Places to explore around Amboli Ghat

Amboli ghat area makes an amazing day trip from Goa and Belagavi. I couldn’t visit Amboli during my previous visit to Goa but this time I could have a day trip. Left very early from Goa and headed towards Amboli following the map.

I had identified following attractions for the day

• Amboli waterfalls
• Pre-amboli waterfalls
• Nangartas Waterfalls
• Phatakwadi Dam
• Mahadev Gad
• Baba waterfalls/chaukul caves
• Pure Veg restaurant and Cashew factory shop
• Gharapi waterfalls
• Hanumanthgada fort

All these destinations are easily 350 kms round trip from South Goa. (90 kms less if you are staying in Panjim or north Goa). My thought was to start very early- which we did, explore as much as possible and be back in Goa by night. (stay options available in Amboli if you wish to do a relaxed trip over 2 days)

Our first stop was at a Pure Veg restaurant as we neared Amboli Ghat, named Tatva Cafe. This was a restaurant + cashew product shop. Shopkeeper was friendly and guided us on our day’s plans. He said Gharapi waterfalls is difficult to explore. Rest of our plan was largely okayed by him. We had some food, bought some cashews and proceeded.

The next stop was Amboli waterfalls. Amboli falls was by the road, accessible via easy steps. There were also series of roadside falls around Amboli.

Keep about 30 mins for Amboli falls. Depending on your interest and crowd you can plan a bit more or less.

 
Watch a video clip below

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When we reached Amboli falls it was 9 AM, crowd was not yet intense. Evening while we were returning crowd was 2-3x more.

Next we drove to pre-amboli waterfalls- A small falls just off the main road. Accessible with 150-200 meters walk.

Then headed to Phatakwadi Dam- was a nice dam- could drive on the dam till the end, but had to drive all the way in reverse.

Next was Nangartas Waterfalls. This was a nice falls by the main road- just a few steps down. Two watch towers are built right infront of the falls, so we could get a good view and move ahead

We stopped at another veg restaurant in Amboli for lunch and then proceeded to Mahadevgad fort. Amboli Rich Resto and the Tatva Restaurant were the only 2 pure veg restaurants I could spot during the day trip to Amboli.

Mahadevgad fort turned out to be just  a viewpoint. White mist ensured we got no visibility. There is a nice sitting area if you wish to relax. Had to wait for winds to clear the view- got only partially lucky and then returned from Mahadevgad fort area. 5 INR per person entry fee was collected as we entered the road that takes us to Mahadevgad fort.

Next stop was Baba waterfalls- detailed post available here.

On the way to Hanumangad we saw a banner of someone organizing a trek to Gharapi waterfalls. We didn’t have the time so we didn't call them.

Then we made an attempt to explore Hanumangad fort- but couldn't proceed due to a tree falling on the road. We had some difficulty locating the path but locals helped a bit.

We returned to Goa by night. If you have another day to spare around Amboli there are more waterfalls and forts towards Nippani, Kolhapur side. A day well spent

Map link here