Vijaydurg (city)
Encyclopedia
Vijaydurg is a seaport 485 km from Bombay on India
's West Coast. It boasts a safe harbour with average depths in excess of 100 feet.
From Vijaydurg, Goa
is a 200km drive South along the National Highway 17.
The beach facing the Arabian Sea
has a historic fort ( 800 years old) from which the town/seaport derives its name. The region offers a very panoramic view of the creek and the fort. A number of virgin beaches abound near Vijaydurg.
Vijaydurg sports a peace-loving cosmopolitan population. There is a historic temple, a church and mosque. Other locations of Tourist interest include:
, red fox
, barking deer, sea otter
, dolphin
,
porpoise
, whale
.A wide variety of fish
including King Mackerel
(Surmai), ladyfish, Pomfret
, sting ray, hammerhead shark
, puffer fish, Mullet
, Great white sharks, carp
, eel
, black Salmon (Rawas), Swordfish
and the seemingly rare Sailfish
are routinely spotted here. Shellfish like lobster
, clams
, mussels, oyster
, crayfish
and many types of crab are abundant. Commonly occurring birds abound like the Barn Owl
, Kingfisher
, kite
, cormorant
, stork
, egret
, Red-whiskered Bulbul and cuckoo
. Endangered species include the Great Indian Hornbill, Vulture
, Langur (Black faced Monkey), Giant Squirrel, Crane
and Tern
.
Since the mouth of the estuary opens into the Arabian Sea, the water is clean due to inter-tidal flushing. Vijaydurg also has a Port Trust, Sea & Land Customs Outposts, Shore-guard and a large State Transport Depot. Up until 1983, Vijaydurg was a port of call for the Konkan
Steamer service, which ran two ships: Konkan Sevak and Konkan Shakti, which were later sent to supply the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Forces) in Sri Lanka
.
Seaside Resort
Almost private 1 km long beach on the Arabian Sea-front bay with the Government RestHouse on the hill to the South and the Vijaydurg fort to the North. Visit the Fort-View Resort for three comfortable self-contained apartments. For authentic Malvani
cuisine go to the Port side at the Vijaydurg Palace post-dinner walk down to the Jetty and see fish sparkle in the waters below you and the densely populated night sky above!
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
's West Coast. It boasts a safe harbour with average depths in excess of 100 feet.
From Vijaydurg, Goa
Goa
Goa , a former Portuguese colony, is India's smallest state by area and the fourth smallest by population. Located in South West India in the region known as the Konkan, it is bounded by the state of Maharashtra to the north, and by Karnataka to the east and south, while the Arabian Sea forms its...
is a 200km drive South along the National Highway 17.
The beach facing the Arabian Sea
Arabian Sea
The Arabian Sea is a region of the Indian Ocean bounded on the east by India, on the north by Pakistan and Iran, on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, on the south, approximately, by a line between Cape Guardafui in northeastern Somalia and Kanyakumari in India...
has a historic fort ( 800 years old) from which the town/seaport derives its name. The region offers a very panoramic view of the creek and the fort. A number of virgin beaches abound near Vijaydurg.
Vijaydurg sports a peace-loving cosmopolitan population. There is a historic temple, a church and mosque. Other locations of Tourist interest include:
- Maratha Admiral Kanhoji AngreKanhoji AngreKanhoji Angre or Conajee Angria or Sarkhel Angre was the first notable chief of the Maratha Navy in 18th century India. He fought successfully all his life against the British, Dutch and Portuguese naval interests in the Indian Ocean during the 18th century, and hence was alleged by them to be a...
's Naval Base and Dry Dock. In 1698, Angre located his first base at the Maratha fort of Vijaydurg ('Victory Fort') (formerly Gheriah) located about 425 km from Mumbai. The fort which was originally built by Raja (King)Bhoj in 1208, is located on the coast, and has an entrance hollowed out in it to accommodate entry of a vessel from the sea.
- A vast Mango Research Institute that has developed hybrids like a Ratna, a cross between the Alphonso and Neelam variety, as well as the Kesar hybrid.Vijaydurg also has a large number of coconut palms in addition to Kokum (Garcinia indicaGarcinia indicaGarcinia indica, a plant in the mangosteen family , commonly known as kokum, is a fruit-bearing tree that has culinary, pharmaceutical, and industrial uses....
) to boot, and is the home of the famed Alphonsos.
Wildlife
Wildlife including the hyenaHyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, red fox
Red Fox
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes, as well as being the most geographically spread member of the Carnivora, being distributed across the entire northern hemisphere from the Arctic Circle to North Africa, Central America, and the steppes of Asia...
, barking deer, sea otter
Sea Otter
The sea otter is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg , making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among the smallest marine mammals...
, dolphin
Dolphin
Dolphins are marine mammals that are closely related to whales and porpoises. There are almost forty species of dolphin in 17 genera. They vary in size from and , up to and . They are found worldwide, mostly in the shallower seas of the continental shelves, and are carnivores, mostly eating...
,
porpoise
Porpoise
Porpoises are small cetaceans of the family Phocoenidae; they are related to whales and dolphins. They are distinct from dolphins, although the word "porpoise" has been used to refer to any small dolphin, especially by sailors and fishermen...
, whale
Whale
Whale is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea. The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises, which belong to suborder Odontoceti . This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga...
.A wide variety of fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
including King Mackerel
King mackerel
The king mackerel is a migratory species of mackerel of the western Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational fishing industries.-Description:...
(Surmai), ladyfish, Pomfret
Pomfret
Pomfret are perciform fishes belonging to the family Bramidae.They are found in the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, and the largest species, the Atlantic pomfret, Brama brama, grows up to long....
, sting ray, hammerhead shark
Hammerhead shark
The hammerhead sharks are a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, so named for the unusual and distinctive structure of their heads, which are flattened and laterally extended into a "hammer" shape called a "cephalofoil". Most hammerhead species are placed in the genus Sphyrna while the...
, puffer fish, Mullet
Mullet (fish)
The mullets or grey mullets are a family and order of ray-finned fish found worldwide in coastal temperate and tropical waters, and in some species in fresh water. Mullets have served as an important source of food in Mediterranean Europe since Roman times...
, Great white sharks, carp
Carp
Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...
, eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
, black Salmon (Rawas), Swordfish
Swordfish
Swordfish , also known as broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory, predatory fish characterized by a long, flat bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfish are elongated, round-bodied, and lose all teeth and scales by adulthood...
and the seemingly rare Sailfish
Sailfish
'Sailfish' are two species of fish in the genus Istiophorus, living in warmer sections of all the oceans of the world. They are predominately blue to gray in color and have a characteristic erectile dorsal fin known as a sail, which often stretches the entire length of the back...
are routinely spotted here. Shellfish like lobster
Lobster
Clawed lobsters comprise a family of large marine crustaceans. Highly prized as seafood, lobsters are economically important, and are often one of the most profitable commodities in coastal areas they populate.Though several groups of crustaceans are known as lobsters, the clawed lobsters are most...
, clams
CLaMS
CLaMS is a modular chemistry transport model system developed at Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany. CLaMS was first described by McKenna et al. and was expanded into three dimensions by Konopka et al....
, mussels, oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
, crayfish
Crayfish
Crayfish, crawfish, or crawdads – members of the superfamilies Astacoidea and Parastacoidea – are freshwater crustaceans resembling small lobsters, to which they are related...
and many types of crab are abundant. Commonly occurring birds abound like the Barn Owl
Barn Owl
The Barn Owl is the most widely distributed species of owl, and one of the most widespread of all birds. It is also referred to as Common Barn Owl, to distinguish it from other species in the barn-owl family Tytonidae. These form one of two main lineages of living owls, the other being the typical...
, Kingfisher
Kingfisher
Kingfishers are a group of small to medium sized brightly coloured birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species being found in the Old World and Australia...
, kite
Kite (bird)
Kites are raptors with long wings and weak legs which spend a great deal of time soaring. Most feed mainly on carrion but some take various amounts of live prey.They are birds of prey which, along with hawks and eagles, are from the family Accipitridae....
, cormorant
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
, stork
Stork
Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
, egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
, Red-whiskered Bulbul and cuckoo
Cuckoo
The cuckoos are a family, Cuculidae, of near passerine birds. The order Cuculiformes, in addition to the cuckoos, also includes the turacos . Some zoologists and taxonomists have also included the unique Hoatzin in the Cuculiformes, but its taxonomy remains in dispute...
. Endangered species include the Great Indian Hornbill, Vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
, Langur (Black faced Monkey), Giant Squirrel, Crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
and Tern
Tern
Terns are seabirds in the family Sternidae, previously considered a subfamily of the gull family Laridae . They form a lineage with the gulls and skimmers which in turn is related to skuas and auks...
.
Since the mouth of the estuary opens into the Arabian Sea, the water is clean due to inter-tidal flushing. Vijaydurg also has a Port Trust, Sea & Land Customs Outposts, Shore-guard and a large State Transport Depot. Up until 1983, Vijaydurg was a port of call for the Konkan
Konkan
The Konkan also called the Konkan Coast or Karavali is a rugged section of the western coastline of India from Raigad to Mangalore...
Steamer service, which ran two ships: Konkan Sevak and Konkan Shakti, which were later sent to supply the IPKF (Indian Peace Keeping Forces) in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
.
Seaside Resort
Almost private 1 km long beach on the Arabian Sea-front bay with the Government RestHouse on the hill to the South and the Vijaydurg fort to the North. Visit the Fort-View Resort for three comfortable self-contained apartments. For authentic Malvani
Malvani
Malvani is a dialect of Konkani with significant Marathi influences and loanwords. Some define it as a Creole between Konkani and Marathi. Though Malvani does not have a unique script, scripts of the other languages native to the regions its speakers inhabit are used. Devanagari is used by most of...
cuisine go to the Port side at the Vijaydurg Palace post-dinner walk down to the Jetty and see fish sparkle in the waters below you and the densely populated night sky above!