Kolhapur (Marathi: कोल्हापूर) is a city in the south west of Maharashtra. It has a population of around 619,000. It is situated on the banks of river Panchganga and is famous for the Mahalakshmi Temple as a pilgrimage city and is also famous for having 2 sites that are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, namely, the Panhala Fort and the Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
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.
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. There are quite a few car rental agencies in Kolhapur. Most of them charge around ₹2400 a day for a mid-size car. There are extra charges for distances above 250 km.
1 Mahalaxmi Temple (Mahalaxmi Mandir) (about 5 km from Central Bus Stand and Railway Station, towards centre of the city). The puranas have listed 108 sites where Shakti (the goddess of power) is manifested. Amongst these, the Karveer area (the area where the present town of Kolhapur is located), is of special significance. This is one of the six abodes of Shakti, where one can achieve both fulfillment of desires as well as salvation from them. It is therefore considered to be of greater significance than Uttar Kashi. Shri Mahalakshmi is the consort of Shri Vishnu and it is said that they both reside in the Karveer area.
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.
Kolhapur is well known paradise for non vegetarian lovers, but it has many eating options equally wonderful for vegetarian food. Also, in general there is a misconception about "Kolhapur" food that it has to be really spicy and having lot of chillies. Only when you visit Kolhapur, one realizes that this is a myth. Once in Kolhapur, you should never miss out on misal, which is a famous Maharashtrian snack made from spicy sprouted moth beans. Authentic misal can be tasted only in Kolhapur. Outside Kolhapur, in many other places in Maharashtra, people only add lot of oil and red chilly and serve it as 'kolhapuri misal'.
For party freaks Kolhapur has got some decent bars & restaurants like Scores (beside Hotel Victor Palace) & Texas (in Hotel Ayodhya), also Mithila is a family bar & restaurant in Hotel Ayodhya.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Aug, Kolhapur typically sees ~26°C daytime highs and 31 rainy days.
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