One of the most visited hill stations in Maharashtra is Mahabaleshwar. And the majority of the tourists visit this place for its famous strawberries.
So, why exactly strawberries?
It’s the climate.
The cool and dry temperature here in Mahabaleshwar and Panchgani is perfectly suitable for strawberry farms. These strawberries are further used to make many products such as jams, preserves, wines, and candies of various sorts.
Best Time to Visit Mahabaleshwar
Summers are usually a great time to visit any hill station. But if you are visiting Mahabaleshwar especially to see the strawberries fully fruited, then winter is the right time.
December to February is the suggested period.
The fruits are all ripe and ready to pick. It is a real delight because the red specks among all that greenery are something really beautiful.
What to expect at a Strawberry Farm in Mahabaleshwar
A place that contributes to about 85% of the total strawberry production in India, you can easily spot strawberry farms here. Any café or roadside eatery you enter to have some food, there is a high chance of a small personal strawberry farm.
Usually, if you ask the owner of the joint for a farm visit, they are happy to show you around. And also let visitors pick strawberries. These small farms are specially made to attract tourists.
I was lucky to visit both the tourist farm as well the private farm of a restaurant owner.
The tourist farms are of course smaller in size and someone from the restaurant lets you walk around, click pictures, and pluck strawberries however you like. But the private farm!! It was just so damn huge compared to what I saw at the restaurant.
Along with strawberries, they had local vegetables and fruit farms. Garlic, onion, potato, tomato, cauliflower, cabbage, mulberry, raspberry, and whatnot.
I somehow always get excited to see farms and plantations. The greenery just gets me all excited. Although it is very different from my visit to a Goa plantation, the excitement is not less.
Anyways, getting back to my experience, people here are very helpful and friendly. They give a whole tour of all the different vegetations along with various details about how they take care of and grow their business.
Many small farmers make a living from selling from their farms. So, try to support them as much as you can.
Mapro Garden
Timings – 8 AM to 8 PM
Entry fees – Free
When you search online for places to visit in Mahabaleshwar, this is one of the top places that gets listed. As I said, Mahabaleshwar is known for its strawberries. Mapro is the major producer of strawberry and strawberry products.
Mapro is an abbreviation of Mahabaleshwar Products. Pretty self-explanatory.
This place is famously known as a picnic place. There are 4 areas/sections here.
Shopping section
This huge open shopping arena is pretty cool to walk around. There are many tasting counters for some of the famous syrups and products so that you know what you are buying. They mostly sell syrups, candies, chocolates, biscuits, jam, ketchup, and even a fresh khakhra-making machine. You can also buy products through their online site.
Garden
A very beautiful open garden with water streams and various props here and there to click pictures. Kids love this place so much.
Café
Try coming here on empty stomach. They have an open café with farm views and also a treetop seating area. The menu is pretty limited with options for pizza, sandwiches, shakes, desserts (brownie and strawberry cream), and soups. Even though you don’t have much of a variety but the food is very good in quality as well as quantity.
Farm
Similar to any other joint, Mapro also has a small farm mainly cultivating strawberries. I did not visit it because I have been visiting many since the day I arrived.
Best Strawberry Products and Foods to Try
The variety that you get in stores and restaurants here is huge. But there are a few that you definitely should and must try and buy
Fresh Strawberries
I mean, DUH! Of course, you will have strawberries in the land of strawberries. Try them at the local market instead of restaurants and eatery joints. Due to many vendors selling the same product side by side, you get to decide which you feel is the best to buy from.
Strawberry with Cream
Legit, one of the best things that you can eat here. With that layers of fresh sliced strawberries and coating with strawberry syrup with heaps of fresh whipped cream. I mean it’s just wow. I had this at various places every day for the entire week that I stayed.
Chocolate brownie
I know this is something you might think that you can get at any other place, which is absolutely correct. But somehow, having a chocolate brownie on a winter day feels just very special.
Chikki
If you are not familiar with what chikki is, it is a brittle sweet that is generally made of just jaggery and peanuts. But here in Mahabaleshwar, you get a whole different set of new varieties of chikkis to try. Just replace peanuts with strawberries, chocolate, rose dry fruit, Kesar Kaju, and coconut.
Fruit Syrups
Somehow, this is something very famous here. A few of the most famous syrups are Strawberry, Rose, Kesar, Kala khatta, and Paan shot. I literally saw someone buy loads of them as she is a local baker in Mumbai and just wanted the best.
Mocktail mixes
I loved them. I have tried various mixes from supermarkets but these are so good. Somehow, I feel the mixing proportions are pretty neat and give a real good taste. And of course, you can definitely turn it into a cocktail if you want.
Tips
- Wear a hat and sunscreen. It can be very scorching during the day.
- Carry a good jacket. It can get chilly at night.
- Ask the host if it is okay to pluck strawberries beforehand.
- Visit the local vegetable market.