Chikhaldara

Chikhaldara is a hill station on a plateau in Amravati District of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. It is at an average elevation of 3,569 ft and located at a distance of 231 km from Nagpur This is the exclusive coffee growing region and a popular tourist destination due to its pleasant weather. It has ancient vedic age footprint.

The ancient name Kichakdara, the Valley of Kichak originated when the erstwhile king Kichak was killed by Bheema and his body surrendered to its depths, as described in the ancient, mythological epic of Mahabharata. Later, it was rechristened as Chikhaldara.

Spending almost a thousand years in oblivion, the place was rediscovered by Captain Robinson, a British soldier serving in the Hyderabad Regiment, in the year 1823. Upon rediscovery, it became an instant hit amongst the English, for local lush green hills, reminded them of their homeland; especially during the autumn. Being a small plateau, the local population is restricted to around 5,000 people. With Nagpur being the nearest airport, Chikhaldara is well connected through road and rail transport with cities like Nagpur, Amaravati and Paratwada.

Being a plateau, the weather here is pleasant all around the year and even during the summer months, but the South Western Monsoon causes a heavy precipitation. Monsoon starts from June month in Chikhaldara and it experiences heavy rainfall during 4 months of monsoon, i.e. June, July, August, and September. The average temperature in monsoon is 25°C.

During the autumn season, the surrounding hills burst with foliage and the streams and waterfalls spring back to life.

Winter in Chikhaldara starts from November to February and the temperature in this season goes down to 15°C.