A beautiful Indian tourist place Lonavla is available for you. The other name of this famous destination of Maharashtra is Lonavala. It’s a small hill area of Pune region, Maharashtra. The only distance of 64 km from Pune city makes it first choice for local people as well as visitors from other cities of Maharashtra. Mumbai city is only 96 kms away from Lonavala. The approx area of Lonavla town is 38 km² and famous sweet item that gives the popularity to this town throughout the nation is Chikki. It’s a major point of meeting of rail lines between Mumbai to Pune. Voyagers can reach Lonavala through local trains from Karjat station.
Lonavala is famous of impressive natural beauty spots, high hills and Mumbai to Pune highway road. Finest period to attain the town is monsoon season when the heavy clouds turns into big waterfalls from different areas of Lonavla. The lush green and full water ponds of Lonavla give a big mental peace to the mind. The view of nature becomes so impressive that visitors spend their maximum time in Lonavala to watch the natural waterfalls, ponds and the lush green areas.
Lonavala attractions for travelers are:
Karla Caves: initial place of Lonavala is Karla Caves, though visitors have to cross area of Lonavala as the caves are located at end point of the town. Karle Caves are also known as Karla Cells popular for having ancient Buddhist rock shrines constructed inside the caves. You have to reach Karli to attain this first and most beautiful spot of Lonavala.
Visapur Fort: an ancient fort known as Visapur Killa is next place to visit in Lonavala. The other identification of this place is Visapoor fort constructed on hill of Visapur village close to Lonavala town. To reach this spot voyagers have to travel for 2.5 km distance from Malavli Railway station. The fort was built during the ruling period of Balaji Vishwanath of Maratha Empire between 1713-1720 CE.
Valvan Dam: our next location is Valvan Dam where you can enjoy the garden as famous twilight spot located at 2 km distance from Lonavla town. Again the spot is famous for monsoon season as the water level comes up and surrounding areas becomes green. Closest cities for reaching dam are Khopoli, Talegaon Dabhade and Karjat City.
Ryewood Park and Shivaji Udyan: if you like the park or looking for the weekend spot then visit the wide garden Reywood and Shivaji Park. Here you will get the botanical area and the big picnic garden. This Udyan is having large lawns, cool shades and tall trees. Don’t miss to take blessings of Lord Shiva in the temple located inside the park. Tungarli Lake is in the park as well, though buses are not available at this location but you can hire the taxi and auto rickshaw from Lonavla Station to reach the Udyan.
Lonavala Lake: a favorite pond of local people is next spot for you. A place that is covered with natural scenery is known as Lonavala Lake. The only distance of 1.6 km from Lonavala town makes is easy reaching destination for the voyagers.
Ekvira Devi Temple: a religious spot such as Koli temple or Ekvira Devi Shrine is available for you. This is the holy place built by the fishermen community located at Chaitya of the Karla caves. Navaratri and Chaitra are special occasions to visit the temple. However, huge crowd reaches the shrine in such period so you can plan the trip if you are capable to handle spot of mass religious people.
Lohagad Fort: are you looking for the place where you can spend the whole day by watching the historical things? Reach Lohagad fort of Lonavala town where you can learn the history of ancient Maharashtra. Reaching the spot is possible by road from Pune or Mumabi. Enjoy your lunch at Lake Pavana if you want to taste the Marathi thali. Get the route of Kamshet to reach the Lohagad fort which is just 50 km away from Pune. However, the road between Kamshet and Lohgarh is little difficult to travel but with low speed you can manage.
Koregad fort: one more historical place available for you in Lonavala area is Koregad Fort. You have to complete the one hour trekking to reach the top of the Koregad fort. Some ponds and amazing scenery from the spot is major things for voyagers.
Nagphani (Duke’s Nose): A thrilling but exciting place of Lonavala is Nagphani also known as Duke Nose. Nagphani is positioned at 12 km distance from Lonavala town. Actually the top area of this location is looks like a pointed hood of the snake so the spot is given the name as Nagphani. It’s a favorite spot for hikers and adventure lovers. To reach the Nagphani you have to follow the route of Ryewood Park.
Valavan Lake: Valavan Lake or Valvan Pond is another place for your picnic. This artificial pond was developed because of a dam known as Valvan Block. This dam is built on the Kundali River flowing from nearby village Kundali.
Scorpion's Sting (Vinchu Kata): last tourist place in Lonavala is Scorpion’s Sting also identified as Vinchu Kata. This is the narrow and long fortified spur of Lonavala region.
Each spot of Lonavala is special because of their greenery and the beauty given by the nature. Attaining to this place in monsoon is beneficial for voyagers.
Attaining Lonavala:
By Train: Many big cities are directly connected to Lonavala through railway. Direct trains from Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Pune and Mumbai are available for this town. However, many other cities of India are also having link trains to reach the Lonavala town.
By Air: closest airport to reach Lonavala is Pune that is just 64 km away from the town. Direct flights for Pune are available from Mumbai, Bangalore, Goa, Delhi and many other cities. The key international airport to reach Lonavala is MCSIA (Mumbai Chatrapati Shivaji International Airport). Mumbai airport is only 100 km distant from Lonavala and flights from around the world are reaching Mumbai airport at frequent intervals.
By Bus: Maharashtra State Transport is having buses for Lonavala from many major cities so attaining to key spot is not difficult task. Direct luxury and normal buses from Mumbai and Pune are available for Lonavala town.
