Itinerary
Overnight train to Kolhapur
07:00 am : Morning Darshan of Mahalaxmi temple.
09:00 am : Take a bus to Jyotiba , Darshan of Jyotiba temple
02:00 pm : Take a bus to Panhala fort
06:00 pm : Kolhapur city tour and Rankala lake
09:00 pm : Matan Bhakari @ Pahunchar
Looking at the schedule it looks like marathon trip but considering the pleasant weather and ample options of public transport, it comes as a unique experience.
Overnight train from Pune drops you at Kolhapur in early morning, like 6 am or so. There are plenty of options for home stay around the Mahalaxmi temple and nearby area. They are like family run hotels with big rooms and common bathroom, but clean and mostly family mob.
Early morning darshan in Mahalaxmi temple is spiritual experience. As less crowded at that time we are able to spend enough time inside the core area of the temple.
After spending almost an hour in temple we hit the nearby food stall to test the famous Kolhapuri missal! With belly full of spices we reach to the bus stand to catch bus to Jyotiba temple. Jyotiba temple is like 20 km from here and you have enough option of ST buses to reach there.
You need to step down 100 or so steps to reach the temple. We found Jyotiba temple is very colorful place! Very Nicely maintain and managed temple premises. Not too crowded so no rush for darshan.
From Jyotiba, Panhala fort is 10 km only. You can easily get ST buses or shared jeeps from main road. Couples of hours are good enough to explore the main spots of the Panhala fort. All spots should be around 5km range only. We spend few hours to explore the fort and nearby area on foot then had a lunch at family owned Khanawal near ST bus stand. Usually you get the decent quality food in such places but very testy. Again belly was full.
It was raining heavily at that time and we need to wait a bit to get the bus to Kolhapur.
It was evening when we hit the Kolhapur city. We visit the Rankala Lake and did some shopping at markets near by the temple area.
Last but not the least, we went for special Kolhapuri non veg restaurant. There are many such famous restaurant there, we choose Pahunchar. I am deeply satisfied with the meal I had that evening, but Minal was not so happy, as a vegetarian she was not having much options.
Then hit the station to catch the train to Pune.
