How To Reach Panchgani

Panchgani or Paachgani as it is also known, is a hill town in Satara district of Maharashtra. At an altitude of about 1334 m, Panchgani is a table land, probably the second highest flat land in Asia, after the Tibetan Plateau and is encircled by five hills of the Sahyadri mountain ranges. The five villages of Ambral, Taighat, Dandeghar, Khingar and Godavali encompass the hill town as well. The charming hill station of Mahabaleshwar is about 15 km from Panchgani.

Panchgani is a prominent tourist destination and has a good footfall throughout the year. The hill station has good access by air and rail and can be reached directly by road. The most ideal way to reach Panchgani would be a travel by train to Pune and hitting the road from thereon to Panchgani.

Panchgani does not have an airport of its own. The nearest airport is the Lohegaon International Airport of Pune. Pune airport caters to domestic flights to most cities around the country including to Chennai, Nagpur, Indore, Goa, Kochi, Kolkata, Delhi, Jaipur, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru.

There are international flights to Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Frankfurt and Dubai as well. From the airport you can hire a cab to Panchgani. There are frequent bus services from Pune to Panchgani and a more economical option would be travelling by bus from Pune to Panchgani. Pune airport is about 101 km from Panchgani.

The nearest major rail station is the Pune Station that has superfast and express trains chugging in from Chennai, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Bikaner, Thiruvananthapuram, Coimbatore, Mysore, Karaikal, Lucknow, New Delhi, Jaipur et al. From the Pune Railway Station you can hire a cab to Panchgani or again board a bus to reach the hill station.

The nearest railway station is Satara that has daily, bi weekly or weekly trains from places like Mumbai, Mysore, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Ernakulam et al. As Pune Railway Station has good connectivity with the rest of the country, it is considered the better alternative to deboard at.

Panchgani lies enroute from Pune to Mahabaleshwar, with a Ghat road from the town of Wai leading up to Panchgani. One of the coolest options is driving to Panchgani. It takes about 2 hr to drive from Pune to Panchgani and it's blissful driving by lush country sides, misty peaks and curvy Ghat roads. There are dhabas on the way for the well needed break and a bite to eat!

Otherwise you could board a private or state run MSRTC buses from places like Mumbai, Satara, Pune, Mahad or Mahabaleshwar. Buses come in a variety of optional comforts like Volvo AC seaters, AC high-tech seaters and AC sleepers, apart from the regular buses.

While in Panchgani, you might need local transport for getting around. The seasons are normally salubrious and there are places you can afford to hike to, but if you do need a transport of any sort, there are local taxis outside the Panchgani bus station. You can hire a taxi to reach your resort or fix up a cab for a day’s sightseeing trip. Buses that travel through Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani also halt at tourist places in Panchgani where you can hop in and off.

There are other alternatives as well. There are shared cabs and shared jeeps that have fixed prices and can drop you off at significant tourist places. You might also get motor bikes or bicycles on rent, if you are travelling solo or in pairs.