Straight from the mind

The past few months had been really boring, frustrating and anti-creative on the professional front and this break or mini vacation as I call it, was very much awaited by me. I have been to Mahabaleshwar quiet a few times before but this was the first time that I was going with my family. Thought of writing this post to share my experiences about Mahabaleshwar, which could even act as a tour guide to others.

Getting There ….

Getting to Mahabaleshwar from Mumbai is pretty easy and quick. It would take you around 6-7 hrs on a luxury bus for the complete journey . I would recommend taking a sleeper coach that departs late in the night from Mumbai and arrives early in the morning at Mahabaleshwar. The same is recommended while getting back to Mumbai. You even have other options like a Volvo bus or a tourist car which are equally comfortable. Bookings can be done at any travel agent in Mumbai.

Where to stay…

Mahabaleshwar has a plethora of small and large hotels that you can stay in. If your not having your own vehicle to travel around Mahabaleshwar then i would recommend selecting a hotel in and around the market place. Nell’s House, Hotel Dreamland, Hotel Lakeview, Silverine being some of the good ones. If your very low on budget there are many small hotels on the market road. Staying in a hotel away from the market place comes with the added facilities of a peaceful environment and a beautiful scenic view from your room itself.

Hotel tariffs vary based on the season and type of hotel you check into. Mahabaleshwar experiences daily 2 hrs of load shedding, so if your very particular about your staying conditions make sure that your hotel has a good generator(most of them will have an inverter which is connected to only 1 lamp per room) and provide round the clock hot water through the tap.

Where n What to eat…

If your a vegetarian then Mahabaleshwar is a pleasure ground for you  and you need not worry, coz 75% of the food outlets out there are pure vegetarian. Meat eaters have quiet a few options around the market place which include Hotel Aman, Nukkad, Shere-e-Punjab that provide very good non-vegetarian food.

You would be sinning if you haven’t paid a daily visit to a ice cream parlour at Mahabaleshwar, which is famous for Strawberry n Cream,  Mulberry n Cream(my personal favorite) and many other fresh fruit ice creams. I would recommend going to Bageecha Ice Cream Parlour on the market road and trying out their entire menu as that is one of the best outlets I have been to out there. Another place that is a must visit is the Mapro Factory, the waffle cone ice creams and grilled sandwich out there are the best i have ever had and at the same time you can even shop for your favorite crushes, squashes and jelly sweets. Mahabaleshwar is even famous for chikki and fudge which you will get anywhere in the market place, Wilsons being one of the best shops to pich this stuff.

What to see aka. Sightseeing….

Located in the Western Ghats[pic] and having one of the few evergreen forestsin the world it is one of the scenic beauties to be watched in India. The entire sightseeing at Mahabaleshwar can be divided into 4-5 tours, each having a duration of 3-4 hours and costing around 350 - 550 INR.

• Tour 1 - Pratapgad Darshan[pic] [ Duration 150mins ]
  Pratapgad Fort, Bhawani Temple, Shivaji Statue[pic], Pratap Garden, Tomb of Afzal Khan
  The Pratapgad fort was one place where i could atleast see some kind of maintainence happening and efforts being made to keep the place clean which is very unlike other spots I visited
• Tour 2 - Mahabaleshwar Darshan 1 [ Duration 150mins ]
  Panchgani Mandir, Window Point, Tiger Spring, Echo Point,  Savitri Point, Monkey Point, Marjori Point, Arthur’s Seat…
  The Arthur’s Seat is known as the pride of Mahabaleshwar as you get one of the best views of the valley from that platform. The rest of the points are either on the way or around this point.
• Tour 3 - Mahabaleshwar Darshan 2 [Duration 150mins]
  Kate’s Point[pic], Needle Hole Point, Elephant Head Point, Strawberry Garden, Sunset Point[pic], Lodwick Point[pic], Venna Lake
  Needle Hole and Elephant Head point are nothing but Kate’s Point looked at from different directions. Venna Lake is a drop spot after the tour where you can go for boating and it even has a mini Chowpati. The lake is really big and very good for boating.
• Tour 4 - Panchgani Darshan [Duration 150mins ]
  Table Land, Parsi Point, Jam Factory
  Table land is one of the biggest plateaus in the world and you can try your hand on hose riding and para-sailing. Insist on your tour guide to take you to the Mapro Factory and not any other factory, coz some tour guides would take you to some small factory to make the tour quick and get their commission from the factory owner for the products you buy.

Other than these tours you can even go for the Wai Darshan if you like visiting temples and the Sunrise point for which you would have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning.

One spot which you would not find in any of the tours but is a must watch is the Roman Catholic Church[pic] at Mahabaleshwar which is near the market place. Its more than a century that the church has been built and has one of the smallest parishes(10 families) in the world.

Do not depend on your credit card when you travel to Mahabaleshwar coz 8/10 shops or outlets do not accept credit cards, you would have to withdraw cash from one of the few ATMs hidden in the bylanes of the market.

I have had some the best and most memorable times of my life when i have been to Mahabaleshwar and i hope this post helps you to have a pleasant vacation too