Kolhapur

Kolhapur, situated on the banks of the Panchganga River, is a beautiful destination in Maharashtra famed for its religious and historical sites. The ancient city finds mentioned as a place of Kollamma worship in the holy Devi Bhagavat Purana and is home to many revered religious sites, including Mahalakshmi Temple is dedicated to the guardian deity of the city – Mahalakshmi or Ambabai, who killed demon Kolhasura. Along with a number of temples, the city is dotted with heritage sites, museums, a water park, a lake, etc. Here is a list of the popular places to visit in Kolhapur to make the best of your time in the city.

Arts & Entertainment

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• New Palace (Kolhapur) History Museum

• Kaneri Math Museum (Siddhagiri Museum) Open Air Museum

• Shalini Place

• Khasbag Wrestling Stadium

• Dream World Water Park

• Kolhapur Zoo

Shopping

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• Kolhapuri Chappals: Kolhapuri is famous for its iconic open-toe, T-strap sandals. These are handcrafted leather slippers that are locally tanned using vegetable dyes. These kinds of sandals are made using primal hard materials and made to be extremely durable. Its ethnic design means that they make a decent fashion statement too.

• Kolhapur Sarees: Another thing Kohalpur is famous for is its Sarees. What makes its sarees unique is their rich vibrant colors and ethnic design. These sarees were made famous by Bollywood actresses who adorned them in popular films.​​​

• Jaggery: Kolhapuri is also famous for its jaggery. In this modern age, slowly rural products are seeing an industrial makeover. Kolhapur’s jaggery has however bucked this trend, at least until now. Hence, it retains its original taste and authentic flavors and no doubt creates great demand among tourists.

• Saaj: Jewellers in Kolhapur blend exquisite artisanship with religious figurines to come up with its iconic ‘saaj.' Families in Kolhapur have been practicing this trade for generations. The SAAJ is a traditional Maharashtrian necklace. While traditionally, it had 21 leaves, in recent times, the more contemporary versions have 10-12 leaves. Nevertheless, the ‘saaj’ is a unique piece of Kolhapur's tradition and is perfect memorabilia from a trip to Kolhapur.

• Kolhapuri Masala: In an earlier post, we had gone into detail about Kolhapur's unique cuisine and how it has been ably supported by the famous Kolhapuri Masala.  So before heading back home, it won’t be a bad idea to pack some of those amazing spices. It is easy to spot a shop selling Kolhapuri masala in the city. Moreover, it has diversified a lot over the years, and now there is a wide array of different blends of spices ranging from one with a hint of chutney to something that is tailor-made to cook mutton.

Family-Friendly Attractions

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• Mahalaxmi Temple 

• New Palace and Chhatrapati Sahu Museum

• Town Hall Museum 

• Old Palace

• Jyotiba