Lonar: Historical village with a meteorite crater

-

IMG_20170125_173742960

Overview: Located on the border of Vidarbha and Marathwada regions of Maharashtra is the village of Lonar, popular mainly for the crater lake, which was formed roughly around 50000 years ago as a result of a meteriorite crash into the Earth. Initially believed to be a volcanic site, it was termed as a site formed due to the impact of an asteroid in the 1990s. The water in the lake is of alkaline nature. We stayed at MTDC resort, just opposite to the lake, and hired a guide to take us around the crater lake and other places of interest in Lonar.
The base of the crater is approachable by a light trek through dense woods. On the way to the base is an ancient temple dedicated to Lord Rama and another one dedicated to Lord Shiva, built during the 11th century. The base of the crater is filled with alkaline lake, spread across 1.5kms in diameter. Different kinds of rocks can be seen on the lake bed, like copper, iron and basalt. The lake looks best at sunset when looked from the rim of the crater.
DSC_0042 DSC_0058 DSC_0064 DSC_0071 DSC_0124 DSC_0226
There is another smaller lake next to the Lonar lake, which was formed as a result of this meteorite impact, and is locally called Amber lake. Amber lake is a freshwater lake unlike the crater lake.
IMG_20170126_085910827_HDR  IMG_20170126_085420037
Apart from the lakes, Lonar also has historic temples like Daitya Sudan temple, with carvings similar to those seen at Khajuraho. This temple was built in the 11th century by the Chalukyas. The Gomukh temple, with its perennial water flowing throughout the year, is located along the rim of the crater. A few other temples in the town are the Hanuman temple in a unique sleeping posture and Kamalja Devi temple along the lake bed.
DSC_0254 DSC_0274 DSC_0345  DSC_0285 
How to reach: Lonar village is located in Buldhana district of Maharashtra. The nearest major town with railway station is Jalna, around 85 kms from Lonar. The nearest airport is Aurangabad, around 225 kms. MSRTC buses ply regularly from Aurangabad and Jalna to Lonar.
Accommodation: MTDC resort is available at Lonar just opposite to the crater, offers good option for accomodation. Other small lodges are available at Lonar near bus stand..
Map:

Comments

  1. Pooja Mahimkar19 February 2017 at 20:57

    Nice post, the place looks beautiful. Always wanted to visit the place.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Teamgsquare22 February 2017 at 00:05

    Beautiful pictures. One of very few places we have visited twice in the same year.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Gregory Davis27 February 2019 at 10:17

    I really loved reading your blog. It was very well authored and easy to understand. I also found your posts very interesting.
    garbage disposal companies near me

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Specialties from Districts of Karnataka

-
Image
Overview: In a post-Covid world, people will not wish to travel far and wide pretty soon. However, they may wish to explore some good places in their neighborhood. While its very good to visit local attraction, its great if one can help buy local crafts and local food to help the artisans and boost the economy. Highlighting the specialties from each district of Karnataka: 1. Bagalkot: Aminagad in Hungund taluk is famous for a sweet savoury Karadantu, made out of edible gum, dry fruits and jaggery. Guledagudda Khana is a unique textile, and is a 4000 year old fabric, and is handloomed in the small town of Guledagudda. Ilkal sari is a traditional form of sari which is a common feminine wear in India. Ilkal saris are woven using cotton warp on the body and art silk warp for border and art silk warp for pallu portion of the sari. Amingad Kardant Shop Ilkal Saree Weaver 2. Bangalore Rural: Bangalore Rose Onion, having a GI indicator, is grown in 16 taluks of Bengaluru rural.
Read more

Tibetan Settlements in Karnataka

-
Image
Overview: I have always been overwhelmed with the welcoming smile and warmth of the Tibetan people. There are a few pockets in Karnataka where we can find Tibetan settlements, or we can call them 'Mini Tibet'. One of them is the popular Bylukuppe in Mysore district. The Namdroling Monastery of Nyingma, which is also popular as the Golden Temple, is the biggest monastery here.   Further south of Bylukuppe is the Dhondenling settlement at Odeyarpalya in Chamarajanagar district, where few of the prettiest monasteries can be seen in the backdrop of the BR Hills. The biggest monastery here is the Dzogchen Monastery.   Moving a few hundred kilometres towards North of Karnataka is the Doeguling Tibetan Settlement of Mundgod in Uttara Kannada district. One can see Tibetans chanting their prayers and living peacefully in these areas.   The monasteries are a place where the Buddhists offer their prayers, so it is better to maintain silence while visiting these places. A fr
Read more

A visit to my native place: The Village of Music, Rudrapatna

-
Image
Overview:  Situated on the banks of the river Cauvery, Rudrapatna is a beautiful small village in Hassan District of Karnataka with rich history, and happens to be my ancestral village too. This is one of the places where the people from the Sankethi community initially settled around 700 years ago, and were instrumental in modelling this as a 'village of music' or 'Sangeetha Grama' as it is known today. The village is also known for its Sanskrit Paathashaala, at Shankara Math near the Rama temple, which is trying to keep the traditions alive in the village. Rudrapatna Rudrapatna Sankethi community is known for music, and this village has produced many Carnatic musicians like R.K. Suryanarayana, R.K. Srikantan, Rathnamala Prakash, R.K. Padmanabha and several others. The Tamboori shaped temple is a tribute to all the musicians from this village and was built under the leadership of Vidwan Shri RK Padmanabha in the 2000s. Tamboori temple, Rudrapatna Rudrapatna Another gre
Read more