Chiplun

Chiplun, in Ratnagiri district of coastal Konkan, Maharashtra, has grown along the banks of the Vashishti River and an old route linking the Arabian Sea with the Deccan plateau. The surrounding region was part of early Deccan kingdoms such as the Satavahanas and later the Shilaharas and Rashtrakutas, when small ports, river ghats and market villages handled rice, coconuts, spices and fish moving between the coast and inland towns.

In the medieval and early modern period, Chiplun’s hinterland came under the Bahmani and then Bijapur sultanates, before being drawn into the rising Maratha power of the 17th century. The wider Konkan belt was a crucial zone for Shivaji Maharaj’s campaigns and for Maratha naval and guerrilla activity, with nearby forts and ghats securing movement between the coast and the Western Ghats passes. Chiplun functioned as a local trading and administrative centre for surrounding villages.

Under British rule, the area was included in the Bombay Presidency. Roads, bridges and later highways strengthened Chiplun’s role as a stop on the north–south Konkan route between Mumbai and Goa. In the late 20th century, the coming of the Konkan Railway further boosted its connectivity. Today, Chiplun is known as a regional town of the lush Konkan, tied to agriculture, mango and cashew orchards, small industry and growing monsoon tourism along the Vashishti and nearby hills.