Sunset point or Bombay point, Mahabaleshwar

Date: 27th Dec 2017

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Fee: None.

Timing:  During sunset.

Distance: 800 Kms one way.

Parking: Roadside.

Food: Small snack available.

Photography: Allowed.

Other attractions nearby: Lingamala waterfalls, Kings chair and Lodwick point .

Sunset point or Bombay point is yet another famous view point in Mahabaleshwar. The place offers beautiful view of sunset on clear day. The place is also famous for horse riding activity. There are also few other stalls providing fun games and nice snacks. This is the most crowded view point in Mahabaleshwar. The horse Jockeys make the horse jump and ride them very fast to attract tourist.

Few pics from the Bombay point.

Advised to visit only if one happen to be near the point during sunset, else the place can be skipped. 

View points in Mahabaleshwar

Date: 27th Dec 2017

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Fee: None.

Timing:  6 AM to 6 PM. Better viewed early morning or late evening.

Distance: 800 Kms one way.

Parking: Roadside.

Food: Small snack available.

Photography: Allowed.

Other attractions nearby: Lingamala waterfalls, Kings chair and Lodwick point .

Like in most hill stations there are many view points in Mahabaleshwar. They all offer almost same view of the hills and valley from different angles. Hunting point where the Britishers used to hunt wild animals. Echo point, where the voice is echoed back but we did not hear any. Tiger spring point, source of pure natural water and its believed to be watering hole for wild animals in the past. Arthur seat, where Sir Arthur used to view the savitri river in which his wife and child drowned. Savitri point, Kate's point, castle rock point are the few other view points. Needle hole view point is another attraction near Kates point. Kate's point offer view of the river Krishna and dhom dam. There are few fun activities that can be done at Kate's point and this is visited by many than other view points.

Few pics of the view points in Mahabaleshwar.

These view points are some of the top places to visit in Mahabaleshwar as there is not much to do here. 

Pratapgad, Maharashtra

Date: 27th Dec 2017

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Fee: None.

Timing:  None.

Distance: 800 Kms one way.

Parking: Roadside.

Food: Small snack available.

Photography: Allowed.

Other attractions nearby: Kate point, Arthur Seat, Hunting point, Lingamala waterfalls and many more.

Pratapgad is an important fort in the history of Maratha empire. It is located around 20Kms from Mahabaleshwar. The fort was built by Moropant Trimbak Pingle upon the order of Maratha King Chatrapati Shivaji. The fort is located 3543ft above the sea level. Chatrapathi Shivaji's first significant victory came from this place where his small army defeated Afzal Khan of Bijapur sultanete. This led to the establishment of Maratha empire.
The fort also houses a temple dedicated to Goddesses bhavani, Shivaji's family goddesses. In 1661 Shivaji could not visit the Bhavani temple at Tuljapur and decided to build the temple in the fort.
There is also a tomb of Afzal Khan, the general of Bijapur army whom Shivaji killed during their meeting outside Pratapgad. The main attraction here is the 17ft tall bronze statue of Shivaji. The status was unveiled by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on 30th November 1957.

Few pics from the fort.

The fort currently is in ruins and almost completely occupied by small shops selling souvenirs and small foods on both sides. 

Activities in Panchgani

Date: 26th Dec 2017

Visitors: Arun, Shilpi and Harsh

Fee: Rs 200 per person for zorbball and Rs 200 per person for quad bike.

Timing:  None. Best time 9 AM to 5 PM.

Distance: 800 Kms one way.

Parking: Available.

Food: Small snacks available.

Photography: Allowed.

Other attractions nearby:

We left Amboli and drove to our next destination Mahabaleshwar. We reached satara earlier than planned so decided to take panchagani route. Table Land is a famous tourist destinations and the highest point in Panchgani. This is believed to be Asia’s second longest mountain plateau. We had read about paragliding from the table land in Panchagani. However the paragliding activity is stopped and it doesnt happen there anymore. We tried couple of activities available there. Harsh wanted to try zorb ball but since his height less than minimum he could not play that. We both then tried quad bike. There was also few other activities for kids like balloon shooting, camel ride etc.

Few pics from the visit.

The amazing view from the top can be better enjoyed if visited early morning or late evening.