Mahabaleshwar is a hill station in the state of Maharashtra, often termed as the queen of the hills. This town, located in the Western Ghats region on the western part of India near the coast, offers temperate climate the whole year through. With low lying hills all around, with abundance of lakes, rivers and waterfalls nestled amidst evergreen forests, this place offers respite from the city life for people from all surrounding cities, specially Pune and Mumbai.

So what are the places to visit in Mahabaleshwar? There are several, from scenic view points to lakes, waterfalls, strawberry farms and holy places of Hindu pilgrimage. Some of the highlighted places here are as follows:

Wilson’ Point, also known as Sunrise Point, is popular as the best place to get an amazing view of the surrounding countryside at the time of sunrise or sunset. It is also the highest point in Mahabaleshwar, located at a height of 4710 feet above sea level. There are various other scenic view points which offer panoramic views of the countryside. Arthur’s seat is particularly famous for the breathtaking views of the Savitri river valley. On one side one can view striations in rock formations akin to that of the Grand Canyon. The other side offers a trek through green rocks and hidden springs from which the river is said to have originated.

There are various waterfalls to be seen around Mahabaleshwar hills, full of water nearly through the year. The more popular ones are Chinamans, Lingmala & Dhobi which are major tourist attractions.

Lake Venna is a popular tourist spot. Known for being a favorite spot for many a Bollywood film shootings, this lake offers boating pleasures for many tourists.

Tapola and Panchgani are two popular destinations close to Mahabaleshwar. Both the places offer beautiful scenery and other natural attractions on the drive to these towns.

Strawberry farms are unique attractions in Mahabaleshwar. Mapro Farms is one such place whereby tourists can savor drinks and desserts of the local produce which includes strawberries, mulberries, oranges and other delicious fruits.

On the religious front, the Mahabaleshwar temple is a must visit for all Hindus. Celebrating the powers of Lord Shiva, this temple is an ode to his divinity. Then again, the source of the five rivers also has a holy temple built on the site.

These are some of the must see places to visit in Mahabaleshwar.

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.

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.

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.

Mahabaleshwar, being a hill station nestled in the Sahyadri range, is an ideal tourist spot for cities near by such as Pune and Mumbai. It not only provides cool respite to the scorching heat of the cities, but offers picturesque landscapes, sceneries with low hills, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and so forth.

The tourist attractions in Mahabaleshwar are also numerous. From strawberry or mulberry farms where tourists can savor drinks and desserts made of these local fruits, one can also visit the sacred pilgrimage of the Mahabaleshwar temple, the origin of the Krishna river and more. Or one can simply sit back and enjoy the scenery of the hills, boating by the lakes, hikes by waterfalls and numerous other nature related adventure activities if one so desires.

Many people drive down Pune to Mahabaleshwar distance. There are various road maps available, both in print or online. Online satellite maps as those provided by Google are especially helpful in finding one’s direction while traveling by oneself. A road map from Pune to Mahabaleshwar will guide you with comprehensive directions to wherever you need to go in Mahabaleshwar. Many smart phones such as the iPhone has map applications which can track one’s device and show whether you are traveling in the right direction.

Pune to Mahabaleshwar has numerous bus and cab services as well. MTDC operates regular bus services to this city from Pune as well as there are several private bus and cab operators that one can choose from. Most of these companies are also online and have their tickets available for purchase online. Hence, one can purchase bus tickets to go from Pune to Mahabaleshwar as well as book cabs to get here. Bookings with travel agents for weekend or holiday packages including transport can also be done from Pune.

Thus, Mahabaleshwar is a popular destination from Pune and travel tips and services are numerous to choose from Pune.

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.

Panchgani was initially developed as a convalescence centre of ailing tuberculosis patients as well as a destination for boarding schools modeled as per the English public school system. With the richness of flora, temperate climate and close proximity to cities like Mumbai and Pune, it has now developed into one of the must see tourist destinations in Maharashtra.

Thus, Panchgani hotels are several here. From budget accommodation to four star luxurious facilities, one can find panchgani hotels to suit any budget.

Amongst Panchgani hotels which offer four star amenities, Summer Plaza Resort is a name well known. A favorite amongst corporate as well as leisure travelers, this hotel offers state of the art facilities and entertainment such as discotheque, mini movie theatre, spas and so forth.

Hotels like Lords’ Panchgani Club, Hotel Mount Castle offer three star facilities to tourists. Well furnished rooms, convenient dining facilities, lush green surroundings are some of the welcoming features of these hotels. IL Palazzo Hotel and Hotel Prospect Panchgani are heritage properties where one can enjoy traditional wooden architecture and the warmth of olden day’s hospitality in these sites.

There are also a number of two star, one star as well as budget hotels in Panchgani. White House is a popular bed and breakfast bungalow approved by MTDC which is popular amongst tourists. Then again, Pioneer Tents in Panchgani offer exciting options for those seeking adventure. Along with adventure activities, one can avail of tent like accomodation, camping facilities and so forth.

The Panchgani hotels tariff accordingly vary. While MTDC approved hotels or private bungalows need to be booked through telephone or regional offices, other hotels such as Lords Panchgani Club, hotel Millenium Park, Hotel Ravine and several others offer online booking through various websites, panchganihotels.net being one of them.

Websites like mshwar.com also offers hotel details such as Panchgani hotels tariff as well as option to enquire for reservations at these hotels.

Thus, as per the tourist demand in this area, there are various Panchgani hotels of varying accommodation to suit the needs of every class of traveler.

There are various Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar road maps available which allows many people to drive themselves to their favorite holiday destination. The highway connecting Mumbai with Mahabaleshwar is well demarcated with road signs and distance approximations. These allow people to be able to navigate the roads themselves when they want to drive down by themselves.

If you are carrying a smartphone or a laptop, you can quickly glance at the satellite maps provided by Google while you are driving to Mahabaleshwar. iPhone’s satellite map software allows one’s phone to be tracked by the satellite and one can get to know whether one’s vehicle is on the right road by the use of this iPhone application. Thus, from guide paper maps to maps online, Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar road maps are numerous and available in various forms.

There are various Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar bus services which operate on a regular basis. Numerous travel websites exist which offer tickets on various bus services which operate between Mumbai and Mahabaleshwar. From Volvo buses to sleeper buses and non AC buses, the choice is varied and one can purchase tickets and print them out directly from such online websites. Sites such as RedBus, Ticketvala, Prasanna, Travelyaari, Ticketgoose all provide tickets to various bus services at competitive rates. These provide great deal of convenience to travelers who can buy tickets as per their requirement from the comfort of their offices or homes. Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar bus services operated by the state are also numerous besides the private bus operators. Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation, also known as MTDC, also operates bus services as well as private cab services. Many tourists who are traveling in small groups, can hire private AC or non AC cabs to travel to Mahabaleshwar. Cabs offer more privacy and flexibility to travelers, who can opt to stop for refreshments along the way wherever they desire.

Those who want to reach Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai by train, can opt to get down at the Pune rail station which is at a distance of 120 km than Wather, which is located at a distance of 62 km from the city. This is because Pune provides better connectivity to Mahabaleshwar than Wather. Thus, due to the distances involved when traveling by train, traveling by road is a preferred option for most.

Thus, for traveling from Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar, the options for a traveler are many.

Next to Mahabaleshwar, which was chosen as the summer capital of the Bombay Province by the British, Panchgani was to serve as an alternative when Mahabaleshwar became uninhabitable due to heavy rains during the monsoon season. Founded and developed by British Superintendent Johnn Chesson, this place was developed into a health resort for retired and convalescing patients as well as an excellent location for barding schools.

In recent times, Panchgani, along with Mahabaleshwar, has gained prominence as hill station getaways closer to cities like Mumbai and Pine. With these growing metropolises nearby, the demand for weekend or holiday getaway places has arisen and Panchgani, along with Mahabaleshwar seem the perfect choice, especially from September to May.

There are various Panchgani resorts which offer world class amenities as well as a healthy dose of nature and natural activities. Known for its healthy environment, there are also a number of Panchgani health resorts to which people come to for rejuvenation. Amongst the Panchgani resorts, Panchgani health resort, Cliff Inn Resort, Wonder Woods Panchgani, Blue Country Resort are more notable amongst several others.

Panchgani health resort, as per its name, is a health conscious facility where one can spend a few days having the right diet along with yoga, meditation and other exercises. With well trained personnel at your disposal, this resort is a must for those who want a healthy weekend and leave feeling detoxed and energized.

Wonder Woods Panchgani offers heritage like comfort and healthy environment to spend your holiday at. With cycling, paragliding, recreational facilities available, one can experience simple and aesthetic living amidst green surroundings at this resort.

Blue Country Resort, part of the Club Mahindra chain of resorts, is a luxury resort complex with all modern amenities. From swimming pool to sports and gymnasium facilities as well as conference centers, this resort is perfect for families as well as corporate groups.

Cliff Inn Resort is a more affordable facility located near the scenic Sydney Point. This resort offers a wide range of rooms and amenities to its guests.

There are various other resorts and health resorts ranging from adventure camps to heritage resorts. Panchgani resorts are in heavy demand, especially from September to May and hence need to be booked in advance to enjoy good facilities at this place.

Mahabaleshwar is located in the Western Ghats and is one of the rare areas to be inhabited with evergreen forests in this country. This town is situated at a height of 1353 m above sea level. Its landscape is characterized by a wide plateau region surrounded by valleys on all sides. The highest elevation point reaches a height of 1438 m which is known as Wilson point, a popular sightseeing place.

Due to its’ height and proximity to the Arabian sea, this place experiences moderate climate throughout. In Mahabaleshwar weather, the summer season sets in from March to June during which the weather remains between 18 degrees Centigrade and can rise up to 30 degrees centigrade. Due to the moderate weather, many tourists come to visit this place during the early summer months. The month of March also sees the strawberry festivals being celebrated here due to the harvest time of strawberries. Those who come during this time can enjoy the harvesting of strawberries and enjoy the tastes of the local produce.

Late May to June usually heralds the monsoons in this area. With incessant heavy showers which last the monsoon season from June to September, the tourist visits are less during this time. However, those who are fortunate to reach this place during the rains can experience the beauty of the rain drenched hills and the wet charm of the hilly countryside.

The busiest period in Mahabaleshwar begins from October which goes on to April-May of the next year. The months of October to December-January are the busiest and the place takes on a joyous look with thousands of tourists thronging to this hill station at this time of the year. With holidays, festivities and a moderate winter of the Mahabaleshwar weather, tourists make most of the tourist attraction in this town.

There are several travel and other websites which provide reliable Mahabaleshwar weather forecast information. For those whoa re planning to travel to Mahabaleshwar, it is helpful to have information as to the weather out there at the time one is planning to visit. That not only helps one to pack clothes and travel gear accordingly, it can also help one to decide, especially when traveling during the monsoon season. Mahabaleshwar weather forecast is crucial to refer to if you are planning to travel during the monsoons since heavy rainfall might make the roads unsuitable for travel.