The narrow coastal strip that runs along the Arabian Sea is sheltered by the verdant slopes of the Western Ghats. This region can be explored either by road or on the Konkan Railway. All along the Konkan Coast, from Mumbai to the south of Mangalore, are villages where, for over 2,000 years, fishing communities have harvested the fruits of the sea. A distinctive culture has developed in this area, protected by the forested hills of the Western Ghats. Beyond the coastline are fertile paddy fields, and plantations of coconut, cashew, betel nut, rubber, pepper and other spices. This is also India’s monsoon land, where the Southwest Monsoon is at its heaviest, and where Arab merchants, drawn by the monsoon winds, came to trade long before the Europeans.