Kolhapur is 395 km from Mumbai, 225 km from Pune, 128 km from Ratnagiri, 50 km from Sangli, 105 km from Belgaum, 18 km from Panhala, 254 km from Solapur, 120 km from Satara and 112 km from Amboli.

Air :- Nearest airport is at Belgaum, 105 km from Kolhapur.

Rail :- It is a railway station on the Pune - Miraj - Kolhapur section of the South-Central Railway. It is well connected with all the important cities in India.

Road :- Kolhapur is situated on the Pune - Bangalore highway. There are State Transport buses regularly from Kolhapur to Mumbai, Panaji, Miraj, Sangli, Pune, Satara, Sawantwadi, Solapur and several other places. The Kolhapur Municipal Transport service operates in the city, suburbs and nearby villages. Taxis and rickshaws are also available round the clock.

• Religious

  Mahalakshmi Temple:- near the centre of town, is thought to have been founded in the seventh century by the Chalukyan king Karnadeva; following damage inflicted during the Moghul period, however, what you see today probably dates from the early eigthteenth century.

  The mandapa hallways leading to the main shrine hold figures of Garuda, Vishnu's bird vehicle, and Ganapati, which devotees circumambulate prior to approaching the goddess, flanked by the goddess Mahakali and Saraswati.  The image of four-armed  Mahalakshmi goddess in black stone is under the five dome towers. Her head is crowned with a cobra whose hood stands over a Shivalingam. A second story above contains another Shivalingam, Nandi,  and a Mahalaxmi Yantra, or sacred diagram. Intimately associated with the tantric rituals of the goddess cult.  On Fridays the goddess is brought out from the sanctum, seated in palanquin, to process around the temple. 

  Binkhambi Ganesh Mandir :- It is a unique temple that does not have any pillar

• Museums

  The New Palace (Shree Chhatrapati Shahu Museum):- A royal palace partly converted into an unforgettable museum, `the New Palace' has lush green parks, a rich flora, a zoo and a picturesque lake. The museum houses rare paintings, artifacts used by the royal family, variety of daggers, swords, pistols and Dan Patta, a type of sword.

  The Town Hall Museum Temple:- Antiques found during the excavations at Bramhapuri, old sculptures, filigree work in sandalwood and ivory, old coins and paintings of master artists of the region are displayed here.

• Park :- The city has a number of parks. Hutatama Park, has a stambh ( Pillar ) dedicated to the freedom fighters with lush green grass and tall trees. Mahavir Udyan is popular amoung children as it has playing facility in beach sand.

   
• Entertainment :- Kolhapur has given a numerous artists to film Industry. Stalwarts like V.Shantaram, Suryakant Mandare and Chandrakant Mandare. The city has 14 Cinema theaters and two Drama Theaters.

  
   
• Natural

  The Rankala Lake :- This wide and spacious lake is so called because as it's centre is the temple of `Rankabhairav'. According to a fable, a golden temple lies submerged under the temple of `Rankabhairav'.
   

• Shopping

  Over the years, traditional craftsmanship has been honed to perfection in Kolhapur. Hence, the city boasts of dazzling jewellery and eye-catching footwear. The Kolhapuri `saaz' is a traditional gold necklace with delicate craftsmanship. The Kolhapuri chappals (slippers) with their sturdy rustic look are renowned internationally.
   

Vishalgad :- The name `Vishalgad' connotes grandeurand magnificence. The picturesque fort houses the Amriteshwar temple, Takmok Tok,Sati Vrindavan and a dargah of Hazrat Malikdhyan Baba which is visited by devotees who comprise Hindus as well Muslims.

Saamaangad :- This fort has inspiring fableswoven around it. Situated in the Gadhinglaj Taluka, the fort has secret passages and strong bastions.

Bhudargad :- Located about 36 miles to the south of Kolhapur, this fort situated on a huge vertical rock amidst mountain ranges. It is said to resemble from a distance, the crescent moon in the matted hair of Lord Shiva.

Paargad :- Surrounded by lush greenery and a picturesque forest, Paargad lies to the south of Kolhapur 28 km from Chandgad. The fort has exquisite bronze statues of Shivaji Raja and a temple of Bhagwati Bhawani.

Narasimha Wadi :- This is a holy place on the confluence of rivers Krishna and Panchaganga and is renowned for the holy `Padukas' (wooden slippers) of Shri Dattaguru (an incarnation of Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh). Shri Narasimha Saraswati who was an incarnation of Shree Dattaguru lived here for 12 years. It is 45 km from Kolhapur.

Jyotiba :- Situated at a height of 3100 feet above sea level, this holy place nestles in the mountains near Wadi Ratnagiri which is about 17 km north-west of Kolhapur. Jyotiba is supposed to be incarnation of 3 gods - Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh and the seer Jamadagni. A mammoth colourful fair takes place on the full moon night of Chaittra and Vaishakh.

Bahubali of Kumbhojgiri :- About 27 km to the south of Kolhapur lies this holy place revered by Hindus as well as Jain devotees who pay respects to the 28 feet tall marble statue of Shree Bahubali and visit the temples of 24 Teerthankars. A temple of Durgamata on the hill also attracts devotees.

Khidrapur :- The artistic temple of Kopeshwar (Mahadev) at Khidrapur is a treasure-house of beautifully carved sculptures and a rare architectural marvel. The entire temple rests on a `Gajapeeth' (there is a semi-circular platform resting on the back of 92 carved stone elephants on which the temple is built).

Dajipur Sanctuary :- The evergreen tropical forest of Dajipur has a profusion of thick foliage and sprawling trees and abounds in medicinal herbs. The weather is extremely cool as the place is 1200 mtr above sea level. The animals are in abundance too and the sanctuary offers a visual feast for animal and bird watchers.

Ramteerth :- A scenic spot in Ajra taluka, with ancient temples, a river, an old coffee plantation and an orchard,which lend a quaint charm to this place. According to a fable the place is so named because Lord Ram stayed here during exile.

Panhala :- Panhala, at an altitude of 977mtr and with an average temperature of 25 degree celsius offers some insipiring scenery and a soothing climate. The history of Panhala is also the history of the Marathas. Sajja Kothi is the place where Sambhaji was imprisoned. Ambabai temple is where Shivaji used to seek blessings before venturing on expeditions. Kolhapur is the nearest railhead which is 18 km away. From Kolhapur there's no dearth of State Transport buses and taxis plying to Panhala.

Chhattrapati Shahu Maharaja's reign lent a progressive spirit to the city and the king extended his patronage to arts like theatre, film making, music, painting, sculpture, wrestling and crafts like tanning and jewellery making. The legendary maestro of Jaipur Attrauli gharana, Ustad Alladiya Khansaheb made Kolhapur his home. As a result, the city has a profusion of musicians and musicologists. Marathi is the regional language. In addition, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Urdu, Bengali and Malaylam apart from local dialects- Kokani, Gondi etc. The Rang Panchami - Holi is highly colourful. Janmashtmi in July-August celebrates the birth of Lord Krishna. Men and boys from human pyramids to break pots of curds that have been hung from high places. On Ganesh Chaturthy, massive figures of the popular elephant god of wisdom and fortune-Lord Ganesh is worshipped for ten days with joy and then immersed in the panchganga river. The Dassera and Diwali -the festival of lights also celebrated with joy. The Muslim festival of Mohurram which commemorates the martyrs of Islam, is also celebrated as well. 

Kolhapur has emerged as a city with a rich, colourful, historical and mythical past. The Padmapurana and Skandapurana mention about `Karveer' or `Dakshin Kashi' which is in fact, the modern day Kolhapur. According to legend, after the great deluge, goddess Mahalakshmi salvaged the city by using her mace (Kur) and hence the name `Karveer'. There is anoher thrilling tale of an invincible demon named `Kolasur' who eventually overpowered by the goddess and thus the city came to known as Kolhapur. According to Puyranas, Lord Mahadeva dwells here in the form of water, Lord Vishnu in the form of rocks, goddesses in the form of trees and seers in the form of sand.
Between the  10th and 13th centuries the city was ruled by the Yadavas; later  it came under the Mohhuls, and in 1675 it was conquered by the Maratha chief Shivaji. His descendants, the Chhatrapaties, ruled until Independence. Kolhapur played an important role in the development of the so-called indo saracenic style of architecture. The architect Major Charles Mant, under the auspices of the Maharajah, blended western style with Muslim, Jain and Hindu, resulting in buildings that profoundly affected the evolution of colonial architecture. Moreover, since ancient times an important centre of the tantric cult associated with Shakti worship. 

General
Kolhapur is famous for being a centre of Art, education, industry and sports, particularly wrestling. Here the wresling is called as "Kusti" and wreslers are known as "Malla". This wrestling match is played in the square clay ground which is known as "Akhada".
Similar to "The Operation Flood" project in gujrat, in Kolhapur the "Warna Project" was started and till date is famous for huge amount of generation of milk and milk products which are transported to the whole of india.
Kolhapur comes under sugarcane belt and because of this people are very rich and live prosperous life.
Kolhapuri chappals are renowned for their durability and beauty of make.
Kolhapuri tobacco is also very famous.
It is an important centre of Marathi film industry. Kolhapur possesses historical as well as mythological importance. It is known as Dakshin kashi on account of its deity Mahalakshmi or Ambabai. The Ambabai temple was built by the Chalukya King Karnadeve in 634 AD.The Irwin Agricultural Museum of Kolhapur has some old Andhra coins. Bahubali, Jain Pilgrim centre, lies at a distance of 38 km from Kolhapur.

Area : 7500 sq. km.
Population : Approx. 7 lakh people
Summer - Cottons
Winter - Woolens
Language : Marathi, Hindi and English
STD Code : 0231
It is the main festival of Nine Nights celebrated by Kolhapuri people during september - october in honour of goddess Mahalakshmi.
Goddess Mahalakshmi's main shaktipith(the place where goddess Mahalakshmi emmerged) is in kolhapur.
Kolhapur is famous for 'Leather Chappals' which are well known all over Maharashtra as 'Kolhapuri Chappals'. These chapples are renowned for their durability and beauty of make. Hundreds of families in Kolhapur are engaged in the production of these Chappals.

Kolhapur has a soothing climate all round the year. Kolhapur can be a place one can visit all round the year,barring few months during the rainy season.
Still one can say the best months could be the summer months,since here summer is not quite aggressive as compared to western maharashtra and even to the neighbouring Sangli and Solapur districts.

Kolhapuri Special

Kolhapuri Feta

Kolhapuri Wrestler

Kolhapuri Milk Platform

Kolhapuri Chappal

Kolhapuri Misal

Kolhapuri White Mutton(lamb) Soup & Pulav Balls

Kolhapuri Jaggery