Are you planning your trip to India? You read a lot and have doubts about which destinations to focus on. Perhaps you will arrive at Mumbai airport and you are wondering about the opportunity to visiting Maharashtra. You are not yet convinced to visit this state. You are rather unfavourable to this idea?
Here is an article to help you in your decision. So here are the 5 reasons why you should NOT visit Maharashtra.
Reason 1: You only travel to see famous landmarks.
If the purpose of your trip is to check the boxes of the list of things to see before dying. If you do not want to discover new monuments, new stories. So Maharashtra is not for you. Indeed, Maharashtra is a little touristic state of India. It’s not so much the centers of interest that are missing. Maharashtra has 3 sacred cities for 3 religions and many very important sites for other religions.
The 3 sacred cities are:
– Nashik: Indian mythological city that appears in the Ramayana.
– Khultabad: second sacred city for Sufis in India.
– Nanded: one of the 4 sacred cities for Sikhs.
Maharashtra also has some exceptional sites:
– Ellora: UNESCO 36 caves cut into the rock with temples of 3 different religions.
– Ajanta: UNESCO 26 Buddhist caves known for their mural unique in the world.
– Grishneshwar temple: the last of the 12 Jyotrilinga (dedicated sacred temples to Shiva)
– Lonar Lake: the world’s third largest meteor crater became a wildlife reserve with temples dating back to the 8th century.
– Konkan: sandy beaches and mesmerizing nature
There is also the city of Aurangabad which is a city full of surprises and discovery. It must not be forgotten that Aurangabad has been 2 times capitals of India throughout the history. From this past, there are still palaces, forts, ramparts, royal gardens etc … Nevertheless, tourist guides do not speak about hidden places. Coming to Aurangabad, you will see many things that nobody knows about.
Reason 2 not to visiting Maharashtra:
If you like crowds, if you can not imagine a wireless trip waiting at the entrance of monuments, restaurants or shops, do not visit Maharashtra. As the area is not very touristy, even the most famous monuments classified as World Heritage by UNESCO is not crowdy. This means you will not wait for long time or hours to visit these monuments. In addition to the this, you will be quiet and have all the time you want to admire. It may even happen that you are alone in some of the monuments to visit.
This allows you to experience the most of the history and culture of this region.
Reason 3: If you like big cities
If the sight of a tree or fields scares you, Aurangabad is not for you.
Good Aurangabad is still a city of 1.5 million inhabitants. But that does not make it a small town for India. Above all, it is surrounded by fields, mountains and forests. Nature is omnipresent and monkeys, cows, horses or peacocks can be seen. The Himayat Bagh is a green lush garden that will make you forget cars and horns.
Reason 4: If you do not like history
If you have bad memories of your history classes or are boring, it would be best not visiting Maharashtra.
Indeed, in addition to being a very spiritual region thanks to its three sacred cities, Maharashtra also has a central history for India.
As we said above, Aurangabad has been twice the capital of India throughout history. This city can offer you incredible stories like that of Malik Ambar or the great History of India with the Mughals. There is also Paithan, capital of the first empire of the region which was quoted in the book “Journey to the Sea of Eritrea” Greek book of the first century.
It was in Nashik that the ashes of Nehru and Indira Gandhi were scattered.
It is in Nagpur that Mahatma Gandhi took the lead of the Congress which led to independence.
So if history is not your thing, it’s going to be difficult in Maharashtra.
Reason 5 to not visiting Maharashtra : If you like marked trails
The adventure is not your forte, you like to follow the steps of tourists before you, so definitely Maharashtra is not for you.
The guide of the backpacker and the lonely planet will not advise you visiting Maharashtra. And for good reason. the state of Maharashtra has not yet invested huge sums to facilitate tourism. It’s not like Rajasthan that saw tourism as its only source of money. Maharashtra is primarily an agricultural and industrial state.
Despite the many tourist attractions in the region, tourism is in its infancy. This allows an authentic and true encounter with the people and culture of Maharashtra. Here nobody will ask you for a backshish in a restaurant or for an information. During your journey in this unknown state, you will meet historical characters who have changed India but also people who take care of you as “our guest is our God”.
In Aurangabad as in Nashik or Nanded, there are few tourist shops. The restaurants are first for locals, they are not made for tourists. We tried to list the best restaurants for Aurangabad but do not expect to see tourists there. Some stores have no one to speak English. The negotiations are done with the calculator.
It can be scary not to follow the marked trails of others before you but it is also the beauty of the trip. If all these reasons did not convince you to not visiting Maharashtra, do not hesitate to contact us so that we can make you discover the region in the best conditions.
Hope you get the sarcasm.
