Features: Magazine | Literary Review | Life | Metro Plus | Open Page | Education Plus | Book Review | Business | SciTech | Entertainment | Young World | Property Plus | Quest | Folio |

It's raining packages

Before the incessant downpour gets you down, have fun with the exciting monsoon holiday packages in neighbouring Maharashtra

EXOTIC LOCATIONS Many tourism destinations of Maharashtra are steeped in history

Monsoon is here and you may as well make the best of it. Don't let the rain, slush and menacing clouds get to you. Instead have fun in Maharashtra with exotic packages being offered for the discerning traveller.

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has devised an entire set of exciting tourism offers aimed at the ever-travelling corporate and even for entire companies.

They have an offer for corporates under the Deposit Scheme package. An organisation that ties up with MTDC can avail of exciting discounts on all MTDC properties. Employees can choose from a range of destinations like the pristine beaches of Tarkarli, Ganpatipule and Harihareshwar or heritage sites such as Ajanta, Ellora, Karla and Lonar crater. Or sanctuaries such as Pench and Tadoba to forts at Ratnagiri and Sindhudurg, there's something for everyone. MTDC resorts also provide visitors a chance to combine business and pleasure with fully equipped conference halls.

Legendary caves

Around 114 km from Mumbai by road, Karla, known the world over for its Chaitya caves, is the perfect destination for a weekend training program. Comprehensive packages inclusive of accommodation, food and conference facilities are available.

The Deccan Odyssey, the luxury train, offers a conference hall called Samvad. It boasts a fully equipped business centre complete with a health spa, gymnasium, beauty parlour and an ayurvedic spa. The Deccan Odyssey tour package and facilities at regular rates will be available from October 2005. For more information on the Corporate Deposit Scheme contact 022-22026713/7762. For information on the Deccan Odyssey contact 022-22836690.

Unspoilt beaches and water sport facilities, wildlife and trekking, verdant hills and streams, nestling quaint hill stations, whispering coconut groves, scenic villages and coastal forts dot the State.

But few know that Maharashtra is home to the third largest crater in the world. In fact, the Lonar crater, 600 km by road from Mumbai, is India's only hyper-velocity meteorite-impact crater. The central feature of Lonar is a massive lake formed by a meteorite impact over 50,000 years ago. A piece of the meteorite had broken off and smashed into the ground about a kilometre away, forming the Ambar Lake.

Close to the Ambar Lake is a little temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu god of strength and intelligence. What is interesting is that the image of the god is an actual piece of the crater and for long its magnetic properties had fascinated the people who built a temple to house it. The god is supposed to be recumbent, resting after his mighty labours, well known in the Indian myth.

Of the 1,200 caves in India, 1,000 are in Maharashtra. The Ajanta caves, designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site, holds masterpieces of Buddhist religious art, considered the finest examples of architecture. Few know that the Ellora caves, today a world-renowned heritage site, took over five centuries to be built.

The beach village of Ganapatipule and the hill station Mahabaleshwar have elaborate legends and stories behind their names as well. Ganpatipule is in the district of Ratnagiri, where the nationalist leader Lokmanya Tilak was born. Ratnagiri also has historical and social relevance. Thebaw Place, where the deposed king of Burma was confined and eventually died, is also worth a visit.

Patitpavan Mandir is a temple which the freedom fighter Veer Savarkar opened to all castes more than 80 years ago. He also saw to it that the first puja was performed by a Dalit and chanted the mantras himself when the Brahmin priest refused to do so.

Pristine beaches

Few would believe that Sriwardhan-Harihareshwar beach, 230 km from Mumbai, famous today for its pristine beach and delectable seafood, was once home to the Peshwas of the Maratha kingdom. The Peshwa Smarak is of great interest.

Murud-Janjira, 165 km from Mumbai, was the capital town of the Siddis of Janjira. The fort at Murud fort has never been conquered by an enemy for over 350 years. Neither the Portuguese, Marathas nor the British could subjugate the fort. Murud-Janjira is the only impregnable fort on the 720 km Maharashtra coastline. Murud is today popular for its alluring beach, whispering casuarinas, coconut and betel palms.

MTDC's Monsoon Holiday Package offers tourists a wide range of destinations. From the virgin beaches of Ganapatipule, Harihareshwar, Bordi and Tarkarli to the cool mountain ranges of Matheran, Mahabaleshwar, Bhandardara, Karla and Malshej Ghat, there is something for everybody.

The MTDC Monsoon Holiday Package also offers one day's free stay on payment for two days. At Mahabaleshwar, tourists may avail themselves of a free complimentary breakfast.

The package is valid up to September 30, 2005. For information call 022-22026713/7762/4627

Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) was set up by the Government of Maharashtra in 1975.

Apart from acting as the primary agency of the State for promotion and development of tourism, MTDC also protects and enhances the state's historical, geographical, and cultural heritage.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail