Tourist attractions in and around Pune are many. A number of temples, forts, historical monuments, museums, gardens and amusement parks in and around the city have elevated the status of Pune from the tourism point of view. These places make you forget your own mundane world full of hurries and worries and offer you some moments of utmost tranquility and serenity.

Karle Caves:
Karle Caves are regarded as the largest and the best example of the Heenyan Cave Complexes. These caves contain a Chiatya i.e. the holy shrine. You are amazed to see the beautiful art work on the lion pillar at the entrance of the caves. Actually there were two of such pillars; only one has survived the shocks of time.

There are four lions carved out on this pillar. The holes near the entrance betray the presence of some wooden structure that must have existed in good olden times.

Beautiful sculptures carved out in stone are the exquisite piece of work. These beautiful sculptures include different poses of Lord Buddha, elephants and couples. You can’t help but appreciate the anatomical perfection and artistic excellence of these works. Carving out such sculptures in hard rock of the mountains is not a child’s play. The couples shown in the sculptures have worn different headgears. Couples with their knees bent have certainly not been carved out just for the sake of erotica.

The caves have two additional entrances on both sides of the main entrance. The Buddhist monks were supposed to wash their feet in these entrances before they came in for meditation or prayer. The prayer with the wooden roof is yet another beauty to watch. Such huge prayer halls are one of the main characteristics of the caves in Buddhist style. This hall is 124 feet long and 46.5 feet wide and has 31 beams made up of teak wood. The symmetrically perfect structure of 31 pillars on both sides looks awesome. The square base, the semi circle section, the octagonal pillar, the lotus flower and couples riding horses are the distinctive parts of the pillars which can be seen as the example of the architecture of Satwahan Period.

At the back of the prayer hall, the holy shrine i.e. chaitya has been carved out.
Most of the viharas in the Karle caves are two storied. Vihara is the place where Buddhist monks stayed for meditation.

Right near the entrance of the Karle Caves you see the beautiful temple of Goddess Ekveera. The temple is always crowded with the pilgrims and the devotees of Goddess Ekveera.

Where are they Located?
Karle caves are just 50 km away from the city of Pune near Malavali off Pune-Mumbai highway.

How to Reach:
Regular buses ply between Swargate and Malavali.
You can also reach here by local train. From the Shivaji nagar Station, it’s just a 45 minutes journey to Malavali. From Malavali, it won’t take more than 25 minutes to reach Karle caves.

Food and Accommodation:
Satisfactory facilities are available in Malavali.
Karle caves carry in their womb the rich heritage of our ancestors. Do visit the caves and be proud to be human. Bedse caves, which have remained unnoticed as compared to the Karle and Bhaje caves, are yet another attraction in the vicinity. In fact Karle-Bhaje and Bedse caves make a perfect trilogy.

So plan a trip to these caves when you come to Pune.

If you have visited Karle Caves in Pune, please tell us more about it through comments.

Karle Caves in Pune on Map
Karle Caves in Pune