Sangli - Hotel Great Maratha

Ganapati Temple is regarded as the most beautiful temple in south Maharashtra. It is situated on the banks of river Krishna at Sangli. Thorle (elder) Chintamanrao Patwardhan consecrated the idol in 1843.

The temple has been artistically built with black stone brought from Jyotibha hills. There is a platform, a hall and a ‘Nagarkhana’ inside the vast two acres complex of the temple. The entrance door has been carved out of different coloured natural wood.

The idol of the Lord Ganapati is made of copper. The idol has been kept in a way that it is visible from any part of Ganapati Peth. It looks so beautiful when the silvery rays of evening sun brighten the face of the Ganapati idol.

Ganapati festival is celebrated with great religious fervour for five days from Bhadrapad Shuddha Chaturthi.

Sangli is well connected by air, train and road. Dharamshalas and small budgeted hotels at Sangli are available for accommodation.

Hare Krishna Gram, Tasgaon, Tasgaon – Atpadi Rd, Aravade, Maharashtra 416408

The beautiful and attractive deities of Sri Sri Radha Gopal preside in this temple. A grand hall decorated with pastimes of Lord Krishna has been created in front of the Garbh-griha. It boasts a combination of modern and ancient architecture and Vastusastra. From a distance one can observe the tall outstanding domes of the temple. The sprawling Vrindavan Garden enhances the beauty of the temple premises. The Krishna Tattva Darshan is set to enliven all visitors, especially the school children who are generally spell bound by the effervescent beauty of the deities, Sri Sri Radha Gopal.

The Shri Mahalakshmi (AmbaBai) Temple of Kolhapur in Maharashtra, India, is one of the Shakti Peethas listed in various puranas of Hinduism. According to these writings, a Shakti Peetha is a place associated with Shakti, thegoddess of power. The Kolhapur Shakti Peetha is of special religious significance being one of the six places where it is believed that one can either obtain salvation from desires or have them fulfilled. The temple takes its name fromMahalakshmi, the consort of Vishnu, and it is believed that the divine couple reside in the area.

The temple belongs architecturally to the Kannada Chalukya empire and was first built in the 7th century.[1] Mounted on a stone platform, the image of the four armed and crowned goddess is made of gemstone and weighs about 40 kilograms. The image of Mahalakshmi carved in black stone is 3 feet in height. The Shri Yantra is carved on one of the walls in the temple. A stone lion, the vahana of the goddess, stands behind the statue. The crown contains an image of the Sheshnag — the serpent of Vishnu. In Her four hands, the deity of Mahalakshmi holds objects of symbolic value. The lower right hand holds a mhalunga (a citrus fruit), in the upper right, a large mace (kaumodaki) with its head touching the ground, in the upper left a shield (khetaka), and in the lower left, a bowl (panpatra). Unlike most Hindusacred images, which face north or east, the image of this deity looks west (Pashchim). There is a small open window on the western wall, through which the light of the setting sun falls on the face of the image for three days around the 21st of each March and September. There are a number of other shrines in the courtyard to the Navagrahas, Surya, Mahishasuramardini, Vitthal-Rakhmai, Shiva, Vishnu, Tulja Bhavani and others. Some of these images date back to the 11th century, while some are of recent origin. Also located in the courtyard is the temple tank Manikarnika Kund, on whose bank is a shrine to Visweshwar Mahadev.

Worship Structure: Five worship services are offered each day. The first one is at 5 am, and it involves the waking of the deity with a Kakada – torch, to the accompaniment of hymns. The second worship service at 8 am involves the offeirng of the Shodashopachara pooja consisting of 16 elements. The afternoon and evening services and the Shejaarati pooja constitute the three other services.

Special Events: A festival image of the deity is taken out in procession around the temple courtyard each Friday, and on full moon days.

The Dandoba Hill Forest Preserve can be reached with a 25 minute drive from Sangli. This forest preserve is rich in flora and fauna and also has a few historically significant ancient temples in its hills. The hills of this preserve are a popular location for trekking and long hikes. There is also an annual mini-marathon race held at Dandoba hill Station, which is quite a popular event.

Close to national highway NH 204, this is perfect spot for adventures and spotting rare species of vegetation. Ideal for groups who want to plant trees and preserve them.

The hill is situated @ 15 km from miraj It lies on eastern side of miraj pandharpur road and it transforms in to a lush green plate after rainy season A hill cave has a temple of Dandoba(lord shiva} an worshiped since centuries A watch behind the cave gives you parnomial view and you can see the cities Sangli and Miraj at the sky line The cool wind is enjoyable and the forest department has planted thousands of trees to adorn the place

Chandoli National Park is one of the famous wildlife reserves of the state of Maharashtra that is being located on the intersection of Sangli, Satara, Kolhapur and Ratnagiri Districts and in between Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary. This park was established in the year 2004 that envelopes more than 23 species of mammals, 20 species of amphibians and reptiles and about 122 species of birds.

The total area of the Chandoli National Park is more than 317.67 km2 (122.65 sq mi). This park is situated in the Sangli District of the state of Maharashtra, India and was established in May 2004 and was declared as the Wildlife Sanctuary in 1985.

This park is situated in the southern part of the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve and the Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary in the northern part of the century.

The location of this park is on the apex of Sahyadri Range of the northern Western Ghats. This park is the source of forming as well as the protection of many permanent water channels, water holes and the Vasant Sagar Reservoir. The elevation of this park is about 589–1,044 m (1,932–3,425 ft). The main source of water to this park is Warna river and the
other are some reservoir and many other small torrents and rivers.

There are many flat type mountains, rocky, plateaus that are known as ‘Saddas’ that have scarcity of the vegetation. Besides this there are also many caves as well as huge boulders that protect this area in Sahyadri region of the Western Ghats.

The flora of this region consists of the moist forests of Malabar Coast and the moist deciduous forests fo the North Western Ghats.
Fauna

The Fauna of this area includes about 23 mammal species, about 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, 122 species of birds that have the home in the forests of Chandoli.

Certain endangered species like Bengal Tigers, leopard cats, Indian leopards, Indian bison, Indian giant squirrels and the sloth bears are quite common here.

Certain species of prey like sambar deer, barking deer, blackbuck and mouse deer are also found here. According to the census of 2002 that was done by the Department of the forest shows the growth of number of tigers, gaur, leopards, mouse deer, barking deer, sloth bears and blackbuck. According to the similar type of census that was carried out in 2004 tells about the growth of the population of gaur in the Kohlapur Wildlife Division from 88 to 243.

Dajipur is situated on the border of Kolhapur and Sindhudurg districts. Rugged mountains and dense forests surround this hilly area. This quiet little place is completely cut-off from human blare. Dajipur is home to bison, wild deer, chital, gawa and many more spectacular wild animals and birds.

Situating at 1200 metres above the sea level, it is an exciting and beautiful holiday getaway. An excursion in the vicinity to the Gagangiri Maharaj’s Math makes a pleasant outing for the tourists. This scenic resort near the backwaters of the Radhanagari Dam is highly recommended for wildlife lovers and nature enthusiasts.

Nearest airport is at Belgaum, nearest railhead is at Kolhapur. It is 490 km away from Mumabi, while 80 km from Kolhapur. But it is only 30 km from Radhanagari.

This wildlife sanctuary is home to bison, wild deer, chital, gawa and many more spectacular wild animals and birds. Surrounded by rugged mountains and dense forests, this secluded little place is completely cut-off from any kind of urbanization.

Gagangiri Maharaj is a great yogi. With unique capacities, vision and synthesis; Gagangiri Maharaj, and the math is renowned as a spiritual destination for domestic and foreign travelers. The Math is located in the midst of dense forests and thick green vegetation near Dajipur.

Radhanagari Dam and the reservoir offer some very beautiful sights about 100mts above the sea level. Radhanagari Dam, constructed by Shahu Maharaj is constructed across Bhogawati River. This century old dam is used mainly for irrigation and power generation. The dam is 1037 m long, covering 11000 hectares of wooded hills surrounding it. There is a hydroelectric project with an installed capacity of 10 MW.

At about 1200mts above sea level these ghats offer some sweeping images of the valleys. During monsoons the glistening shades of green offer a majestic view of the Konkan.

21 km into the thick forest takes you to the heart of the sanctuary where sighting of the bison, wild deer, chital, gawa and the barking deer is quite common.

The walk through the ghats is quite an exciting option with beautiful views of the valley and sparkling waterfalls and streams.