Velas  Beach  Velas  Beach  Velas  Beach  Velas  Beach  Velas  Beach  Velas  Beach
Velas is the birth place of Nana Phadnis, one of the great prominent personalities in Maratha history. Due to the sea-shore Velas is an existing place and it is situated near Bankot Bay. There is an old temple of Shri Bhairi- Rameshwar and in this temple all twelve months water is made available taking the benefit of favorable geographical conditions. A statue of Nana Phadnis is present outside his house. In Velas Mahalakshmi temple and Nana Phadnis house are the places to visit.Gokulashtami Festival is one of the impo

tant festival in Velas.

Velas is also one of the popular breeding sites of Olive Ridley, which is an endangered species of turtle. The hatchlings are heading towards the sea from the shore now-a-days. And we have at least 80% chances to see the emergence of these little new born turtles.

After dawn, many tiny heads of Olive Ridley turtle hatchlings, with sparkling eyes, pop out of the beach, take a precautionary look around and breathe the fresh air of the nearby Arabian Sea. And then, you witness the best, at top speed, they start their jouney towards the cool sea waters, even as excited nature lovers and witness this spectacle. Its amazing to see how the hatchlings, with no knowledge of the sea or even their mother, like robots, rush to the sea immediately after taking birth. It is said that even though you place them in the opposite direction, they will still go towards the direction of the sea. If you dont want to miss this, then Velas beach is the place to be in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra Konkan region.

Velas beach, a village in Ratnagiri district is around 200 km south of Mumbai is leaving no stone unturned to save the turtles from disaster. Ten years ago, before the conservation effort started, most of the Olive Ridley turtle eggs were either consumed by humans, dogs and other wild animals. But with awareness and large-scale participation of locals, 19000 hatchlings have been released in the decade long effort. From the start of the nesting season beginning November, locals maintain a vigil for the female Olive Ridley turtles that come home to nest. Females lay up to three clutches per season, one clutch containing between 90-150 eggs. The eggs, size of ping pong balls, are collected and incubated in a hatchery constructed on the beach by the locals. Each clutch is marked by its date and left to incubate naturally.

Accommodation :
Hotels and cottages are availbale in velas. Comfortable lodging and boarding accommodations are available with the Kasav Mitra Mandal.