Satara district is a district of Maharashtra state in western India with an area of 10,480 km² and a population of 3,003,741 of which 14.17% were urban. Satara is the capital of the district and other major towns include Medha, Wai, Karad, Koregaon, Dahiwadi, Koynanagar, Rahimatpur, Phaltan, Mahabaleshwar, Vaduj and Panchgani. This district comes under Pune Administrative Division along with Pune, Sangli, Solapur and Kolhapur. The district of Pune bounds it to the north, Raigad bounds it to the north-west, Solapur the east, Sangli to the south, and Ratnagiri to the west.
The Sahyadri range, or main range of the Western Ghats, runs north and south along the western edge of the district, separating it from Ratnagiri District. The Mahadeo range starts about 10 m. north of Mahabaleshwar and stretches east and south-east across the whole of the district. The Mahadeo hills are bold, presenting bare scarps of black rock like fortresses. The Satara district is part of two main watersheds. The Bhima River watershed, which is a tributary of the Krishna, includes the north and northeast of the district, north of the Mahadeo hills.