Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Kokan Journey: Amboli Forest Hill Station

Kokan is the highly blessed area of the Maharashtra; Mother Nature has showed her mercy on this area in abundance. The Kokan area is locally famous for rich forests and beautiful sea shores. At the level of National and international tourism this area can be said as the unexplored because at these levels when Kokan is pronounce it means only the Goa but in fact this is a separate tertiary which slowly and gradually attracting tourist especially after the start of Kokan railways. Kolhapur – the city of the Goddess Mahalaxmi [ http://www.kolhapurworld.com/ ] is at the distance of less than 200 km. from the most of the tourist attractions of Kokan. If you are interested to a have a drive on hilly roads, Kolhapur is most suitable place for the base camp of your Kokan tourism.

Amboli the gateway to Goa planes, is in fact is a spot where western ghat is ending. This the last Hill resort on the sahyadiri range as after this, boundary of Goa state starts. A height of 690mts from the sea level makes this cool place an idol destination for spending a few days with family in isolation from the rest of the world and in the lap of Mother Nature.

Here at Amboli you can go to Nagatta falls, Narayan Gad or Mahadev Gad for the family picnic. Just 10 km. away are situated Bauxite mines, a visit there will be make your excursion more colorful and memorable. There are many views points to see the lush green and coastal fields of Kokan. During the summer cool breeze makes Amboli a real enjoyable place. One thing is sure, during the months of June and July the hide and seeks game of fog, cloud and rain will not allow you to keep your cloths in dry situation. Most suitable time for visiting the Amboli is from the end of September. During the rainy season wild life study tours can be arranged. If you are in search of a quite, calm and a place with rich natural beauty than Amboli is most perfect choice. Try to include Sunday in your stay here, as on this day every week almost 5,000 people from the Kolhapur and Goa are visiting Amboli as one day family picnic. This will add a guanine feel of local and surrounding culture and traditions to your knowledge base.

Red Gilled fish, Prawns and special black Mutton curry [Kale masale chi mutton curry, vade sagoti] are the famous non vegetarian cuisines where as the taste of vegetarian malavani thali and desert serve after, prepared from the coconut will remain alive on your tongue for many years to come.


The nearest Airports are Belgaum and Kolhapur. Sawantwadi a station on Kokan railways is about at the distance of 30 km. There is a resort managed by MTDC [Maharashtra tourism Development Corporation] for which booking can be made from Mumbai, Pune and Kolhapur [
http://www.kolhapurworld.com/ ]. There are some other Hotels and motels also to accommodate tourists.


I recognize help of my e-friend Sharad Rao Rane for this article.
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