Saputara, Gujarat's Own Hill Station

[Continued from My Visit to Daman] Saputara is the only hill station of Gujarat and it is still unexplored and unspoilt. Saputara is situated in the Sahyadri range and has an altitude of about 1000 m. The name 'Saputara' is derived from the Snake God worshiped by the tribal people and translates into "The Abode of the Serpants". Nature has blessed Saputara with picturesque landscapes, hills, table-tops, lakes and water falls.

Echo Point

We had planned to visit Saputara earlier so we had inquired at the bus stand the day before our journey about the bus timings. The next day we went to the bus stand of Surat. On reaching the bus stand we found out that the 8 o' clock bus had left earlier and so we have to wait for the next bus at 9 o' clock. The bus left Surat and went on its journey towards Saputara. It went over crisscrossing the river Ambika. Then it went through a road which was surrounded by dense forest. This was the Vansda National Park, one of the most unexplored, old and dense forest of India. Many types of animals are found in this forest including leopard, hyena and chital, jungle cat, Indian flying fox, wild boar and many other animals. On the way to Saputara we also saw many tribal settlements. We reached Saputara at around 2:00 pm. There we booked a room at hotel Chitrakoot and also had the lunch there. Gujarati and Jain food was served at the restaurant and the food was very delicious. In the evening we went to have a look at the local market which sold many goods from honey to camel leather shoes.

Visit to Tithal

[Continued from Trip to Surat] We started our journey from Surat at around 9 pm. We boarded the Sayaji Nagari Express which leaved Surat at 10 am and reached Valsad at around 11 o' clock. From there we hired a Auto Rickshaw which took us to Tithal. We booked a room in Hotel Sri Lekha and went straight to the beach which was a few steps away from the Hotel. On reaching the sea beach of Tithal we were quite excited because the sea beach was much better than that of Dumas beach at Surat. But it was quite late in the afternoon so we decided to have lunch first and then in the evening we would come to the sea again. It was mandatory to have food in the Hotel's restaurant at least once in a day. So we had the lunch there. Gujarati and Punjabi dishes were mainly served in the hotel. The food was not bad but it was not up to the mark.

Tithal Sea Beach

Trip to Surat

This time I planned to visit Surat, a port city in Gujarat. Surat is situated on the bank of  the river Tapti. It is well known for its diamond and textile industry. The city is also called the Diamond Capital of the world and Textile City of India. Based on Surat we would visit Tithal, Daman and Saputara. Finally we would go to Mumbai and then come back to Kolkata.

Surat Textile Market

We boarded the Howrah-Ahmedabad Express which leaved Howrah station at 23:55 hrs. After spending the second day in train, we reached Surat on the third day at around 11 am. There were many hotels opposite to the railway station. We booked a room in Hotel Imperial. Although the hotel was clean and the rooms were good enough but there were no windows in the rooms. After having lunch in our hotel's restaurant we came out of our hotel. We saw that there was a bus stand just opposite to our hotel. We boarded one of the bus and it took us to the Textile Market situated in Ring Road. Many types of beautifully embroidered saris with zaris which are woven manually were being sold here. Most of the saris were made of synthetic fibres. After that we came back to the hotel. In the evening we had a look at the market near the station. There were so many things which were sold here - electrical appliances, fruits and vegetables, sweets, newspapers, snacks and much more. At night we ate at the Roopa Restaurant. The food was of standard quality.