Mahabaleshwar is undoubtedly Maharastra’s finest hill station. It is incredible how the British always managed to find a place in hills in various parts of India to spend the unbearable summers in this land while they were ruling this country. Mahabaleshwar is one such discovery of the Britishers of the early part of the 19th century.
There are two routes to go to Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai and after the completion of the highway from Pune to Satara, driving down is a breeze till you get off the highway at a place called Sirur.You then reach Wai and have to wind up the hills via Panchagani to reach this place. The other more scenic route is via the Mumbai Goa highway wherein you have to get off the highway at a place called Poladpur and then head into a steep hill and finally reach the same destination. The Pratapgadh fort is enroute to Mahabaleshwar from Poladpur(about 16 kms before you reach the hill station) so this route helps you to see this beautiful fort before even stepping into Mahabaleshwar town. Do not miss this fort; the scenery from the ramparts of the fort is breathtaking. They say you can even see the sea on some clear days if you look westward but this is something that we could not view at all.
On a hot summer day you suddenly find that it is not so hot after all. That is because you have climbed up the hills and the change in temperature and climate can be felt immediately. There are dozens of place to stay in Mahabaleshwar and I suppose each family or group tends to stay in the place where they are comfortable. On a summer day during the season do not even bother about the MTDC resort-it was full and the chaps at the reception actually smiled that we were trying our luck there without any previous booking. Having driven down from Ganapatipule we were in no mood for checking out the hotels and settled for a place called Vimal Gardens which is very close to the main market. It has a number of nice cottages, nothing fancy and barely functional but would not complain about the place at all. However it turned out that they have recently closed down their dining facilities which was not such a bad deal as there are plenty of place in the town where you can have good food.
In the evening the place to head for is the Venna lake where lo and behold –there is a definite chill and nip in the air. There were even a few families who had come with winter gear in the last week of May 2009.The parking at Venna lake is the absolute pits and you are more likely to argue with Selvam of Dharavi for a parking slot at Mahabaleshwar than at Sion circle during office hours in Mumbai. However the corn cobs which they roast on the road are simply delicious, so is the baby carrots which look like they have just been picked an hour ago.
You wake up the next morning and what hits you immediately is the chill in the air; you are actually feeling cold. We did not have the luxury of a late breakfast as we wanted to have a look around Mahabaleshwar and get back to Mumbai before sunset.
There are points galore to see in Mahabaleshwar but the main ones are all around Arthur seat point .The view from this point and some of the others close by was stunning. At Arthur seat point the observation point literally juts out into the sky. At Tiger hunt point which is closeby is the place which is supposedly the origin of the Krishna river.
While coming back from Arthur seat point we visited the two temples close to the old Mahabaleshwar town. One of them is the Panchganga temple which is supposed to be the origin of five rivers including the Krishna. The temple premises have been very well maintained and being a weekday the crowd was not overbearing. If you have driven down to Mahabaleshwar(as most people do these days) it is advisable to take a guide along who will show you all the points and the temple. Obviously he will overcharge as this is the peak season but what he gives you is value for money-explains the history behind all the points and the temple and shows the way around like an expert. The quoted rate for guides is Rs 150/- but expect them to ask you for 200 to 250 bucks during the season. We had heard a lot about Tongas in Mahabaleshwar town but these have all been put to rest with the spurt of vehicles in the town.
It was finally time for us to leave Mahabaleshwar but not before making a stop at Mapro farms which is enroute to Panchgani.The farm has been designed and marketed well like a tourist resort and don’t forget to taste the strawberry ice-cream and Jumbo sandwiches. They have a store upfront selling all finished food products but somehow the rustic back to nature feeling is not there. Possibly too many commercial pressures at work.
Just after you leave Mapro farms you are in Panchgani town where you can actually see paragliders in action just off the road. The road from Panchgani to Wai is a lot less steeper than the uphill road from Poladpur and naturally less scenic.But it gets you to Mumbai faster even though this route is about 40 kms longer.
Once you hit the highway and are back in Panvel by around 5 pm on a hot muggy summer afternoon one resolution has already been made-must vist Mahabaleshwar again during the rains when it is supposed to be the off-season.The hills have a strange way of calling tourists back and Mahabaleshwar is one such place.