Nagoa-Ahmedpur Mandvi These are two of the most pleasant beaches in India; not the best maybe, but certainly a couple of the quietest and, so far, the least spoilt. Both have decent food and lodging facilities, and after exploring Diu ...

Not many people visit Diu with the idea of sightseeing. They come for the beaches. As soon as they find one they like, they lie down and go to sleep, sometimes for weeks. Yet Diu Town itself is an interesting ...

The small ex-Portuguese island of Diu is a perfect escape from modern India. In fac: it is hardly like India at all, more like a displaced Greek island. The clean, cobble_ streets, the pastel houses, the Catholic churches and the ...

Gujarat is a stronghold of Jainism, and for many it is seen as the home of Gandhi and his message. Though one of the nation’s most industrially advanced states, it is equally well known as the home of traditions and ...

The twin hill resorts of Lonavala and Khandala are at a greater distance from Bombay than Matheran, but are much more accessible and hence more popular— practically a city suburb. Many wealthy Bombayites have built houses here and drive down ...

Matheran’s hotels and guest-houses are mostly tree-shaded old bungalows width slate or tin roofs. There are several hotels, to suit all budgets. Better hotels are Rugby (tel 291/2) on Kotwal Road with rooms and full board for Rs1200, and Lord’s ...

Matheran on the Sahyadri (Western Ghats) range was discovered in 1850 by Hugh Povntz Malet, the then Collector of Thane district. He climbed the hill now known as One Tree Hill and liked the general area enough to subsequently have ...

Panchgani is a close neighbour of Mahabaleshwar and is considered to be a satellite station for the larger and more famous hill station. Situated at 1335 m on a ridge of the steep Parasni Ghat, Panchgani takes its name from ...

Mahabaleshwar has over 100 hotels ranging from luxury to utilitarian—some are only open seasonally. The best hotel is probably the Valley View Resort (tel 445) with rooms from about Rs1200. Other major hotels are Hotel Anarkali (tel 336) with clean ...

The Maharashtra Cultural and Tourism Development Corporation (MCTDC) runs conducted tours every day during the season. One tour lasts about 4 hours (Rs55) and covers very briefly the major sights of Mahabaleshwar. The MCTDC also runs tours to Panchgani, a ...