PANCHGANI – MAHABALESHWAR, ANOTHER TREASURE OF THE WESTERN GHATS

Another abode of beauty in the Western Ghats. Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are at a distance of about 19 km from each other. Both the hill stations are famous for the delicious bright red coloured juicy fruit ‘strawberry’. This region of Western India leads in the strawberry production accounting for approx 85 percent of India’s supply.

Apart from the strawberry giant the other attractions of Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar are the scenic beauty and the ‘Mapro Garden’ which is host to the Annual Strawberry Festival.

Another weekend trip. We started off from Mumbai in bus at night (after office) and reached Panchgani at 5:00 AM in the morning. We decided to stay in Panchgani than Mahabaleshwar as it is comparatively cheap in terms of stay.

So after seeing few places we decided to stay at Shubham Hotel. The man was old and humble. Helped us with few extra mattresses and we wanted to accommodate in a single room to spend the time together(we were around 8 people).

Note : If you love to walk then you can cover the Panchgani main road and have a beautiful sightseeing by walking itself 

A view in Mahabaleshwar

Apart from all the sightseeing points, we went for some entertainment at the ‘Entertainment Park’ where there was Go- karting and electric car racing.

Then to calm our hunger pangs we headed to ‘Mapro Garden’. There is a huge variety of products ranging from jams, fruit beverages, crushes, squashes, etc.. Also there is a food court where pizzas, sandwiches are available from freshly baked breads from their kitchen!

Yummiest Strawberry ice cream shake ever!

In the evening, took a boat ride in the Venna Lake during sunset. The cool breeze, the soothing sound of water, the calmness was sheer bliss. And to top it up the row man played the beautiful song ‘Taj-da-re-haram by Atif Aslam’ in his cell phone. Everything was too relaxing and serene. It marked the end of that trip till the next time 

A Strawberry festival is celebrated there during the month of March/April every year.

Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar is another one of the best places to rewind and relax from the daily hustle and bustle of life. Best time is the Monsoon and Winter-especially for the strawberries. Also one of the budget trips for a solo traveller/ with friends/family. Enjoy!