Koyna Nagar

Koyna Nagar is nestled in the Western Ghats and hence has a tolerable climate for most of the year. It is situated at about 600 m above sea level. The best time to visit is September when the weather is cool due to the monsoons and the hills are bathed in a verdant colour.

The Nehru Gardens, the Botanical Gardens and Kumbarli Ghat viewpoint are the most popular destinations in the vicinity. Although a sparsely populated town, hordes of picnickers mostly from Pune, come to this area during the monsoon season. Cold waterfalls, rolling green hills with misty tops, foggy corners are seen in the Kumbarli Ghat, which is a mountain pass.

The Nehru Gardens is a landscaped garden which overlooks the Koyna Dam is two kilometers away from the town. The gardens are well maintained, though an eatery is absent and important signage about the dam is all in Marathi. However the park overlooks some stunning scenery, with the massive teal-coloured reservoir that is dammed up. The entrance fee is a nominal fee at Rs 5 per head, and Rs 35 for a busload. The Botanical gardens is situated five kilometers from Nehru Park. It contains rare species of plants, some of which are used for its medicinal properties and in research. All the plants are native to the Western Ghats.

Koyna River
The Koyna River is a tributary of the Krishna river in western Maharashtra, India. The Koyna River is famous for the Koyna Dam, which is the largest hydroelectric project in Maharashtra. The reservoir - Shivaji Sagar Lake, is a huge lake of 50 km in length. The dam is situated in Koyna Nagar in the Western Ghats. The river meets the Krishna River, which is one of the three largest rivers in southern India in Karad.

The river is just about 100 meters in width and is slow flowing. It is an olive shade of green during the dry months and a bluish-brown in the monsoon months attributed to much algae and aquatic plant life.

Koyna Dam
Koyna Dam is one of the largest dams in Maharashtra, India. It is located in Koyna Nagar, nestled in the Western Ghats on the state highway between Chiplun and Karad, Maharashtra. The dam supplies water to western Maharashtra as well as cheap hydroelectric power to the neighbouring areas with a capacity of 1,920 MW. The Koyna project is actually composed of four dams, with the Koyna dam having the largest catchment area.

The catchment area dams the Koyna River and forms a huge lake - the Shivsagar Lake whose length is 50 kilometres. Completed in 1963, it is one of the largest civil engineering projects commissioned after Indian independence. The Koyna electricity project is run by the Maharashtra State Electricity Board. Most of the generators are located in excavated caves a kilometre deep, inside the heart of the surrounding hills.

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