Gujarat to do a Matheran with Saputara

In a bid to give the likes of Mahabaleshwar and Matheran in the neighbouring state a run for their money, the Gujarat government is set to develop Saputara as a 'weekend getaway' during monsoons this year.

The only hill station in the state, Saputara will get a face-lift from the Gujarat government at an investment of Rs 60 crore.

Riding from packaging monsoon and honeymoon tours around it to setting up a funicular train on the hill station, the Gujarat government is betting big on Saputara. What's more, the tourism department will be organising a month long Saputara Monsoon festival from the July 15 to August 15, 2011.

The whole idea is to enhance the tourist experience and project Saputara as one of the most sought after getaways in the Western region, apart from promoting adventure tourism in the region.

"The government is targeting the urban crowd from Mumbai, Nagpur, Nasik, and Surat, among other places who would be attracted to this nearby venue for adventure sports. The development work being carried out in Saputara is around Rs 60 crore and once this development comes through, it will change the face of this hill station in terms of tourist activity. Monsoons are the best time to visit Saputara and during this time packaged tours catering to both honeymooners and families are being drawn up. Even the private sector in Saputara is also jumping on the bandwagon to float their special packages," said a source at the state tourism department.

According to figures given by the tourism department in 2008-09 and 2009-10, the tourist flow in Saputara has been ranging between 175,000 to 200,000 and is expected to be much higher this year.

Majority of the tourist traffic is from Maharashtra even while Saputara contributes maximum for the leisure segment of tourism flow in Gujarat.

Taking this into account Saputara is being projected as a romantic destination and also a weekend getaway for nearby cities like Mumbai, Surat and Nasik that have geographical proximity to the hill station.

Talking about the development work so far at the hill station, Jaynarayan Vyas, minister for health and tourism, Government of Gujarat said, "The development plan for the region is in place and we are in the process of setting up the basic infrastructure like strengthening the drainage system and building an electric substation so that the region can have steady power supply. We have completed work in the wind mapping needed to start paragliding, something we intend to start around March 2012. We will be also setting up funicular trains that are better oriented to carrying more passengers safely in a hill station. Once we start adventure sports like paragliding in these areas, we intend to hold international festivals on paragliding/sailing at Saputara and thereby promote adventure sports in there."

Meanwhile, filming of the third phase of the Gujarat tourism campaign - Khushboo Gujarat Ki - will tentatively start in October/November 2011 with Saputara being one of the destinations proposed to be highlighted in the campaign.