Had been to Amba village on the weekend which is right in the middle of Ratnagiri and Kolhapur. The village is approx 300ft above the sea level and great place to halt for a weekend trip.
We started from Thane and reached Kolhapur via Pune. Mumbai Pune is approx 200kms and Kolhapur is another 200. From Kolhapur we took Amba Ghat route to Ratnagiri and reached Amba Village via village Bambawade and Malkapur.
Amba it seems is now part of reserve forest area. There is a Dam nearby and also lots of water catchment areas and waterfalls on the river that runs along. You can spot peacocks and many other birds, kingfisher is very common too. You can take a walk in the jungles with help of locals. There are few resorts available here which offer lovely food and stay. Its advisable to do a reservation first. The resorts are not like commercial resorts - they are like villager's house converted into resort. Usually they provide customizable food menu, blankets and attached washrooms. If its not raining, you can do a camp fire and barbeque also. Our resort had a policy to let the place to one group at a time (for a minimum of 5-6 people).
Once you start from the village towards Ratnagir, you will be greated by amazing view of Konkan range. Here you realise how much above the sea level you really were.
We went to Marleshwar temple which is approx 40 kms away from Amba. This place is a temple of Shankar right next to a nice big waterfall. You can pay-park the bikes at the base and take few steps to reach the temple and waterfall.
From here we started off for Ganpatipule. We first came on Mumbai-Goa highway and went towards Ratnagiri. Ganpatipule is around 40 kms from here.
Return journey to Amba is via haatkhamba and pali. For this you have to come back till mumbai-goa highway again and go towards Ratnagiri again. And then take the kolhapur diversion after few kilometers.
While returning to Mumbai, you can come via NH-17. The distance is almost same but road quality and ride is different as you will pass through different ghats along the route.
Will post the map and pics soon. Till then you can check out cellphone pics on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/globe_treader/sets/72157606795523194/
We started from Thane and reached Kolhapur via Pune. Mumbai Pune is approx 200kms and Kolhapur is another 200. From Kolhapur we took Amba Ghat route to Ratnagiri and reached Amba Village via village Bambawade and Malkapur.
Amba it seems is now part of reserve forest area. There is a Dam nearby and also lots of water catchment areas and waterfalls on the river that runs along. You can spot peacocks and many other birds, kingfisher is very common too. You can take a walk in the jungles with help of locals. There are few resorts available here which offer lovely food and stay. Its advisable to do a reservation first. The resorts are not like commercial resorts - they are like villager's house converted into resort. Usually they provide customizable food menu, blankets and attached washrooms. If its not raining, you can do a camp fire and barbeque also. Our resort had a policy to let the place to one group at a time (for a minimum of 5-6 people).Once you start from the village towards Ratnagir, you will be greated by amazing view of Konkan range. Here you realise how much above the sea level you really were.
We went to Marleshwar temple which is approx 40 kms away from Amba. This place is a temple of Shankar right next to a nice big waterfall. You can pay-park the bikes at the base and take few steps to reach the temple and waterfall.From here we started off for Ganpatipule. We first came on Mumbai-Goa highway and went towards Ratnagiri. Ganpatipule is around 40 kms from here.
Return journey to Amba is via haatkhamba and pali. For this you have to come back till mumbai-goa highway again and go towards Ratnagiri again. And then take the kolhapur diversion after few kilometers.While returning to Mumbai, you can come via NH-17. The distance is almost same but road quality and ride is different as you will pass through different ghats along the route.
Will post the map and pics soon. Till then you can check out cellphone pics on flickr.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/globe_treader/sets/72157606795523194/
