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Panchgani Paachgani | |
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Hill station | |
![]() View of Panchgani Hills | |
Coordinates: 17°55′30″N73°48′00″E / 17.925°N 73.8°E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | Maharashtra |
District | Satara |
Elevation | 1,293 m (4,242 ft) |
Population (2001) | |
• Total | 13,280 |
Languages | |
• Official | Marathi |
Time zone | UTC+5:30 (IST) |
PIN | 412805 |
Panchgani, called Paachgani, is a hill station and municipal council in Satara district in Maharashtra, India. Panchgani attracts tourists throughout the year. It is also known for having many convent boarding schools. [1]
Panchgani is around 108 kilometres from Pune and 250 kilometres from Mumbai.
Panchgani was developed by the British during the British Raj as a summer resort under the supervision of Lord John Chesson in the 1860s. Panchgani was developed as a retirement place because its climate remained pleasant throughout the year. He surveyed the hills of this region with Rustomji Dubash, and finally decided on this nameless area around the five villages: Dandeghar, Godavali, Ambral, Khingar, and Taighat. The place was aptly named Panchgani, meaning "land between five villages", and Chesson was made superintendent.
To develop the infrastructure, Chesson encouraged various professionals - tailors, dhobis, butchers, vegetable vendors, building contractors - to also settle in Panchgani. The area below the bazaar was allotted to them, and is now known as the gaothan. He is credited with planting plant species from the western world in Panchgani, including silver oak and poinsettia, which have flourished since then in Panchgani. Chesson is buried in the graveyard of St. Peter's Church. In 1971 or '72, his death centenary was observed in a big way when for the first time, the town folk and the schools participated together in a ceremony to remember the founder of Panchgani.[ citation needed ]
A number of schools were started in the 19th century across different communities, and Panchgani started flourishing as an educational town.
In the 1890s, Kimmins High School was started for European boys and girls. 1902, the boys' section separated to become European Boys High School, now known as St. Peter's School, Panchgani, and Kimmins became an exclusive girls' school. In 1895, the Roman Catholic order of nuns known as "Daughters of The Cross" started St. Joseph's Convent School, Panchgani. All three boarding schools were modeled on the English Public Schools of that time, and were affiliated to Cambridge University. The board exams would be held in December, the question papers being sent from England by sea. The answer papers were sent back by sea and the results were declared in June.
Shortly afterward, other communities started their schools. These schools were affiliated to matriculation examination of the Bombay Presidency. The Parsi School, the first of these schools, later became the Billimoria School. The Muslim School became the Union High School, and is now known as Anjuman-I-Islam School. Both these schools were modelled on the English Public Schools. Hindu High School was started, now known as the Sanjeewan Vidyalaya. This was modelled on Rabindranath Tagore's Shantiniketan. The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of India runs the New Era High School. A retired teacher from the Parsi High School, Mr. S. M. Batha started the S.M. Batha School, Panchgani International School and junior College [2] is also one of the Best School in Panchgani .
The fresh air and invigorating climate of Panchgani made it a good place for convalescence. A well-known tuberculosis specialist from Bombay, Dr. Rustomji Bomanji Billimoria set up the Bel Air sanatorium, in the 1940s, as a centre for the treatment of TB. Till the advent of antibiotics, "Dalkieth" (Bel Air) was the premier place for the treatment of tuberculosis in the Bombay Presidency.
Panchgani is nestled in the middle of five hills in the Western Ghats alias Sahyādri mountain ranges. There are five villages around Panchgani named Dandeghar, Khingar, Godavali, Ambral & Taighat. The Krishnā River flows in the valley on which the Dhom Dam has been built approximately 9 km from Wai. The east of the Panchgani is Wai, Bavdhan & Nagewadi dam, at west is Gureghar, at the south is Khingar & Rajpuri & on the north is Dhom Dam.
The five hills surrounding Panchgani are topped by a volcanic plateau, These plateaus, alternatively known as "table land", are a part of the Deccan Plateau, they were raised by pressure between the earth plates. The area has high seismic activity, with an epicenter near Koynānagar where the Koynanagar Dam and a hydroelectric power plant have been built.
In recent times, Paachgani has been facing ecological problems because of poorly controlled commercial activities, excessive traffic, and temperature inversion (because of humidity) from the new dams which have been built in the vicinity for water storage.
The temperature in Panchgani is around 12 degrees Celsius during winter, and sometimes reaches 34 degrees Celsius during summer; humidity level is very low except in the Monsoon. Monsoon rainy season spans between June and September.
Climate data for Panchgani | |||||||||||||
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Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 23.9 (75.0) | 25.1 (77.2) | 28.9 (84.0) | 31.2 (88.2) | 31.3 (88.3) | 24.2 (75.6) | 20.7 (69.3) | 20.8 (69.4) | 21.3 (70.3) | 24.7 (76.5) | 23.2 (73.8) | 23.1 (73.6) | 24.9 (76.8) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 14.2 (57.6) | 15.3 (59.5) | 18.5 (65.3) | 20.6 (69.1) | 20.1 (68.2) | 17.2 (63.0) | 17.1 (62.8) | 16.4 (61.5) | 16.4 (61.5) | 17.3 (63.1) | 14.7 (58.5) | 13.9 (57.0) | 16.8 (62.3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 4.1 (0.16) | 1.3 (0.05) | 4.8 (0.19) | 25.9 (1.02) | 43.9 (1.73) | 261.1 (10.28) | 697.2 (27.45) | 404.1 (15.91) | 221.5 (8.72) | 126.7 (4.99) | 66.0 (2.60) | 8.4 (0.33) | 1,865 (73.43) |
Source: Government of Maharashtra |
As per Census India 2011, Panchgani town has a population of 13,393 of which 6,974 are males and 6,419 are females. [3] Males constituted 52.07% of the population, and females, 47.93%. [4] The population of children between age 0-6 is 1,368 which is 10.21% of total. The sex-ratio of Panchgani is around 920 compared to 929 which is average of Maharashtra state. Literacy rate of Panchgani is 80.56% out of which 84.6% males are literate and 76.16% females are literate. There are 9.62% Scheduled Caste (SC) and 2.75% Scheduled Tribe (ST) of total population in Panchgani. [4]
Panchgani is known for its boarding schools established since the late 19th century. They attract students from the nearby cities of Mumbai and Pune. The schools in Panchgani are:
Strawberries are cultivated year round in Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar region. The strawberry grown here has been granted a Geographical indication status. [14]
Tourism- The town is a popular tourist resort in Maharashtra due to its proximity to Mumbai and Pune. In the past till around the 70s the town used to close down for tourists in the monsoon season but now this is year round tourist destination
The global charity Initiatives of Change opened "a centre for introspection and dialogue", a 68-acre campus called Asia Plateau at Panchgani in 1967. Over the past four decades Asia Plateau has been used for holding training programmes and conferences of Initiatives of Change, particularly to address issues of corruption and governance within companies and public institutions. On certain occasions, the centre is used for programmes of like-minded institutions. [15] It is also running a model farm and rural training centre called Grampari, aiming at propagating good practices in the Indian villages, to foster hygiene, local democracy and economic development. There are also various Jam and crushes stores found throughout the Town
The "Table Land " was a shooting spot for Raja Hindustani , Mela , Taare Zameen Par . Television series Pyaar Kii Ye Ek Kahaani were filmed here. In 2021 Kartik Aaryan filmed Freddy (2022). [16]
The Krishna River in the Deccan plateau is the third-longest river in India, after the Ganges and Godavari. It is also the fourth-largest in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganges, Indus and Godavari. The river, also called Krishnaveni, is 1,400 kilometres (870 mi) long and its length in Maharashtra is 282 kilometres. It is a major source of irrigation in the Indian states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
Mahabaleshwar is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because the Krishna River has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill station, and it served as the summer capital of the Bombay Presidency during the British Raj.
Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about 64 km west of Pune and 96 km to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy chikki and is also a major stop on the railway line connecting Mumbai and Pune. From the Pune suburbs, local trains are available from Pune Junction. The Mumbai-Pune Expressway and the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway both pass through Lonavala.
Satara is a city located in the Satara District of Maharashtra state of India, near the confluence of the river Krishna and its tributary, the Venna. The city was established in the 16th century and was the seat of the Chhatrapati of Maratha Empire, Shahu I.
Wai is a town in Satara district of Maharashtra state in India. Located on the Krishna River, Wai was a prominent town during the Peshwa era. Two important Marathi Brahmin from ruling families had their origins here: Rani Lakshmibai of Jhansi and Gopikabai, wife of Nanasaheb Peshwa.
Satara district is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km2 (4,050 sq mi) and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban. Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Medha, Wai, Karad, Malkapur, Koregaon, Rahimatpur, Dahiwadi, Koynanagar, Phaltan, Lonand, Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Vaduj and Mhaswad. This district comes under Pune Administrative Division along with Pune, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur. The district of Pune bounds it to the north, Raigad bounds it to the north-west, Solapur the east, Sangli to the south, and Ratnagiri to the west.
Chas is a small town on the banks of the river Ghod River in Ambegaon taluka of Pune district in the Indian state of Maharashtra, India.
St. Peter's School is a private all-boys boarding school located in the town of Panchgani in Satara, Maharashtra, India. Founded in 1902, it ranks among the top ten boarding schools in India. The school campus covers an area of approximately 58 acres (23 ha) in the hilly countryside of Western India. It is essentially a boarding school, but a few day scholars are also admitted.
Maharashtra attracts tourists from other Indian states and foreign countries. It was the second most visited Indian state by foreigners and fifth most visited state by domestic tourists in the country in 2021. Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra.
Kudal is a village in the Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is surrounded by a river called Niranjana or Kudali. There is a big temple of 'Pimpleshwar & Wakadeshwar' at the river coast. Agriculture is the main land use in the village, with more than 75% of the total area being used for agricultural activities. The village has a close view to the historic Vairatgad Fort. It is central for 15 villages situated nearby Kudal Village.
Dhom Dam is an earthfill and gravity dam on Krishna River near Wai in state of Maharashtra in India.
Mapro Gardens is a garden park in the hill station of Panchgani, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is near to Mahabaleshwar. The region is India's leading strawberry producer. It is a popular tourist destination. It is located in the village of Gureghar and developed and maintained by food processing company Mapro. Gureghar claims to be one of India's first villages to have 100% sanitation with every house having a biogas plant.
The Kas Plateau Reserved Forest, also known as the Kaas Pathar, is a plateau situated 25 kilometres west from Satara city in Maharashtra, India. It falls under the Sahyadri Sub Cluster of the Western Ghats, and it became a part of a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2012.
Jal Phiroj Clubwala Dar E Meher, popularly known as the Royapuram fire temple, is a Zoroastrian fire temple at Royapuram, Chennai, India. It was built in 1910 and donated to the Madras Parsi Zarthosti Anjuman by philanthropist Phiroj M. Clubwala. The temple is one of the 177 odd fire temples in the world, of which some 150 are in India. It is the only Parsi fire temple in Tamil Nadu and surrounding region, including Puducherry and Kerala. The flame in the temple is burning continuously ever since the temple was built and is stoked five times a day by the priest.
Ninam is a census village in Satara district, in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a village surrounded by greenery and farms but also mountains. Agriculture is the main land use in the village with more than 75% of the total area being used for agricultural activities. The village close to historic Ajinkyatara fort, which is to the north. The large Jyotirlinga temple is in the center of the village.
Vele is a village in the Western region of Maharashtra state in India. It is located in Satara district of Maharashtra. Before it was a part of Bombay State and Princely state of Satara. It is located adjacent to Kanher Dam built on Venna River. There is a big temple of Bhairava at the village entrance. Also there are number of temples in closed vicinity of village. Surrounded by greenery and farms, agriculture is the main occupation in the village with more than 80% of the total area being used for agricultural activities. Though agriculture constitutes a mainstay of the economy of this village, besides a sizeable population working at various plum government positions does bolster the financial position.
Pustakanch Gaav is a special library in Bhilar, Maharashtra that opened on May 4, 2017. The initiative was conceptualized and led by Vinod Tawde, Minister of Cultural Affairs and Marathi Language and inaugurated by Devendra Fadnavis, Ex.Chief Minister of Maharashtra. This government initiative is inspired by Britain’s Hay-on-Wye, a notable Welsh town known for its book stores. At the time of launch, there were 25 artistically decorated locations in Bhilar that are turned into spots for readers; collectively they housed over 15,000 books in 18 distinct genres. Most books were in Marathi language and there were plans to add additional 25,000 books in other languages such as English, Hindi and Gujarati.