Did You Know There's A Beautiful, Hidden Hill Station Near Pune?

Our hunt for the perfect winter getaway took us to Mhaismal, a lesser-known hill station, about 37 km from Aurangabad and 264 km from Pune. Nested in the Sahayadris, this place is known as the ‘Mahabaleshwar of Marathawada’ and is enshrouded with a wide range of flora.

Mhaismal is about six hours from Pune, and we suggest you take this trip on a long weekend. If you’re driving down, go via the Ahmednagar-Pune highway and NH52 to Badlabai towards Mhaismal.

If you want to avail public transport, the closest station to Mhaismal is Aurangabad. There are regular MSRTC air-conditioned buses from Pune to Aurangabad that cost about INR 660. For more details on tickets, click here.

Unlike Lonavala and Lavasa, Mhaismal continues to be unhindered and unspoiled by too many tourists. We were taken aback by the unfathomable beauty of this place – the thick green blankets of forest, the mighty Sahyadris standing tall, exotic flora blooming away to their full glory, the smell of earth and the chill in the air. Mhaismal definitely managed to take away our fatigue after a long six-hour drive.

We planned a five-hour itinerary so that we could cover most of the places in and around Mhaismal. Our first stop was the famous Girija Bhavani Temple which is a replica of the Tirumati Temple in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh. Our next stops were the Gorakhnath Cave and the Bhadra Maruti temple. While the former finds an eminent place in history where in Saint Gorakhnath was believed to have committed penance, the latter is most-visited for Lord Hanuman’s sleeping idol. Our last stop from here was Ellora Caves, which is located about a distance of 14 kms from Mhaismal. Famed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the largest rock-cut monastery-temple caves in the world, Ellora is work of beauty featuring artwork that goes back to 600-1000 CE period.

If Mhaismal is on your next bucket list, we would also recommend you visit places like the Pitalkhora and Devgiri Forts and the Bani Begam Bagh which are quite close to the hill station.

To escape the cacophony of the city and to get a different mountain topography, head here with your squad for the tranquility.