Nestled amid the verdant surroundings of Panchgani lies Mapro Garden. Mapro is an acronym to a renowned franchise called Mahabaleshwar Products, which makes sumptuous fruit-based supplies. When it comes to exploration, Mapro Garden does not lag behind. There is the chocolate factory, restaurant cum café, a quant nursery, and a children’s play area along with a retail outlet that sells Mapro products. The café serves scrumptious food made out of organic ingredients. They have a repertoire of delicacies to select from, including sandwiches and pizzas. Their specialty is the strawberry with whipped cream served with a smack of deliciousness.
Established in the 1980s, Mapro Garden is an extension of the Mapro Food Factory, which attracted visitors to see how jams and syrups were produced in factories. After realizing the excitement of people when they visited the place, they started serving their own ice cream, which was then followed by the addition of various other organic items on the menu. And now, Mapro Gardens have become a cherished tourist destination.
There is an in-built auditorium that has captured the essence of the process and screens it for the visitors every now and then. There are retailers selling jams outside the auditorium, where the visitors can buy the product of their preferred choice after tasting the samples.
Mapro Garden has various well-connected modes of commutation:
By Air: The closest airport to Mahabaleshwar is situated in Pune at a distance of 120 km. This distance can be covered by hiring a cab from right outside the airport or renting a bike/car.
By Bus: The nearest bus stop to Mapro Garden is the Panchgani bus stop at a distance of 8 km from the place. You can easily hire a cab, or hail an auto from the bus stop.
By Road: Being a small town, there are no buses that will drop you directly at Mapro. Thus, renting a cab is the most convenient way of traveling. There are bike rentals around the town, and in the nearby major cities of Pune, Mumbai and Goa.
During winters: The best time to visit Mapro Garden is in winters, from December to February. The heat of the sun is soft on the skin, and the climate is cool. There are no traces of humidity, and the temperatures vary between 15 degrees Celsius to 25 degrees Celsius.
During summers: In the summer months of March and April, the Mapro Strawberry Festival is celebrated, thus attracting a lot of tourists.
During monsoon: Monsoon is followed by unpredictable showers, thus making sightseeing difficult. Therefore, if you visit during monsoon, do not forget to carry umbrellas and raincoats.