Panchgani, a hill resort which can hold its own even against a popular tourist destination such as Mahabaleshwar, has gained popularity on its own right.

Panchgani has a unique history of its own. Though the British first made Mahabaleshwar as their summer capital of the Bombay province, this region becomes uninhabitable during the heavy monsoon season. Hence, the British were in search of a nearby area which could serve as an alternative site for a health resort, ideal for retirement people.

British superintendent John Chesson found the area in the vicinity of five villages on five hills – Dhandeghar, Godavli, Amral, Khingar and Taighat to be ideal for settlement. He brought in tradesmen to occupy the area as well as planted many plants such as poinsettia and silver oak from the western world which still bloom here today.

Hence, Panchgani was formed by the British around 1860s and serves as a tourist attraction today. Located near Mahabaleshwar, it has similar distances from cities like Mumbai and Pune – 285 and 100 km respectively. This has led to a massive growth of hotels in Panchgani.

Panchgani is thus nestled amongst five low lying hills in the Sahyadri region. Surrounded by five villages and the Krishna river flowing through it, it is a wide table land or plateau region which can be seen from the scenic view points of Mahabaleshwar as well.

Panchgani has a temperate climate the whole year through and comparatively less rainfall than Mahabaleshwar. The temperature ranges from 12 degrees centigrade in winter to 34 degrees centigrade in summers. The temperate climate, scenery and rich flora of the place attracts several tourists to this quaint little town. A mere 20 km from Mahabaleshwar, it is a favorite sight seeing destination of those who visit Mahabaleshwar as well.

Panchgani is known as a health resort as well as a thriving place for schools. The British set up the The Kimmins School here for European boys and girls was affiliated to the Cambridge University and was set up in 1890. Since then, many other schools have come up in Panchgani attracted by the high standards of education here.

Dr. Rustomji Bomanji Billimoria set up a sanatorium for tuberculosis here in Panchgani and since then, Panchgani has been regarded as a great convalescence centre for the ailing.

Thus, Panchgani has several unique features which helped build tourist attractions to this place. There are several Panchgani resorts and hotels as well which cater to the growing tourist traffic in this area. However, with growing commercial traffic here, it is in danger of being ecologically degraded.

Panchgani, literally meaning the place of five hills, is a hill station located in the proximity of Mumbai and Pune. With hilly terrain on one side and coastal plains on the other, this hill station was developed as a health resort during the British Raj. It soon became a place of convalescence for ailing tuberculosis patients. Then again, the British set up boarding schools for girls and boys in the model of English Public Schools here. Thus, Panchgani is known both as a health resort as well as a place for excellent education of young minds.

Besides the above reasons, Panchgani has developed into a popular tourist spot or holiday getaway for the city people of Mumbai, Pune and other cities. There are various scenic view points and other Panchgani sightseeing places which are worthy of tourist attraction.

The Rajpuri caves near Panchgani is an important religious destination. These caves contain hidden springs known as kunds which the popular belief is that, are fed by the holy water of the Ganges. The Lord Karthikeya temple near the caves is also an important place of tourist attraction. Journey to the Rajpuri caves is through serene, green scenery which is rejuvenating by itself.

In Panchgani sightseeing, Parsi Point is a scenic view point which also serves as a perfect picnic spot for tourists. The Sydney Point near Parsi Point is another beautiful view point from where one can have panoramic views of the Krishna valley, the backwaters of the Dhom Dam as well as breathtaking views of the Wai village.

Serbaug is another well designed natural landscape here which has many recreational activities for children. It also offers a wonderful landscape for people to enjoy as well as has a rich collection of flora and fauna for the enjoyment of tourists.

Wai town is a pristine place located on the banks of the Krishna river. Bound by seven ghats with numerous temples and water bodies, this place is a great attraction to tourists. Pandavgarh is a nearby fort whose approach is on rocky terrain making it a trekking challenge for hiking tourists.

Kamalgad or Pratapgad fort are places of historic interest to most travelers. Panchgani Table Land is the longest mountain plateau land in India. It protects Panchgani from the strong winds and monsoon heavy showers as well. Known as Devil’s Kitchen, this is a great trekking destination for adventurous tourists.

Besides these, Dhom Dam also offers water sports activities for tourists. There are again, Panchgani bazaars which have handcrafted goods and local items on sale. Thus, there are lots of places of interest as well as many activities to take part in Panchgani sightseeing.

Panchgani is a popular hill resort which has developed in recent times as a tourist destination close to Mahabaleshwar. It was originally developed by the British when they were in search of a nearby area to Mahabaleshwar to inhabit during the heavy monsoon season of Mahabaleshwar.

British superintendent John Chesson is credited with discovering Panchgani. He found this nameless area surrounding five villages amongst five hills in the Sahyadri region – Dhandeghar, Godavli, Amral, Khingar and Taighat. Thus, Panchgani was formed as an ideal place for the ailing to recuperate as well as a perfect getaway from the nearby cities.

Located at a distance of 285 km from Mumbai and 100 km from Pune, Panchgani first flourished with many schools that the British set up here for the education of European boys and girls. Amongst Panchgani schools, The Kimmins School was started in 1890 here. One of the first schools here, it was then affiliated to Cambridge University. In 1902 the boys’ section was separated from this school to become St. Peter’s High School while Kimmins remained as an exclusive school for girls.

The Roman Catholic Order of nuns also started a school here for girls, known as The St. Joseph’s Convent Girls High School, also affiliated to the Cambridge University. These schools used to have their examinations in December whereby the question papers used to arrive from England by sea and the answer sheets were also sent back to England and results declared by June.

Attracted by the English Public School model that these initial schools had, other communities started building schools here. The Parsi School was the first after the English schools, also known as the Bilimoria School. The Muslim School was known as the Union High School and lately is known as the Anjuman School. The school built by the Hindu community was modeled on Rabindranath Tagore’s Shantiniketan and was called Sanjeevan Vidyalaya. All these schools were modeled after the English Public school system and prepared students for the matriculation examination held under the Bombay Presidency.

In the 1950s the Bahai community opened their own school here, now known as the New Era School which is one of the biggest schools in this town now. Most of these schools came up as boarding schools in Panchgani which aided the overall development of children away from the distractions of the city life.

There are about forty Panchgani schools now, some holding on to their age old tradition while others boast of world class infrastructure and state of the art teaching techniques.

Panchgani maps are available readily over the internet. With the advent of satellite maps as those powered by Google, one can find any place on earth.

Panchgani is located at a distance of 285 km from Mumbai, about 100 km from Pune and a mere 20 km from Mahabaleshwar. This makes Panchgani easily accessible by buses, cabs as well as self driven vehicles.

Families who prefer to drive down to Panchgani can take the help of tourist maps which are available at MTDC offices as well as with tour or travel operators. One can also avail of the satellite maps on internet on their mobile devices as well as on their laptops.

Thus, no matter what your destination is at Panchgani, whether a renowned school or a heritage resort, you can find your way easily with the help of online maps even if you do not have a paper map with you.