A brief guide to eateries of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar

My first trip of the last semester took me to the Sahyadri Hills(Western Ghats)  in Maharastra, India. Located in Western Ghats, the towns of Panchgani and Mahabaleshwar have been attracting people since the British era, especially during monsoon. While Mahabaleshwar served as the summer capital of Bombay Province of British India, Panchgani was the retiring home of British officers and now famous for its boarding schools.

Apart from enjoying the beautiful landscape comprising of hills, open fields and waterfalls(active during monsoons only), a trip to this part of India is incomplete without having a taste of the local flavor.

Among the first few things you notice on entering this region are strawberry gardens and numerous stalls selling it. A popular fruit dessert  in this region is strawberry with fresh cream and the best place to have it is Hilltop Ice Creams in Panchgani market.

Moving around Panchgani market, one can easily find Akbarali's Fast Food House, which is famous for its Cheese Paratha.

While travelling from Panchgani to Mahabaleshwar, you can find Mapro Garden known for fresh fruit products (juices, crushes, candies etc.). Apart from fruit products, this place also serves fast food. Recommendations: Minestrone soup and pizza. One of the differentiating factors of Mapro Garden is that it serves everything fresh. Even the ice cream cones are made in front of the customer. This place also has a brick oven for baking pizza.

 Mahabaleshwar has lot of shops which are running since the 19th century. One such shop is Elsie's Dairy and Bakery, established in 1849. It gives you the feeling of a heritage building and some of the muffins served by this bakery are not very common in India.

Your visit is still incomplete, if you haven't tasted sweet corn, corn patties, flavored grams and traditional Maharastrian food.