Mahabaleshwar-Location
Mahabaleshwar lies on the mountain ranges of the Western Ghats in Maharashtra. It is at an altitude of 1372 meters and overlooks the Krishna and Koyna valley.

Mahabaleshwar-History
In the early 14th century, Mahabaleshwar was ruled by the Moguls but in the later half of the century a Brahmin dynasty took control of it. In the 15th Century Mahabaleshwar was won by Muslim Kings of Bijapur and Ahmednagar but by the 16th century the Maratha family of Chandarao More was ruling over it. Finally, in the 17th century Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj decided to show his resistance to foreign rule and for this he trained a large army and captured it. After him the Peshwas ruled till the year 1819, after which Mahabaleshwar came to be included in the territory of the Raja of Satara.

One name that invariably finds mention in any conversation about the history of Mahabaleshwar is Colonel Lodwick, who later in his life became a General. He brought a lot of focus to the hill station, which is why a monument was named after him in Mahabaleshwar.

Mahabaleshwar-Sites to Visit
A tour package to Mahabaleshwar includes a tour to Mahabaleshwar temple. The temple in its present state, is surrounded by 5 feet high stone wall. The main temple has two apartments, the inner room, which is the God chamber and the outer room which is the central hall. The temple is dedicate to Lord Shiva and enshrines a 'lingam'. The Hill resort of Mahabaleshwar is named after the presiding deity of this temple, Lord Mahabali, which is also why it is considered a major landmark of Mahabaleshwar.

A tour to Mahabaleshwar can possibly not be called complete without a trip to the cascading waterfalls, such as the Lingmala waterfall (6km), Dhobi waterfall (3km) and Chinaman's waterfall (2.5km).