Mahabaleshwar : The Queen of Hill stations in Maharashtra

At an altitude of 1372 meters, nestled in the Sahyadri mountain ranges, is the queen of hill stations in the state of Maharashtra, Mahabaleshwar. Although located in the Satara district, Mahabaleshwar is near to Pune. The beautiful mountain plateau is surrounded by the greenery all through and is famous for its ancient temple dedicated to Lord Shiva and its great produce of Strawberries.

Infact the name comes from the temple of Lord Shiva, known as the strongest or with the greatest of strengths and power, which is Mahabaleshwar. The ambience is soothing and the jungles are still unexplored. One can engulf into many activities in wonderful serene environment still untouched by commercialization like the rest of the hill stations of India. One can go for horse riding, boating, fishing or just explore the marvels of nature.

There is no authentic recorded account of the early history of Mahabaleshwar. It has, however, been ascertained that a Jadav king of Devagiri visited it in the 13th century and built a small temple at the source of river Krishna. In the mid-16th century the Maratha family of Chandarao More, became rulers of Jaoli and Mahabaleshwar, during which period the temple of Old Mahabaleshwar was rebuilt. It was also looked after the by the legendary King of the Marathas, Shivaji. But the place came into prominence only when the British came here in the beginning of the 19th century and made it there summer getaway from the humid heat of Mumbai.

The deep gorges of Krishna and Koyna Rivers, the ever-gushing waterfalls and the stupendous views of the surroundings that include the magnificent ancient fort of Pratapgad are some of the major attractions of this hill station. The sister town, an another hill station named after the five rivers those are seen here, the Panchgani hill station is also an attraction for the visitors. But what allures the visitor, are the strawberry fields, which are considered to be the best in the country. The red beautiful fruit is seen all over the hill station and the visitors are allowed to experience the plucking of this beautiful fruit.

Mahabaleshwar has as many as 30 viewpoints, which offer a splendid view of different locations. It rains heavily in Mahabaleshwar and therefore other than during the monsoons the hill station is full of tourists, all through the year.

Location: Located at the distance of around 150 kms is the Queen of Hill stations in Maharashtra, Mahabaleshwar.

Languages Spoken: Marathi, English and Hindi

Long Distance Code: +91-2168

Importance: Hill Station

Area: 145.04 sqkm

Best Time To Visit: October To June

Mahabaleshwar Attractions:

Venna Lake

One of the most beautiful spots in the region, Venna Lake offers a number of activities right from boating to fishing.There are many other specific points in the area offering great views of the surroundings such as the Lodwick point, the Arthur point, the Babington point and Kate's point. An excursion can be taken to the nearby magnificent fort of Pratapgad and the twin hill station of Panchgani.

Mahabaleshwar Temple

This is the temple, which gives this exotic hill station its name. Built in the Hemadpant style of architecture, the Mahabaleshwar temple settles down in the old part of the town. The temple dedicated to Lord Shiva has a naturally formed shape of a Lingam, which is worshipped.

Lingamala Water falls

Like many others in the area, the Lingamala waterfalls are of utmost beauty. They offer an enthralling sight and are favourite with picnickers.

Wilson point or the sunrise point

As the name denotes this highest spot in Mahabaleshwar offers a great view of sunrise form the cliff, which seems clinging to the mountain.

Panchaganga Mandir

This ancient temple has been built to honour the five rivers which show a token presence in the area in forms of springs which are, Krishna, Venna, Koyna, Savitri and Gayatri. These five rivers are referred to as the Panch Ganga. The temple also offers a splendid view of the surroundings.

Mahabaleshwar Hotels:

HOTEL PANORAMA

Total Rooms : 20

Star Category : 3

The Panorama-isle our own pleasure island. A beautiful man-made little wonder, complete with a swimming pool and 20ft. waterfall cascading down to canal which gently winds it's way around. Our paddle boats will take you on a cruise around this enchanting isle, and through a tunnel that features ….. … guess what ? Truly it's going to be a most exotic experience to you.

SAJ RESORT

Total Rooms : 78

Star Category : 3

You will not only feel pampared by our staff, but also enjoy the homely ambience of our rooms. Coming to SAJ is like entering paradise. Springs and water falls abound in the area offering lovely picnic spots. The winding rides through thick foliage are an experience. If one really wants to enjoy nature in all its placid glory, it is a must for every visitor to take leisurely walks along these sylvan paths. One can also ride on ponies' backs, savouring nature's virgin viridity.

VALLEY VIEW RESORT

Total Rooms : 78

Star Category : 0

Guest Satisfaction is always our top priority. Every effort is made to elevate your holiday experience at Mahabaleshwar. Indeed we are proud of our high service standards. And we'd like every guest to experience this special treatment. So, here is a guide to all our fantastic services that we provide.

Click Here for Mahabaleshwar Hotel Booking.

Cuisines of India

India is vast, touching the Mount Everest in the north to the Indian ocean in the south and the Bay of Bengal in the east to the Arabian sea in the west. This vast country is a melting pot of many cultures and religions. As Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of independent India had pointed out; India is a mosaic. And truly it is. No other country on this planet may have such diversity in demography, culture, weather, religion, language and food.

It is said that every 10 kilometers in India, the dialect changes; so do the food habits and the eating culture. At t2india we are making a small effort to give you a glimpse on the Indian food culture. An amazing amalgamation of region mixed with religions which come out with mouth watering delicacies throughout this subcontinent.

With extensive immigration and intermingling through many millennia, the subcontinent has benefited from numerous food influences. The diverse climate in the region, ranging from deep tropical to alpine, has also helped considerably broaden the set of ingredients readily available to the many schools of cookery in India. In many cases, food has become a marker of religious and social identity, with varying taboos and preferences.

Although Indian food is synonymous to butter chicken and chicken curry, there is much more to it than these two. The variants of spices, vegetables and the time of cooking are the key ingredients of this wonderful cuisine. These spices, vegetables, meats and the style of the cooking are influenced by region, religion and generations of cooking instructions passed on from mothers to their daughters. The demography, the weather and the climatic conditions of the region are other factors to influence the cuisine.

Unlike in the other parts of the world, Indians prefer to eat more of rice or wheat made breads along with smaller portions of accompaniments of vegetables or meat or lentils. Lentils and vegetables are a must in every meal throughout India in some form or the other. Spices like turmeric, chilly pepper, mustard seeds, cumin seeds and many others are used at large throughout the country.

Another unique thing about Indian cuisine is that it has to be savoured using hands and fingers, preferably right hand instead of the cutlery used in other countries. Also Indian food used to be normally served sitting on the floor and not on table and chairs. But funnily enough though the eating habits may be same, no cuisine is same! The person from Kashmir may not have slightest of idea about the cuisine of Gujarat and even may not like eating it!

The Indian cuisine from whichever state it may be is most colourful cuisine. A complete laid table with various dishes may comprise of various colours. Red from the red chilly powder, yellow from the turmeric, orange with the exotic saffron, green from the fresh mint leaves and also white, with freshly grated coconut!

Religion has played a huge role in defining the types of cuisines in India. While the followers of Islam stay refrained from pork as per the religious dictum, the Hindus do not touch beef, as the cow / buffalo is sacred to the religion. Some fishes too like the shell fish and the jelly fish are not supposed to be eaten by certain religions. Many also refrain from milk and milk products having a Vegan diet. Some devout Hindu religious people also refrain from the foods with strong odours such as Onion, Garlic and egg plant. The Christians if are converted still stick to their previous religions dictums, but still most of them eat all kinds of meats and meat products. The Parsis are basically fish and meat eaters. The Jains follow strict vegan diet. The Buddhist followers too, try to refrain from meat depending on the Mahayana and Hinayana sect they follow. The Sikh followers traditionally follow the Hindu guidelines of eating.

India celebrates innumerous festivals and each festival is has its typical traditional meal, which is diligently cooked by the woman of the house. Most festivals have traditional dishes to be cooked and eaten and most of them are sweet meats associated with that festival which are purely home cooked. Also the normal meals taken on these days are vegetarian except for some regions where non vegetarian food is offered to the Gods as well.

Traditionally all the food is first essentially offered to God and then savoured. This offering can be anything from a total vegetarian meal to just a few sweetmeats or even some meat offerings. People staying in the coastal region are mostly fish eaters, also the ones who stay on the higher altitudes prefer eating meat. However in most parts of the country the priests are essentially vegetarian and refrain from eating any non vegetarian food. Although as per the constitution the caste system of India has been abolished, it is quite vehement in food habits.

The Mughals and the Europeans as well left a deep impact on the food habits and the style of cooking to the Indian cuisine. However Indian cuisine was always very spicy without the chilly but with the other spices such as the black pepper, cinnamon etc. Various oils are widely used for cooking, tampering, deep frying etc. Earlier most cooking was done in clarified butter, known as Ghee. But these days the health conscious have shifted to sunflower oil and its equals.

Indians have a delectable sweet tooth and enjoy sweet meats off and on. Sweets are taken in various forms. Some are dry some are juicy dipped in sugar syrup. Sweets are eaten during meals, as snacks and mostly offered to the Gods (naivedya) and distributed among the devotees as Prasad. The sweets are made out of dairy products, various flours and lentils mixed with sugar and jaggery. Some are baked, others are deep fried, while some are roasted and even some are eaten raw.

An Indian culinary journey is vast and intricate but delicious and intriguing at the same time. The various colours, odours and types of preparation may mesmerize you. A vegetable like potato is cooked in various styles and ways all over India, so much so that one taste cannot match the other and it can take months to repeat the same preparation of the same vegetable!

So let us take the journey to the culinary world of India. From North to South and specific to a region, let us see how the dishes change its style and various ingredients.

FIFA 2010 World Cup Schedule

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