Panchgani
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Panchgani is a small hill-station in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is located amidst five small hills, from which it derives its name (panch in marathi means five). All these 5 hills are topped by a volcanic plateau which is the second highest in Asia after the Tibetan plateau. These plateaus are known in the local term as "Table Land". These plateau's are part of the Deccan plateau and were raised by the pressure between the earth plates. Because of this it is also an area of high seismic activity with epicenter near Koynanagar which is famous of the Koynanagar dam and hydroelectric power plant. It is located about 265 km from Mumbai and has breathtaking valleys, winding rivers, scenic mountains and scattered hamlets. It attracts many tourists throughout the year, and many Mumbaites visit it as a weekend escape. Some go further, opening resorts which they themselves own, but rent out during certain seasons. There is a Ganesh Temple at Wai, which is located close by. The temperature in Panchgani is around 16C during the winter and can soar up to 35C during the summer. There are many elite boarding schools in Panchgani and it has been used as a location to film a number of Bollywood movies.
The British set up numerous tuberculosis sanitoriums in Panchgani due to the presence of silver oak trees, which were considered therapeutic.
The main attractions are : Table land, Parsi point, Sydney point. [1]Panchgani now faces immense environmental pressures due to commercial activities, opening of illegal hotels, vehicles and temperature inversion (due to humidity) from various new dams built to store water in the vicinity.
Freddie Mercury attended St Peter's school in Panchgani.
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