Lonar: Historical village with a meteorite crater
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 o...