Lonavala, The Jewel of Sahyadri
Lonavala is a popular hill station away from the hustle bustle of crowded metropolitan life in Mumbai. It is situated in the western region of the state of Maharashtra. Lonavala is 64 km away from Pune and 89 km away from Mumbai. Lonavala got its name from a Sanskrit word ‘Lonavli’ which means ‘caves’. The absolute meaning of Lonavala is ‘Len ‘which translates to a resting place carved from stone and ‘Avli’ which means a series. There are so many things other than lonavala tourism that makes lonavala different from the rest of the hill stations of India.
The foundation of Lonavala...
The Yadav kings ruled Lonavala and afterwards the Mughals took over this place. But it was In 1871, that Sir Elphinstone, the Governor of Bombay, founded Lonavala. Lonavala geographical location and climatic conditions give it edge over the other places and therefore was considered the perfect place for all popular resorts.
Hiking, trekking and camping…
This jewel of Sahyadri hills is also a popular and favourite spot for all kinds of adventurous activities. People who love hiking and trekking always find reason to spend their vacations at this place.
It’s all about caves…
One of the specialties of Lonavala tourism are ‘caves’. Karla caves are one of the major points of attraction in lonavala tourism. Buddhist Indian rock-cut caves at Karli called as Karla caves are located at 10.9 Kilometres away from Lonavala.Karle chaitya hall is a popular point of attraction. Bhaja Caves can be dated back to the 2nd century BC and is a group of twenty two rock-cut caves. These majestic caves are four hundred feet above the village of Bhaja. These caves belong to the Hinayana sect of Buddhist.Another caves called Bedse caves belong to Satavahan period and are nearly nine kilometres away from Bhaja caves.It has two well-known caves ‘chaitya’ and ‘vihara’.
Some other tourist spots…
Other than caves there are many other places of lonavala tourism that you will find worthy of your time. There is a lake called Pavana Lake where you will experience camping and live the life of nomads. It is also known as Pavana Dam Reservoir. An ancient fort of Rajmachi, located in the Karjat region is a perfect place for trekking. Kune Waterfalls is a perfect place to hangout. It is indeed a hidden treasure with lush green surroundings. Tikona Fort, a dominant hill fortress is a popular one-day trek spot of the Pawana Maval region of the Konkan. Lohagad Fort is architecturally significant, an ancient fort atop a hill. It is a popular spot for hiking, exploring. Lion's Pointis another famous attraction point of lonavala tourism to have a best view of nature. Some other famous places of lonavala tourism are Shirota Lake, Tiger's Leap, Della Adventure Park, Lonavala Lake, Bhimashankar Trail, Reverse Waterfall, Kataldhar Waterfall and Celebrity Wax Museum.
Reach here in no time…
Lonavala can be reached very easily as the place is very much near to the popular cities of Maharashtra; Mumbai and Pune. It is on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. You can also reach Lonavala by train. Local trains run from Pune at every two hour interval. Although Lonavala does not have an airport, there is Pune International Airport at sixty four kilometres and Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport at one hundred and four kilometres.