Mid summer of May is here with heat enough to toast the people and country. It has become so intolerable that I decided to beat the heat and soothe my readers' mind along with mine with the cool breeze of Mahabaleshwar.
Glorious peaks, breathtaking valleys, lush flora and cool crisp mountain air describes Mahabaleshwar- a hill station of Maharashtra and once the Summer capital of the Bombay (Mumbai) Presidency during the British Raj. Even though it is considered to be a hill station it is a plateau.
Mahabaleshwar means 'A God of Great Power'. It lies along the Sahyadri Range in Central India.
A visit to Mahabaleshwar and surrounding places takes at least a couple of days. The beauty of the hill and surrounding region will thrill and excite your bones.
Most places here are named after British Generals. The famous Town Bazaar is named 'Malcolm Peth' after Governor General Sir John Malcolm.
Mahabaleshwar has numerous temples and sightseeing places and above all pungent feeling of coolness in midsummer. A getaway from our usual monotonous daily life.There is some sort of magic in the unspoiled nature that soothes our soul.
Mahabaleshwar enthralls with the natural beauty from different points, famous temples, forts and origin of five sacred rivers at one place lets visit the temples first leaving behind the summer heat.
Famous temples in Mahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar Temple
This temple built by Chandarao More, is dedicated to Lord Shiva. The Shiva linga of black rock is 500 years old, the Swayambhu lingam (self originated) is in the shape of a Rudraksha and is called Mahalingam.
The Trishul(trident) of Lord Shiva along with his damru, Rudraksha and one bed has been preserved in this temple and are around 300 years old
According to myths the bed used to be crumpled in the morning depicting the presence of Lord Shiva during the night.
Panchganga Temple
Panch means five. The ganga refers to 'five' rivers that originate at a single point, River Krishna, Savitri, Gayatri, Koyna and Veena. The most intriguing and amazing fact of this temple is that five strings of these rivers flow through five grooves and merges. It then falls from the mouth of a stone cow into a stone basin before dissipating.
Krishnabai temple
As the name surely suggests this the Krishna River Temple. It marks the origin of the Sacred River Krishna. It is situated on a cliff and hence you can see the striking view of the water cascading down along with the Krishna Valley.
Pratapgad Fort
This exquisite fort was built by Chattrapati Shivaji under the expert advice of his peshwa Moropant Pingale. The fort is a maze of ponds, chambers and long dark walkways, some of which lead to hidden trap doors that amazingly open into a 100m fall.
It was here that Afzal Khan, the Sultan of Bijapur met his death at the hands of Shivaji.
Even though the place is now in ruins one can still witness the magnificent architecture of that time.
Points of Mahabaleshwar
To discover and capture the beauty of the Sahyadri hills and the nature around the Mahabaleshwar hills have specific angles which are called points. Most of them are named after British generals.
Here are the main Points:-
Arthur's Seat
- Arthur's Seat- It is considered the Queen of all Mahabaleshwar points named after Sir Arthur Malet. He took a fancy in visiting this point everyday. From this point two valleys are visible one belonging to Deccan and the other belonging to Konkan. You can catch a glimpse of River Savitri from this point.
- Wilson Point- It is the highest point named after Sir Wilson which gives a 360 degree view of profoundly magnificent Mahabaleshwar.
- Kate's Point- It is named after the daughter of British Governor Sir John Malcolm, who sat here and tried to capture the beauty of the landscape in her paintings.
Kate's point is an amazing place to view several other points and faraway places like a few mentioned below.
- Echo point
- Needle Hole Point
- Kamalgad Fort
- Balkalavadi Dam
- Dhom Dam
- Lodwick Point- General Lodwick was first to scale this hill and hence, was named after him. It is also called Sydney Point.
- 3 Monkeys Point- It derives its name from the three natural rock sculpted monkeys seated next to each other on a mountain.
- Babington Point- This is wonderfully interesting place for bird lovers and watchers. Pleasant Chinaman Falls and and lush green Koyna Valley is also a sight to look forward.
Savitri Point
- Savitri Point- It is the originating point of the beautiful and silvery Savitri River, situated on the top of a hill. It offers a breathtaking view of Savitri River and its valley. Also known as Suicide Point.
(View from Savitri Point)
Other points offering pleasant and panoramic view of the valleys below are Carnac Point, Helen's Point, Elphinstone Point, Bombay Point and Falkland Point.
Venna Lake
A short drive from Mahabaleshwar leads you to a majestic picturesque large and brilliantly blue Venna Lake. A weekend getaway for locals as well as tourists for boating, fishing and horse riding.
The fantastic part of the tranquil and glassy lake can be enjoyed by taking a boat ride.
"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." -Rabindranath Tagore
"You can't cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water." -Rabindranath Tagore
So I hired a rowing boat to make the most of my trip here and experienced the stunning water.
Mahabaleshwar is a great holiday destination throughout the year except for the monsoon months. Torrential rains temporarily shut down this hill station so travel is not advisable.
2 comments
This is so well written and informative!
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading and enjoying!
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