A short drive from
Mahabaleshwar lies the hill resort town of Panchgani, a favourite summer getaway for
people trying to escape the heat and humidity of the summer months or just a few days away
from the traffic and humdrum of city life.
Panchgani is named after the five hills that surround it and the drive
up to its sylvan splendours winds, swoops and circles its way past red roofed hamlets and
villages and a patchwork quilt of neatly laid out fields and orchards. As the road
meanders up, the vegetation becomes greener and denser, the canopies of trees spreads out
further and bird sounds are magnified. Higher up and you can look down upon deceptively
green coastal plains on one side and the River Krishna on the other. Panchgani is the
archetypal British-in-India hill station, with imposing old bungalows and public buildings
with the Raj stamped all over. In fact, Sir John Chason founded Panchgani in 1854 as a
sanatorium town and to rest and recuperate away from the heat and dust of the Indian
plains. Today, the little town is better known for its English style boarding schools and
old Parsi houses that look out on to the forested tracts.
A genteel place, Panchgani doesn’t really pander to commercial
tastes, as does Mahabaleshwar. In Panchgani, holiday pastimes include walking, riding or
simply unwinding at home in the cool of the veranda or drinking tea on the lawns. And if
you feel energetic, amble down to the bazaar or hike across to the caves or to Kamalgad
Fort.
Panchgani is 266km from Mumbai, 98 from Pune and a mere 20km from
Mahabaleshwar. Situated at a height of 1334m, just a fraction lower than neighbouring
Mahabaleshwar, any time from September to May is a good time to come here. The climate of
Panchgani is salubrious, cool and comparatively dry, annual rain fall hardly exceeds 70
inches; average winter temperature hover at 16°C with mean temperatures of 30°C in
summer.
Getting there: Pune is the nearest airport, 100 km
away via Mahad and is also the most convenient railhead, though Wathar at 50 kms is the
nearest railway station. Mumbai is 290 km away by road via Pune and 247 km via Mahad. MTDC
organises regular tours from Mumbai to Mahabaleshwar. State Transport buses run from Pune
and Mumbai. In Panchgani, taxies are easily available as are horses & bicycles and
walking is a favourite way to get around the town.
