At a glance The Mecca of Maharashtra is located 4,500 ft ASL in the Western Ghats, not too far from the Konkan Coast.
About the city The summer capital of the erstwhile Bombay Presidency engages the senses not just on the strength of its natural beauty but also because of the charming tales spun around its most favoured points. Nature is extraordinarily munificent here rugged hills, steep and sudden falls, forests crowded with plant life, rivers that flow every which way they please. Though electricity often plays truant up in the Sahyadris, the fabulous weather means never really having to sweat it out just one of the reasons why Mahabale'shwar is always bursting at the seams with tourists.
How to reach Road: Car: There are two routes to Mahabaleshwar, both equally scenic and popular. The route via Pune, Shirwal and Panchgani is longer but has better roads. The other is down NH17 via Pen, Mahad and Poladpur. Though shorter, one moves slowly up the ghats to Mahabaleshwar. At Poladpur police station (at the statue of Shivaji), take the road going left. Private vehicles need to pay (Rs 10) for the entry permit, valid for a week. En route halts: Depending on the route you choose, stop at Pune or Nagothane and Mangaon. Bus: Many options to Mahabaleshwar starting 6 am from Mumbai CST. Two overnighters leave at 8.30 and 10.30 pm from here, reaching Mahabaleshwar in the early hours. Journey Time Road: 6 1/2 hrs from Mumbai Getting Around: Mahabaleshwar is excellent trekking country (also very engrossing for those interested in medicinal plants and herbs). But there are 'softer options: a taxi or a conducted bus tour. However, the best way of doing Mahabaleshwar, if you are intimidated by trekking, is to have your own vehicle and use a guide to show you the place. To feel the wind in your hair, hire a bicycle and pedal your way around.
Distances 245 km South East from Mumbai From Mumbai NH17 from Mumbai to Poladpur State highway to Mahabaleshwar via Pratapgad.
Best Seasons Best between September and May. Mahabaleshwar is fair weather virtually round the year. However, the roads can get dangerous during the monsoon, and most buses and tour operators suspend their services at this time.
Places in and around Taking along a guide for a tour of the hill station might be a good and practical idea, if you can stand narratives liberally peppered with details of who committed suicide from which point, or where a hit Hindi film was shot. Sunset Point/ Mumbai Point Adults and children come here to ride about on horses, but this place is worth a visit even if it's not time for the daily performance: the sun plays to the gallery every evening. Pratapgad and Makrandgad are etched clearly on the horizon. Venna Lake On the Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani Road, Lake Venna is the ideal place for an evening outing after you are done with all points, high and low. Mahabaleshwar Temple Little girls form a circle around you as they implore you to buy their flower baskets for offering to Shankar Bhagwan. The ancient Shivaling inside the temple is a natural formation and over 500 years old. Panchganga Mandir Panchganga Mandir is situated at the confluence of five rivers the Krishna, Gayatri, Savitri, Koyna and Venna. The water from these rivers pours from the spout of a sculpted cow suckling its young one, and collects in a cistern below. You can also see the separate outlets of the rivers at the temple. This natural setting is considered very auspicious and devotees throng the temple through the year. There's a bustling marketplace nearby. Also look out for Morarjee Castle, where Mahatma Gandhi stayed when he visited Mahabaleshwar in 1945, and the colonial-style bungalows built during the Raj.