Lonavla is ideally a hill station and popular in the rainy season with lovely views, fun trekking and lots of good local food. Well, that's what local hosts expect of tourists and frequenters from nearabouts to come there for.
I was a dapper for my simple, lovely-natured autowalla with whom I struck off on the first day outside the Lonavla station itself. Local, and familiar with all interesting things to do/see, and completely adept at predicting the daily vagaries of nature, as in, rains will become heavier/lighter, can we catch views or will clouds cover up the different peaks, and all such details that a visitor may get bogged with, I had it all laid out conveniently by this amazing man! I did get a few looks from him the first day, when at the end of a visit to the popular Karla Caves I told him the names of two other caves I wanted to go and kept bugging him on wanting to visit Shivaji's Lohgarh fort, which apparently is not frequently done in tour rounds and so the location may be desolated.
Well, I persisted on my requests in a nice way while respecting his local info, while he was adventurous and decided to check it out, after all, what with a nagging customer and it was a whole new revelation to both of us and a fantastic friendship was struck!
Karla caves and Ekvira Devi Temple
My autowalla dropped me off at the parking lot of the temple and the caves (located next to
each other) and told me its just a temple and a cave and it would take about 10 minutes. He
was completely bugged up when I landed there one and a half hours later...I was feeling
guilty too!
From where the road ends it is a good half an hour's climb up. Not tough to cover, a lot of
footfall and so climbing company too.
Ekvira Devi Temple is held is high faith by the local fishermen community, the Kolis of the area. On certain occasions, they walk from home in a procession singing and carrying items
of worship for the Devi and climb up to to the temple, often barefoot and irrespective of the weather.
A local belief is that it was built by Pandavas during their exile when the Devi appeared before them and asked them to do so. Pleased with their faith and the temple
A local belief is that it was built by Pandavas during their exile when the Devi appeared before them and asked them to do so. Pleased with their faith and the temple
having been built overnight the Devi is believed to have granted them the boon that they
wouldn't be identified during their exile in the forest.
caves that were built in those days for Buddhist who travelled all over and would often sit in
penance for over several years. Cave temple with rooms for stay and a dias for penance and stupas were cut out of rock faces, up in the mountains, away from local riffraff, protected from the rains so they the Buddhist yogis could peacefully pursue their life's purpose.