Mahabaleshwar is one of the popular hill stations in Maharashtra. But only few people knows about Tapola which is only 25 Kms for Mahabaleshwar. Tapola is popularly known as ' The Mini Kashmir ' because of the hilarious view of the dam, the rivers. Koyana and Solshi, the beauty of the hill ranges of Sahyadri and the deep forest. Tapola is to the other side of Mahabaleshwar than Pune - the Popular side. The journey of 1- 1/12 hr is pretty one as one goes between the high hill ranges and the dark woods. The view of Koyana river on one side and Solshi river on the other is beautiful. Both these rivers meet at Tapola. The dam is the biggest in Maharashtra - Known as 'Shivsagar'.

Shivsagar dam is very popular for motor boats. One can enjoy boating here with nominal charges. Motorboats, Speed boats and scooter riders are the popular boating means here. There are many unknown forts and deep forest around the lake. 'Vasota' is one of the famous forest/fort here. The other is 'Jaygad'. Though one cannot reach the forts easily through motorboats, still the view of these forts and forest nearby is very pretty. One can find various animals in the dark forests such as tigers, bears and wild fox.

Tapola is truly a different place to visit. It is totally different from our daily routine in cities and pleases the mind by it's nature. The view of Lake, jungle and forts nearby is magnificent. Worth to say ' The mini Kashmir '