Well, I don’t seem to be getting enough of Kokan rather it is so big and wonderful that it pulls me back and a new place. I am keeping the format of my review the same since it is more helpful.This time it is Amboli, with Kolhapur added as we drove t down to Amboli via Kolhapur.
Time of Travel: End of April: for four days
Travelling: We had taken our car, with a halt in Kolhapur, took about 7 hours at normal speeds, with two halts, it is about 390 kilometers and Amboli is about 120 kilometers further. The road is excellent till Kolhapur, surprising but true. The Road from Kolhapur is good till Nipani, from there the state highway starts, some part is Maharashtra and then Karnataka and then again Maharashtra, but it is not bad, some patches were being repaired, but in all not bad, the only hitch is it is not as broad the NH4 till Nipani , but the route is scenic. Take a right turn at Nipani ( Turn right at Nipani Ajra Link Rd ) and you will see a board for Amboli, keep on following the road, you will come across places like Gandaglaj, Ajra and then reach Amboli
Food in Kolhapur: We stayed at Opal and it serves very fine food, both vegetarian and non vegetarian and yes the mutton rassa cannot be missed, the breakfast is good too.
Food in Amboli: Food is generally good, it is OK at the resort, if you wish to have pure vegetarian, there is a Kamath restaurant near sunset point, which has great food and a nice location too, but the best food we had was at Sainik Dhaba, the chefs’ name is Sanjay Raut and the food he serves is excellent to say the least. We had Fish, chicken and pure vegetarian on one day, but the consistency was fantastic and it does not cost you much about Rs.25/- for a chicken vaati, for example. Even if you are travelling through Amboli, do visit this place if you want to taste good food.
Resort : Amboli : We had stayed at JRD international, guess it is the only resort with a swimming pool. This is strictly OK for the price, the electricity is pathetic, but the worst part is, the hotel does not start the generator, it is only for a fixed time between 7 to 10 p.m and they don’t provide you with a remote control (can you beat that?), for reasons best known to them. Luckily the climate is soothing so it does not matter even in month of May. The swimming pool was cleaned by the staff on request and it was kept that way for two days, it was good fun swimming. The hotel has a good lawn and a nice view of the hills around the place. The staff is good and helping, they have to follow orders they say, but are willing to help. This is probably the largest resort around. There is a MTDC resort too, seems it is much better.Hotel in Kolhapur: Opal is one of the most VFM (Value for money)hotels that I have visited with huge rooms and a terrific room service and good food and good location, with the highway and the Ambabai mandir not very far.
Local Sight seeing: There are couple of points in Amboli, like the sunset point, Mahadev gad, kawale saad (echo point) and River Hirankeshi, the road to all the places is pathetic, worse than Mumbai roads in monsoon, so it is advisable to hire an auto and see the points, in monsoon the main attraction is the waterfalls, Amboli is second only to Cherapunji in terms of Rainfall.
Places Nearby Amboli: G oa is about 100 kilometers and you can also go around seeing Kokan for one day, we did visit Goa in an hired vehicle, but the climate in Goa was so bad that we were, very glad that we were staying at Amboli. A visit to Kokan can also be arranged for about a couple of thousand rupees. Sawant wadi is about 35 kilometers, where you get wooden toys, but they are now available in Amboli, so this can be avoided, we purchased mangoes for about 160/- per dozen in Sawantwadi.Kolhapur sightseeing: The most obvious place is the Ambabai mandir. I have to mention a place called as Kanheri math, the place is a museum sort of a thing, with clay statues from Ram, Krishna to the first Indian scientist, surgeon, chemist, mathematician, astronomer from about 2500 years ago or more, somethings we can really be proud of as an Indian, suddenly you feel very happy that we had discovered surgery and astronomy and the atom thousands of years ago. Then there is a village set up depicting the village life and the different professions that the villagers indulged in. The statues of the animals and the people look very real, good place for city dwellers to educate children about the professions like farmer, cobbler, goldsmith etc.Damages JRD Amboli: The room cost is about 1100/- for a room and 1600/- for a cottage Damages The Opal Kolhapur: Double Bed Ac is 1200/-, food cost is normal. Try different ice creams in one of the many ice cream parlors in Kolhapur.
If you want to relax and do nothing, but just lay on the lawn and laze around, Amboli is the place, if you want to move around place and try to see lot of places, you may well skip it. It is best place to unwind, relax the place is about a kilometer in all. No sound pollution, nothing. Very close to nature. Amboli can be reached through railway also, the nearest station being Sawant wadi, which is 35 kilometers, most of the trains that go to Goa and beyond stop at Sawant wadi, the rickshaw will charge about 200/- I guess.