Misty Mahabaleshwar

Mahabaleshwar is a hill town in the Western Ghats about 120 kms from my city, Pune, in Maharashtra. This beautiful green region is over 4000 ft above sea level. 

From the top

Misty and cool

Being located at a height gives it several heavenly scenic spots. Only the weather has to be right and with me it played truant.  

Nevertheless, the mist, the greenery, the cold, the monkeys, hot tea and corn more than made up for it!!





The river Krishna originates from here and spouts out of the mouth of a cow seated in front of the Krishna temple.

The Krishna temple

River Krishna gushing out of the cow's mouth

Then there is lake Venna. In the evening, with a light fog surrounding me and the sun peeping in from time to time, the sight was magical.

Lake Venna

And for the cherry on top or rather strawberry on top, I had a huge helping of strawberries and ice cream at the Mapro garden. 

Table land 

On my way back, I drove up to the table land in Panchgani (another hill station), where hill tops seemed to have been sawed off to resemble a table top. 

Karla and Bhaja caves, Maharashtra, India

The Karla and Bhaja caves are rock-cut Buddhist caves located near Pune in Maharashtra, India. These caves were constructed around 200 BC on the major trade route from the Arabian Sea towards Deccan.

The Chaityagriha at Bhaja caves

The stupas at Bhaja caves

A shiv linga at Bhaja - a later addition

Rooms for the monks at Bhaja

The Bhaja caves

The Karla chaityagriha

Inside the Karla chaitya griha

The huge lion pillar at the entrance at Karla

The Karla caves. The orange roof is the temple

Traders travelling on this route visited this monastery and
provided patronage. Each location has a beautiful Chaitya griha. Amazingly, the ceiling of the chaitya is decorated with neatly cut horse shoe shaped wooden panels which remain intact till date. At Karla, two huge lion pillars once guarded the entrance of this cave. Only one remains now. A temple has come up in place of the other pillar.

The Bhaja caves are at a height and you have to climb quite a few stairs. Besides the chaitya, there are several stupas built close to the caves. These contain relics of the monks who lived there.

The caves certainly provided the atmosphere of study and prayers for the monks with the peace and pristine beauty surrounding them.Waterfalls around the caves look beautiful but they are also eroding these heritage sites. Wish more was being done towards taking care of the area.