Ganapatipule is a small town located in the district of Ratnagiri on the Konkan coast of Maharashtra. The town of Chiplun is to its north. According to local folklore, the Hindu god Ganapati, taking umbrage by a remark made by a native lady, moved to Pule (a few km ahead of the town) from his original abode of Gule. Thus the region was named Ganpatipule.
Its is located on the Southern Konkan coast at a distance of 375 kms south of Mumbai. Ganpatipule has several kilometers of almost perfect beaches and clean waters. The tourists do not come here for the hedonism of sun and sand but rather for the towns seaside temple with its Swayambhu Ganapati, or "naturally formed" monolith Ganesh, discovered 1600 years ago.
Ganpatipule is one amongt the 'Ashta Ganapatis' (eight Ganpatis) in India and is known as the 'Paschim Dwar Dewata'. The Ganesh Temple is framed by a green hillock on one side and golden sand and open sea on the other. The sunset here is especially beautiful, spilling its rich orange and gold over the gentle, white fringed waves, a celebrated picture framed from the shore by coconut palms. The temple is serene, the sea calm, and the red soil of the hills warms your heart. It is easy to see why Ganapati is the lord of pule, or sands.
According to legend, once a villager was running away from the clashes and when he made his way through the jungles he stumbled on Lord Ganapati’s idol. He built a temple around the idol. From the past 400 years, people have been caring and making additions to the shrines and the temple is how it looks today. The village of Ganapatipule is famous for its 400 year old Ganesha temple. The idol is curved from one massive rock. The idol is a Swayambhu Ganpati shrine which means that it is a self-created monolith of Lord Ganesha.