India’s coastline…
With a coastline of around 7000 Kms, India is blessed with many varieties of beaches – the long to the short beaches, the white sand and the brown sand ones, the ones with mellow waves to ones with mighty tides, the ones were you can relax on a hammock to ones where it is hard to find any space to relax near the waves. Then there are ones with the water sports and ones with ‘Sundal’ vendors.
The western coast of India extends from the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat to Kanya Kumari in the South and it can largely be divided into the Konkan coast and the Malabar coast and it extends across a few states, various cultures, a few languages and some strikingly different scenery. One of the best ways to experience this would be to take a train ride across the Konkan railway.
“The western coast of India extends from the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat to Kanya Kumari in the South and it can largely be divided into the Konkan coast and the Malabar coast and it extends across a few states, various cultures, a few languages and some strikingly different scenery.”
A fisherman on a boat in the Western Coastline
Diving deep into the West Coast of India
Konkan railway
One of the most fantastic train journeys that can ever be taken in India is the journey on the Konkan railway. Watching the green of the Western Ghats fly past as the train chugs along cliffs, gorges, jungles and hills at its ever so slow pace sometimes with the trains going effortlessly past mighty waterfalls. Suffice to say that these railways have inspired quite a few cinematographers to picture more than just a few scenes there.
This is also quite a smart move to use this travel option as an experience in itself!
Scenic train journeys!
The culture
The interesting thing about coasts is that they are usually a medley of cultures with a bit of foreign influence due to colonialism. The west coast of India is not exempt. From Parsis in Gujarat and Maharashtra to Portuguese in Goa and Kerala – the uniqueness in the culture is unmistakable! Be it is food or the traditional clothing every place is a delightful confluence of cultures.
P.S. This is the unseen side of Goa – less beaches, and more culture, heritage, monsoons, and food walks.
Pretty Fontainhas in Goa
Western ghats
If there are two major things that dominate everything about life on the western coast of India it has to be the coast itself and then the Western Ghats. The Ghats permeate every aspect of the living in the Indian peninsula be it biologically, ecologically or climatically. There are enough species of flora and fauna around here that you can spend your entire lifetime researching. The Western Ghats is recognized as one of the hotspots of biological diversity as well.
If you want to experience a bit of the magic of these regions, join us on our all-women group trip to the Western Ghats, where we stay in the homeliest stays near a clear stream, go on a morning trail for bird watching, visit a nearby waterfall, go on a bamboo raft ride, and much more.
F5 travellers all set for their bamboo raft ride
The waterways of the Malabar Coast
One of the distinct features of the Malabar Coast is the backwaters. You can spend a few hours to a few days in royal treatment floating around on a house boat having left all your cares behind. It is a wonder how these waterways form the basis of an economic system in itself. You have to experience it for yourself at ‘God’s own Country’!
Join us on a group trip to South Kerala and Kanyakumari to taste a bit of the backwaters, beaches, and sunsets.
In short, these states on the western coast of India are a delight to all your senses and your intellect.
Backwaters in Kerala
Blog update: August, 2026. Images, links, headers, and minor text.
