KOLHAPUR TO SAWANTWADI VIA AMBOLI GHAT : FULL JOURNEY : MSRTC ST BUS CABIN RIDE

KOLHAPUR TO SAWANTWADI VIA AMBOLI GHAT : FULL JOURNEY : MSRTC ST BUS CABIN RIDE : MONSOON BUS JOURNEY

Kolhapur (pronunciationⓘ) is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural activities for centuries. It is famous for its unique food culture, including its signature Kolhapuri cuisine. The city is situated in the western part of Maharashtra and is often referred to as "Dakshin Kashi" or "Mahateerth". It boasts a rich history, which has given it various other names, including Kollagiri, Kolladigiripattan and Kollpur, all meaning "valley" Around 2 CE Kolhapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is known as 'Dakshin Kashi' or Kashi of the South because of its spiritual history and the antiquity of its shrine Mahalaxmi, better known as Ambabai. The region is known for the production of the famous handcrafted and braided leather slippers called Kolhapuri chappal, which received the Geographical Indication designation in 2019. In Hindu mythology, the city is referred to as "Karvir."
Before India became independent in 1947, Kolhapur was a princely state under the Bhosale Chhatrapati of the Maratha Confederacy. It is an important centre for the Marathi film industry.

Sawantwadi is a city located in Sawantwadi Taluka, in the state of Maharashtra in Konkan region which is in the mid-western coast of India.
It is a prominent town in the vicinity of Moti Lake and is well known for its wooden handicrafts. The Palace of Sawantwadi is a popular tourist attraction and it is great heritage of Ganjifa and Laquerware.
Sawantwadi palace also houses a museum in few of their rooms which is mainly dedicated to the Royal Family and Ganjifa- the art of sawantwadi.
The museum was opened in 2005 by Lt. Her Highness Rajmata Satvashiladevi Bhonsle. The museum collection includes photographs and paintings of the Royal Family Members, Coronation of the kings over the years, artworks by king and queen.
Sawantwadi is well connected to other towns of Sindhudurg district and cities of Maharashtra state by MSRTC buses as well as Goa & Belgaum. Private buses, Sharing Rickshaws & Bikes are used to travel locally to connect the small villages to the city. There is a national highway 10 km away from Sawantwadi and it connects Goa to Mumbai.
Konkan Railway Corporation Limited's railway line connecting Mumbai to Mangalore, popularly known as the Konkan Railway, passes through Sawantwadi Road railway station which 6 km from the town.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation abbreviated as (MSRTC, or simply ST), is the state-run bus service of Maharashtra, India, which serves routes to towns and cities within Maharashtra as well as to its adjoining states. It also offers a facility for online booking of tickets for all buses. Recently from 21 May 2020, the Corporation started goods transportation, private bus body building, and private vehicle tyre remoulding. In the future, the Corporation plans to start petrol pumps for private vehicles all over the Maharashtra.
MSRTC is operating a fleet of approximately 15,512 buses that ferry 8.7 million passengers daily.
The Ordinary, Parivartan, Asiad and City Buses are built at MSRTC's in-house workshops at Pune city, Aurangabad, and Nagpur on Ashok Leyland and TATA chassis. These workshops produce as many as 20,000 buses per year on average. The corporation has nine tyre retreading plants along with 32 divisional workshops. The Shivneri air-conditioned bus service consists of Volvo 9400R and Scania Metrolink buses. The Shivshahi buses are air-conditioned luxury buses which are operated by MSRTC and some private contractors.
In 2018, MSRTC added approximately a 1,000 special non-AC Vithai buses, which were introduced to ferry passengers to the pilgrim town of Pandharpur in Solapur district. They have a seating capacity of 45 seats and a similar design to that of 'Parivartan' buses.
In 2019, the MSRTC introduced new non-air-conditioned buses with beds and recliner chairs specially designed for long overnight routes. Extra facilities like reading lamp, night lamp, charging point, fan and two huge storage compartments have also been provided.
MSRTC’s first electric bus 'Shivai' that plies from Pune to Ahmednagar was flagged from Pune in presence of the then Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and the then state Transport Minister Anil Parab on 1 June 2022. MSRTC would get 50 electric buses in July 2022 which will be deployed from Pune to four cities — Nashik, Solapur, Kolhapur and Sambhajinagar.
In 2024 MSRTC gave contract to Ashok Leyland for procurement of 2000 non A/c ordinary buses(Lalpari). MSRTC plans to induct 300 buses per month in the fleet from March 2025.
Passengers will be able to know the live location of ST buses through a new mobile app developed by ST Corporation.