One day trip to Wilson Hills and Sardar Sarovar Dam

With a monsoon season slowly getting into fray, a backpacker soul in us was dying to get closer to nature. So decided one fine Friday evening to go for one day trip to Wilson Hills, a hill station near Valsad in south Gujarat and Sardar Sarovar Dam. Sure enough, our choice was not bad as you will come to know after reading this post.

Trip:
4 of us friends started our journey in car at Friday night from Ahmedabad. Although the journey was super smooth, we hit the major obstacle as traffic jam at Golden Bridge near Bharuch. After being stuck there for nearly 2 hours, we reached Surat at 5 AM. From there on, we started for Dharampur which is close to Wilson Hills. Dharampur being at the base of the hills, we had to take a steep ascent of nearly 20 kms to Wilson Hills. Road to hill is full of charming greenery with small waterfalls here and there, adding to its beauty.

At the hill:
We were at hill at 7:30 AM where we roam around, took many photos and had fun. Weather was rainy and pleasing. Unlike hill stations in Gujarat such as Saputara, Pavagadh, Mount Abu etc., there were not many tourists around(I think mainly because not many people are aware about this place). This was pleasing for us as we get to enjoy the serene surroundings without any hustle and bustle.

Oh and the unique thing about this place? It is one of the few hill stations in the world from which it is possible to get a glimpse of the sea! Sadly, we didn't get to see it as there were clouds all around us. There is a fast-food restaurant at hill which provides sandwiches, chinese food, vadapavs etc. Be wary though. You may not get all the items listed in menu as they may not be available. After having a breakfast there, we started our journey to Sardar Sarovar. Below are some pics taken from Wilson Hills.

Here are some tips if you are planning a trip to Wilson Hills.

• If you are going by car, always make sure to check for traffic near Golden Bridge or better still, take an alternate route.
• Ascent from Dharampur to Wilson Hills is really steep and roads are not proper at some points.
• If you are not going by car, a public transport bus and some private vehicles can take you to hill.
• For accommodation, you can opt for resort at the hill which is being maintained by a local businessman.

Trip to Sardar Sarovar:

We took alternate route(through Rajpipla) to Sardar Sarovar dam for avoiding Golden Bridge traffic jam. After around 6 hours journey, we reached to Sardar Sarovar. At time of our visit, dam was at 123 meters. So, we got to see overflowing dam which was a sight to behold. However, enough has been said about Sardar Sarovar on various blogs/sites. So, I'll keep it short and let the pics do the talking.