Amboli Tour Guide

A small hilltop town in the Sahyadris 2,264 ft above sea level and just 28 km from Sawantwadi. Amboli’s hill station potential had been discovered by the Sawants of Wadi within shoes fief Ambolilay. The sky over this village in the Sahyadri Hills of southern Maharashtra dripped continuously just like on the small island for a good four months if not the entire year making it the wettest place in Maharashtra. Tourism came here only when interest in goa just 80 km away began to glag. Call the hotels here are under 10 years old and all the hills around are yet to received punk haircuts in the name of development. The original forest cover rests like a blessing as far as the eye can see.

Amboli is a classic family holiday destination. Cars of varied provenance drive up from the surrounding states throughout the year with the holiday season starting every Friday and waning every Monday. You can also pick up a useful map of the town from the reception desk of the hotel. The best way to get about is to take an auto if you haven’t driven up. It should not cost you more than Rs 100 to cover all the tourist spots over the weekend.

One must visit is Madhavgad Fort now in a state of ruin. A memorial on the main road gives you an insight into the war that it marks the tombstone reach that only one British soldier died in the battle. About 10 km from Amboli are the Bauxite Mines and you come here for a different landscape altogether a sholayesque bareness of blasted rock.

Waterfalls

Nangartas Waterfall 10 km from Amboli has manly spectator appeal. It falls deep and noisy into a beautiful ravine and you will need to watch that you don’t slip in your enthusiasm to peer into the invisible bottom. The other one 5 km away simply called Waterfall by the locals demands more participatory effort. Stand on rocks under cascading sheets of water for an icy-cool shower.

Views and Walks

Like any intelligent hill station Amboli offers amny viewpoints to its visitors. During the rains clouds cast a white blanket over the horizon and when you step out you will walk in the rolling mist. Some of the walks depending on the roads, might well be inaccessible at this time. There is the mandatory Sunset Point then Parkshit Point, Kavelsad Point and Shirgaonkar Point, which offer views of the surrounding forests, and sometimes it is possible to see deer or a rare leopard here. Mahadev Gad 3 km built by the Sawants has good views of the valley.

Temples

Hiranyakeshi Uppam where the Hiranyakeshi River springs forth from the mouth of a caves has a small Shiva Temple built many years ago by a man who was supposed to be a manifestation of Shiva according to the current pujari his gardson. There is something sacred and peaceful about the place. This is also a good spot for anglers to hang out and engage in another from of meditation. The nearby Maruti Mandir on the other hand is more of a commercial effort. It was built by a holy baba who had earlier sought followers in Goa. The temple here is a study in bad architecture but it’s a quiet green spot near a stream so you won’t mind visiting it.