The Wrestling Capital of India — Kolhapur's Mahalaxmi Temple is one of the most sacred in Maharashtra, Kolhapuri chappals (handmade leather sandals) have been crafted here for 1,000 years, and Kolhapuri mutton curry — fiery red with 16 spices — is the most distinctive cuisine in the Deccan
Kolhapur is a historic city in southern Maharashtra at the foot of the Western Ghats — the seat of the Kolhapur princely state under the Chhatrapati dynasty (direct descendants of Chhatrapati Shivaji's son Rajaram), which produced one of the most progressive maharajas in Indian history: Shahu Maharaj (reigned 1894–1922), who pioneered reservations for backward classes and girls' education decades before India's independence. The Mahalaxmi Temple (also Ambabai Temple) is one of the Shakti Peethas — among the most sacred goddess temples in India — drawing hundreds of thousands of pilgrims annua…
Kolhapur's history stretches to the early Chalukya period (6th–8th centuries CE) when the Mahalaxmi Temple was first established on the banks of the Panchaganga River. The city was the seat of the Shilahara dynasty (800–1212 CE) before passing through Yadava and eventually Bijapur Sultanate control. The Maratha empire reached Kolhapur when Rajaram, son of Shivaji, established it as the seat of a branch of the Chhatrapati dynasty in 1707 after the fall of Raigad. Kolhapur became a significant progressive centre under Shahu Maharaj (Chhatrapati Shahu I, 1874–1922) — one of India's most remarkab…