Koyna River

About:

The Koyna River rises in Mahabaleshwar and is a tributary of the Krishna River in western Maharashtra, India. Unlike most of the other rivers in Maharashtra which flow East-West direction, the Koyna river flows in North-South direction. The Koyna River is famous for the Koyna Dam which is the largest hydroelectric project in Maharashtra.The river is just about 100 meters in width and is slow-flowing.It is an olive shade of green during the dry months and a bluish-brown in the monsoon months attributed to much algae and aquatic plant life.

Koyna dam having the largest catchment area,dams the Koyna River and forms a huge lake — the Shivajisagar Lake whose length is 50 kms.Shivajisagar Lake is the artificial backwaters formed by the Koyna dam. Completed in 1963, it is one of the largest civil engineering projects commissioned after Indian independence. The Koyna electricity project is run by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. Most of the generators are located in excavated caves a kilometre deep, inside the heart of the surrounding hills.

Location info:

Address: Mahabaleshwar,Maharashtra,India.
District: Koyna nagar.
Nearest City: Satara.
Best time to visit: October to June

Climate/Weather:

Subtropical monsoon type.

History:

Interesting things to do:

Visit the nearby places and enjoy the beauty of valleys,backwaters and so on...

Interesting things to Visit:

Koynanagar:
The Koyna dam is a big dam, built high in Satara district of the Sahyadris on one of the major tributaries of the Krishna, which is a "Major Irrigation Project'' in the terminology of the Indian Government. Its reservoir has a storage capacity of 98 TMC ft and the dam generates over 900 MW of electricity.

Mahuli:
Mahuli located 6-km from Satara City and is another famous pilgrim center where rivers Krishna and Venna meet. Many beautiful Mandirs (temples) and Ghats can be found on the banks of the river. The Mangalagauri temples are quite famous over here and one can also see innumerable ruins of old temples.

Bogda:
Bogda is a tunnel built during the British Raj, which is a unique example of Civil and Construction Engineering. One has to pass through to this tunnel to go to any place located on the other side of Ajinkyatara from the main city.

Char Bhinti:
"Char Bhinti" which means "Four walls" when literally translated. One can come this memorial midway to the top of Ajinkyatara. It is a unique memorial, which commemorates the Uprising of 1857 (Sepoy Mutiny) and all the patriotic struggles by the freedom fighters of the time of the British Raj. There are inscriptions on the memorial mentioning Rani Laxmibai of Jhansi and Lokmanya Tilak.

Sajjangad Fort:
Sajjangad Fort is located just 12-km away from Satara city where Shri Samarth Ramdas Swami, Guru of Shivaji Maharaj lived. It was named so as Sajjan means a good person and many people used to visit this fort and hold discussions with the Guru. He was popular among people as a very good person. The Shilahar family built this fort in the 10th or 11th century AD. It is 1025 feet in height and has an area of 1824 square yards. It was earlier named as Aashwalayangad and later named as Aaswalgad.

Mobile range info:

How to reach?

Nearest Railway Station:
Nearest Airport:
Road Transport:

Nearest Visiting places:

Wai:
Wai is a holy place situated on the banks of the river Krishna. It is also known as Dakshin Kashi meaning the Kashi of the South. There are many temples and seven well-built Ghats on the banks of the river. Each of the Ghats differs in size and style. One can see a huge idol of Ganesha called Dholya Ganapathi, which is very famous and is made out of a single stone by Sardar Raste in 1762 AD.

Shingnapur:
Shingnapur is located on the niche of the Shikhar Shingnapur hills, 40 miles away from Satara and is a famous pilgrimage center. Atop the hill there is a temple dedicated to Lord Mahadev.

Panchagani:
Panchgani is an idyllic mountain retreat in the Krishna valley. Tucked away in the Satara district of Maharashtra, Panchgani is a well-known hill station of Maharashtra on the highway to Mahabaleshwar from Pune. It derives its name from the five hills around it. Situated at an altitude of 1,334m, the 18-km approach to the Panchgani is breathtaking, offering heart-stopping views of the River Krishna on one side and the coastal plains on the other. It is far from the noise of Pune and the endless hustle-bustle and pollution of Mumbai metropolis. It is the first hill town one reaches from Mahabaleshwar on the Pune road.

Chaphal:
Sri Samarth Ramdas Swami built a temple dedicated to Sri Rama; he also constructed two Maruti Mandirs at Chaphal. He found the idol of Sri Rama placed in the temple in the river at Angapur. Tourists can also visit a beautiful memorial, which was built to perpetuate the memory of his first meeting with Sri Shivaji Maharaj.

Thosegarh:
Famous for its waterfalls, it makes an ideal picnic spot for the adventurous. The people visiting here walk down the slippery falls and have a good time with the splashing waters.

Nearest Petrol Pump:

Hotels/Lodge/Accommodation:


1.Hotel Saket Plaza,Old Band Road, Mahabaleshwar - 412 806.
2.Hotel Radhika Palace,New Radhika Road Satara (Mah) India-415002.
3.Hotel Gitanjali,Panchgani, Satara, Maharashtra 412805.

Things to carry:

Tips & Suggestions:

Help Line/Phone Number:

Police Station: 100
Nearest Hospital:
1.Gaonkar hospital,Karad, Satara, Maharashtra - 02164 220704
2.Chintamni Hospital,Satara, Satara, Maharashtra.
Society/Community Phone Number: