Malvan

(Not to be confused with Malwan, an archeological site located in Surat Dist.Gujarat,India.(21°41′N 72°42′E))

Malvan (Marathi: मालवण) (also written as Malwan) is a town in Sindhudurg District, the southernmost district of Maharashtra. This culturally and historically important town is a Taluka place in Sindhudurg District. Malvan taluka consists of villages like Aangnechi wadi, Achra, Khalchi Devli, Jamdul, Juva, Pankhol and Sarjekot. Malvan is wellknown for its historical monument, the Sindhudurg fort, which is beautiful and spread in a vast area. The staple diet of the people here is fish curry and rice. It is known for its variety of mangoes (Malvani Hapus - Alphonso). It is also known for sweets such as Malvani Khaja (Made from Gram - besan flour and coated jaggery) and Malvani Ladoos.A very important part of Malavni culture is a Malvani Dashavtar, a drama-play based on mythological stories. There are many tourism places in Malvan. The main occupation here is fishing.Many foreigner visit here.The nature of the people here is very helping and hardworking.

Several apocryphal and some more credible stories related to the name Malvan exist. Salt was produced in large quantity in the Malvan region. Salt producers use term Mahalavan to describe a region rich in salt, a compound word from "Maha" meaning great, and "lavan" meaning plantation (or salt). Another possibility is a phonetic derivative of the compound of "Mad" and "Ban", Malvani for coconut trees and garden respectively, relating to the large number of coconut trees in the region.