A weekend at Mahabaleshwar

Located in the Sahyadri mountain range of Maharashtra, Mahabaleshwar is a beautiful hill station known for its juicy Strawberries, numerous lakes and waterfalls, majestic peaks, lush green forests, ancient temples and breathtaking valley views. The nearby Panchgani and Wai add more to the beauty of the hill station.Owing to the popularity, so much has been written about Mahabaleshwar over the internet. While planning my trip to Mahabaleshwar, what I found missing was a proper 2-day itinerary covering all the must-visit places which can be useful to plan the complete trip.
I did a bit of research on how I can possibly cover Panchgani, Wai and Mahabaleshwar on a 2-day road trip from Pune and mapped all the locations on Gmaps.

Best time to visit Mahabaleshwar

If you want to experience the heavy rainfall, make a visit to the town in the monsoon months of July to September. But remember it rains heavily in the region and most of the viewpoints are completely covered under fog so you probably won’t get the surrounding views.

I would recommend you to visit the town when the monsoon season is on its last legs, maybe like mid-September to mid-October. During this time, you get to experience all aspects of climate. The valleys are lush green, the jungles are still dense and the clouds are still low at this time of the year at Mahabaleshwar. Riding a bike in such weather is an experience of a lifetime.

Stay and food option at Mahabaleshwar

Don’t trust your Oyo or MakeMyTrip bookings is what I would say!! I was denied entry to the Oyo room which I had booked online from MakeMyTrip by the receptionist. Most of the hotel owners and their union at Mahabaleshwar have ongoing issues with all the online hotel booking providers. Before going, better confirm at the hotel where you had done bookings online. I would suggest you to directly reach Mahabaleshwar and find a stay on the go.

you can also set up you own tent. The tent that I carry with me is Quechua Arpenaz 2 Tent. It has enough space for 2 people.

Many restaurants and street food vendors are serving all sorts of cuisines in Mahabaleshwar, to the delight of happy foodies. I had my dinner at Poonam Veg Restaurant. The food was delicious and I would highly recommend them.