Kolhapur city is situated on the banks of Panchganga river and is surrounded by Sahyadri mountain ranges. It is a city known for its historical forts, temples and royal places of erstwhile royals. It is one of the best places to explore the splendor and magnificence of India.
Kolhapur is about 387 km from the Mumbai, the financial capital of India and is famous for the Indian handcrafted leather slippers the Kolhapuri chappals and its unique local Jewellery a special type of necklace called Kolhapuri Saaj.
Kolhapur is famous for the shri. Mahalakshmi Temple and according to the popular belief goddess Mahalakshmi started residing in Kolhapur following a quarrel with her husband lord Vishnu. Kolhapur derived its name from a mythological event legend says, Goddess Mahalakshmi killed a demon named Kolhasur who used to oppress the local people. Before dying, the demon wished that the place be named after him and so the region got to be known as Kolhapur. Also, Old Palace, New Palace, Rankala Lake, Shalani Palace, Town Hall, Panchaganga Ghat, Shivaji Pool etc. are the places a tourist cannot afford to miss. Kolhapur city is famous for Kolhapuri Chappal, Kolhapuri Lavangi Mirchi, Kolhapuri Gur (Gul), Kolhapuri Tambada & Pandhra Rassa (Red & White curry), Kolhapuri Suke Mutton (Dry Meat), Kolhapuri Misal, Kolhapuri Saaj, Kolhapuri Pheta, Kohapuri Dudh Katta, Kusti (wrestling).
The Bhonsle dynasty was the ruling family of Kolhapur pricely state and they pride themselves for being the descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj the Great. King Chhatrapati Shahaji II Puar was the last ruler of the state of Kolhapur. Down the years the rulers of Kolhapur promoted theatre, wrestling and other crafts. Today, Kolhapur is a modern and industrialized city.
Situated at an altitude of 1900 feet, Kolhapur enjoys a pleasant climate for the major portion of the year best time to visit Kolhapur is from October to March.
Kolhapur Airport that is located in Ujlaiwadi, about 9 km on the southeast of Kolhapur city caters to domestic flights to and from Mumbai, Tirupathi, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. You can hire a cab or auto rickshaw from the airport to reach your destination. Direct bus transport from the airport to points in the city is in the offing.
Lohegaon Airport is located at a distance of 250 km from Kolhapur and can be reached by buses and taxis available near the airport. It takes approximately 4 hours and 15 minutes to make the journey to Kolhapur. Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport is located at a distance of about 380 km from Kolhapur, and is a six and a half hours’ journey via road.
One another option of Belgaum airport is 125 kms away from Kolhapur, but it is in Karnataka State.
Shri Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj Terminus in Kolhapur connects the city by express trains like Sahyadri Express, Koyna Express or the fast Mahalaxmi Express to Mumbai and Pune and other major cities like Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Solapur, Thirupathi, Ahmedabad, New Delhi, Dhanbad and Nagpur. There are regular passenger train services between Pune and Kolhapur as well as DEMU trains that run between Kolhapur and Miraj, Sangli and Satara.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) runs regular and semi deluxe buses to Kolhapur from cities like Mumbai, Pune, Goa, Belgaum etc. There are private Volvo, luxury and semi luxury buses as well that ply to Kolhapur from cities including Goa, Bengaluru, Solapur, Pune and Mumbai.
