Kolhapur

Understand

The history of Kolhapur can be tracked back to the Satavahan Empire era.

In the modern times, Kolhapur has played a significant role in the politics of Maharashtra state. The city is famous for Kolhapur SAAJ (necklaces with traditional patterns), jaggery, Kolhapur chappal (traditional leather sandals) and wrestling. Kolhapur is also famous for its non-vegetarian food recipes (Marathi: Kolhapuri pandhara rassa, tambadaa rassa) and unique spices.

Get around

Overall, Kolhapur has become a crowded place. Huge number of two wheeler vehicles precides over the number of four wheelers (private & commercial). The central city being non-planned is very crowded during peak hours. Also, due to many road constructions going on, the roads are jammed. You can avoid traffic jams by travelling on newly built roads, which are much more wider and better ones. Auto rickshaw is the popular public transport available.

Do

A visit to Mahalaxmi Temple can be followed by a trip to Panhala Fort. The Auto Rickshaw charges approx. ₹450 for Panhala Trip from Kolhapur to Panhala and back. The visit will take around 6 hrs and after coming back to Kolhapur city one can go to Rankala Lake in evening and visit Shalini Palace Hotel and Chowpatty there. One can enjoy snacks from vada pav to South Indian dishes at the Chowpatty.

Next day one can start the morning in Kolhapur with a visit to New Palace Museum. After seeing museum one can proceed to Jyotiba Temple.

It is also recommended to visit a local" Gurhal" a traditional family owned Jaggery Making place just outside of the city. Here you can watch local people make jaggery from scratch with sugarcane juice. They are also open for visitors to try to taste fresh sugarcane juice and jaggery.

One should also visit Bhavani Temple near Mahalaxmi Temple.

Also to visit is much forgotten "Ruikar Colony" which was Maharashtra state's first Residential Bunglow estate (and so far the only estate that has remained like this and most estates are now being converted to apartments) Ruikar Colony, always featured in Marathi Films, is famous for its huge beautiful mansions complimented by landscaped gardens, nature strips, well designed roads, community gardens, Ganesh and Jain Temple, playground and Community Hall and its own shopping area.