Gujarat has only one Hill station, Saputara, which attracts not only Gujarati tourists but also from other States. Realizing the potential of the verdant natural beauty at Saputara, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) has promoted this hill station and established a sound tourism infrastructure. Saputara is one of the main destinations being promoted by Gujarat Tourism campaign. After Amitabh Bachchan became the brand ambassador of State Tourism Department, the tourist inflow in Gujarat has increased by leaps and bounds. TCGL is now organizing
“Saputara Monsoon Festival” from 30th July to 30th August 2011.
Saputara is the only Hill Station of Gujarat at a height of 873 meters situated in the biodiversity rich Sahyadri Hills in Dang district. With minimal intrusion of urbanization, cool weather throughout the year and the emerald green environment all around, Saputara is an idyllic destination dotted with lakes, streams, woodlands and hills.
Saputara means the Adobe of Serpents and a snake image on the banks of the river Sarpagana is worshipped by the Adivasis on festivals like Holi. Saputara has been developed as a planned hill resort with all the necessary amenities viz. hotels, nature parks, swimming pools, boat club, theatres and a museum to ensure an enjoyable holiday in the cool of the hills.
Saputara also has an interesting history waiting to be explored. Saputara Hill Station comes under the tribal district of Dang where tribal kings fought against the British rule and defeated them.Several wars were fought between the five tribal kings of Dang and the British. According to the history of Dang, the biggest war took place at Lasharia Amba, in which kings of all the five erstwhile states combined forces to wrest Dang from British rule. The British were defeated in this historic war and resorted to compromise after discontinuing the war. As per the historic treaty signed in 1842, the Britishers were allowed to use the forests and its abundant natural resources against which they had to give 3,000 silver coins to the five kings.
The real beauty of Saputara can be experienced during the monsoon season. Monsoon gives the hill station a beautiful wet look, under the thick blanket of rain drops. The season offers a unique experience of an adventurous atmosphere with clouds and mist laden hills. The waterfalls turn mighty, cascading down the hills, and the unusual expressions of nature provide an unforgettable experience to the visitor. Natural beauty such as this is unparalleled.The hill station has a great array of tourist attractions, which includes an eye-dropping man-made lake, one of the biggest tourist attractions of the hill station.
The snake sculpture worshipped by the tribal communities which rests at the pedestal of this lake is another tourist attraction. The picturesque surrounding that forms the view from the lake does more than just add up to the unique experience.
After promoting popular tourism festivals, not only have the number of tourists increased but income of local people has also doubled. A senior officer of this department expects a large number of tourists during the month long monsoon festival. Gujarat Chief Minister Shri Narendra Modi believes that the tourism industry provides maximum livelihood opportunities to the poor and this holds true in Gujarat. The present state government has organized many festivals like Navratri in entire state, desert festival in Kutch, Tarnetar in Surendranagar, Kite festival in Ahmedabad etc. witnessed by national and international tourists including diplomats of various countries.
The tourists who love to travel in wet season must visit Saputara Hill station. To get there the nearest airports are Surat and Mumbai while it is hardly 125 km from Valasad Rly. Station.
