Mahabaleshwar was my family’s first vacation after quarantine, it was a very random weekend plan as Mahabaleshwar is open for tourism but all the necessary health precautions were taken into consideration by us. It’s almost 8 hours of the journey via car which is pretty far but the long drive was worth it because of the winding roads and ravishing mountain range which made it an exciting road trip. Thermal screening of all visitors entering Mahabaleshwar is mandatory at the hill station check-post. Only asymptomatic visitors are allowed to go ahead.
Parsi Point is a popular scenic point with views of the Krishna Valley & Dhom Dam.
Mahabaleshwar is famous for its seasonal fruit strawberries hence the ideal time to plan a visit to Mahabaleshwar hill station is during the summer season that is from March to June. Since we visited Mahabaleshwar in the offseason we only managed to see and buy strawberry plant saplings. I did buy two saplings of them with few other cute flower plants from a local nursery, so far all the plants are growing fine despite the dry and humid weather of Goa.
Mahabaleshwar is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because the Krishna river has its origins here. The Old Mahabaleshwar, also known as Kshetra Mahabaleshwar is a historical place and a village that is about 7km from Mahabaleshwar. It is a major religious site with temples namely Shree Mahabaleshwar Mandir, Pachaganga Mandir, Krishna Temple, Atibaleshwar Mandir, and more. All these templates indeed have very fascinating stories to know about.
Shree Mahabaleshwar Mandir:
The temple houses Shiva's bed, damru, and trishul which date back to approximately 300 years. It is believed that every morning, the bedsheet is found crumpled indicating Shiva's presence at night within the temple. This temple was built in the Hemadpanti style in 1215 AD as per historical records.
The Panchganga Temple:
The Panchganga Temple is constructed at the convergence of five rivers Krishna, Venna, Savitri, Koyna, and Gayatri. All the rivers converge into a small steam and flow out from Gaumukhi(statue of cow-face) into a stone carved Kund(water tank) hence the name Panch(five)-Ganga(river) temple.
The temple was constructed in the 13th century by "Yadava King Singhandeo”. Panchganga temple in old Mahabaleshwar is said to be 4500 years old. However, there is no historical evidence of this claim. This temple is dedicated to Lord Krishna and has a beautiful idol of him. The legend behind the temple is closely linked to Savitri's curse on the Trimurtis, Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva, who flow here as Koyna, Krishna, and Venna rivers. It is a major religious site and is thronged by devotees throughout the year.
Krishna-Devi Temple:
Krishna-Devi temple which is 1 km away from Panchganga temple and is built in Hemadpanti style, In front of the Krishna temple is Krishna valley. As per mythology, the Krishna-Devi river had jumped from this place.
Our next spot to visit after Old Mahabaleshwar was Venna Lake. Venna Lake is a man-made lake, constructed in the year 1942. Boating at Venna lake is a very peaceful experience and both paddle and rowboats are available for hire.
Venna Lake area offers tourist activities like boating, horse riding, cycling, and go-karting which are very near to the lake. Right next to the lake is the horse riding area and there are plenty of horses and a ride along the breath-taking landscape of venna lake with a mountain view while riding on red soil is really photogenic. The thermal screening of every person entering the riding area is mandatory. Every horse has a name, the horses that I rode on were Jackie and Yuvraj. Both of them very absolutely handsome. The owner of the horses told us that there are over two thousand horses in Mahabaleshwar and only five hundred are allowed inside the riding area on per day basics to maintain social distancing nom. An interesting fact about horses is that a group of horses will not go to sleep at the same time – at least one of them will stay awake to watch out for the others.
After your horse ride, Bombay Point should be the next point to watch the sun descend below the horizon. The location is famed for its unrivaled views of the night sky and has even been dubbed the ‘Sunset Point’.
My one-day stay at Mahabaleshwar hill station was pure bliss and I crave to go back to during the strawberry season!
Also, check out the video below.
1 comments
Very cute!
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