Panhala is a little-visited hill station (altitude 975m) 18 km north-west of kolhapur, and makes an interesting excursion from kolhapur. The hilltop fort has a long and convoluted history: it was originally the stronghold of Raja Bhoj II in 1192, was captured by both the Mughals and the Marathas and was finally taken by the British in 1844. The Pawala Caves are nearby, as well as a couple of Buddhist cave temples.