Mahabaleshwar

 Mahabaleshwar pronunciation is a small town and a municipal council in Satara district, Maharashtra, India. It is a place of pilgrimage for Hindus because the Krishna River has its origin here. The British colonial rulers developed the town as a hill station, and it served as the summer capital of the Bombay Presidency during the British Raj.

Geography

Mahabaleshwar is located on the mountainous Sahyadri range of the Western Ghats that run North to south along the western coast of India. The coordinates of the town are 17.9250°N 73.6575°E. Mahabaleshwar is a vast plateau measuring 150 km2 58 sq mi, bound by valleys on all sides. It reaches a height of 1,439 m 4,721 ft at its highest peak above sea level, known as Wilson/Sunrise Point. The town is about 122 km 76 mi southwest of Pune and 285 km 177 mi from Mumbai.

Mahabaleshwar comprises three villages: Malcolm Peth, Old "Kshetra" Mahabaleshwar, and part of the Shindola village. The Mahabaleshwar region is the source of the Krishna River that flows east across Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh towards the Bay of Bengal. Three tributaries of Krishna, namely Koyna, Venna Veni and Gayatri, also have their source in Mahabaleshwar region. A fourth river, the Savitri, also has its source in the region, but flows Westward via Mahad to the Arabian Sea.

The area's climate is suitable for cultivation of strawberries; Mahabaleshwar strawberry contributes to about 85 percent of the total strawberry production in the country. It also received the geographical indication GI tag in 2010.