This was the day! Fantastic panoramic views from the edge of the Western Ghats (mountain range along the western edge of the Indian peninsula). So many photos... Mahabaleshwar and the region is a popular destination for tourists, it is easy to see why, with the spectacular views and amazing history. The tourists at these sites today, were given a special treat - foreigners!! There were a lot of photos, not all taken by me - we were stopped maybe 20 times for photos in about an hour! It was a bit strange, totally harmless.
In the morning we did a bit of a walkabout around the Mahalabeshwar plateau, we stopped at Old Mahalabeshwar and visited a number of temples. My favourite was the temple for Krishna - which was built 5000 years ago - and is situated at the spring that serves as the headwaters for the Krishna River. It was really special.
We also visited Pratapgarh Fort - which is this amazing 17th century stronghold perched high up on the edge of the cliffs. This is also the site of an awesome piece of history where Chhatrapati Shivaji (Maratha chieftain) bested the Bijapur general Afzal Khan. This marks the moment that the expansion of the Khans met a tough end and were essentially pushed back by the Hindu forces in the region. The story involves some sneakyness, using then geomorphology, and some tiger claws.
It was a great day. Helped along by beautiful weather.
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