Alibag Tourism

At a distance of 75 km from Lonavala, 102 km from Mumbai, 143 km from Pune, 170 km from Mahabaleshwar and 272 km from Ganpatipule, Alibaug or Alibag is a coastal town and a municipal council in Raigad district of Maharashtra. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district and is a popular beach destination that can be visited as part of Mahabaleshwar packages as well as Lonavala tour packages. Alibaug is one of the top Maharashtra tourist places situated near Mumbai.

Alibaug is surrounded by sea on three sides, it is very commonly known as the 'Goa' of Maharashtra. The town was founded in the 17th century by Kanhoji Angre who was the naval chief during the reign of Shivaji Maharaj. Earlier, Alibaug was known as Kolaba, attributed to the Kolaba Fort which was built by Shivaji in 1680 CE. Legend has it that a wealthy Muslim named Ali owned many plantations hence the town derived its name Alibag.

Alibaug has witnessed many historic battles including the one at Varsoli between Siddis and Kanhoji Angre. Another was aggression on Kolaba Fort by the English and Portuguese jointly, which they lost. Next was the battle of Chaul between the British and Sakhoji Angre which Sakhoji won and held them captive in Kolaba Fort. Alibag and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterlands of Bene Israeli Jews. There is a synagogue in the 'Israel Ali' area of the town.

Located in the Konkan region of Maharashtra, Alibaug is well known for its beautiful beaches and ancient forts. Among the various Alibaug tourist places, Alibaug Beach, Kihim Beach, Akshi Beach, Mandwa Beach, Kashid Beach, Varsoli Beach, Nagaon Beach and Murud Beach are the popular beaches in Alibaug. Visitors can also visit Khanderi Fort, Kolaba Fort, Murud -Janjira Fort, Vikram Vinayak Temple or Birla Temple, Magnetic Observatory and Korlai Fort.

There are many options for tourists to reach Alibaug. Mumbai Airport is the nearest airport which is about 101 km from Alibaug. Pen Railway Station is the nearest railhead which is located at a distance of 28 km from Alibaug. It has regular trains from Mumbai, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Diva Junction. Mumbai Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is the major railhead situated at a distance of 102 km from Alibaug. Alibaug is well connected by bus with Mumbai, Lonavala, Pune, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur. Alibaug can also be reached by ferry from the Gateway of India in Mumbai.

History
Alibag is a coastal town and municipal council in Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It is the headquarters of the Raigad district. Revdanda, Chaul, Nagaon, Akshi, Varsoli, Thal, Navgaon, Kihim and Aawas villages were known as "Ashtagare". Alibag and its surrounding villages are the historic hinterland of Bene Israeli Jews. There is a synagogue in the "Israel Ali" (Marathi इस्राएल आळी meaning Israel lane) area of the town. A Bene Israelite named Ali used to live there at that time. He was a rich man and owned many plantations of mangoes and coconuts in his gardens. Hence the locals used to call the place "Alichi Bagh"(Marathi for "Ali's Garden"), or simply "Alibag", and the name stuck.Alibag houses a magnetic observatory which was set up in 1904. It serves as one of the significant observatories forming part of a global network now run by Indian Institute of Geomagnetism. The observatory has two buildings; the first building has magnetometers that record changes occurring in the geomagnetic fields. The second building consists of precision recording instruments, which give data about geomagnetic storms caused by solar storms which is shared with other countries.