Places to visit in Maharashtra
These are the places Maharashtra trips are built from. Each trip page lists exactly which of them it covers, and a private trip can swap one for another.
- Ajanta Caves: Thirty rock-cut Buddhist caves in a horseshoe of the Waghur gorge, with murals around 2,000 years old; a UNESCO World Heritage site, about 100 km from Aurangabad and closed on Mondays.
- Ellora Caves, Grishneshwar and Daulatabad: Buddhist, Hindu and Jain caves side by side, crowned by the Kailasa temple carved from a single rock; the Grishneshwar Jyotirlinga is next door and Daulatabad fort on the road from Aurangabad. Ellora is closed on Tuesdays.
- Bibi Ka Maqbara and the Aurangabad Caves: The white 17th-century tomb called the Taj of the Deccan, and the smaller Buddhist caves on the hillside above the city.
- Shirdi and Shani Shingnapur: The Sai Baba Samadhi Mandir, where darshan can take two hours or more on Thursdays, weekends and festivals, and the Shani shrine at Shingnapur, the village known for houses without doors.
- Nashik and Trimbakeshwar: Ram Kund on the Godavari, the white-marble Muktidham temple and the Sita Gufaa caves in Nashik, and the Trimbakeshwar Jyotirlinga below Brahmagiri hill, near the source of the Godavari.
- Bhimashankar: The Jyotirlinga in the forest of the Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary, high in the Sahyadris at the source of the Bhima river.
- Lonavala and Khandala: Tiger's Leap and Lion's Point over the valley, Bhushi Dam in the monsoon, and the 2,000-year-old Buddhist halls of the Karla and Bhaja caves.
- Lohagad Fort and Pawna Lake: The Iron Fort above the Bor pass, climbed on broad stone steps and one of the Maratha forts on the UNESCO list since 2025, with Pawna Lake and its lakeside camps below.
- Matheran: The car-free hill station: vehicles stop at Dasturi Naka and the last stretch is on foot, horseback or hand-rickshaw, to Charlotte Lake, Echo Point, Louisa Point and the red-earth forest trails.
- Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani: Arthur's Seat, Elphinstone and Kate's points over the Krishna valley, boating on Venna Lake and strawberries at Mapro in season; Panchgani's Table Land and Sydney Point are half an hour away.
- Kaas Plateau and Satara: The plateau of monsoon wildflowers, part of the Western Ghats World Heritage site, at its best from late August into October, with Thoseghar falls, Sajjangad and Ajinkyatara fort around Satara.
- Kalu waterfall, Naneghat and Harishchandragad: The monsoon Sahyadris: the Kalu falls dropping into a deep gorge, the Naneghat reverse waterfall that the wind blows back up the cliff, Jivdhan and Shivneri, the fort where Shivaji was born, and the Konkan Kada cliff on Harishchandragad.
Opening hours and tickets
The caves keep fixed weekly closures: Ajanta is closed on Mondays and Ellora on Tuesdays, which is why our trips put them on different days. Shirdi darshan normally takes up to two hours and can stretch past four on Thursdays, weekends and festivals; Trimbakeshwar and Grishneshwar can take two hours on an ordinary day. Ticket prices and darshan pass rules change, so check them on the day; the trip pages list which ones are paid on the spot.
What to eat
Vada pav and misal pav are the roadside staples, with a Maharashtrian thali for lunch on the drives. Lonavala is known for its chikki and fudge, Mahabaleshwar for strawberries, cream and jams at Mapro in the winter months, and Nashik for its grapes and vineyards. On the private trips breakfast is included and other meals are at your own choice and cost; the group weekends include the meals each trip page lists.