Viewpoint
The ledge where the Deccan plateau stops: on one side the Savitri valley drops away towards the Konkan, on the other it is flat tableland. The soil on the two sides is visibly different, which is the real thing to notice.
Attractions in Mahabaleshwar
2 places to see, with what each one is and how long it takes.
Experience
Man-made, dug in 1842 to supply the town with water and now given over to pedal boats and pony rides. Crowded and commercial, and perfectly good for an hour with children.
Elsewhere in Maharashtra
Not in Mahabaleshwar — these are in other towns across the state.
Viewpoint
The confluence sandbar where river and sea meet.
Attraction
The primary natural water reservoir basin on the plateau, surrounded by dense evergreen forests and hosting an ancient temple shrine.
Attraction
A grand Mahayana vihara cave housing the globally celebrated, masterpiece wall painting of Bodhisattva Padmapani holding a blue lotus.
Attraction
Ancient 2nd-century BCE Buddhist caves housing a colossal rock chaitya prayer hall with masterfully preserved original timber rib arches.
Attraction
A swayambhu Ganesh temple right beside the beach.
Attraction
The golden-domed Takht gurdwara on the banks of the Godavari.
Attraction
The hill Jyotirlinga temple of Shiva in the Sahyadri forests.
Attraction
A colossal 17th-century island maritime fortress featuring massive stone walls built directly on a sea reef outcrop, accessible via ferry.
Attraction
Basalt, twenty-six metres, finished in 1924 to mark a royal visit that had happened thirteen years earlier. The last British troops in India left through it in 1948. Ferries to Elephanta go from the jetty alongside.
Attraction
The dark stone inner sanctum, holding the centuries-old image of Ambabai, carved from a single block of gemstone.
Experience
The sea causeway to the islet shrine, passable only at low tide.
Experience
A popular core zone with frequent tiger and leopard sightings.
Attraction
Cut downwards out of one piece of hillside in the eighth century until a complete two-storey temple stood clear of the rock — nothing was added, only stone taken away. Ellora closes on Tuesdays. Walk up the side path for the view down into it.
