Month long Saputara Monsoon Festival commences from 4th August 2012
Saputara Festival is your gateway to enjoy serene monsoon in the midst of beautiful clouds!
Wonderful arrangements by Gujarat Tourism to facilitate greater tourist arrival. Special package tours initiated that are available from all major cities of Gujarat and Maharashtra
Saputara is a brilliant blend of history, mythology, picturesque surroundings that can serve as a perfect gateway from your busy schedules
From 4th August till 1st September this year, Tourism Corporation of Gujarat Ltd (TCGL) is organizing the month long Saputara Monsoon Festival. With thundering waterfalls, majestic fountains, green meadows and refreshing pollution free air this ‘abode of Serpents’ (as the name Saputara suggests) is truly a travellers delight. To facilitate more tourist visits, Gujarat tourism has initiated specially designated Package Tours that are available from major cities of Gujarat and some others including Pune, Nashik from neighboring Maharashtra.
Nestled in the beautiful Dang District, Saputara lies about 1000m above sea level. It’s a part of Gujarat’s only mountainous region and has emerged as one of Gujarat’s major tourist destinations. The beauty of the place has to be experienced to be believed- the monsoon adds a totally different kind of magic to Saputara, which becomes engulfed in mesmerizing droplets of rain! The host of activities including the Varli painting competition and exhibition, a photography exhibition and a tribal art display are planned for the tourists is the icing on the cake, complementing the exciting experience of being there during the monsoons.
Saputara’s history and mythology is as dense its lush green forests. Sitavan (Sita’s Forest) holds a prominent position as Lord Ram had spent 11 out of 14 years of his exile traversing in this forest. Saputara has a connect even with the Mahabharata- it is believed that in the Arvalem caves of Saputara, Pandavas spent some of their time during their hideout days in forest and offered prayers to God Shiva. Hence, these caves came to be known as ‘Pandava Gufa’.
Local artifacts at the artist village can amaze any tourist while the Saputara Tribal museum introduces you to the lifestyle, costumes, heritage and ecology of the Vanbandhu culture of the Dangs. Away from the hectic city life amidst the natural bliss beautiful gardens, undulating mountains, lake, Governor’s Hill and sparkling Gira waterfalls are visual treat. Adventure buffs must move to The Mahal Eco Campsite as it offers excellent trekking options besides being bestowed with rivers and bamboo glides, and is considered to be one of the best forest sites in Gujarat.
Saputara magnetizes nature lovers during Monsoons, and gives a feeling of being in the lap of Mother Nature, while this picturesque town amidst the Sahayadri Mountains is the perfect blend of nature, beauty and wildlife. The season offers a unique experience of an adventurous atmosphere with clouds and fogs spread over the hills. Watching the rain drops fall over the thick forest cover, the rolling hills of echoing green hues lush with flowers, are rejuvenating. Natural beauty such as this is unique in Gujarat.
The monsoons have arrived and so has the Saputara Monsoon festival which has been planned as a celebration that offers a range of games, a drawing competition, a boat race, adventure sports, archery practice, paper craft workshops and a series of interesting and entertaining activities. One definitely needs to make sure to visit Saputara this monsoon and collect some of the most memorable memories of the journey.
Last year Monsoon festival had attracted around 60,000 tourists from within and outside the Gujarat. Apart from Saputara monsoon festival Gujarat Tourism is making all-out efforts to boost the momentum by promoting its upcoming events such as Tarnetar Fair, Navratri Festival & Rann Utsav all over the country, expected to act as a major booster for tourism infrastructure development in the state in line with the impressive growth in number of tourist arrivals. All these efforts have made Gujarat as top tourist destination with 30% rise in tourist arrival during last two years.
Shri Narendra Modi often says that earlier Gujaratis made the best tourists but now, the state is also a wonderful tourist destination in its own right, drawing visitors from all across the world.
