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 hinterlands of Bene Israeli Jews, for more than 2550 years. There is a synagogue in the "Israel Ali" (Marathi इस्राएल आळी meaning Israel lane) area of the town.[1] A Bene Israelite named Eli (Elisha/Elizah) 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 "Elichi Bagh" which in the Islam entering Maharashtra, the generations pronunciation changed (Marathi for "Ali's Garden"), or simply "Alibag", and the name stuck.[1]
Alibag houses a magnetic observatory which was set up in 1904.[2] 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 are shared with other countries.[2].
Road
One can reach Alibag via Pen (30 km), which is on the Mumbai (78 km) – Goa road. From Mumbai, one can reach Alibag by traveling on the Mumbai-Goa highway (NH-66) till Wadkhal (or Vadkhal) and taking the right fork from Wadkhal to continue on (NH-166A)– the left fork being the road to Goa.[3] It is approximately 108 km from Mumbai. Alibag is 50 km away from Murud. By boat service from Mumbai one can reach Alibag by 1 and half hour's journey. one can reach alibag also with speedboat with a journey of 10-15 minutes from Gateway of India to mandva.
Railways
The nearest rail railway station is at Pen. Through Pen, it is connected to Panvel and onwards to Mumbai and the Indian Railways network. Now pen-panvel trains are also started from 4 November 2018 now it is easier to reach alibag easily.
Boat services
The nearest jetty is Mandwa from where catamaran/ferry services are available to the Gateway of India, Mumbai. Another port in the vicinity is Rewas, from where a ferry service is available to Ferry Wharf (Bhau cha Dhakka) (Dockyard Road). There is a jetty at Custom Bandar from where fishermen in Alibag set sail.
One can reach Alibag by catamaran through Gateway of India to Mandwa or from Bhaucha Dhakka to Rewas and from Mandwa/Rewas to Alibag by bus. Ticket includes journey from Gateway to Mandwa and bus journey from Mandwa to Alibag bus stop. The well known operators of these catamarans are PNP, Maldar and Ajanta and tickets can be purchased at their booth at the Gateway of India. From Rewas to Alibag one needs to take State Transport bus or a rickshaw. Take the ferry from Gateway to Mandwa. Services are usually available from 6:00am till 6:00pm. The trip takes 40 to 55 minutes depending on the type of boat. From Mandwa operators carry passengers to Alibag in their own chartered buses. The bus journey time is 45 minutes. Alibag beach is walking distance from the bus-stop.
Another option is to take a ferry from "Bhaucha Dhakka" to Rewas. Timings are the same but schedule may change depending on the tide. From Rewas take state transport bus or rickshaw to Alibag.
Speedboats from the Gateway of India to Mandwa Jetty take roughly 20–25 minutes depending on the weather and can be hired at the Gateway of India at Jetty No. 5 opposite the Taj Mahal Hotel. The new jetty installed in 2014 at Mandwa ensures safety of guests traveling by speedboat.