A VISIT TO THE PANDAVA CAVES – NEAR KARJAT

Date: 17th February 2008

After the visit to Kothaligad I was eagerly awaiting a visit to the Pandav Leni, which I gave a miss during that trek. So it was a Sunday morning again that I found myself along with Krishna at the Railway platform awaiting the 6:24 Karjat local. We reached Karjat station by around 8 am. As there was ample time for the bus to depart we had tea at the stall nearby. As usual the bus to Jamrung was already there. However it was even emptier than the last time I had boarded it for the Kothaligad trek.

We alighted at Ambivali village at around 9:20 am. We started walking towards Jamrung. We found to our sheer disappointment a bus stationed next to the huge tower which happens to be the landmark for the caves. I was looking forward to this visit as it was supposed to be a secluded spot, cut away from the hustle bustle of the city. It was 9:40 when we reached the caves. There is a beautiful temple inside the cave which had also served as resting place for the Pandavas. A person was playing a stringed instrument and singing some hymns. It sounded so soothing due to the echo effect inside the cave. A dam built across the lake had made way for a reservoir. There was rappelling session going on the rock surfaces near the caves.

There is not much to see except the caves. So after sitting near the lake for some time myself and Krishna made our way back to the main road by 10:30 am. We reached Ambivali by 10:50 am. We caught a Vikram which dropped us at Kashele. We got into a vikram bound for Karjat when Krishna noticed that Neral was 12 kms from Kashele. So we got down from the Vikram bound for Karjat and got into the one for Neral.

We reached Neral just in time to catch the CST local.

Best Time To Visit: Any time during the year

How to get there: As we realized later in the day, Neral is the nearest rail head. From Neral catch a Vikram up to Kashele and further to Ambivali or Jambrung.