Arnala Beach Near Virar - Vasai Virar Beaches (North Mumbai)

“Once Famous in the Vasai Virar area of Palghar district, Arnala Beach, located in Virar (North of Mumbai), is famous and most visited by tourists. There are a total of four beaches connected further in the vicinity, and this one is the dirtiest, with many drowning cases. Located in the far north suburb of Mumbai, Arnala has ample coconut trees, semi-white sand, multiple resorts, and a fort that can be visited via ferry.

Let’s know more details about this beach, like the exact address and location, How to reach it, Distance from Virar railway station, highway, and Mumbai, Parking Facilities, Resorts, Water Current safety, and more.”

Speciality and Attractions of Arnala Beach Virar

Speedy development and the boom in the travel industry brought into the limelight some of the less explored picnic locations, like Virar, which was once a small village with a coastal village and beach like Arnala, known for its fishermen’s community. Arnala Beach in Virar was once an isolated beach, and the only visitors were locals, villagers, and fishermen. Hardly people of Virar used to go so frequently here.

The development and popularity of this beach came in the late 1980s and 1990s, when picnic groups started coming and couples wandering under tree shades. Slowly, it became a popular picnic place for family and friends groups. The speciality was lots of trees, resorts for day and overnight stays, and cottages available on an hourly basis, which attracted couples.

Beach Video

Resorts like Anand Resort, C Beach Resort, Sagar Resort, L D resort, Arnala Sea lord Resort, Alexson Resort and few more are seen near beach.

I don’t know about the current situation, but a few years ago, cottage rooms were available at cheaper hourly rates, like Rs. 150 to Rs. 200, and were mostly occupied by young couples. People from faraway locations come here for a day’s picnic in huge Volvo buses, as parking is not a problem here.

Arnala Beach is packed during Sundays and public holidays, especially during the summer. These days also, traffic in Virar West is at a bottleneck in the morning and evening hours, especially at locations like Bolinj and Agashi Naka village road junctions.

People from Gujarat’s borders also come to this beach to enjoy it with family and friends, as Gujarat, after Daman, hardly has any such beaches. The major attraction being the resorts, people are seen in huge groups on the shore playing games like cricket, football, etc.

The elderly prefer to sit under the shade of coconut and palm trees (See Picture) and enjoy munching and chit-chatting with a cool breeze throughout the day.

IMPORTANT ALERT !! Beach water currents are very dangerous and not that fun, as seen from afar. The water is about 50 to 100 meters away, and the shore has slopes. DO NOT GET EXCITED and jump or Swim in.

Many have drowned here due to the UNEVEN and UNEXPECTED slopes and water currents. Previously, sand mining used to be done, and many locations that look flat and the same under water are actually deep and dangerous. So I would strongly recommend not going in for a swim and keeping children away. If you feel like it, go to the adjacent Navapur beach, which is cleaner, has a flat shore, and is safer too.

The beach water looks black due to the black and White sand color. No matter what, few people will get civic sense, so littering was and is a very big problem here. Upon sunset, this beach is dark as there are no street lights or lamp posts around, not even at the main entry pathway towards the beach, which is very sad for such famous locations.

Exactly at the entrance of this beach, there is also an old Hindu cemetery. Arnala Fort is another attraction that needs a ferry ride, But frankly, there is nothing much to see as the Historic fort is all broken and not well maintained.

Beachside eateries like tea, coffee, cold drinks, and snacks like Vada Pav, etc. are available. There are a couple of ice gola sellers at a few locations on this beach. Flavors like Orange, Kala Khatta, and Kachi Keri are available, which are not real sugar, and ‘Saccharin’ liquid is used (a bad-quality, Known substitute for Sugar), which is not good for health.

So it is up to you to eat gola, etc., here. Nature’s foods like Tamarind, Ziziphus mauritiana, Raw mango, and other such seasonal fruits are available and taste yummy with a little salt. Sweet and Roasted Corn (Butta’s) are fun to eat during rainy monsoon days. Horse and Camel rides, Paragliding activities are also seen at this beach.

Arnala Social Group

Young Dynamics of Arnala Village, This social group is the hope and future of the village and is actively taking care of various needs. Be it taking care of beaches to keep them clean or some crucial steps like banning plastics (the No Plastic Campaign), which is not at all eco-friendly, Every now and then they take up activities and work for the betterment and education of Arnala village with the help of the Gram Panchayat (Municipal Body). To reach this group, Contact Pradip Saliyan at 9145458149.

Recently, for the first time, this group organized the very first Arnala Beach Festival, which had various activities like fresh fish, lantern flying, etc.

How to Reach This Beach Location

Arnala Distance from Virar : 8.7 Km from the railway station, This beach takes about 27 to 30 minutes to reach.
Distance from Mumbai Suburb (Andheri) : About 69 kilometers from the western suburb of Mumbai. The time taken to reach Mumbai may range from 1 hour, 30 minutes, to 2 hours or more, depending on the Mumbai traffic.
Reaching by Road : From the National Highway, Virar is 10 kilometers away, and From Virar west, another 8.7 kilometers inside is Arnala Beach. From NH8, reach Vizar station (10 Km), take the East West Flyover Bridge, Then move straight on Agashi Road, which reaches Arnala Beach at another 8 Km.
Reaching by Train : The nearest railway station is Virar. Get down towards the west side and options like private Auto, MSRTC and VVMT buses are available that will take you to the beach. Kindly note that auto does not run on the meter system here, and a random amount is charged per person or group (approximately Rs. 25 per person) in tumtum auto.
Car & Tourist Bus Parking : Ample parking space at the beach location is open with no charges.

Other Places to See Near Arnala & Virar

Other Beaches

As already talking about beaches, 3 more beaches are in row at hardly few Kilometres distance and can be seen from Arnala which are Navapur, Rajodi and Kalamb beaches.

Temples to see

On the way towards Virar comes a village called Agashi which has this very old and famous Jain temple. ON Virar east side is the very famous Jivdani temple on Mountain with more than 1000 foot steps to climb. On Highway few metres ahead near Shirsad naka is another jain temple with lunch, tea, snacks facilities available for all called Mahavir Dham. From this Jain temple at about 18 Kilometres is Vajreshwari & Ganeshpuri temples famous for natural hot water springs.

For kids, Virar’s Yazoo Park (Permanently Closed) is fun during evening.