Lonaval:

Lonavala is located midway between Mumbai and Pune the two big cities of Maharashtra State. Lonavala is famous for its hills and valleys and you can see many waterfalls during rainy seasons or in monsoon time. You can spend one day and visit some attractive tourist places but if you have two days time then you can see forts and caves around the town. There are many good hotels available here and you can stay at Pune or at Mumbai as Lonavala is well connected from both the places.

How to reach Lonavala

You can reach Lonavala by road or by rail. It is nearly 98 Km from Mumbai and 65 Km from Pune. Mumbai is 90 KM from Khandala (or known as Rajmachi Point) which is 8 Km from main Lonavala town center. Lonavala is by the side of Mumbai Pune Express way and parallel to it there another national highway passes by the side of the town. You can travel to Lonavala from Mumbai by any local or long distance train coming towards Pune. It will take two and half hour by express train and most of the trains stops at Lonavala. Coming from Mumbai side you can see a local train stop at Khandala just before Lonavala station. From main station you can take a cab for local site tour or stay. It took 5 hours for us to visit places of tourist interest but you can cover all the caves and forts around the town by staying one more day at Lonavala.

Rajmachi Point , Monkey point or Khandala

8 KM from railway station towards Mumbai you can see this beautiful place and enjoy the beauty of sharp hills and waterfalls. You can see only water in rainy seasons in all waterfalls. From the monkey point you can see the valley and the Pune Mumbai express way and its tunnels. With the help of a local guide you can see distance forts of great Maratha Hero Chatrapati Sivaji. You can also see beautiful houses of famous film personalities and film shooting spots. Spend some time inside the park enjoying the surrounding hills and dip valleys, you can also watch the speeding vehicles of the six lane expressway. At the monkey point be aware of monkeys and don't carry eatables openly. There is an entry fee of Rs 5 to the monkey point. Very near to the Monkey point is the sunset point.

Sunset Point

Located close to the Monkey point ( 8 KM from railway station ) you can watch the sunset from here. You should match your timing to reach here in the afternoon so you can spend your time at Monkey point and see the sunset before returning. At the sunset point you can see expressway, rail and national highway at one place while watching the sun going behind the hills.

Lions Points

Located 12 Km from town is this spectacular tourist place. The 12 Km stretches of road passes through sharp curves and hills. At the Lions point you can have a look of deep valleys and Ghatees. This particular large area is ground leveled and strongly fenced by Mr Ramesh Rajpurohit for tourist protection. You can stand very close to the edge and watch the nature's beauty and enjoy the pleasant and cool air.

Rye Wood Park

Within the town limit near Lonavala market the Ray Wood Park is one Km away from the railway station. This is a botanical garden which has now turned into a large picnic garden having large lawns, trees, cool shades specially a better place for lunch. The park is full of trees and wooden structures.

Lonavala Lake

Two Km from town this lake gets dried in summer. You can see venders selling eatables and go for short walk around the lake.

Bushi Dam

Six Km from railway station this place you can enjoy with overflowing water during rainy seasons. This dam has large number of cutting steps for excess water after a rain.

MTDC Holiday resort and Boating

There is a MTDC ( Maharashtra tourism development Corporation ) holiday resort at Karla occupying 30 acres of land . There are number of well built cottages in idyllic surroundings with plenty of open space inside shady groves. In Indravani river boating facility is available with paddle boats, motor boats and water scooter. There is a AC conference hall with all modern facilities.
For reservation you can contact:
Tours division, Madame Kama RD, Mumbai 400020
Regional Office, Central building, Pune 411001
The Manager Holiday Resort Karla, Phone number (STD Code: 02114) 202114 / 282230, Fax 282370

This article is written by go2india.in team.