Mahabaleshwar is a hill station located in the Sahyadri mountain range of Maharastra. With one of the few evergreen forests of India, it served as the summer capital of the Bombay province during the British Raj, and now is a popular holiday destination especially during the monsoon season.
Anyone visiting Old Mahabaleshwar is likely to know about the Panchganga temple, the temple where the waters of five rivers Koyna, Krishna, Venna, Savitri and Gayatri come together. But right behind the parking for the Panchganga temple, there is a small well-marked trail which takes you to another temple well worth exploring – the Krishnabai temple.
With origins some believe date back 4,500 years, the Panchaganga (or Pancha Ganga) Temple in Old Mahabaleshwar is built at the source of seven rivers; the Krishna, Koyana, Gayatri, Savitri, Venna, Saraswati and Bhagirathi rivers.
At 1,080m above sea level, Pratapgad Fort (also known as Pratapgadh or Pratapgar Fort) is located 15km from Poladpur and 23km west of Mahabaleshwar. It’s an easy half day excursion from Mahabaleshwar, and is certainly one of the most dramatic settings of any Maharastra fort I have visited over the years.
Excavated out of solid rock some 2,100 years ago, Kondana Caves are a group of 16 Buddhist caves situated 33 km north of Lonavala and 16 km northwest of Karla Caves.
Shaniwar Wada was built in 1732 at a total cost of Rs 16,110 by Bajirao I, the Peshwa (Prime Minister) to the Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shahu. At it’s peak in the 18th century, the Maratha Empire controlled an area over half of present day India, and easily rivalled the size of the Mughal Empire that preceded it.
Kevin Standage 
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