Hill Station Tourist Spots

Hill stations in Maharashtra - Maharashtra is indeed very fortunate in terms of hill stations.
The Western Ghats and their Sahyadri Ranges have blessed Maharashtra with many a
charismatic and charming hill stations.
The best hill stations are Mahabaleshwar and Chikhaldara.
Mahabaleshwar:-
Mahabaleshwar is one of the most scenic hill stations in Maharashtra. It is considered as the
best hill station in Maharashtra.
Location Details: Mahabaleshwar is located at a height of 4500 ft above the sea level. It is
located around 285 kms. from Mumbai and 120 kms. southwest of Pune. 
History \ Origin: Mahabaleshwar literally means, ‘God of Great Power’. The name of the city
Mahabaleshwar comes from the Lord Shiva (Mahabali), the temple situated in old
Mahabaleshwar, popularly known as Kshetra Mahableshwar. There are many different temples,
one Krishnabai Temple, the oldest one built in 13th Century. In 1656, the founder of Maratha
empire, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj seized this area.

The town also has a man-made lake dating back to British era called Venna Lake. The lake is
popular for boating. Other attractions include the Lingmala waterfall. Old Mahabaleshwar is a place
of pilgrimage with its Mahadeo temple. The temple is the source of the five rivers Krishna, Koyna,
Venna, Savitri and Gayatri.

Accommodation Facilities: As a popular tourist destination, Mahabaleshwar has plethora of

accommodation options. Many hotels offer accommodation to suit different budgets.

Transportation routes and connectivity: It is strategically located and very well connected to
the capital of Maharashtra, Mumbai and also to Pune. It can be reached by Road, Air and also
by train.
Road:
Mumbai / Thane and Mahabaleshwar is connected by the National Highway 4. Bus services by
state-run MSRTC and private organizations connect it to Pune, Mumbai, Sangli and Satara.

Railway: Nearest railway station to Mahabaleshwar is Satara, 60 km. Nearby major railway
junctions include Pune, and Miraj.

Air: For travel by air, the nearest airport is Pune International Airport. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj
International Airport of Mumbai is 270 km from here.

Importance: Mahabaleshwar is important from many perspectives. It is an important hill station

which has religious, historical and tourist importance. The place is also famous for Pratapgad
fort where the, where Maharaj killed Afzal Khan. Mahabaleshwar is very important for Strawberry
production. Roughly 70% Strawberry production of the country happens in Mahabaleshwar. . Every
year around 9 to 10 lakh tourists visit Mahabaleshwar.
Chikhaldara:-

Location Details : Chikhaldara is a hill station and a municipal council in Amravati district in

the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is at a height of 1,188 m (3,898 ft) above the sea level.

History \ Origin : Chikaldhara, literally translates from Marathi to mud stream/falls (chikal + dhara).
Hindus claim that this place was featured in the epic of the Mahabharata, this is the place
where Bheema killed the villainous Keechaka in a herculean bout and then threw him into the valley.
It thus came to be known as Keechakadara which eventually colloquialised to Chikaldhara.

Chikhaldara was discovered by Captain Robinson of the Hyderabad Regiment in 1823. British
Commander selected leader of Chikhaldara named Mr.Sheikh Mehtab, who was landlord of
Chikhaldara. He distributed land free of cost to Adivasis to build their houses. He ruled Chikhaldara
for many years.

Accommodation facilities: Chikhaldara is a tiny hill station in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It
offers plenty of options for accommodation suiting different budgets. Here in the city, one can get
high-class accommodation facilities.

Transportation routes and connectivity: Chikhaldara is well connected to the many important
cities by road, train and air.

Road: It is connected to Nagpur, Amravati, Akola, Betul (M.P.), Khandwa (M.P.) via buses operated
by state run MSRTC and private players.

Air: The nearest airport to reach by air is Nagpur.

Importance: Chikhaldara is a tiny hill station in the Indian state of Maharashtra. As it is the only
coffee-growing area in the region, it is loved by many tourists who come solely to taste the regions’
coffee. Apart from the coffee plantations, Chikhaldara boasts of quiet lakes, waterfalls, old forts,
divine temples mesmerising viewpoints. The scenic beauty of Chikhaldara can be enjoyed from
Hurricane Point, Prospect Point, and Devi Point. Other interesting excursions include Gavilgad and
Narnala Fort, the Pandit Nehru Botanical Gardens, the Tribal Museum and the Semadoh Lake. The
average tourist visits in Chikhaldara is around 1.67 lakh.
 Beaches
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 Religious Tourist Spots
Shree Siddhivinayak Mandir
Location Details : The Shree Siddhivinayak Ganapati Mandir is a Hindu temple dedicated to Lord
Shri Ganesh. It is located in Prabhadevi, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

History \ Origin : This temple is originally built by Laxman Vithu and Deubai Patil on 19 November
1801. It is one of the richest temples in India. The original structure of the Siddhivinayak Temple was
a small 3.6 meter x 3.6 meters square brick structure with a dome-shaped brick shikhara. The
temple was built by the contractor Laxman Vithu Patil. The building was funded by a rich Agri woman
named Deubai Patil. Childless due to infertility, Deaubai built the temple so that Ganesha should
grant children to other infertile women

Accommodation facilities: There is no dearth of accommodation options as it is situated in

Mumbai, the commercial capital of India. Various options to suit everyone’s budget can be found
in the vicinity of the temple.
Transportation routes and connectivity: It is very well connected by road, train and bus. It is
situated in Mumbai which has got excellent connectivity to the entire country. It can be reached
by way of Road, train or Air.
Road: There are many government and private buses which connect entire country to Mumbai.
Within the city, various buses run by local authority (BEST) ply to the temple making it
convenient to reach the temple.
Train: Mumbai is strategically located and hence well connected by a mesh of train network.
Importance: The Shree Siddhivinayak temple temple is more than 200 years old. It receives
donations of around ₹10 Crors to 15 Crores every year. This makes it one of the richest temples in
India and richest in Mumbai city. The Siddhivinayak Ganpati Temple Trust manages the operations
of the temple. The fund it utilized by trustees in various social service activities. Around 10 lakh
people visit the temple on a daily basis which makes it busiest temple in the country.
 Shri Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur
Location Details :
History \ Origin : The Shri Ambabai/Mahalaxmi Temple of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India, is one
of the three and half Shakti Peethas listed in various puranas of Hinduism. According to these
writings, a Shakti Peetha is a place associated with Shakti, the goddess of power. The Kolhapur
Shakti Peetha is of special religious significance being one of the six places where it is believed that
one can either obtain salvation from desires. The temple takes its name from
Ambabai/Mahalaxmi,and it is believed that the divine couple reside in the area.The temple belongs
architecturally to the Chalukya empire and may have been first builtin circa 700 AD. Mounted on a
stone platform, the image of the four armed and crowned goddess is made of sandstone.The image
of Mahalaxmi carved in black stone is 2feet 8.5 inches in height
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By Road: It takes approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes to make the journey to Kolhapur from
Mumbai and it is well covered by government and private buses. Kolhapur has a functional bus
stand.  Main option of MSRTC (Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation) offer regular
and frequent bus services from Kolhapur to Mumbai and Pune towards North. Towarda East
Sangali, Solapur connectivity is available. Towards South Belgaum, Banglore connectivity is
available. Towards West, connectivity of Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg is available.

By Train: It is extremely well connected by a railway network. Miraj junction is 5o kms away
from Kolhapur. On the Northern side it is connected to Delhi and Nagpur by trains. East side is
having trains towards Solapur and Hyderabad. Towards south trains are connected to Banglore
and Tirupati.
Air: Lohegaon Airport is located at a distance of 250 km from Kolhapur. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Airport is located at a distance of about 380 km from Kolhapur. Kolhapur is also
developing new small airport, but having not yet started regular flights.

Importance: Goddess Mahalakshmi is the consort of Lord Vishnu and it is customary among
Hindus to visit Tirumala Venkateswara Temple, Kolhapur Mahalakshmi Temple and Padmavathi
Temple as a yatra (pilgrimage). It is believed that visiting these temples as a pilgrimage
helps achieve moksha (salvation). It is estimated that around 4 to 5 lakh devotees daily visit
the temple during important religious periods.
 Cultural Tourist Spots
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