Cycling Tour around Mahabaleshwar
Mahabaleshwar (1372 mt) is a hill station in the Western
Ghats in Maharashtra, 250 km from Mumbai. Use it as a base for
your cycling tour -- an interesting bicycle trip from Mahabaleshwar
is to pedal about 10 km on undulating roads to old Mahabaleshwar
and visit the Krishnabai temple said to be the source of the
mighty Krishna river. From there go downhill west for about
15 km to the 17th century Maratha fort of Pratapgad (1080mt),
where the historic encounter between Shivaji and Gen. Afzal
Khan took place and a tomb and tower mark Khan's grave. Explore
the fortifications around you. You can then cycle back uphill
all the way to Mahableshwar or haul your bike onto a bus for
the return journey.
From Mahabaleshwar you can also cycle east for 19 km to
Panchgani and then zig-zag down the ghats for about 16 km
to the town of Wai, which is apparently mentioned in the Mahabharata.
There are several ancient temples worth visiting there, on
the banks of the Krishna river. You can pedal a further 10
km to take a look at Dhom dam or explore (13 km away) some
ancient (8th century) Brahmani rock cut caves at Rajewadi,
west of Wai.
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