Tourism in Maharashtra
[8][9][10][11] Hill stations built during the British rule are popular tourist destinations, especially during the summer months.
These forts and the surrounding hills are popular among people interested in trekking, and hiking, and heritage tourism related to Shivaji.
[14] 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.
[15] The places associated with the Warkari sect such as Pandharpur, Dehu, and Alandi remain popular throughout the year, and attract huge number of people from all over the state during religious observations.
[21] Places of interest include: Gateway of India, The Bandra–Worli Sea Link, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sangrahalaya, Chhatrapati 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.
The statue was built under the leadership of Rahul Uttamrao Dhikale, member of the Legislative Assembly from Nashik East Constituency.
[24] 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).
[26] 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 Lonavala and Khandala also date back to the Raj, and remain popular with residents of Pune and Mumbai for holidays.
[27] 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.
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, Subhas Chandra Bose, Sarojini Naidu, Jawaharlal Nehru were imprisoned.
During the colonial rule, the British developed many hill stations throughout India and in Maharashtra to escape the heat during the summer months.
[33] 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.
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 (turmeric 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.
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.
The corporation also arranges FAM tours and organizes Cultural Events and Festivals as tools to promote the state.
