Geography of Alibag
The head quarter of the Raigad district of Maharashtra, Alibag is a small yet developed coastal town. The place is situated at about 100kms from the finance capital of India, Mumbai and is at an exact co-ordinate of 18°38'29?N 72°52'20?E.
This beautiful town is placed on the tip of the ridge that goes into the Arabian Sea and stretches over an area of 0.7 square miles or 1.81 square kilo metres. Since a coastal area, the land elevation level is nil.
The town is a picturesque one with the blue ocean line on the west side and the rugged Western ghats on the other. The eastern part is a salty marsh which gets covered with sea water during high tide. The north and southern part of the place is covered with a belt of Cocoa Palm trees which have extended till eyes can see.
The weather throughout the year is pleasant with a reasonable amount of humidity. Rainfall is moderate over here with average limit being 170mm per year. Monsoon period is pretty long and ranges from June to October. Like any other coastal region winter is almost negligible over here with temperature dipping to a minimum of 14 degree Celsius. Summer months are hot when temperature ranges within 30 degree Celsius to 36 degree Celsius. While on a visit to this place traveler can feel the strong sea breeze which blows for most of the year.
There is no best time to visit Alibag, since any time is good enough. The climate is moderate and can be enjoyed by tourists year round. However, it recommended to visit in the winter months, when rainfall is the minimum. Monsoon period is best to be avoided for tourism. Since sandy sea beaches are the main attraction of the place, hence too much rain can dampen your visit.
The Alibag town is under the Alibag Municipal Council of the Raigarh district with a total population of 20,743 as of Indian Government Census, 2011. Male population is around 51% (10,646) and women consisting of 49% (10,097) of the total count. The average literacy rate is around 84% which is higher than the national average of 59.5%. The literacy rate for men and women are respectively 54% and 46%. There are in total 4985 households with scheduled casts and tribes consisting around 19% of the total population. 41% of the total town population are under worker class with students, house wives, and children comprising the remaining. 11% of the population is under 6 years of age.
Most of the population are still agricultural farmers and rice, vegetables and fish being the main produce. There are many natural sweet water wells inside and around the town area for water supply. Two new water reservoirs are being built inland to help with the ever growing population of the region and also help in agriculture.