Trip Members: Me, Surendra, Nandish, Varun, Chandru
Mode of transport: Swift Car
Date of trip: 23th Dec Friday 9 PM to 29th Dec Thursday 10 AM
Total distance covered: Around 3200 Kms
Google route map:
Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur
Place Type: Pilgrimage-ReligiousTime of our visit: 24th Dec Sat 6 AM
Description: We started our trip with darshan of goddess Shakthi at Mahalakshmi Temple of Kolhapur. It is believed that Lakshmi and Vishnu reside in the temple.
Panhala
Place Type: Hill station
Time of our visit: 24th Dec Sat 8.30 AM
Description: We made a quick visit to Panhala a hill station around 25 Kms from Kolhapur. It was sunny when we visited and we never felt winter chill at one of the view points
Panchgani
Place Type: Hill station
Time of our visit: 24th Dec Sat 12.30 PM
Description: View from Harrison folly and Parsi Point was amazing. One can find lot of hotels, resorts, schools while you drive.
Mahabaleshwar
Place Type: Hill station
Time of our visit: 24th Dec Sat 2.30 PM
Description: We had gone for a boat ride at Venna Lake and two of us enjoyed horse ride which is next to lake. One can get fresh strawberries which are grown in the region.
Pratapgad Fort
Place Type: Fort
Time of our visit: 24th Dec Sat 3.30 PM
Description: Pratapgad fort is small fort and has historical significance as it is associated with maratha king Shivaji. The place was not well maintained and one can find lot of garbage.
Raigad Fort
Place Type: Fort
Time of our visit: 25th Dec Sun 6.30 AM- 9.30 Am
Description: Raigad fort was the best fort we visited and it took around 45 minutes to climb. The great Maratha king Shivaji Maharaj made the fort capital and one can find ruins of the palace. We paid our respect to the legendry king at one of statues. One can also visit Chhatrapati Shivaji's samadhi and of his dog samadhi inside the fort premises
Murud-Jangira- Alibag
Place Type: Fort - Beach
Time of our visit: 25th Dec Sun 1.30-4.30 PM
Description: Murud-Janjira is a fort situated on an island. We could not visit the fort as there were lot of tourists and there was around 2 KMs traffic jam on the road leading to the fort. We played water sports and had a swim in the beach which is on the way from Murud to Alibag.
Mumbai
Place Type: City
Time of our visit: 25th Dec Sun 9 PM – 26th Dec Mon 12PM
Description: We made a late entry to Mumbai at 9 PM and on next day morning we visited Gate of India. We also visited Siddhi Vinayak temple at around 8.30 AM and had a walk along market place of Dadar at around 11 AM
Trimbakeshwar
Place Type: Pilgrimage-Religious
Time of our visit: 26th Dec Mon 2.30 PM -6.00PM
Description: Trimbakeshwar which is near Nashik has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and the temple has one of the twelve Jyotirlingas. Godavari river orignates in this region. The temple was crowded with lot of devotees due to which I could not see the Jyotirlinga.
Shirdi
Place Type: Pilgrimage-Religious
Time of our visit: 26th Dec Mon 9.00 PM -11.30PM
Description: Shirdi is the home to popular guru Sai Baba. we visited the temple late night at around 10 PM and had darshan of Sai Baba.
Ajanta Caves
Place Type: Caves
Time of our visit: 27th Dec 9 AM to 12.30 PM
Description: Ajanta Caves is a world heritage site. The caves contain beautiful paintings and amazing sculptures which describe entire life story of Buddha. Definitely one of best places we visited.
Daulatabad Fort - Devagiri
Place Type: Fort
Time of our visit: 27th Dec 2.30 PM to 4.30 PM
Description: Daulatabad fort complex is called impregnable fort and one can see why after visiting it. The fort also has dark passage and can be climbed with the help of a torch. View from the top of the fort is breathtaking.
Bibi Ka Magbara
Place Type: Monument
Time of our visit: 27th Dec 5.30 PM
Description: Bibi Ka Maqbara is built by the Mughal Prince Azam Shah as a tribute to his mother Rabia Durrani, the first wife of the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb. The monument is called the Taj Mahal of south.
Ellora Caves
Place Type: Caves
Time of our visit: 28th Dec 9.30 AM to 12.30 PM
Description: The main Ellora cave 16 has the kailasha which is a great monolithic rock cut temple and was scooped from outside to inside. Ellora has the 12 Buddhist (caves 1–12), 17 Hindu (caves 13–29) and 5 Jain (caves 30–34) caves and is a World Heritage Site. I could see only caves from 16-34 due to time constraint. I wonder why place like Ellora is not a wonder of the world. We also visited Grishneshwar temple which is close to Ellora.
Food was quite good especially non veg at all places. Travel to Maharashtra was impressive and Forts and Caves were spectacular.
-Mahesh
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