I have been always longing to visit a fort, however was wary of the fact that I may have to do a lot of trekking. We chose Panhala, as we learnt this place did not involve much of climbing etc. Secondly, we were visiting Kolhapur for the weekend for a change, hence covering Panhala made sense.
If you look at it that way, it can be called as a hill station as the temperature starts falling down quite a bit here. Since we visited in monsoon, the weather was even better, dull with slight drizzles.
Where: The fort is at a driving distance from the main town about 15-20 kms. We drove first to Jyotiba temple and from there we took a diversion to go to Panhala.
What to see: As you drive up, you will reach a point where there is a statue of Baji Prabhu right in the middle of the road. Here you can park your vehicle and either decide to take a tour of the fort by yourself or take a paid guide. I would advise to take a guide as its cheap(about Rs.200/-) and that way you would not be lost as to what to see first, where to go next and so on. The guide will also provide you with information like the importance of each spot and so on which is valuable to understand the history.
Places of importance: Teen Darwaza, Sajja Kothi, Tabak Udyan, Amberkhana
Time: Best time will be starting monsoon to winter as summers can be hot to be here. It takes about 2-3 hours to see all the places, may vary depending on how many pictures you click etc. In all, half-day should suffice.
Stay: There are few good hotels to stay in Panhala if you wish to stay overnight, however it’s not a bad idea to stay in the city(Kolhapur) as this will give you plenty of options and the fort is not too far away from the city.
Eat: While in Panhala, I would advise to try local delicacies for lunch, especially Pitla Bhakri, Matki, Dahi-bhaat, Bhakri, Wada-pao etc.
Unlike other forts in Maharashtra, Panhala is completely habitational with lot of Government offices, houses, Bunglows, schools, local market, shops etc.