Well, I thought of writing this blog for the benefit of all who are wondering whether to go to Saputara for a weekend trip or not. I did not find all the information at one place so decided to have it in one place.
Saputara or Snake's abode (Dont expect to run into snakes, just an ancient name) is the only hill station of Gujarat. Situated at 1000 m above sea level on Gujarat-Maharashtra border it is worth a look. Best time to visit Saputara is in the monsoon period (and so is the entire Western Ghats) when the entire area blooms in all shades of green with plenty of streams and waterfalls. Best time to visit Saputara would hence be in July and August. Although June and September should also be pleasant. If you are adventurous try it out in Dec-Jan when it will be very cold. The best part of being in Saputara during July-August is that you get to have the foggy weather which is something I find very romantic and heavenly.
Since it is not very far (by road i.e., there are no rail connections to the place. probably you can hope to reach Waghai railway station from a train from Mumbai, but it is always better to drive to Saputara) from Surat (165 kms), Vadodara (287 kms), Nashik (85 kms), Pune (275 kms), Mumbai (255 kms) or Aurangabad (250 kms) the place is usually booked to the hilt. Since Saputara is an upcoming hill station, there are not many hotel properties. So do not take the risk of landing up at Saputara without an advance hotel booking. You might end up staying at Nashik !! Among the hotels in Saputara, LORDs' INN is perhaps the only proper 3 star hotel but pricey (upwards of 6500/-) during July-August. Most hotels would offer rates including all meals, which is a good thing as it would be wet and rainy outside while there are hardly any eating options outside the hotels. You could always opt for a rate without the meals, but I would suggest not to do so. So always take the package with all meals and forget about having to worry about the next meal. We stayed at VAITY Ropeway Resort. (http://vaityropewayresort.com/) which is atop the table mountain and is the best place to stay at a reasonable rate. The resort is slightly old (> 20 years) however the location is awesome. Take the valley view room (although during monsoons, read foggy weather the valley may not be visible all the time). You could actually see the clouds come into the rooms whenever you opened the sliding window making the linen moist. The rooms are comfy but do not carry very high expectations. However, the food (we took the package with all meals included) was awesome. We ate like a hog all day. There was also some arrangement of indoor games (rightly so since it can be rainy during the day). Indoor Games options include Carrom, Chess and Table Tennis. Since the hotel is very close to the highest point of Saputara i.e. the table mountain, it makes sense to walk to the same and hike around the hotel. The hotel is close to the highest point in all of Saputara and so much so that one can reach the hotel from the valley in 1st gear only, it is so steep towards the end near the entrance !! Road to the hotel are in excellent shape infact the road from Vadodara to Saputara was excellent, thanks to splendid maintenance by Gujarat Government. Road quality is appalling just across the Maharashtra border. There was also some Zorbing to be done near the hotel. The ropeway was sadly closed for maintenance. Perhaps my blog is the only place in the internet which will inform you about Zorbing and the closed ropeway !!. During monsoons the only other place worth going would be the lake. Echo Point and Sunset Point are all covered in fog so not much use in going there when the skies are not clear. All other hotels like SHILPI, SAVSHANTI (with a swimming pool), PATANG, ANANDO are worth booking if you are getting them along with Vaity. SEJAL Inn is a new hotel, and close to TORAN HILL RESORT (Gujarat Govt.) Toran is another cheap option but beware there is a new wing which is good but as expensive as other hotels mentioned above, while the old wing is suspect. The Lake is usually the most crowded place and having done boating at Mt Abu, Ooty and Kodaikanal there was no novelty in doing the same. The lake is smaller than the lake at Mt Abu and you can book a full boat for 100 bucks for half a round. Paddle boats are also available. VAITY Resort was hidden in fog when viewed from the lake as seen in some Google Search images and picture attached. Also there is just one Bank of Baroda ATM in Saputara, so chances are it would be out of cash. Go prepared with cash in hand, as hotels might always have non functioning card machines. The Maharashtra border is hardly 500 mtrs from the lake so you can always go to Maharashtra to booze. There are also some (not so great) non veg dhabas dotting the road close to the checkpost and just after (within 5 kms) of entering Maharashtra. If you venture further into Maharashtra, you might be lucky to buy strawberries and strawberry juices and pulp directly from farms. I guess the season is not the monsoon season. There is also a museum and an aquarium but we did not care to go there. You could also check out the Gira Falls, which is approx 50 kms from Saputara on the Surat road. So if you are visiting Saputara from within Gujarat then probably you can cover Gira Falls on your way back. There is also the Vansda National Park just before entering Saputara from Surat side but I am not aware if you have lodging and boarding arrangements inside the park. The ride from Surat through the meandering countryside roads with lush greenery all around is a nice relaxing ride.
Go to Saputara. It is not Switzerland alright. But a great weekend getaway for all you city folks !!
Saputara or Snake's abode (Dont expect to run into snakes, just an ancient name) is the only hill station of Gujarat. Situated at 1000 m above sea level on Gujarat-Maharashtra border it is worth a look. Best time to visit Saputara is in the monsoon period (and so is the entire Western Ghats) when the entire area blooms in all shades of green with plenty of streams and waterfalls. Best time to visit Saputara would hence be in July and August. Although June and September should also be pleasant. If you are adventurous try it out in Dec-Jan when it will be very cold. The best part of being in Saputara during July-August is that you get to have the foggy weather which is something I find very romantic and heavenly.
Go to Saputara. It is not Switzerland alright. But a great weekend getaway for all you city folks !!
