Best Places to Visit in Maharashtra

Shirdi Sai Baba Temple

The samadhi shrine of Sai Baba — the 19th-century fakir who preached 'Sabka Malik Ek' (one God for all) — drawing 60,000 devotees a day from every religion to a small village in Ahmednagar district, where his marble idol sits above the very grave he chose.

Gateway of India

The 26-metre basalt arch on Mumbai's waterfront built to welcome King George V in 1911 and, 37 years later, the exit point through which the last British troops left India in 1948 — now the postcard monument of Mumbai and the launch jetty for Elephanta Caves.

Mahabaleshwar

A popular hill station in the Sahyadri mountain range, famous for its strawberries.

Ajanta Caves

Rock-cut Buddhist cave monuments dating from the 2nd century BCE to about 480 CE.

Mahalakshmi Temple, Kolhapur

The seventh peetha of the Ashtadasha — Sati's three eyes fell here — and one of the three-and-a-half (Sade Teen) Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra. The 7th-century Chalukyan temple in central Kolhapur enshrines a 1.2-m black stone Devi adorned with gold; the Kirnotsav festival sees the setting sun illuminate the deity directly through the entrance for three days each year.

Ellora Caves

One of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple cave complexes in the world.

Trimbakeshwar

A Jyotirlinga at the source of the Godavari, 28 km from Nashik — unique for its three-faced linga representing Brahma, Vishnu and Rudra, and as the only Jyotirlinga where Kalsarpa Dosh nivaran pujas are performed.

Bhimashankar

A Jyotirlinga deep in the Sahyadri forest at 1,034 metres, 110 km from Pune — the temple complex doubles as a wildlife sanctuary protecting the giant Indian squirrel (shekru), Maharashtra's state animal.

Renuka Mata Temple, Mahur

The eighth peetha of the Ashtadasha — Sati's right hand fell here — at Mahur in the Sahyadri foothills of north Maharashtra. The hilltop temple is one of the three-and-a-half Shakti Peethas of Maharashtra; the goddess is identified with Renuka, mother of Parashurama, and the wider hill-complex is the legendary site of his austerities.

Ajanta & Ellora: The Cave Art That Predates the Renaissance by a Millennium

Hampi: Walking Through the Ruins of the Last Great Hindu Empire

Hyderabad's Charminar: 434 Years Under Four Minarets

Khajuraho: A Thousand Years of Stone That Still Whispers

Bhimbetka: India's Oldest Art Gallery, Painted 30,000 Years Before the Taj

The Twelve Jyotirlingas: India's Pillars of Light