Must know information on trip to Maharashtra

Rugged and vast, the modern-day state of Maharashtra is the third biggest in India and one of the most gone to by foreign tourists, though the majority of people endeavor no further than its seething port capital, Mumbai. As quickly as you leave the relatively unlimited concrete real estate projects, industrial works and swamplands of Mumbai, you get in a various world with a different history.

Undoubtedly, Maharashtra's biggest treasures are its amazing cave temples and abbeys; the finest of all are found near Aurangabad, relabelled after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and the home of the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, devoted to his spouse.

The hectic business city is the apparent base for visits to the Buddhist caves at Ajanta, with their still-vibrant and wonderful murals, and the monolithic temples of Ellora, where the astonishing Hindu Kailash temple was carved in its entirety from one single rock.

In spite of Maharashtra's early importance as a centre of Buddhism, Hinduism is really much at the core of the life in the state. One of the four areas of the Kumbh Mela, the city is constantly a hive of devotional activity, and lies close to one of India's most sacred Shiva shrines, reached from the town of Trimbak.

Away from the cities, one of the most particular functions of the landscape is a plenitude of forts. Rising suddenly a short range inland from the sea, the Sahyadri Hills-- part of the Western Ghats-- form a series of huge steps that march up from the narrow coastal strip to the edge of the Deccan plateau.

When the summertime showed too much for the British in Bombay, they sought sanctuary in neighboring hill stations, the most popular of which, Mahabaleshwar, now caters for droves of domestic travelers. South of Matheran, a further series of spectacular rock-cut caves clustered around another town, Lonavala, provides the primary reward to break the journey to the contemporary, cosmopolitan city of Pune, well-known for its Osho resort founded by the New Age master Bhagwan Rajneesh, but most appealing for its atmospheric old town and blossoming dining establishment and bar scene.

To the west, Maharashtra occupies 500km of the Konkan coast on the Arabian Sea, from Gujarat to Goa. The little-explored palm-fringed coast winds backward and forward with many inlets, valleys and ridges; highlights consist of Murud-Janjira, whose extraordinary fortress was the only one never ever dominated by the Mughals, and Ganpatipule, the area's chief pilgrimage centre, with kilometers of essentially deserted, palm-fringed beaches. By the time you reach Kolhapur, the main town in the far south of the state, famous for its temple and palace, Mumbai feels a world away.

Rugged and large, the contemporary state of Maharashtra is the 3rd biggest in India and one of the most visited by foreign travelers, though many individuals endeavor no further than its seething port capital, Mumbai. Undoubtedly, Maharashtra's biggest treasures are its extraordinary cavern temples and abbeys; the finest of all are found near Aurangabad, renamed after the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb and house to the Bibi-ka-Maqbara, dedicated to his wife.

One of the 4 areas of the Kumbh Mela, the city is constantly a hive of devotional activity, and lies close to one of India's the majority of sacred Shiva shrines, reached from the village of Trimbak. 

For more information on Maharashtra Tours contact Swan Tours one of the leading travel agents in Delhi.