Amboli is the only hill station in Maharashtra from where tourists can have a look at the beautiful Konkan coast. From this place, tourists can have an incredible look at the steep valleys and the canopies of mist covered cliffs .This hill station is a perfect place for unwinding as lots of youngsters and families choose this place for their vacations. This place offers lot of scope for walking, trekking, and travelling through the green, dense forests.

The British Colonel Westrop was the brain behind developing the Amboli hill station. There are various bauxite mines in close vicinity to this hill station that make these mines a great pleasure trip. Since this is a hill station, even summers are quite cool and comfortable here. The touristseason starts right after the Diwali season after November or so and keeps flowing in till the beginning of April or May. It has been estimated that every year around half a lakh of tourists visit this place.

The Konkan coast with its beautiful sands, never ending line of trees, dense greenery all around, excellent trekking paths, pleasant climate and clear lake make this place a must-visit hill station. The cool ambience of this place and the wonderful climate make this a perfect honeymoon destination for the newly-married couples.

History

Amboli was declared a hill station as early as during the 1880s. This is a place that was used by the British in the earlier days to supply garrisons to the other parts of the country in the Central and Southern areas.

It is known as Cherrapunji of Maharashtra because it receives the highest rainfall in the entire state. This was discovered by the people of Sawantwadi before the advent of the Britishers. However, due to the heavy rainfall of this place, Matheran, another hill station was chosen as their summer retreat, making Amboli as remote as possible for quite a long time.

Tourist Attractions at Amboli

Amboli is one of the hill stations that prove to be a perfect place for honeymoon couples. Newly married couples find Amboli to be a perfect vacation place to get away for the weekend. Far from the maddening pace of one’s lives, Amboli provides extreme enjoyment for the tourists.

Waterfalls like Shirgaonkar, Mahadev and Nagatta are some of the most famous waterfalls here that attract a huge flow of tourists every year. These waterfalls are perfect places for unwinding as a family because there are lots of options for trekking, walking, sightseeing, walking through dense forests etc.

One can also find the ancient Hiranyakeshi falls at Amboli, where there is a centuries old Shiva temple, believed to be built by the God Himself.  Hiranyakeshi falls, is named after Goddess Parvati.

As in the case of all hill stations, Amboli too has various points from which the view of the place is excellent. Some of the points which capture the essence of the hill station in its purest and most elegant form are Kavelsad, Parikshit and Mahadevgad.

Hotels

Tourists are spoilt for choice as they have a lot of accommodation options to choose from depending on their budget levels. The tourist season at the Amboli hill station is between the months of October and March. People who have reasonable affordability levels can find many hotels that have a tariff of 500 to 1000 for a night. There are also some deluxe hotels available anywhere between 1100 and 3000. People who want the best services and who can afford to pay for these services can find luxury hotels for up to 5000 a night too. Almost all hotel rooms in Amboli have basic facilities like television, telephone and net connectivity at affordable rates. The food is excellent in all Amboli hotels and guests can opt for laundry and other services.

Almost all hotels provide excellent tourist packages that cover all the major attractions in Amboli like trekking and dense forests. Hotels also arrange for pick up and drop facilities to the trekking spots. There are also other sources of transport like mini buses and private vans that ply between hotels and tourist destinations.

Where to Eat

Though the hotels provide in-house services of food, there are also delicious foods available at some of the restaurants in and around Amboli. Foods made from fish and other Malwani dishes are absolutely delicious in Amboli. There are restaurants available in and around the main bus station and the police station. Indian and Chinese foods too are available in plenty here.

Weather and Best time to Visit

The monsoon and winter season, that is, the months between October and February are very pleasant, cool and perfect for absorbing the beauty of the hill station. Summers, that is from March to May can be quite hot and dry here. However, the climate is pleasant all through the year here.

How to Reach

Kohlapur (129km away), Belgaum (68km away) and Goa (90km away) are some of the cities are well connected by excellent roads from the hill station of Amboli.  Belgaum, which is the closest airport, is just about a couple of hours away from here. There is an airport proposed to come up in North Goa, which will ease up the traffic in the near future.

By Air

Belgaum airport, 64km away is the nearest. Goa airport is the next closest at about 120km away.

By Rail

Sawantwadi Railway station, connected through Konkan railway, at a distance of 30km away is the nearest rail station.

By Road

There are lots of private and government owned buses that operate through places like Sawantwadi, Malvan, Vengurla and Kankavli. The major cities like Mumbai and Pune are 549km and 390km respectively.