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Lonavala and Khandala are two charming little hill stations, in Maharashtra, located on the western slopes of the Sahyadri mountain range. These are perched at an altitude of 625 m, and are five km apart. Quite popular as health resorts, there are a number of sanatoria dotting the hills, in both towns. Khandala is smaller and relatively calmer of the two, though browsing through Lonavala's bazaar could yield some wonderful surprises. Both these sites offer scenic views of the surrounding hills, and in the monsoons, with myriad waterfalls.
Khandala is near Lonavala though comparatively small. It is equally beautiful and serene. A deep valley on one side and high hills on the other divide Khandala and Lonavala.
While travelling on the MUMBAI-BANGALORE National Highway, one comes across the tedious Khopoli Khandala Ghat. The 369m difficult climb to Khandala is worth the trouble. This site has been made famous all over India due to the song from the Hindi movie "GHULAM " which goes as follows: "Aati Kya Khandala." (The hero is serenading his heroine, and is inviting her to come to Khandala.)
Tourists are attracted to Lonavala and Khandala because at one go they can visit two places. Moreover, around these two places, there are various sites which one can explore, like beautiful hills, deep wooded valleys, gorges, lakes, forts, caves, waterfalls etc. Being in close proximity to Mumbai there is a rush of the weekend tourists all the year round, especially during the summers. In addition to tourists from Mumbai, people travelling to or coming from South India, on the National Highway make it a point to visit these two places.
Location: All trains from Mumbai stop at Lonavala. Khandala is a rail station served by only local trains. In 1871 Lord Elphinstone, governor-general of Mumbai Started the trend of visiting Khandala and Lonavala and since then these hill stations have grown as a health and holiday resorts. These two hill stations are 5 km. apart. Both the hill resorts have numerous hotels, to suit each visitor's pocket.
If you visit Lonavala do not miss visiting the following caves:
Bhaja
Here one can gaze across to the impressive fort of Lohagarh or gaze up to the forbidding heights of Vishapur. The entrance gate to this site is opposite Cave 12. Cave 12 is one of the most exciting caves to explore. This is one of the first apsidal chaitya hall in the western Deccan. The architect; a Buddhist monk from Northern India has used timbre structures, teak struts have been inserted into the stone vault, possible for aesthetic reasons but more probably out of nostalgia. Twenty-seven octagonal columns divide the temple. There is also a Stupa in front of the columns at the far end, which slopes gradually inwards. The teak beams used were painted but now due to the ravages of time not much is left. The sockets at the entrance suggest that once a timber door existed here. To the left of the cave 12 are three quite interesting monasteries 5., 6 and 11 and to the right are monasteries number 13, 14, 18, the small 19, and the large 20. Cave 19 has two fascinating sculptures in very low relief, which are still well preserved. One sculpture depicts the sun god "Surya" with his chariot drawn by four horses. Here his retinue of warriors trampling the bodies of enormous obnoxious looking demons accompanies him. The other sculpture depicts Indra, sitting astride his elephant Airavata that appeared when the ocean was churned up. Cave 20 is a stupa cave. It seems the monks were followers of Hinayana, because the Stupa shows no image of Buddha and related to Sunga artists at Bharhut and Sanchi in Madhya-Pradesh.
Bedsa
Bedsa is also near Lonavala. It lies north of the Pawan Dam. Bedsa can be reached from Kamshet (there is a railway station here) by bus or auto-rickshaw. From Bedsa the hike uphill is 3 km. On reaching the top one can see bell up- columns surmounted by capitals consisting of horses with riders. The features depicted in the sculptures on these columns show the influence of non-Indian sculptor, possibly an Iranian of Greek ancestry, or maybe a Parthian or Scythian. It is believed that the foreigners living near the coast converted to Buddhism- therefore this foreign influence can be seen in the sculptures at Bedsa. The women depicted in the Bedsa caves are unique in their physical attributes- like long plaited hair, bare breasts, and Wellenistic-type faces, while the men wear only loin cloth and elaborate turbans and seem more Greek than Persian. The chaitya hall after cave 7 is a simple structure. The influence, here is of Hinayana religion therefore the figure of Buddha is absent. Cave 11 is a Vihara (or room for the ascetic/monks) with nine separate cells.
Karla
While returning from Bedsa and Kamshet towards Lonavala one has to turn right at the Karla Hotel by the Bhaja cross road to reach at the foot of the Karla caves. Here there are hordes of vendors selling souvenirs, trinkets, eatables etc. at rates, which can be bargained. Guides are also available here in good numbers.
On has to climb steep stone steps to reach these caves. The chaitya hall here it seems dates from the Maharashtra dynasty's period of power in Western Deccan in the Ist Century A.D. The grandeur of the sculptural decoration here clearly outshines the ones at the Bhaja caves. Karlas chaitya halls has scenes depicting Mithuna couples, figures with Asiatic-Greek features, figures who are god-like in stature, elephants, men are shown in lion-cloth and heavily turbaned in addition to these. Angelic faced women are depicted bare-breasted but bejeweled. In these caves one can also see the carved figure of Buddha thus showing the influence of Mahayana Buddhism on these caves. There is also a twelve-cell Vihara, which can be reached by a wooden ladder, which could be drawn up in case of an attack on the Vihara.
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