Saputara: A Weekend in Gujarat's Only Hill Station

Every state seems to have its hill station, the cool green retreat where the plains come to escape the heat, and in Gujarat that place is Saputara. Tucked into the Sahyadri hills of the Dang, right on the Maharashtra border, it is the only true hill station in a state better known for deserts and coast, and that rarity is a large part of its charm.

Saputara — the name means "abode of serpents" — is a small, easygoing town gathered around a lake, ringed by viewpoints, forests and tribal villages. It never tries to be a grand resort town; its pleasures are gentle ones, a boat on the lake, a sunset from a ridge, a ropeway ride, a plate of hot food in the cool air. Here is how to spend an unhurried weekend making the most of it.

Around the lake

The centre of Saputara is its lake, and much of a visit naturally orbits it. You can hire a pedal or row boat and drift across the still water, walk the pleasant path along its edge, or simply sit at one of the cafes looking out over it as the hills change colour through the day. It is the kind of low-key, family-friendly heart that gives the town its relaxed rhythm.

Rising above the lake, the Saputara ropeway carries you up to the Governor's Hill sunset point, one of the finest viewpoints in the area, with the whole valley falling away beneath you. Nearby, the Sunrise and Sunset points, the Step Garden and the small but engaging Tribal Museum, which showcases the crafts and life of the Dang's Adivasi communities, are all within easy reach and make for gentle, rewarding days.

Saputara sits high in the Sahyadris around a central lake, the one place in Gujarat where you can escape the heat into the hills.

Forests, falls and tribal country

The real magic of Saputara lies just beyond the town, in the forested hills of the Dang. The Gira Falls, a short drive away on the Ambika river, are the headline sight, broad and thundering in and after the monsoon and a pretty spot even when gentler. The drive to reach them, winding through teak forest and past tribal hamlets, is half the pleasure, and the Dang is one of the greenest, least-developed corners of the whole state.

Saputara is not a place you tick off; it is a place you slow down in

This is also living tribal country, home to the Bhil, Kunbi, Warli and other Adivasi communities whose culture colours the region. Time a visit around the annual Dang Durbar around Holi, when the tribes gather in traditional finery, or simply pass through the weekly village markets to sense a way of life quite different from the Gujarat of the plains. It is this blend of cool hills and vivid tribal heritage that sets Saputara apart.

When to go

Saputara has two very different best seasons. The monsoon, from June to September, is spectacular: the hills turn a saturated green, mist pours through the valleys and the waterfalls run at full force, though rain can occasionally disrupt the viewpoints. Winter, from October to February, is cooler and clearer, ideal for the ropeway, the lake and long walks under blue skies, and it is when Saputara feels most like a classic hill station. Summer is mild compared with the baking plains below, which is exactly why generations of Gujaratis have come here to escape it. Whenever you come, the town rewards a slow, unhurried pace over a packed itinerary.

If you go

• Saputara is about four hours from Surat and roughly three from Nashik; a car is the easiest way to reach it and to explore the Dang around it.
• For the monsoon, come in July to September for the greenest hills and the Gira Falls in full flow; for clear skies and comfortable walking, choose the winter months.
• Take the ropeway up to the sunset point at least once, and try to catch both a sunrise and a sunset from the ridges.
• Give yourself time for the Gira Falls and a drive through the Dang forests rather than staying only in town.
• Book accommodation ahead on monsoon and holiday weekends, when this small town fills up quickly.

Saputara will never compete with the grand hill stations of the Himalayas or the Western Ghats, and it does not try to. Its gift is simpler: a cool, green, easygoing weekend in the one corner of Gujarat that rises into the hills, wrapped in forest and tribal culture and centred on a quiet lake. Come to slow down, ride the ropeway into the clouds, chase a waterfall through the Dang, and rediscover that Gujarat, too, has a hill station all its own.