Kondana Caves is located approximately 50kms from Mumbai. We need to drive down to Karjat, a break away from the Mumbai pune expressway. Karjat is also easily accessible from the old pune highway. From karjat we need to drive to the base village called Konduvidae. You will be amazed to meet villagers who are so innocents and resistance to the maddening city life of Mumbai which is just 50kms away. They offer you food at their house, and dont charge a penny. If you happily pay them they will take take it with a shy smile without even looking how much u paid. Wonderful people!
From the village Konduvidae, we got the company of the local boy to trek us up the western ghats till the kondana caves. It was a Tough terrain and it took us more than 1hr to trek up to kondana caves.
There was a beautiful yet thin waterfall in front of the cave. The cave was rock cut and has the similar himayan architecture as in other near by buddhist caves. We can still see the attempted demolishments on the stupas and pillars and how far it has stood against time. There are also people who say that the destruction happened during earth quakes.
During Monsoons, one can also try river rafting on the base konduvidae village. There is a camp who organises it for those who are willing for a reasonable cost.
From the village Konduvidae, we got the company of the local boy to trek us up the western ghats till the kondana caves. It was a Tough terrain and it took us more than 1hr to trek up to kondana caves.
After treking up for nearly one hour, we were greeted by typical giant archs of the himayan buddhist rock cut caves. The sculptures found here are similar to the ones found in Karla and bhaja caves. They have a giant chaiyta griha and smaller cells for monks to meditate. Outside the cave, one can get a good massage from the beautiful yet gentle waterfall. The best time to trek is during the monsoon to enjoy the lush greenery around. Also, it would be hot and quite dry too during the summer here.
How to reach:
From Mumbai one can reach karjat by bus/train. Its approx. 50kms. From Karjat one can take a auto richshaw to konduvidae village. from the base village, one has trek upto kondana caves. There are also ways to reach kondana caves from ulhas valley.
Best time to visit:
Best time to visit is during the monsoons ie July to October
