Mahabaleshwar is the Queen of hill stations with the beautiful sights of valleys.

A serene holiday among the mountains with bountiful forests, picture perfect valleys and plentiful flora and fauna to immerse oneself in the beauty of nature’s glory. Other inherent facets this travel destination are the historically and religiously significant structures that allow visitors a peek into centuries ago and the faith of the people in this region of India.

History Of Mahabaleshwar

The earliest historical mention of the Mahabaleshwar was when Deogiri’s King Singhan visited the ancient city in 1215. During his visit, he had built a small temple and water tank at the mouth of the Krishna River. Following the Brahim rule from 1350, the Maratha dynasty seized power in the mid 16th century. The Old Mahabaleshwar temple was rebuilt during this reign. When the Maratha warrior took control in the 17th century, he built the Pratapgad fortress in 1656, and it still stands tall as various tour groups.

From the early 1800s, after the British had annexed this hilly territory with the Raja of Satara, there were were constant influx of colonial visitors and soldiers. The refreshing climate and beautiful scenery attracted the foreigners and other visitors to this health resort established just before the middle of the 18th century.

Tourism in Mahabaleshwar

There are different ways to explore Mahabaleshwar- pony rides, vehicles or walking. Though walking tours may be the best way to enjoy all the wonderful sights that make up this picturesque travel destination, visitors can visit the magnificent temples and viewpoints with unbelievably amazing scenes of nature in any mode of transport that they are comfortable in.

Viewpoints

Mahabaleshwar is an evergreen plateau among the amazing Western Ghats, at more than 4000 feet above the sea level. Renowned to be the hill station with the highest altitude in the western region of India, it boasts of varied scenes of dense green foliage, valleys, waterfalls and dam, and the ever mesmerizing views of spectacular sunrise and sunsets. And there are many of viewpoints to enjoy, each unique facet of this vast plateau. These include Lodwick point where history reveals used to play host to military contingents, Elphistone Point, Arthur’s Seat, Wilson’s Point, Carmac Point and Bombay Point are  just to name a few.

While each viewpoint in the mountain ranges presents unique and breathtaking scenery, Arthur’s Seat and Wilson Point are fine examples of what one can expect at peaks very high above the sea level. The  location of Arthur’ Seat allows views to see the clear geographical borders of the Kokan and Deccan regions of the state of Mahabaleshwar, and enjoy the work of nature in the rugged slopes and terrains which are at times blanketed by dense clouds. Wilson Point is nicknamed the Sunrise Point, is at the highest altitude for viewpoints. This bare rock of a viewpoint has three observation towers at various locations and is popular with tourists for catching the view humbling scenes of beautiful sunrise.

Temples and Fort

The numerous temples at Mahabaleshwar such as the Shri Krishnabai Mandir, Hanuman Mandir and Panchaganga  are usually thronged with devotees. The Krishnan temple have attractively carved columns and ceilings. Visitors are also treated to a grand view of the Krishna valley from the temple.  Panchaganga is popular with the Hindus and foreign visitors. According to a religious mythology, this is the confluence of the sacred Krishna, Venna, Koyna, Savithri and Gayathri rivers. Panchaganga literally means 5 rivers. There are prehistoric shrines found within the premises of this temple. Other temples to tour include Hanuman Mandir, Sri Rama temple and Mahabal temple among others.