| Vaibhavwadi | |
| Settlement Type: | town |
| Image Alt: | Vaibhavwadi |
| Pushpin Map: | India Maharashtra |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location in Maharashtra, India |
| Coordinates: | 16.4964°N 73.7458°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Maharashtra |
| Subdivision Type2: | Region |
| Subdivision Name2: | Konkan |
| Subdivision Type3: | District |
| Subdivision Name3: | Sindhudurg |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Marathi, Malvani |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | PIN |
| Postal Code: | 416810 |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Nearest city |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Kolhapur |
Vaibhavwadi taluka is a taluka in Kankavli subdivision of Sindhudurg district in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
It was earlier a small market town by the name Vabhwe. In the early 1980s it was accorded the status of tehsil under the new district Sindhudurg. Located to the north-east of Kankavali, Vaibhavwadi is off National Highway 66 (Old National Highway 17) and is on the district's eastern border with Kolhapur District. Nandgaon is 22 km south.
A strong influence of Kolhapuri and Konkani civilizations is prevalent in the area. The prime attraction here is some ancient caves at Ainari Village amid dense forest and mountains. Dating back to the period of the Samrat Ashoka, these caves are noted for their magnificent carvings.
Vaibhavwadi Road Railway Station, managed by the Konkan Railways, serves the area.
Here in terms of tourism see Napne waterfall as well as Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial is located at Vaibhavwadi.Here you can see Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial building along with Golden Pagoda, Dragon Pagoda and Panchshil Garden at Post Taluka Vaibhavwadi, dist Sindhudurg, Maharashtra State, India.
Vaibhavwadi has a semi-tropical climate and remains warm and humid in most of the year. It has three clear seasons: rainy (June-October), winter (November-mid February) and summer (mid February–May). Monsoon winds bring heavy rains, with an average rainfall of 3240.10 mm.
The major crops are rice, mango, cashew, coconut, vari, nachani, groundnut, jackfruit, beetlenut and spices.
The cuisine of the Vaibhavwadi is popularly known as Malvani cuisine. Coconut, rice and fish assume prime significance. Kombdi vade, a chicken savoury, is the most popular dish here. Others include ukadya tandulachi pej (उकड्या तांदळाची पेज - a semi-fluid boiled preparation made of brown-red rice) and sol kadhi (सोल कढी - a preparation made of sol (kokum) सोल and coconut milk).
Mango is a major factor in the life of Sindhudurg. Varieties of Alphonso mango (हापुस आंबा) from Devgad are particularly popular. Other varieties of mango are Mankur (मानकुर), Pāyari (पायरी) and Karel (करेल - used for preparing mango pickles) are also popular for their distinct taste.
Malvani cuisine also has many vegetarian dishes, including garyache sandan, pickle of karmal, bimble, amba halad, karadichi bhakri, kanyacha sanja, appe, ghavan, dalimichi usual, and kaju usual.
Tourist sites in the area include:
Sindhudurg Tour Guide Pvt Ltd[1] is an initiative launched to boost tourism in Sindhudurg district. The organization trains youth from local communities to take various self-employment opportunities in the tourism industry. These trainees are later motivated to run businesses like tourist guides, tour operators, travel agency, rental cars, home stays, agrotourism, water sports and village tourism.
In Indian mythology the ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are collectively known as Dashavatara. To preserve the universe from destruction Vishnu took ten different forms (avatars) from time to time. They are Matsya (fish), Katchha (turtle), Varaha (boar), Narsimha (half man, half lion), Waman (a Brahman boy), Purshuram, Rama, Krishna, Buddha, and Kalki.
In Sindhudurg Dashavatar is the most popular art form. Dance ritual dramas are held in most of the temples during festive occasions. Interesting characters in these dramas are Apsaras (heavenly maidens), whose roles are played by men in women's attire.
There are nine original Dashavatara performing groups in Sindhudurg, and Walawalkar group is believed to be the first. Credit also goes to the pioneer Shymnaikji kale who introduced Dashavatar to Sindhudurg in the 11th century. The, same Dashavatar is today known as Adivere Dashavatar in which ten incarnations of Lord Vishnu are presented one after the other on the stage.
Vaibhavwadi is easily accessible by road and railway. By road, Vaibhavwadi is 543 km away from Mumbai, and 112 km from Ratnagiri. When arriving from Mumbai or Goa, take National Highway NH-66 (Old NH 17) until Talere and then take a State Transport bus or rickshaw for an approximately 35 km ride to Vaibhavwadi.
Vaibhavwadi station lies on the Konkan Railway. Nearly every train running on Konkan Railway has a stop at Vaibhavwadi Station.[2]