Don Hill Station
One of Gujarat's highest plateaus, with a quiet tribal village on top of it. Grass meadows, ridge walks and valley views, and none of Saputara's crowds.
- Best months
- Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec, Jan
- Time needed
- ~3 hr
- Entry
- Free
- Hours
- Open area
- Effort
- Moderate
A small Dangi village spread across a high plateau near the Maharashtra border, at an elevation generally cited as a shade above Saputara's. Don is what Saputara was before the hotels. The draw is simple: open grass meadows rolling to ridge edges, long views over the Sahyadri valleys on both sides of the border, and near-total quiet outside the odd weekend group.
There is no 'sight' here in the ticket-booth sense. You walk the meadows, find a rim for sunrise or sunset, watch village life go by, and in monsoon wade through knee-high grass between low cloud. A handful of viewpoints and small water bodies dot the plateau, and local youths will happily point you along the paths. Basic village homestays and food arrangements exist but are informal: day trips from Ahwa or Saputara are the standard plan.
The access road climbs steeply in its final stretch and is narrow throughout; confident driving or a local driver helps. Go for the emptiness; that is the point.
Highlights
- ◆High plateau meadows above the Sahyadri valleys
- ◆Sunrise and sunset rims without crowds
- ◆Living Dangi village, not a built-up resort town
- ◆Monsoon grasslands under moving cloud
History & lore
Local tradition connects Don with hermitage lore of the epics. The name is often linked in the region to sage Drona. Treat it as living local storytelling rather than settled history.
Traveller tips
- →Combine with Girmal Falls for the classic interior-Dang full day
- →The railed 'photography point' deck on the Ahwa approach road gives the classic plateau-in-cloud frame before you climb
- →Fuel up in Ahwa; there are no pumps on the Don road
- →Respect village life, ask before photographing people or homes
Safety
- ⚠Ridge edges are unfenced: keep well back in wind or wet grass
- ⚠The final road climb is unlit and narrow; avoid driving it after dark
- ⚠Carry all water and food; nothing is guaranteed available
Where it is
Exact pin, verified coordinates · 20.7128, 73.8183
Directions to Don ↗Getting there
Road · From Ahwa via interior roads toward the Maharashtra border; the final climb is steep, narrow and hairpinned. From Saputara ~55 km via the direct road built in 2013
Rail · Bilimora Jn (~140 km) via Waghai; no practical rail access
Air · Surat (~190 km), Nashik (~110 km)
Last stretch · Village lanes and meadow footpaths; viewpoints are 10–30 min walks from the village
Questions people ask
Is Don better than Saputara?
Different job: Saputara has hotels, gardens and things to do; Don has meadows, views and silence. Most people day-trip to Don and sleep in Saputara or Ahwa.
Practical detail
- The road
- Tarred but narrow with a steep final ascent; take it slow in rain
- Parking
- Informal parking at the village
- Season
- Monsoon for grass and cloud drama, October–January for clear long views; hot, brown and hazy by late spring.
- Visiting
- Open plateau; arrive by mid-afternoon if day-tripping so the drive back isn't in the dark.
- Photography
- Golden-hour ridge shots both directions; monsoon cloud moves fast, burst through the gaps. Night skies are genuinely dark for Gujarat.
- Food
- Very limited. A village shop or informal home meals; carry your own food and water for a day trip
- Toilets
- none
- Guides
- Village youths informally guide to the viewpoints for a small tip
On these routes
Where to sleep
Don Village Homestays (informal)
The only way to catch Don's dawn without the pre-sunrise interior drive. Expect village hospitality, not hotel service: carry cash, water and flexibility.
Informal village arrangements, a few families host visitors and cook meals; nothing is listed online. Ask at the village or via Ahwa contacts, and confirm before building a plan around an overnight
Ahwa & Waghai Basic Hotels (various)
Function over charm. These towns are the practical overnights for waterfall-circuit and Ramayana-trail days that outgrow a Saputara base.
Simple lodges and guesthouses in both towns; walk-in or phone booking. Ahwa's matter for interior-circuit overnights, Waghai's for early ghat starts. Named alternatives now have their own records: see Pravasi Gruh in Ahwa and the government circuit house below.
Devinamal Eco Campsite, Ahwa
The Forest Department's own bed nearest to Ahwa, 7 km out on the Saputara road and 3 km off it, ringed by forest above the Khapri. Cheapest roofed night in interior Dang, and the closest thing to a base for the Ahwa-side waterfalls.
Forest Department portal lists cottage rooms from ₹800 and wooden rooms from ₹2000 a night; run by the local Eco Tourism Committee, so meals are arranged rather than ordered.
Maa Shabari Farm House & Resort, Subir
The practical bed on the Subir side, which otherwise has none, it puts the Ramayana-trail sites and the Purna sanctuary gate within a short morning drive instead of an hour from Ahwa.
Phone booking; food and accommodation both. Numbers come from a traveller writeup rather than an official listing, so confirm before building a plan around it.
Data confidence: Researched · facts last verified 2026-08-10 · 1 field(s) awaiting verification
- Don, Dang, Wikipedia, Wikipedia
- Don Hill Station, Hidden Hill Retreat of Dang, safargujarat.com