Shrivardhan

History

Shrivardhan is one of the oldest towns in Maharashtra. It is a town of Peshwas. The Bhat Deshmukhs of Shrivardhan - later popularly known as Peshwas - witnessed the rise and the fall of Marathas after the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj period. Though the capital of Peshwas was Pune, the actual institution of Peshwa (prime-ministership under a symbolic king) was born in Shrivardhan in 1713. Balaji Vishwanath (the first Peshwa) took control of the position and gained de facto rule in the Maratha empire under the now-symbolic rule of the Chatrapati king. The Peshwas administered the Maratha Empire for more than 100 years, a period which ended in 1818 following the defeat of the last Peshwa in the Third Anglo-Maratha War. The third Peshwa, Balaji Bajirao, built a huge house here in 1750, which has recently been renovated. The statue of Balaji Vishwanath was also installed here in 1988. The temple in the town - Shri Laxminarayan Temple - is the main temple of Peshwas. The idol in the temple is quite old and is said to be of Hoysala architecture style. The other temples in the town are of Kusumdevi, Somjai, Bhairavnath and Jivaneshwar.

Geography

Shrivardhan is located in Raigad District of State of Maharashtra. The distance between Shrivardhan and Harihareshwar is 18 km and they are often considered to be twin cities. Diveagar is a quieter place than both cities, which has garnered it recent notice which has initiated its transformation into a popular tourist destination. Kondivali beach is also an important tourist destination, located just 10 minutes from Shrivardhan by bike. Most of the people are engaged in fishing and agriculture, with fish being a popular offering for tourism. Shriwardhan is mostly covered with mango and coconut trees. The city is home to many hotels and resorts, and is popular as a destination for weekend getaways and group picnics. An availability of Maharashtra state transport buses, which provide connections to all neighbouring cities. Buses and private vehicles connect Mumbai (185 km) via the NH66 highway route, Pune (163 km), Harihareshwar (20 km) and Panvel (125 km). The nearest train station is in Mangaon, located 45 km away from Shrivardhan with strong connections throughout the Konkan coast to Pune and Mumbai.

Most-observed species

• Red-whiskered Bulbul

  Pycnonotus jocosus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  152
• Brahminy Kite

  Haliastur indus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  141
• Red-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus cafer (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  139
• White-throated Kingfisher

  Halcyon smyrnensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  129
• Green Bee-eater

  Merops orientalis Latham, 1801 · Aves
  119
• Spotted Dove

  Spilopelia chinensis (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  97
• White-bellied Sea-Eagle

  Haliaeetus leucogaster (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  86
• White-rumped Vulture

  Gyps bengalensis (Gmelin, 1788) · Aves
  82

Most recent

• M 4.2 — 2005-11-20
  25 km ENE of Chipl?n, India