Maharashtra is one of the most popular destinations for travel and vacations in India. It has a great blend of lovely hill stations, grand historical sites, and beautiful beaches. Further, it also is home to some of the greatest UNESCO heritage sites, as well ass traditional and religious places. Hence one can say that Maharashtra caters to the needs of travellers with different tastes – offering a mixture of several travel itineraries — moulded within one state.
Table of Contents
Let us go through some popular travel itineraries for Maharashtra several travel enthusiasts follow while traveling in the state.
Hill station tour in Maharashtra
In case you are looking to rejuvenate yourself amidst the green hills and chilly environment, all you need is a few hours’ short trip from the city of Mumbai. The mesmerizing hills, silent lakes, and calm atmosphere are for sure going to skip our heartbeat. Twin beauty of Khandala and Lonavala is popular destinations for escaping from the city. They are located around the Western Ghats which are around 65 km from the city of Pune and 97km from Mumbai city. They are well known for housing breathtaking caves and lakes which are worth visiting. There is also the Buddhist Stupa at Karla Caves (which is 2200 years old) — a renowned site for enthusiasts who love ancient structures.
Here is the itinerary.
Day 1: Arrive at Mumbai and you can opt to go to a hotel for relaxing and having few local siting such a visiting beaches (do not skip the famous Marine Drive and Juhu Beach) and shopping in bazaars.
Day 2: You can also choose to have site seeing today in the city of Mumbai which includes few notable places like Gateway of India, Elephanta Caves and so on. You can also choose to skip this and directly head to hill stations.
Day 3: Start your day with a breakfast and head out to Lonavala which is around 82 km from the city. Your road will take you through mesmerizing hilly slopes and greenery. Check into your hotel when you arrive and have your expedition around this beautiful place.
Day 4: Drive to Khandala via the national highway which may take not more than a few minutes. They both are located in Sahyadri mountain ranges and hence you can visit Bhushi dam, Valvan Dam and Duke’s nose, Tiger’s leap on the way. Head to Karla crossing Lonavla again in the same routine. This may take up to half an hour drive only. You can witness the beautiful Karla caves and Buddhist temple which is one of the oldest art in India. Head to the hotel in Lonavala by end of the day.
Day 5: According to your time, you can either choose to go back to Mumbai and leave to your place or can extend your trip to Pune and Mahabaleshwar. In the latter case, drive to Mahabaleshwar through Pune early morning. In this route, you can cover Aga Khan Palace, Parvati Hill Temple, Shaniwar Wada, and Shindyanchi Chhatri. You can continue to Mahabaleshwar by arriving at the place by night.
Day 6: Enjoy your breakfast and start sightseeing in Mahabaleshwar. Visit the temple, waterfalls, Venna Lake, Echo point, Connaught peak, and Kate’s point. You can also extend to visit Gaoloni Point and Panchgani point. Return to the hotel by evening and have an overnight stay.
Day 7: Checkout from hotel and head to Mumbai city. You can end your trip here and ascend to your destination.
Enchanting Maharashtra for heritage lovers
This trip of seven days can make you fall in love with the state all over. It can give you a glimpse of the heritage in the state and its ancient structure. Here is the itinerary.
Day 1: Arrive in Mumbai. Check in the hotel and rest for a while. You can have a walk around the neighborhood and choose to visit some markets/bazaars for shopping around.
Day 2: You can head to Gateway of India and Marine drive which are popular destinations in the city. From the Gateway, take a cruise to Elephanta caves and enjoy your view there. Get back to the gateway again and visit Parliament house, and Victoria Terminus which is a UNESCO world heritage site. You can also visit ISKON temple, Gandhi Museum and Juhu beach in the evening.
Day 3: After breakfast, head to the airport for flight to Aurangabad. Check in the hostel and have refreshments. Then visit the famous Bibi ka Maqbara which is built by Azam Shah as a tribute to his mother. It is well known for the historical landscape and gardens, with ponds and fountains. The city of Aurangabad as such as historical city named after Aurangzeb is beautiful to have a walk and discover later.
Day 4: After early breakfast, start to Ajanta Caves which is an architectural marvel in India. It is a world heritage site located within deep Sahyadri hills. Enjoy the rocky site carvings and beautiful architecture. There is also a waterfall which drops over from the rim of the mountain in a series of seven steps into a pool. Return to hotel by evening for overnight stay
Day 5: After early breakfast, take an excursion to Ellora caves which also world heritage site of India. it has exquisite monasteries and temples with some architectural wonders of monuments from 600 AD. Enjoy the enchanting stonework and carvings. You can also take short sightseeing of Daultabad (known as Devagiri) which is fort city of 16 km away from Aurangabad.
Day 6: Check at the airport and fly to Mumbai. You can keep this day for activities such as shopping and visiting bazars. You can also visit cottage industries and handloom emporiums.
Day 7: Have a relaxed day and check in the airport to board your scheduled flight to your onward journey.
A spiritual journey in the state
In case you are looking out for a spiritual tour, Maharashtra still serves your tastes. The popular Shirdi which is a well-known destination for several individuals looking out for the calm holiday is located in the state. You can have a spiritual journey with a short vacation by visiting beautiful temples and structures around the areas.
Day 1: You can either chose to fly to Mumbai and travel towards Shirdi or Aurangabad. Otherwise, you can also come to the place through various trains connected from several parts of the country. Shirdi is known for famous Sai Baba temple and has several guest houses and hotels for stay. You can rest a while once you enter the place. You can book your aarti and darshan through online as well even before reaching the place. Have a darshan at the temple and have good rest or local tour around the place.
Day 2: After the day, you can head towards Shani Shignapur the next day which is around 80km from Shirdi. It is famous for Shanti temples in India. you can get shared transport to reach fixed rates. It takes around two hours to reach and then have darshan at a temple in an hour or so. Once you finish the darshan, you can choose to stroll around for a bit or make the way back to Shirdi. After heading to Shirdi, you can choose to walk around markets near Dwarkamai where you can find good snacks and various items to shop.
Day 3: The next day you can make a taxi booking and set to Aurangabad. The roadway is filled with agricultural fields and you can get to see vineyards, onion farms and several cotton plants. The road is magnificent and you can choose to stop at Grishneshwar for darshan of Jyotirling there. The ancient temple there is beautiful and it is highly recommended to visit once. You can choose to have some snacks around the area and leave Grishneshwar. On the way, you can visit Bhadra Maruti temple in Khuldabad which has a statue of Hanuman in the reclining way. It is one of the rare temples and once you finish the sightseeing you can reach Aurangabad soon.
In Aurangabad, you can visit Bibi ka Maqbara which is known as Taj of the south. The gardens and monument are beautiful and is a great place to have leisure time spent in the evening. You can then go ahead to visit Ellora Caves.
Day 4: You can have restful morning and have your breakfast at leisure this day. You can choose to walk around the neighborhood for a while before leaving to the airport for your flight back to hometown or onwards journey.
Maharashtra manages to fulfill our vacations and holidays with its enchanting beauty and mesmerizing atmosphere. It is the state which has all-round beauty and places to visit for traveling, ranging from beaches to hill stations and historic structures.