road leading to the mandir is of almost 1500 steep stairs. From this temple we can see entire region around revdanda. And it is believed that it was built in Raje Shivaji's reign to keep an eye on enemy. There is huge celebration for five days in a year, it starts on birthday of lord Datta and continues for 5 days. During this period students are given holiday.

----Rameshwar mandir:Located in chaul region one of village of Maharashtra India called revdanda. It is temple of Lord Shiv. Though its built is not known history says it was renovated several time. In front of the temple there is huge pond know as "pokhran" in Marathi. Also the mandir has three tanks called "kund" in Marathi namely "parjnya kund" , "agni kund" , "wayu kund" representing three elements of nature soil, fire and air , "retrieved 1 oct 2007" URL: 1.

----Shitala Devi mandir: Another holy place in this village of temple. This is most famous place after lord "Datta" mandir.This temple was renovated a few years ago. People of the village believe that Goddess "Shitala" protects the village from all evils. Maharashtrians refer to goddess as "AAI" which means mother in Marathi.

----The Beauty : The beauty of this place lies in the coconut and beetlenut trees in this region. The plantations of coconut trees is called "naralachi baag" or "wadi" in Marathi language. The place is also famous for a species of aromatic flower called "Bakuli" its a small flower with a wonderful fragrance.Apart from the plantations of coconut and beetlenut the livelihood of people in this region comes from the production of rice.The most perfect time to visit Revdanda is month of Dec and Monsoon season.

----Revdanda Beach: Its a very isolated beach in this region. The sand is black in colour, which gives it a unique look.The beach is integral part of people in Revdanda, its one of the places where people come to relax after days heavy work.As Revdanda lies in coastal region fish curry and rice forms an important part of diet of the people of this region.

----"First Russian Traveller to India" : Revdanda came into when Russian historians found out that the first traveller to Indialanded in revdanda. A monument was raised in his memory. On the 23rd of November, 2000, a foundation stone for the monument in memory of Afanasy Nikitin, the first Russian traveller to India was laid at Revdanda. A high level delegation from Russia, accompanied by Mr. V.T. Trubnikov, the first deputy of the ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, H.E. Mr. A.M. Kadakin, Ambassador of the Russian Federation to India, all senior diplomats from the Consulate General of the Russian Federation in Mumbai, attended the function. [http://www.russian-centre-mumbai.org/history.htm] .