Karala Caves: The 350 Steps Climb

A few kms from Lonavala off the old Mumbai-Pune highway lie the twin caves of Karla and Bhaje. When you notice the road sign of Karala, take a turn in opposite direction since the road-sign is actually for the village and the caves lie on the other side.

There is now a road that takes you very close to the caves and the climb is reduced considerably (just 100). However, horsepower issues ensured that we climbed the whole way by parking at the foothills.

Initially the steps are large (I mean large in length) and about a metre or two. Then they start reducing gradually and towards the end become normal sized.





Initially the view is green on both sides thanks to the just ended monsoon.














A crab on the way:




There seems to be a good enough amount of people visiting this place not just for the cave but also to visit a temple at the mount. Some are walking bare-footed too probably for some kind of vow.
All this has ensured a large no. of shops of all kinds selling foodstuff, drinks and offerings. Plus a few beggars too.
For the first half of the distance it is usually empty on both sides but then begins an almost continuous line of shops.




One of the "hanging galleries" on the way; where we occasionally rested.




First view of the caves from the steps itself:




The gates of entrance.: There' a plaque installed by ASI detailing in brief the history of this place.
Extremely important note; the caves close around 5.30 or so; so please be early on time, else all your climbing efforts will be in vain.




Initial walls:




First views from the front:






Old versus new:




The main entrance to the caves or actually the entrance to the main prayer hall which has the stupa. There are innumerable carving, some probably from the buddhist era and the ones of human figures are surely more later and non-buddhist:








Oh and I forgot to mention. At the main gate outside (not this entrance), there is a small fee to be paid to enter this main stupa section. Only then you are allowed in. And also you have to take off your footwear before entering (this seems to be more of a sanctity requirement rather than a thought of cleanliness)

Once inside you're greeted with a rewarding view of the stoneworks: a huge stupa; several cylindrical pillars on either side and a semi-circular lined roof.
The following one image captures it all and yes all of it seems to be just one single rock:






Other than the main prayer section, there is some space between the pillars and the walls forming some kind of a support corridor. This inside section is pretty much cool inspite of the heat outside the cave.









After visiting the caves we set outside to get a view of the surrounding area and several photography sessions here and there with this and that.




Don't forget to see the statue of a famous baba here:




The climb down is mostly swift. It must have taken about an hour to reach the top but downstairs was less than half of that.