Mahabaleshwar (1372 mt) is a hill station in the Western Ghats in Maharashtra, 250 km from Mumbai. Use it as a base for your cycling tour -- an interesting bicycle trip from Mahabaleshwar is to pedal about 10 km on undulating roads to old Mahabaleshwar and visit the Krishnabai temple said to be the source of the mighty Krishna river. From there go downhill west for about 15 km to the 17th century Maratha fort of Pratapgad (1080mt), where the historic encounter between Shivaji and Gen. Afzal Khan took place and a tomb and tower mark Khan's grave. Explore the fortifications around you. You can then cycle back uphill all the way to Mahableshwar or haul your bike onto a bus for the return journey.

 From Mahabaleshwar you can also cycle east for 19 km to Panchgani and then zig-zag down the ghats for about 16 km to the town of Wai, which is apparently mentioned in the Mahabharata. There are several ancient temples worth visiting there, on the banks of the Krishna river. You can pedal a further 10 km to take a look at Dhom dam or explore (13 km away) some ancient (8th century) Brahmani rock cut caves at Rajewadi, west of Wai.