Sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar is a favorite activity of the countless visitors who visit Mahabaleshwar every year. With a variety of places to visit, points, and things to do, Mahabaleshwar is one of the highest visited tourist destinations in Maharashtra.
So if you are planning your trip to Mahabaleshwar, this blog will help you in finalizing the places you can see. Mahabaleshwar has 30 to 35 places which you can visit on your trip here. But frankly, it would take almost a week for you to visit all these places. We have been to Mahabaleshwar many times and still have missed a few of them.
So this blog will help you in knowing those Top 10 best places for sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar in a maximum of 4 days.
How to Reach
Mahabaleshwar can be reached by air, rail and road. The nearest airport to Mahabaleshwar are Kolhapur and Pune. Pune airport becomes the natural choice of air travelers as it has more connectivity with other airports. From here you can take a cab which can cost you around Rs. 3000 to Rs.4000/-.
Mahabaleshwar is at a distance of 125 to 130 Kms from Pune and it takes 3 hours to reach by car. You can also avail AC bus services of MSRTC from Pune Station. Check this website for the same.
Satara is the nearest station to Mahabaleshwar. It lies at a distance of 45 Kms from Satara.
Best Time to Visit
Mahabaleshwar is an all season destination now. It is In fact even better than Goa at times. The summers in Goa can be hot but even that is pleasant here. Every season brings a different flavor to Mahabaleshwar. The strawberry season starts in November and ends in June.
So here are the Must See Places for
Sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani
1. Mapro Gardens
When you go to Mahabaleshwar to enjoy its cool climate you will feel the need to have something hot and cheesy to eat. Mapro an abbreviation of Mahabaleshwar Products which has locally produced goods and food for sale.
It is located in the middle of the road from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar. It has a lovely strawberry farm and a view of the valley in the background. Every year on the Good Friday in the month of April they host the Strawberry Festival. They have many events and fun things in the festival.
For the starters, they have 2 soups which go well with the cold weather. The hot and cold coffee is good enough. But the main attraction here is the strawberry and with that we mean strawberry cream and icecreams. Every table here will order one.
With Pizzas, grilled sandwiches and french fries you will love to eat here. They bake their own bread for Pizzas and sandwiches.
Pizzas
They have wood fired pizzas with toppings of olives, jalapenos and lots of cheese. Aloof their pizzas are thin crust ones and the size is quite big, almost 16 inches wide.
Sandwiches
These are grilled sandwiches full of cheese. Each serving has 4 slices and every serving is accompanied by french fries. They even have an option of 2 slices as well which is known as the Mini.
For shopping, you can buy jelly candies, syrups, chocolate, khakras etc. Basically they have increased the variety of their products.
2. Kates Point
As you move from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar as you near the Mahabaleshwar side, in between lies this beauty on the Duchess Road. As you move parallel to the valley you will be able to feel that the point is coming closer. This point was named after the daughter of the then British Governor Sir John Malcom.
You will be amazed by the vast view of the point. From this point you will be able to see the following
River Krishna Valley
This view of Krishna River is magnificent as it takes a U turn from here.
Kamalgarh Fort
This fort lies ahead and can be seen ahead in the distance
Dhom Dam & Balkavadi Dam
The Dhom Dam view is beautiful
This point has a viewpoint which has been created. While sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar it is advised not to lean over viewpoints to take selfies. Unfortunate events have happened here and tourists should take care of themselves and their loved ones. No view is bigger than life.
3. Mahabaleshwar Temples
From the Duchess road, towards the opposite sides lie the Temples in Mahabaleshwar. You will get ample parking space which is paid. On parking our car you have a small climb of 5 mins with many stores of artifacts and praying material.
The reason why I am writing about temples is because there are actually 3 temples here at close distance from each other. Most people know the Mahabaleshwar Temple as the name of Mahabaleshwar has its origins in it. While sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar, if you travel here, it is possible you might completely miss out on the other two temples..
So we hired a local guide here to explain to us the different temple sites. You too can hire a guide for around Rs. 100.
The first is the
1. Panchganga Temple
Panchganga Temple is a temple behind the main Mahabaleshwar Temple.
The guide took us here first as we got to wet our feet and even drink some water before entering the main Mahabaleshwar Temple.
This Temple is made up of rocks and supposed to be a point where five rivers of Mahabaleshwar mix into one. The rivers being Krishna Bella Saraswati.
We saw water coming out of the mouth of the rock sculpture of Nandi bail (bull). Tourists stand in line to drink water from the mouth of the Nandi Bell. We too tasted the water. It was cool and good in taste. The water then is collected in 2 tanks and then flows ahead.
Photography is not allowed inside the premises.
2. Mahabaleshwar Temple
This is the main temple, the name of which has been given to place. It is an old temple with the Shivling inside. As you move ahead it narrows to Shivling which is at a lower position and you can bend and take blessings.
It is managed by a trust including the Govt Officials and a few local people.
Once you are out, you can admire the beautiful rock sculpture of the temple. Pictures are not allowed inside the temple but allowed outside. We took a lot of snaps here. You will also get a view of the valley at the backside.
3. Krishna Bai Temple
This temple is a very old temple. This temple is not being maintained by the local trust but is maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India. Hence, you will not find any Pujari inside. It is a beautiful and vast premises and the pathway has been made beautiful.
As you approach this temple you will see the colour of the stone is pitch black. The entry is from the back side of the temple and the temple faces the Krishna River. You will get the entire view of the Krishna Valley and Dhom Dam from here too.
As you enter the temple, you again see similarities between the Panchganga temple here where water flows from a channel into a tank with steps. You can again drink water from the Krishna River here as it comes through the mountains.
Inside the temple it was all dark and one cannot see anything. A man was holding a mobile to light up when we were there. It is advisable not to visit here after dark.
4. Mahabaleshwar Market
You cannot move out of Mahabaleshwar without doing some shopping. And no better place than the Mahabaleshwar market. Literally everyone who sells any major product in Mahabaleshwar has a shop here.
It is located near the Mahabaleshwar Bus Stop and has its own parking lot. You can park your vehicle comfortably and move out whenever you want. From the parking lot it is all walking.
You can buy clothes like dresses, punjabis, suits, shirts, T shirts, Woolens, shawls and many more. They even have some shops selling Kashmiri stuff. We even bought a poncho from here.
The market even has Wooden Objects stores selling vessels, sticks, key holder and numerous other items. We bought a wooden stick here for Rs. 250/-
There are numerous shoe shops. They sell chappals, Kolhapuris, daily wear chappals and shoes. We bought some chappals for as low as Rs. 400. And a secret, do not forget to bargain.
There are many shops with games. When you are here in the evenings it feels like a fair.
When you walk and shop you are bound to get tired and hungry but fear not the market has many hotels for both Veg and Non Veg lovers. We went to the Poonam Restaurant which is completely veg. It has good south Indian, Punjabi and Chinese food options. The fresh juices here are good too.
The Bageecha Outlet here serves Strawberry Shakes, Strawberry with cream and ice cream is full most of the time.
It is easy to get lost here so please beware of yourself and your loved ones.
5. Table Land
One of the most popular places while sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar is located in Panchgani. It is very close to the Panchgani Market and bus stop.
Table Land is a plateau which includes 5 plateaus. It is Asia’s second largest mountain plateau. Its scale is massive.
Most people visit only one of the five plateaus. There is parking available which is paid.
It grows small grass and has a few trees. It also has a large pond.
It has small flowers growing at the top of the grassland. These flowers look beautiful. It has both the views of the Sunset and the Sunrise.
Horse Riding and horse carts are available for hire and you can view the entire plateau. It has some old caves.
The table land has a myth that the Pandavas stayed here and their footprints are in the nearby rocks.
6. Wax Museum and Go Karting
There needs to be some entertainment while sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar. So on the way between Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar, you can find this. The Wax museum has wax statues of well known people which look real too.
One statue of Captain Jack Sparrow is on display. You can spend some time here and also, enjoy a Go Karting ride nearby.
7. Bombay Point
Do you want to watch a show? Bombay Point is a complete show in itself. Bombay Point hosts a show every evening at Sunset. It is also known as the Sunset point.
While we were sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar, we went to this point on a Saturday evening. It had a crowd already present at 5: 30 pm.
There is ample parking space around. Lots of horses are available for stunts. As you wait for the sunset to come down on the horizon you can check out a horse and click videos or photos over it.
Then, take your seat and witness a Sunset event. The Sun will begin to set and leave your world in darkness. You will hear a lot of cheers from the people around. Awesome cosmic phenomena.
Now we come to the big three amongst the 10 must see places for sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani. Frankly, it would be unfair to rank them but we have just ranked them on the basis of how rare we can find them.
8. Venna Lake
While sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar, Venna Lake is situated right in the middle of Mahabaleshwar on the river Venna. It is quite big and ample parking space is available outside.
This lake used to be a jetty. Nowadays, no fishing is allowed here commercially and hence you will see only tourists in the boats. There are 2 types of boats available, paddle and rowing. You will buy tickets for either of the boats.
Remember, there is hardly any mobile range available here hence do not forget to take cash.
It will cost you Rs.400 for half an hour and Rs. 600 for an hour for the boats. Also, if you need a person to row the boat, he will accompany you at Rs. 200/-.
You will need to wear a safety jacket before going to your boat. Then once you sit on the boat, you will leave shore to find some silence. As you go ahead in the lake, you can even reach the mangroves on your right. In the middle of the lake, you will hear hardly any noise, just the sound of your paddle.
From the middle, at a distance, you can see the tower on Wilson Point.
Once you are back to the shore, there are many stalls lined up on the outside. Here you can enjoy corn and its varieties, mini carrots and other snacks. Horse riding is also available here.
9. Arthur's Seat Point
The Arthur’s Seat Point, such a unique name to a point. And believe me when I say here lies the queen of all Points in Mahabaleshwar. This single point has 6 points which can be visited. As you move from the Duchess Road towards the Old Mahabaleshwar road towards the end is Arthur’s Seat Point.
From the car parking it is a downhill walk till the half and a slight uphill walk to the end.
There are many stalls here which sell Lemon water, boiled corn, peanuts and chickpeas (chana). You can easily make it till the end. It takes almost 30 mins to reach the end. At the end is a viewpoint with an unparalleled view.
From the view point lower in the valley you will see a boulder. That is Arthur’s Seat. It is said Sir Arthur Malet lost his wife and one month baby in a tragic ferry accident in the Savitri river. After this devastating incident he used to sit here.
On the way back, it is an uphill climb and requires effort which can be done in a few breaks if required at the stalls mentioned earlier.
It would take another 35 to 45 mins to climb up.
10. Lingmala Falls
Lingmala Falls lie in the center of Mahabaleshwar, very close to the Venna Lake. It is a scenic road till the parking lot. After Parking you need to buy a ticket for Rs. 25/- person to view the falls.
On entering the main gate you will have to walk a small trek distance of around 2 kms till the viewpoint of the Lingmala falls. It requires around 45 mins to an hour to reach the viewpoint.
This distance is completely tiled and it is very easy as a walking trail. You will pass through complete greenery through the chirping of the birds all around. We saw a lot of monkeys here.
As you near the view you will start hearing the sound of the waterfall. And then you will see this gorgeous waterfall in action.
The best time to visit this waterfall would be from July to November. The sky will look blue in the months of October and November which gives the waterfall a great background.
As you come back, you can even visit the Dhow part which is towards the lower left side. It is good but seems to be polluted with litter and plastic hence somewhat of a disappointment.
The Road Story Opinion - All in All
The above list has been made from our experience as tourists to Mahabaleshwar for over 2 decades. This top 10 list covers the best of Mahabaleshwar and one can visit these and cover 75 percent of Mahabaleshwar. This blog includes all those places which you can say you have been all over Mahabaleshwar.
The rest of the points and places are good too but difficult to include in this list. We missed important places like Pratapgarh but it would take quite some time to travel and explore it.
We have also made a circuit wise guide E Book for you to understand which all points lie on which route. Download the Free E Book here so that it is easy for you to plan your Mahabaleshwar Trip.
Mahabaleshwar will always remain one of the best options for a vacation for anyone as it has places, points and things to do for different people of different age groups and interests.
If you are traveling from Pune or Mumbai, we recommend you to read our Blog Pune to Mahabaleshwar Road Trip . It will be a great help for you while you are travelling from Pune to Mahabaleshwar.
Check out our Youtube videos on Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani