Karla Caves are rock-cut monuments from the Buddhist era
dating two thousand years old. Location of the caves may have been of strategic
importance since it was a major trade route during that era connecting the
Arabian Sea and the Deccan region on the eastern end. The Complex consists of 16
rock cut excavations of which the grandest and the most dominant structure is
the Chaitya-griha.
The Buddhist caves at Karla, built by the Buddhist monks,
are one of the finest examples of ancient rock-cut caves to be found in India.
Dating back from the 3rd to 2nd century BCE, the Karla caves in Lonavla,
Maharashtra, were built during the Satvahahana rulers, and hosted the
Theravadin Buddhist monks in the monsoons, though however they soon turned into
the all time monasteries and viharas for all the sects of Buddhism.
The Karla caves comprises mainly two types of structures:
Chaitya halls and viharas. The chaitya halls, which form the largest number of
chaityas in the world(one being 148 feet long), were used for congregational
worship whereas the viharas were the dwelling place for the monks and further
included cells cut into the walls around three sides of a hall used for their
residential and individual meditation.
The pillars of the halls inside the caves have been carved
with figures of men, women, flowers and elephants, though the pillars outside
these halls have lions erected on them as their crowns, an emblem of Ashoka,
the great Indian ruler.
The Karla Caves are on a major ancient trade route, running
eastward from the Arabian sea into the Deccan. These ancient caves are the
popular tourist attractions now. We can see the inscriptions and stupas at
these caves .
Karla caves are one of the oldest rock-cut Buddhist caves
located in Karli, at around 60 kms from Lonavala, Maharashtra, India. Being one
of the popular and beautiful architectural caves, tourists from all over the
world visit this place every year.
How to Reach
By Road:
If you want to go by car then it’s just about 12 km distance
from Lonavala. There are frequent buses that run between Lonavala and Karla
caves. The buses start at 6 am and the last bus from Karla to Lonavala leaves
at 7 pm. Lonavala is also well connected from Mumbai, Pune and Nashik
cities and it is a major junction where all buses traveling from/to Mumbai and
Pune halts here.
By Train
Lonavala is nearest railway station to reach Karla Caves.
You can catch a train for lonavala from Pune or Mumbai. Once you get down at
Lonavala railway station, to reach Karla Caves from Lonavala station is very
easy. You can get the local buses that take you to the Karla, as mentioned
before or can hire auto.
By Air
You can fly to Pune, the major city near to Lonavala. From
Pune, you need to come to Lonavala by bus or train. There are frequent buses
from Lonavala to Karla. Mumbai Airport is the nearest international airport to
reach Karla Caves. From Mumbai tourists can hire a private cab to Lonavala to
reach Karla Caves.
