Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia

Tripoto
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 1/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
The Strawberry Farm
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 2/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Irresistible delectable strawberry-vanilla icecrm
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 3/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
A view of the Mahabaleshwar Lake
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 4/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Needle hole rock/Elephant point
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 5/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Another view of the lake
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 6/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Another view from a different point
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 7/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
'Beautiful' Robin Pandey ;)
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 8/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Horses and Camels at Tourist spots
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 9/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
A perfect pose!
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 10/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
One of the tallest Cactus trees
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 11/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
It's Strawberries everywhere!
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 12/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
A part of the Venna Lake
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 13/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
A view at the Venna Lake
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 14/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Pizza @ Mapro
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 15/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Veg Cheese Grilled Sandwich @ Mapro
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 16/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Sinful Strawberry Icecream
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 17/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Entertainment Park-Go Karting
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 18/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
A dried tree giving a pose overlooking the lake
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 20/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Flower garden @ Mapro
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 21/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Flower Garden @ Mapro
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 22/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
The Flora @ Mapro
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 23/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Different versions of THE Strawberry icecream
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 24/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
Strawberry Mountain
Photo of Panchgani – Mahabaleshwar, another treasure of the Western Ghats #TravelIndia 25/25 by Somdutta Sarkar
The Strawberry Farm

Another abode of beauty in the Western Ghats. Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar are at a distance of about 19 km from each other. Both the hill stations are famous for the delicious bright red coloured juicy fruit ‘strawberry’. This region of Western India leads in the strawberry production accounting for approx 85 percent of India’s supply.

Apart from the strawberry giant the other attractions of Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar are the scenic beauty and the ‘Mapro Garden’ which is host to the Annual Strawberry Festival.

Another weekend trip. We started off from Mumbai in bus at night (after office) and reached Panchgani at 5:00 AM in the morning. We decided to stay in Panchgani than Mahabaleshwar as it is comparatively cheap in terms of stay.

So after seeing few places we decided to stay at Shubham Hotel. The man was old and humble. Helped us with few extra mattresses and we wanted to accommodate in a single room to spend the time together(we were around 8 people).

Note : If you love to walk then you can cover the Panchgani main road and have a beautiful sightseeing by walking itself :)

Apart from all the sightseeing points, we went for some entertainment at the ‘Entertainment Park’ where there was Go- karting and electric car racing.

Then to calm our hunger pangs we headed to ‘Mapro Garden’. There is a huge variety of products ranging from jams, fruit beverages, crushes, squashes, etc.. Also there is a food court where pizzas, sandwiches are available from freshly baked breads from their kitchen!

In the evening, took a boat ride in the Venna Lake during sunset. The cool breeze, the soothing sound of water, the calmness was sheer bliss. And to top it up the row man played the beautiful song 'Taj-da-re-haram by Atif Aslam' in his cell phone. Everything was too relaxing and serene. It marked the end of that trip till the next time :)

A Strawberry festival is celebrated there during the month of March/April every year.

Panchgani-Mahabaleshwar is another one of the best places to rewind and relax from the daily hustle and bustle of life. Best time is the Monsoon and Winter-especially for the strawberries. Also one of the budget trips for a solo traveller/ with friends/family. Enjoy!