Bhandardara is a hill station situated in Ahmadnagar District of Maharashtra. It’s a beautiful weekend gateway for monsoon lovers. I and my wife went here on 15th June 2008 to celebrate my wife's birthday. We both love to travel so this time we selected Harihareshwar but our  MTDC agent told us that weather will not be good at this time to visit Harihareshwar so we canceled and went for Bhandardara. We booked our room through MTDC Agent Vipin Nerurkar. You can book the MTDC resorts from MTDC website also.

Booking MTDC Resorts?:
check online website and find nearby Agent from give list who can help you out. If you try to call MTDC telephone numbers then you might suffer. It’s better to do advance booking as you might not get good location on arrival. 1st Day we got a simple room for Rs.600 and for Next two days Special room for Rs.900/- (in peak season this room will be cost, approx Rs.1200/-)

How to reach?
As we hired a Tavera car for 3days it costs us for Rs.8/- per KM and 200KM per day minimum plus Rs.150 Drivers allowance plus Toll fees.
Distance from Mumbai is 185 KM. We started our journey through Sion at around 6:00 PM. That was too late but due to some reason we had to start at this time. From Sion we go to Bhivandi and then Kasara ghat to Ghoti. From Ghoti you have to take right turn for Bhandardara. The Distance from Ghoti is almost 35KM and it will take around 40 minutes to reach on top. Its lonely road and you can enjoy beautiful scenic views outside.
Whole journey took place at least 5-6 hours. Luckily we didn't face any heavy traffic. The village is Shendi.

Accommodation:
We reached at resort at around 12:00 AM and by that time canteen was shut down. Canteen gets closed by 11:00 PM so make sure you visit before time else have your dinners in travel. Room was regular but it was quite good. Room was accommodated with bathroom/ geyser for warm water/ and TV for entertainment... Room was clean and neat. I found some nasty remarks on net for MTDC resorts. Yes it’s true that MTDC resorts are not that luxuries as Hotels but I am sure people who comes to enjoy weather and outing will find these rooms good enough for normal stay. Finding some ants is the part and parcel of rainy season in Jungle. So what’s a big deal in that? I can still recommend MTDC for better and value for your money than any luxuries Hotel.

Tips: Dont hire any guide as all the places are easily reachable if you have car. If you took and Guide then ask him about the locations he will show you.

What you will see:

Amruteshwar Temple: We couldnt see it as guide told us that you need to go with boat to reach at temple and this time water is not sufficient.
Garden: Not seen as way was muddy and unwalkable.
Ratan Gad: One of the great fort of Shivaji Maharaj, must be a good trek.
Kalasubaai Peak: Highest peak of Sahyadri
Ghatsar Dam/ Wilson Dam/ Pravara river. [Tip: From MTDC resort river bank looks beautiful and so near but be careful if you plan to go down, There are steap ups and downs (vallies approx 100 feet or more )and way is not peoper. Its slippery also, If possible avoide this adventure.]
Kokankada:  Kokankada is almost 22km away from MTDC resort and road goes through Forest Sanctury. You have to pay entry fee Rs.40 per person and Rs.50 for car.  Note: Local people are free to visit this place. During this way we visited one house whos landlady shown us a Peacock. My wife and myself gone mad when we saw that beautiful bird near us. When we were returning from home to get into that car that time peacock chased my wife she ran for sheltor. It was a total entertainment for all of us. From Kokankada you can see below the Thane district.

You can also plan to visit follwing places:

Saputara: Vally crossing

Shirdi: Saai baba temple

Tapovan: Shri Rama's visited place and river Godavari and Saraswati meets here.

Kalasubai peak