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A Trip4India > Destinations India > Mandawa Tourism

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Mandawa Tourism

You will find these two beach fronts 12 miles north of Alibag on the north coast and easily accessible from Mumbai. Mandawa is a beautiful, untrodden beach. On a clear day one can enjoy a long, breathtaking view across the bay, up to the Gateway of India. Mandawa village too, has a charm of its own -- with its beautiful groves of coconut palms.

You can plan an unusual tent holiday nearby at Kihim. Unspoilt and isolated, this beautiful place has a soothing effect on all city dwellers. For the nature lover, Kihim has a lot to offer: woods brimming with wild flowers and rare butterflies and birds.

Worth visiting is the Kolaba Fort, just a furlong away from the shore. 15 kms from Alibag is Chaul, an historic place with Portuguese ruins, Buddhist Caves, the Hamam Khana, a church, a temple and even a synagogue

Beaches :
Maharashtra's 720 km long affair with the Arabian Sea extends from Dahanu and Bordi in the north up to Goa proceeding southwards. If you've got a penchant for sand, sea and surf, this state has a great many interesting options in store.
Any place you choose is conveniently linked to Mumbai -- a good starting point. All these places are well connected by State Buses. The coastal climate of Maharashtra makes travelling pleasant all round the year. Seas are rough only during the monsoon which strikes between June and September.

Discover the real Maharashtra while you soak up the sun on soft sands or explore intriguing sights.
Hillstation :
Nestling shyly in these mountains, some at an altitude of 2000 metres, are the hill stations of Maharashtra. These towns offer clean, calm and a thoroughly refreshing alternative to city life. They are probably the only places in India where you can observe the fall of the land all the way to the shimmering sea. Mumbai, India's commercial capital, and easily the most accessible city in this country, is the perfect gateway to Maharashtra's hill country, with convenient and comfortable links by road, rail, and air.

Forts :
Standing as silent sentinels to history are the 350-odd forts of Maharashtra. Beaten by the sea waves, lashed at by the torrential Deccan rains, or scorched in the blazing sun, stand imposing ramparts and crumbling walls … the last lingering memories of Maharashtra's martial times. Nowhere in the country would you encounter such a profusion of forts. And such variety. Sited on an island, as at Murud-Janjira or guarding the seas as at Bassein, or among the Sahyadri hills, as at Raigad, whose zig-zag walls and rounded bastions sit like a sceptre and crown amidst hills turned mauve.
Most of the forts in Maharashtra whether up in the hills or near the seas are associated with Shivaji --the great Maratha warrior and an equally great fort builder. Moreover, these forts were treated as mini-cities, such as Panhala, which is now a hill station. The concept of the fort-city was, however, not peculiar to Shivaji alone. The Portuguese who came to India as traders and missionaries, built within a century of their coming, Bassein, a garden city to rival many a European capital.
Today, these forts numbed by sun and sleet, have not only been witness to changing times, but have also shaped them and within their walls throb the heart-beat of history .