India’s third-largest and second-most populous state, Maharashtra is an expansive canvas showcasing many of India’s iconic attractions. There are lazy, palm-fringed beaches, lofty, cool-green mountains, World Heritage Sites and bustling cosmopolitan cities. In the far east of the state are some of the nation’s most impressive national parks, including the Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve.
Inland lie the extraordinary cave temples of Ellora and Ajanta, undoubtedly Maharashtra’s greatest monuments, hewn by hand from solid rock. Matheram, a colonial-era hill station served by a toy train, has a certain allure. Pilgrims and inquisitive souls are drawn to cosmopolitan Pune, a city famous for its ‘sex guru’ and alternative spiritualism. And westwards, the romantic Konkan Coast fringing the Arabian Sea is lined with spectacular, crumbling forts and sandy beaches, some of the best around the pretty resort of Malvan, which is fast-becoming one of India’s premier diving centres.