Kolhapur Getting there & around

Getting there & around

Rickshaws are abundant in Kolhapur and most drivers will give you the correct price or even use their meters (though these are outdated and so they’ll use a conversion chart to arrive at the real price) without any great fanfare.

From the bus stand (2650620), services head regularly to Pune (semideluxe Rs 200, 5½ hours), Mahabaleshwar (Rs 110, five hours) and Ratnagiri (Rs 97, four hours), as well as to Belgaum (Rs 60, 2½ hours) and Bijapur (Rs 100, four hours). For popular longer hauls, your body will be happier on a deluxe private bus. Most of the private bus agents are on the western side of the square at Mahalaxmi Chambers, just across from the bus stand. Overnight services with AC head to Mumbai (seat/sleeper Rs 300/550, nine hours) and non-AC overnights go to Panaji (Rs 160, 5½ hours).

The train station (2654389) is 10 minutes’ walk west of the bus stand towards the centre of town. Three daily expresses, including the 2.26am Sahyadri Express, zoom to Mumbai (sleeper/2AC Rs 146/592, 10 hours) via Pune (Rs 101/338, 41½ hours). A variety of express trains embark daily except Wednesday for the long voyage to Bengaluru (sleeper/2AC Rs 298/1208, 21 hours). You can also fly cheaply between Kolhapur and Mumbai on a daily basis with Air Deccan.