Maharashtra attracts tourists from other Indian states and foreign countries. [1] It was the second most visited Indian state by foreigners and fifth most visited state by domestic tourists in the country in 2021. [2] Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra. [3]
The city is the eastern equivalent of New York City and Los Angeles, the financial capital and entertainment (Bollywood) capital of the country. [4] Places of interest include: Gateway of India, The Bandra-Worli Sea Link, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, a humongous architectural stone structure built by the British more than 200 years ago, Downtown Mumbai - reminiscent of the 19th century British architecture. Girgaon Chowpatty beach, Madh Island beach and other beaches towards the south of Mumbai. Elephanta Caves, carved out of a giant stone on an island are a short ferry away into the Arabian Sea. Siddhivinayak Temple, Mumbai is one of the most popular temple of Ganesha in Mumbai. Along with being a religious place, it is a great attraction for tourists. Due to its cosmopolitan nature, Mumbai has proven a popular tourism destination most often visited by Indians.
The city is famous for its Nashik grape and Vineyards. It is known as "The Wine Capital of India" owing to 26 wineries being located here out of a total of 46 throughout India. Several wine festivals and wine tasting tours are held in this region.[ citation needed ] Nashik is also surrounded by various forts and hills and has an abundance of hiking trails.
A 108 feet tall statue of the first Jain Tirthankar Rishabhanatha was consecrated at Mangi Tungi in 2016, which is the tallest Jain statue in the world. The place has now become a major pilgrimage and tourist destination in the state.[ citation needed ]
The city also has a lot of religious and mythological significance. Lord Rama lived in Panchavati during his exile as mentioned in the epic Ramayana. It is famous for its numerous temples like Kalaram Temple, Trimbakeshwar Temple - one of the 12 Jyotirlingas. The river Godavari River, also known as the Ganga of the South, originates from the Brahmagiri Hills in Trimbakeshwar. The Nasik-Trimbakeshwar Simhastha is one of the four Kumbh Melas held every 12 years in Nashik. [5]
Pune district has been at the center of History of Maharashtra for more than 400 years, beginning with the Deccan sultanates and followed by the Maratha Empire. The district has a number of mountain forts and buildings from these eras, in addition to shrines revered by Marathi Hindus (including five of the eight Ashtavinayaka Ganesha temples). Samadhis of the two most revered Marathi Bhakti saints (Dnyaneshwar and Tukaram) are in Alandi [6] and Dehu, respectively. The main temple of Khandoba, the family deity for most Marathi Hindus, is in Jejuri. [7]
The British designated Pune as the monsoon capital of the Bombay Presidency, and many buildings and parks from the era remain. Hill stations such as Lonavla and Khandala also date back to the Raj, and remain popular with residents of Pune and Mumbai for holidays. [8] The Western part of Pune district is dotted with the ruins of many mountain forts from Deccan Sultanate and the Maratha empire eras respectively. These forts and the surrounding hills with forests are popular with people interested in trekking, hiking and Heritage tourism. [9]
Bhigwan, a catchment area of the Ujjani Dam, is about from Pune on NH 9, the Pune-Solapur highway. An area of about 18,000 hectares (69 sq mi) has become a sanctuary for migratory birds.
In January 2021, the prison department of Maharashtra announced jail Tourism at the Yerawada jail where Indian independence activists like M.K Gandhi, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Vallabhbhai Patel Subhashchandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Jawaharlal Nehru were imprisoned. The visitor number to the prison will initially be capped at 50 per day. [10]
This citys also known as Aurangabad, in the central part of Maharashtra and attracts tourists for its natural beauty. The Ajanta Caves and Ellora Caves, that lie on the outskirts of Aurangabad are internationally renowned for man-made caves and intricate carvings in them. Ajanta and Ellora Caves are UNESCO World Heritage sites. [11] [12] Ellora is notable for having a unique monolithic vertically excavated building known as Kailasa temple, Ellora and Ajanta Caves is notably for Lord Buddha in stone. Ancient Buddhist life has been depicted in the delicate stonework. While Ajanta is completely Buddhist caves, Ellora caves belong to Buddhism, Hinduism, and Jainism. Summers are not advisable for touring as temperatures can reach up to and above 44 degrees C during the day. There are other famous places of interest like Bibi Ka Maqbara (The Taj Mahal of Deccan), Daulatabad Fort, Panchakki, Sunheri Mahal, etc. Aurangabad has good connectivity by air, road, and railways.
Aurangabad is the tourism capital of Maharashtra. [13]
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With a tradition of producing the best Oranges, Nagpur city is known as the City of Oranges. Nagpur is also known as the second greenest city in India due to a number of trees in the city. The tourism in Nagpur is due to a large number of National Parks/Wildlife Sanctuaries surrounding Nagpur. All of these sanctuaries have Tiger as their major attractions. Two notable National Parks around Nagpur are Pench National Park around 60 km north of Nagpur, and Tadoba National Park around 180 km south of Nagpur. In recent years, Tadoba National Park gained much importance among wildlife enthusiasts nationally and internationally due to the high probability of sighting Tigers. The other wildlife sanctuaries include Nagzira Wildlife Sanctuary around 110 km east of Nagpur, Melghat Tiger Reserve around 260 km west of Nagpur, Umred Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary 60 km southeast of Nagpur, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary 60 km southwest of Nagpur, Kanha National Park 260 km northeast of Nagpur, Satpura National Park 270 km northwest of Nagpur.
Beside these Nagpur has much historical significance. Deekshabhoomi - the place where Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and lakhs of the so-called lower caste who deemed as untouchables by Hindu caste system, embraced Buddhism. Another important place to visit is Tekadi Ganesh mandir on Sitabuildi fort complex. The city has other places of tourist importance such as Maharajbagh zoo, and Futala lake Chowpati, Nagpur is well connected with all major cities of India by roadways and railways, and also have an international airport. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar International Airport (IATA: NAG, ICAO: VANP) is an international airport serving the city of Nagpur, Maharashtra, India. In 2005, it was named after B. R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of the Indian Constitution.
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Satara lies on the western part of Maharashtra. It is known for tourist places like Mahabaleshwar, Wai, Panchgani and rivers such as Koyna and Krishna. Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani are one of the famous tourist places in India. Krishna originates at Mahabaleswar near the Jor village in the extreme north of Wai district. The Kaas plateau is also one of the most popular tourist attractions in Satara. This plateau falls under the Sahyadri Sub Cluster of Western Ghats which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Maharashtra has tremendous potential for Nature Tourism. Many private and public organizations have begun unique and innovative forms of nature tourism.
During the colonial rule, the British developed many hill stations throughout India and in Maharashtra to escape the heat during the summer months. [14] Most of these are located on the hills of the Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats and close to the largest metropolitan areas in state, namely Mumbai and Pune. Chikhaldara and Toranmal are two places that are located on the Satpura range which runs east to west on the border between Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. Popular colonial era hill stations in the state include
Lavasa is a very recently developed township and is under private control.
Maharashtra boasts of a large number of popular and revered religious venues that are heavily frequented by locals as well as out-of-state visitors.
A number of temples such as Bhimashankar, Trimbakeshwar, Bhavani of Tuljapur, Shani Shingnapur, Jyotiba Temple, Ashtavinayaka Ganapati temples, Lord Pandurang temple at Pandharpur attract a huge number of Hindu devotees every year. Khandoba temple of God Khandoba at Jejuri in the Pune district attract pilgrims from all over the Maharashtra where worshipers shower each other with Bhandar (turmaric powder).< Saibaba temple at Shirdi is visited by an average of 25,000 pilgrims a day and during religious festivals, this number can reach up to 300,000.
Marathi Hindu families have a family deity called Kuldevta that they visit after many auspicious events.Important ancient Kuldevta temples that attract pilgrims in the state include:
Many temples or shrines of 19th and 20th century saints are very popular with pilgrims.The important ones include:
Other places popular with devotees and pilgrims include:
Kumbhoj is the name of an ancient town located in Kolhapur district, Maharashtra. The town is about eight kilometers from Hatkanangale, about twenty seven kilometers from Kolhapur. The famous Jain pilgrimage centre where a 28-foot (8.5 m)-high statue of Bahubali is installed is 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the Kumbhoj city. [19]
Central Railway is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. It has the distinction of operating the first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853.
DaulatabadFort originally DeogiriFort, is a historic fortified citadel located in Daulatabad village near Aurangabad, Maharashtra, India. It was the capital of the Yadavas, for a brief time the capital of the Delhi Sultanate, and later a secondary capital of the Ahmadnagar Sultanate.
Osmanabad District, officially known as Dharashiv District, is an administrative district in the Marathwada region in the Indian state of Maharashtra. The district headquarter is located at Osmanabad. The District of Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, the 7th Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, of which the region was a part till 1947. This region was earlier part of The Hyderabad State until Independence.This primarily rural district occupies an area of 7,569 km2 (2,922 sq mi) of which 241.4 km2 (93.2 sq mi) is urban and has a population of 1,657,576 of which 16.96% were urban.
Pandharpur is a Popular pilgrimage town, on the banks of Chandrabhagā River, near Solapur city in Solapur District, Maharashtra, India. Its administrative area is one of eleven tehsils in the District, and it is an electoral constituency of the state legislative assembly. The Vithoba temple attracts about a million Hindu pilgrims during the major yātrā (pilgrimage) in Ashadha (June–July).
Aurangabad district, officially known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar district, is one of the 36 districts of the state of Maharashtra in western India. It borders the districts of Nashik to the west, Jalgaon to the north, Jalna to the east, and Ahmednagar to the south. The city of Aurangabad houses the district's administrative headquarters. The district has an area of 10,100 km2, of which 37.55% is urban and the rest is rural. Aurangabad District is a major tourism region in Marathwada.
Buldhana is a City and a Municipal Council in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Established on 17 February 1893. It is the Administrative headquarters of the Buldhana District of Amravati division. It is the Second largest City in the district after Khamgaon and a popular place as a hill station because the city is surrounded by the mountainous area in the Ajanta range. Buldhana is around 552 km away from the state capital Mumbai. Buldhana has many religious, historical and tourist places around it like Balaji Temple in rajur ghat a replica of popular Balaji Temple of South India, is a famous religious and tourist place within city limits, Shri Gajanan Maharaj Temple in Shegaon around 75 km away, the World Famous Lonar Crater a National Geo-heritage monument created by meteorite impact is almost 100 km from city of Buldhana, Rajmata Jijau birthplace Sindkhed Raja is 90 km, Sailani Baba Dargah a major attraction of Buldhana just 25 km away from the city, The World Heritage Site Ajanta Caves is just 55 km away from the City and Dnyanganga Wildlife Sanctuary in Botha Forest is also just 20 km away from the city and many more tourist places are there around Buldhana City.
Jainism has been present in Maharashtra since ancient times. The famous Ellora Caves demonstrate that Jainism was part of a thriving religious culture in Maharashtra in premodern times.
Chalisgaon is third largest city and municipal council in Jalgaon district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is located in the Khandesh division of the state. and is located about 100 km (62 mi) from Jalgaon and about 330 km (210 mi) from Maharashtra's capital Mumbai. A town where zero was invented and came into light in the ancient sanskrit scriptures. The mountains of Patnadevi jungle (forest) where rivers make an exceptional oxbow lake caused by precipitation patterns, it has transformed into a complete circle engulfing a whole mountain, folklores of the town still to this day talk about how that was a representation of Bhaskaracharya’s arrival on site and correlation with zero. It can be seen in the meteorological survey documents of Indian government, with clear satellite images of forest.
Kannad is a Taluka and a Municipal Council City in Aurangabad District in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kannad has located 58 km from Aurangabad. It is located 24 km away from the Ellora Caves and Grishneshwar Temple. It is 45 Km from Daulatabad / Deogiri Fort.
Chandwad (IPA:Cāndavaḍa) is a town located in the Nashik district in Maharashtra. It is 250 km from Mumbai. The 11th-century Jain Caves, Renuka devi mandir, Chandreshwar temple and Rangmahal are in Chandwad.
The economy of the state of Maharashtra is the largest in India. Mumbai, the capital of Maharashtra and often described as the New York of India or Manhattan of India, is the financial capital and the most populous city of India with an estimated city proper population of 12.5 million (1.25 crore). The city is the entertainment, fashion, and commercial centre of India. Mumbai hosts the largest urban economy of any city in India. is considered the financial capital of India with the headquarters of almost all major banks, financial institutions, insurance companies and mutual funds being based in the city. India's largest stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange, the oldest in Asia, is also located in the city. More than 41% of the S&P CNX 500 conglomerates have corporate offices in Maharashtra.
Dulari Qureshi is an Indian academic, art historian and author. She has written more than 1,000 articles on art, culture and tourism development and its impacts on monuments. She is a retired professor and Director in the Department of Tourism Administration, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Marathwada University, Aurangabad. She is also the Cultural chairperson of the Ellora-Ajanta Aurangabad Festival. One of her significant contributions is the discovery of inscriptions at Pitalkhora near Aurangabad. Qureshi is the President of Indian Tourist Congress. She is from Aurangabad, Maharashtra.
In religion and spirituality, a pilgrimage is a very long journey or search of great moral significance. Sometimes, it is a journey to a sacred area or shrine of importance to innate faith. Members of every major religion participate in pilgrimages. A person who makes such a journey is called a pilgrim.
Religion in Maharashtra is characterised by the diversity of religious beliefs and practices.
Hazur Sahib Nanded railway station is a railway station serving Nanded city in Nanded district of Maharashtra state of India. It is under the Nanded railway division of South Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. It is located on the Secunderabad–Manmad line of Indian Railways. It is classified as an A1–category station, in terms of earnings. This Station connects Nanded with other major cities of Maharashtra and India like Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik, Aurangabad, Miraj,Kolhapur, Dhanbad, Shirdi, Pandharpur, New Delhi, Howrah, Bangalore, Amritsar, Chandigarh, Vishakhapatnam, Jaipur, Vijaywada, Ahmedabad, Surat, Patna, Sri Ganganagar.
Tourism in Marathwada refers to tourism in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state in India. Aurangabad is a regional headquarters in Marathwada, and the tourism capital of Maharashtra state. Out of the four UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Maharashtra, two are in the Marathwada region. There are also 110 monuments in Marathwada which are protected by Government of Maharashtra and recognized by Archaeological Survey of India.
Parbhani Junction railway station located in Parbhani. It is the main railway station of Parbhani City & District. The station comes under Nanded railway division. It is an A-1 Category Station. The station is situated on Secunderabad–Manmad section of South Central Railway zone. The city has good connectivity to major cities of Maharashtra such as Aurangabad, Mumbai, Nagpur, Pune, Nanded, Nashik, Kolhapur, Shirdi, Pandharpur. It is also well connected to other Indian cities like New Delhi, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Bhopal, Surat, Ahmedabad, Okha, Amritsar, Agra, Jaipur, Chandigarh, Tirupati, Rameswaram. Sachkhand Express, Nagarsol-Narsapur Express, Devagiri Express, Marathwada Sampark Kranti Express, Hazur Sahib Nanded-Panvel Express, Tirupati Weekly Express, Rameswaram Weekly Express are some important trains passing through here and these trains connect this city with various cities mentioned above
Latur Road Junction railway station is a main railway station in Latur district, Maharashtra. It falls under the Secunderabad railway division in south central railway zone. Its code is LTRR. It serves Chakur city. The station consists of three platforms. Latur Road has rail connectivity with Latur, Osmanabad, Pune, Lonavala, Karjat, Panvel, Thane, Kalyan, Mumbai, Pandharpur, Miraj, Kolhapur, Parli Vaijnath, Purna, Hingoli, Washim, Akola, Wardha, Nagpur, Nanded, Nizamabad, Parbhani, Jalna, Aurangabad, Manmad, Nagarsol, Udgir, Bidar, Vikarabad, Secunderabad, Hyderabad, Warangal, Vijayawada, Kakinada, Tirupati & Bangalore.
Kundalika River Rafting- River Rafting in Kundalika River in Maharashtra
