Kolhapur Darshan

How To Reach :
* By Air - Kingfisher airlines has a daily flight around 10 am from Mumbai.
* By Train - Is on Pune-Kolhappur(daily trains) track via Miraj junction.
* By Road - On National Highway(Pune-Begalore) 4 (NH4). Takes less than 4 hours from Pune.

What To See:
* Mahalaxmi Temple - The temple is about 5 Km from Central Bus Stand and Railway Station towards center of the city.
* New Palace and Old Palace - Residence and a museum about memories of Lokraja Shahu Maharaj.
* Rankala Lake - One of the beautiful lake.



Near by attractions:
Well there are too many nice places to go arround.. such as:
* Siddhagiri Museum.
* Jotiba Temple (Wadi ratnagiri)- A colorful fair takes place on the Chaitra Pournima (full moon night of the Hindu months of Chaitra), devotees from various regions hoist "Sasan Kathi", which is the holy symbol of lord Jotiba. This hilltop is 17 km from the city of Kolhapur.
* Panhala Fort - Built between 178-1209 AD, this is the only fort where the great ruler himself, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj is believed to have spent more than 500 days.Sajja Kothi, where Sambhaji was imprisoned.Around 20 km from city, an half hour or so.
* Gagangiri Maharaj Math ( Temple ) at Gaganbawda. Situated in western hills of Sahyadri.
* Narsobawadi - It is well known for the holy padukas (slippers) of lord Datta. The holy place is situated on the confluence of the rivers Krishna and Panchaganga.
* Amboli - towards Goa, beautiful ghats you can enjoy in rainy season, lot of clouds and waterfalls.
* Bahubali( Kumbhoj ) - Devotees flock here to pay respect to the 28 feet tall marble statue of Bahubali and visit the temples of the 24 tirthankaras.

culture

Kolhapur is a very ancient city, famous for its food, headwear, footwear, jewellery, wrestling and religious connections. According to legend it was settled by Kolhasur, a demon who was later killed by Mahalakshmi to relieve the local populace. However, honouring the demon's dying wish, the city was named after him. Majority of the city dwellers are Marathas along with people from Gujarati, Marwari and Kannada backgrounds. Kolhapur is also home to relatively smaller communities of Maharashtrian Jains, Lingayats and Sindhis.

Kolhapur has one of the highest per-capita income for a city in India. Trade is majorly dependant on farming of cash crops like sugarcane, the metal industry with important inputs from textiles and mining. The prosperity and the resulting spending prowess of the Kolhapuri people was famously reported in a list of cities with the highest number of Mercedes cars in the state of Maharashtra, where Kolhapur came second only to Mumbai^[1]. Similarly, Kolhapur also attracts lots of shoppers from around the region. The main shopping hub of the city is Mahadwar Road, near Mahalaxmi Temple inside the old city walls. New and modern stores have also popped up in the historically residential area, Rajarampuri.

Another field that Kolhapur prides itself of, is films. In certain circles, Kolhapur was and is still considered the capital of Marathi film industry. Legendary personalities like Bhalaji Pendharkar, Baburao Painter and V. Shantaram started their careers from Kolhapur. It has been credited as the place where Raja Harishchandra, the first feature film ever produced in Indian was conceptualised. Kolhapur still plays host to many film festivals and provides location for shooting. Kolhapur is also a strong political center. Nationalist Congress Party along with Congress are the current political powerhouses in the region.