Lonavala is an important hill station and one of the most visited tourism attraction near Pune in Maharashtra. Lonavala is located at a height of 625 mtrs. above the sea level. Lonavala is the main tourism attraction and the most favourite monsoon picnic spot of Puneits and Mumbaikars. This famous tourism attraction near Pune is popularly known as ‘Jewel of Sahyadris’. Lonavala also serves as a starting point for tourists who are interested in visiting the famous, ancient Buddhist rock cut caves of Bhaja and Karla, which are located near this hill station. It also has an important Yoga center near it, for the health conscious traveler.
History of Lonavala
The historic city of Lonavala was first discovered by the Governor of Bombay, Sir Elphinstone in the year 1811. The location of Lonavala at that time was just a thick forest and a handful of people lived here. Due to the thick forest, this place was called as “Lonali”. Slowly it has become “Lonavali” and now the name is “Lonavala”.
Yadava kings first ruled Lonavala. Mughals then invaded and they ruled this historic place for a long time. It was then ruled by Peshwas. The British army captured Khandala Ghat in 1778. The British started to rule this region from 1818.
The Indrayani River originates at Lonavala.
Location of Lonavala Hill Station
Lonavala hill station is an important tourism destination near Pune city. Visitors coming to Pune should visit this famous hill station. Lonavala hill station is located in the western part of Maharashtra State. Lonavala hill station is situated at a distance of 106 Kms. south west of Mumbai at an altitude of 625 mtrs. above the mean sea level. The weather at Lonavala is very pleasant. The Summers (April-June) at Lonavala are mild, while the Winters ( November-February) are very cool. Lonavala has heavy rainfall during south west monsoon between June and September.
Weather and Best time to visit Lonavala Hill Station
Lonavala has a moderate climate with warm summers.
* Summers (March to May) are hot and the temperature rises up to 40°C. May is the warmest month and most of the tourists avoid visiting Lonavala during May.
* Monsoons (June to September) have medium rainfall. Lonavala looks very attractive in rains.
* Winters (November to February) are pleasant with a minimum temperature of 12°C and a maximum of 36°C. It is excellent for all tourist activities.
Best Season to visit Lonavala is all through the year, except perhaps May.
* October to March is ideal for sight seeing.
* April is bit warm, but suitable for outings.
* June to September offers grandeur views of natural beauty of Lonavala in showers and is the best time to visit the majestic beauty of waterfalls.
Shopping at Lonavala Hill Station
Lonavala is not only famous for its beauty but also famous for the eatables. The Chikkis and the jams are famous eatables at Lonavala. We can buy these Chikkis and Jams in almost all the shops in Lonavala. We can see the Chikki shops all over this Hill Resort.
Best accommodation and the Hotels & Resorts at Lonavala Hill Resort
A plenty of Hotels are available at Lonavala to suit the requirements of the tourists of various budgets. The Hotels at Lonavala offer you luxury and comfort and a feel at home for the tourists. The hotels at Lonavala range from Five Star Hotels to the Government approved budget hotels. Let us see some of the popular hotels and resorts at Lonavala.
- Fariyas Holiday Resorts: Fariyas Holiday Resort located at Lonavala offer excellent accommodation. It is a 5-Star deluxe resort at Lonavala with 103 well furnished spacious rooms which include 95 rooms with balconies, 4 duplex, 4 regular suites. All the rooms are air-conditioned and have attached bathrooms.
- Kumar Resorts: Kumar Resorts is one of the best budget hotels at Lonavala. This hotel is located in the central part of Lonavala. Kumar Resorts is one of the finest resorts to refresh your mind and body and to have a homely accommodation at budget prices. Kumar Resorts also have conference hall, so it is an ideal place to conduct conferences, marriage receptions, birth day parties, seminars etc.
- Highland Resort: Highland Resort is located at a distance of 1 Km. from Lonavala railway station and 1/2 Km. from Lonavala bus stand. 32 well furnished rooms are available at this resort. One of the best attractions at this resort is a swimming pool with no restriction on usage hours, a best restaurant to dine and a mini theater to watch movies. There is a mini theater screen and we can watch movies while eating. All the rooms in this resort are air conditioned with all the modern facilities.There are many more such hotels and resorts at Lonavala which offer the best accommodation at reasonable prices.
Lonavala Major attractions of tourist interest
Lonavala is located in the hills of Western Ghats at a distance of 106 Kms. from Mumbai. Lonavala is a popular hill station and a major tourist attraction between Pune and Mumbai.
We can see a number of lakes aroud Lonavala that a tourist can visit such as Tugauli, Lonavala and Bhushi Lakes. The hill station of Khandala is just 5 Kms. away from Lonavala. We can also see Karla and Bhaja caves, located at a distance of 11 Kms. from Lonavala which are very important places to be visited near Lonavala. These are the rock-cut cave temples dated back to 2nd Century B.C.
Let us now see some of the important places of tourist attraction near Lonavala.
Kaivalya Dham Yoga Center
This institute is imparting yoga education. This place is situated on a picturesque hill near Valvan lake. Yoga is very essential for men’s physical, spiritual, scientific and mental growth.
Bhairavnath Deva Sthan at Dhak
This is a temple close to Lonavala situated on a mountain, which is difficult to climb. We can only walk to this place by foot. Vehicles cannot reach this place. We can see the thick forests, deep valleys, strange noises made by peacocks and monkeys etc. at this place. The approach to the road is by a small zigzag path that is only a had wide. From here there is a 50 feet cliff upto the temple.
HOW TO REACH LONAVALA
BY AIR – Lonavala does not have an airport. The nearest airport is in Pune, which is 64 km from Lonavala. From Pune we can either hire a taxi, or come by local train to Lonavala.
BY RAIL – As Lonavala is on the main railway line between Mumbai (Bombay) and Pune (Poona), all express trains plying between the two cities stop here.
BY ROAD – There are lot of local buses operated by Maharashtra government and also private operators buses from Pune to Lonavala.
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