We tend to ignore things that we are unaware about. That is exactly what I did when I came to know about the Lonar crater / lake. But curiosity got the best of me, and I started researching about this obscure and mysterious place located right in the centre of Maharashtra, and yet such less is written and known about it.
The more I researched, the more I got hooked. Known as a “hyper-velocity impact crater in basaltic rock”, the Lonar crater is only one of four such known craters in the world and the only one in India, with the other three being in Brazil. and it’s located only a few hours drive away from where I live. Unbelievable!! Why hadn’t I heard of this place before and why wasn’t this place on every major tourist map??
I made a plan to visit this place ASAP. With the first opportunity the route was charted, research done, and I was ready to head out…
Lonar is located in Buldhana district of Maharashtra and the closest big city to stay in is Aurangabad. There is an MTDC resort in Lonar, but being a Government owned resort, don’t expect the world from it. More on this later.
I headed out from Nasik on a rainy Friday afternoon and headed to Aurangabad. It’s a 200 kms. drive and it took me approx. 4 hrs. to get there. Pretty uneventful drive, just the way I like it 🙂 Route taken was Nasik – Yeola – Vaijapur – Gangapur – Aurangabad.
Next say morning I left for Lonar bright and early. Lonar is located 140 kms. from Aurangabad and the drive takes approx. 4 hrs. The route is Aurangabad – Jalna – Sindkhed Raja – Dusrabid – Lonar. The highway upto Jalna is expressway. From there you move onto singe lane highway. But the quality of the highway is very good, except the patch passing through Jalna village, which was about 4-5 kms. The average driving speed was above 80 kmph throughout. Sindkhed Raja village Enroute is the birthplace of Rajmata Jijabai (Mother of Raja Shivaji), and a memorial has been built for her in this village.
By 11 am I was in sight of Lonar and the excitement was rising with the temperature. This is dry and arid area of Maharashtra so remember to carry lots of water. While approaching Lonar village I reached a view point, where you have to purchase an entry ticket of Rs. 30 per head. From this point you get a clear view of the entire lake and the crater wall.
The crater was formed by a meteor hit on earth at this spot approx. 60,000 years ago. The crater has a mean diameter of 1.2 kms. The crater rim is about 1.8 kms. in diameter. After viewing the crater, you can drive into Lonar village. I drove to MTDC resort as I wasn’t aware about whom to approach for sightseeing. It turned out to be a good decision as the caretaker of the resort is a super nice and helpful person. He helped me out by calling a guide for me.
The guide first took me to Daitya Sudan Temple, which is a Vishnu temple made in the 9th Century, although the statue inside has been stolen and the current statue was placed in the 1950s.
Next we headed to Gokumk Temple, wherein a stream of water emerges continuously. Bathing in the stream has been banned since Covid.
In total there are about 12 temples surrounding the lake. There is a pathway that leads down from Gomukh temple towards the lake. About 300 steps lead down to another temple. The rest of the way is a jungle trail. The trek from Gomukh temple to the lake takes about an hour and a half each way. The trek along the full perimeter of the lake to the farthest temple and back can easily take 6-7 hours.
One can also see the angle from which the meteor hit the earth from the Gomukh temple. From here, the wall of the crater is highest at opposite end, which shows that the meteor came and hit from this angle.
From the Gomukh temple I headed back to MTDC resort. There are a couple of restaurants in Lonar, which can provide a decent meal. But MTDC is your best bet for a fresh and hot meal. MTDC also had 8 air-conditioned rooms and 1 non a/c dormitory for accommodation. The rooms are for approx. Rs. 2500 per night. Bookings are available online too. Being Government owned, the maintenance is not the best but the only option if you want to spend the night. The staff is super nice and helpful though.
After lunch I started my drive back to Aurangabad, but not before I stopped to sneak in a few last pictures of the mesmerising lake from the road leading out of the town.
This brought an end to my trip to Lonar Lake. It took about 3 hours to drive back to Aurangabad. I stayed in Lemon Tree Hotel, Aurangabad during my stay in the city there.
I hope this short write-up will help you know more about this wonderful and amazing piece of nature which lies hidden in this corner of Maharashtra. So do go out and explore this gem, as it holds science, history and mystery all wrapped up into one!!
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