Mumbai is one of the famous tourist places in Maharashtra welcoming people from all walks of life and from all corners of the country and the world for various reasons. Close to Mumbai is an upcoming tourist hotspot named Alibagh. It is considered to be ‘King of beaches’ in India and is located in Pune. Here, you can get to enjoy fresh air, clean water and plenty of sands. This place also lots of islands, forts and beaches. This is regarded to be an idyllic town and referred to as Konkan region. There are indeed major attractions here that you need to include in your itinerary and ensure that you visit them during the trip.
Personal Travel Guide to Alibagh
During the visit to Alibagh, you can stroll in its natural paradise on the sandy beaches, consume delicious local cuisines, witness eye-soothing greenery and enjoy unpolluted nature in its very best. This quaint town is said to lie about 95 km away from the city of Mumbai and has been witnessing significant increase in tourist numbers with passing years. Given below are some travel tips that can help you to make sure that no hitches or hassles are faced during the journey from start to end. You need to know about four basic things when heading to this town.
- How to reach: The closest airport where you need to alight is Mumbai Airport, which is around 140 kms. Distance from this small town. If you prefer rail travel, then Pen Station is the closest place to alight, about 30 kms away. Otherwise, the closest major railhead is Mumbai Central. From Mumbai, you can easily get different types of transportation like state transport buses, private buses, taxis and pre-paid cabs, etc. If you happen to take the road route, then you are sure to enjoy the beautiful scenic drive throughout the journey, since Alibagh town is located on Goa-Mumbai Road.
- Best time to visit: This is basically a coastal town and experiences pleasant climate throughout the year. Tourists can be noticed flocking to this town all through the year. The popular season however is between October & March. This is the time, when the region experiences pleasant weather. Summer and Monsoon seasons witness plenty of showers. So, you need to plan your travel accordingly. Not much temperature variation can be noticed between winter and summer season as it is a coastal area and experiences mostly coastal type of climate. The average temperature is approximately 26 degree Celsius.
- What to see and do: During the trip, you should definitely visit the intriguing forts and gorgeous beaches here.
- Forts: One fascinating destination here is Kolaba Fort, which you can explore. Within the fort complex is present Siddhivinayak temple. The fort can be accessed by car from Varsoli Road or by boat. If old, ancient forts fascinate you, then Revdanda Fort, located at a distance of 18 kms., at Kundalika River mouth. This fort was constructed by the Portuguese during their colonial rule over this piece of land. It comprises of 4 storey tower & cannons. Another significant destination is Khanderi Fort, an island fort. You can view this fort from Alibagh’s long shoreline. By boat, reaching the fort takes about 2 hours, the journey of which is sure to leave you completely mesmerized.
- Beaches: The beaches of Alibagh are considered to be sandy and long. You can enjoy here the lovely sunset. Kihim beach offers plenty of vegetation and different species of birds, hence, being a paradise for nature lovers. The swaying palm trees and sandy shoes do add to its natural beauty. Varsoli beach is less known and hence, less crowded. But this is undoubtedly a lovely beach offering plenty of solitude and soft sands. Nagaon Beach and Satad Beach are a bit away from the town of Alibagh. If you love beaches, sands and different types of exciting watersports, then these beaches are a must visit during the trip. At these beaches, you can enjoy scuba diving and snorkeling or simply stroll down the 3 km. long sandy shoreline.
- Where to stay: There is present plenty of hotels in Alibagh to suit your specific budget. There are available 5 star, 4 star and 3 star accommodations to choose from, if you are looking for luxurious, relaxed travel and get fully pampered. But if you have limited budget, then there is no need to worry as there are numerous choices to make like budgeted resorts, cottages, home stay, farmhouse stay and guest house stay options.
Engage in varieties of water sports
This coastal town is present in Maharashtra’s Raigad district and is popular for its serene, tranquil and unpolluted black sand beaches, offering tourists and local Mumbai citizens with peaceful weekend getaways. Its coastline runs along Arabian Sea and it does offer several water sports.
Some of Alibagh’s popular spots offering different types of adventure and water sports include Alibagh beach, Nagaon beach and Mandwa beach. You can get to enjoy variety of interesting and exciting water activities like sea kayaking, banana boat ride and Jet Ski at Alibagh beach, parasailing and other fun filled adventurous activities at Nagaon beach. You can also get to enjoy quad biking and for amazing biking experience, you can visit Mandwa beach. Alibagh is also popular for island trips and scuba diving. You can visit Murud Jangira to get to experience scuba diving under the strict supervision of the experts who are well trained and undertake utmost safety.
Other engaging activities to indulge in
Besides water sports, there are also offered various types of adventure sports both underwater and land. Mandwa beach offers Quad biking, which is indeed an adrenaline pumping sport that is fully adventurous. Underwater scuba diving has been stated to be among the most popular adventure activity here. Recreational activities also include dolphin spotting that both children and adults just love to watch.
Hence, being a wonderful place and with so many activities to indulge in, the itinerary should be a proper one prepared only after thorough research.