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Mahakali Caves

Saturday, November 5, 2011


As soon as we reached Mahakali Caves, Hitesh’s motorbike came to a grinding halt. Oh, no, I moaned. If the bike did not rally around, we would have to put off our plan for the day. I hoped that by the time we finished inspecting the caves, the bike would change its mind and decide to go ahead with the trip. There was no way we could carry on without the bike.
Caves
BEST buses ply between Andheri Railway Station (East) and the Caves. If you travel by bus, you need to board bus no 333. The Caves are a 10-minute walk from the nearest bus stop. They can also be reached by rickshaws and private vehicles. It took us around 20 minutes to reach the Caves from Andheri Station.

More Caves
These caves were formerly known as Kondivita Caves. No prizes for guessing that these were built by Buddhists 2000 years ago. They are located in the Udayagiri hills and are carved out of black basalt rock. On the map they can be located somewhere between Andheri, Jogeshwari and Vikhroli.
Sculptures in the Caves
The good thing here was that these caves were free of encroachments. It took us an hour to see the caves. There are a few carvings in one of the caves. The structure of each cave is different. There are around 15 caves in all.
Stupa in the Caves
A few water tanks, now completely dry, are used as garbage bins by irresponsible visitors. Our civic sense is truly pathetic. When will people learn to respect our heritage? I wish the authorities had erected dustbins to collect the trash. At least some people would have used them and refrained from littering the place.
Some More Caves
We finished touring the caves and returned to where Hitesh had parked his bike. God answered our prayers because the bike actually started. At this point, Hitesh suggested that we should take the bike to the service centre for a wash; that way it would function smoothly. I found this funny but clearly Hitesh knows his bike well. We did as he said, and the bike did run well.

Our next pit stop was Worli Fort.

Forts in Mumbai are Sewri FortBandra FortMahim FortMadh FortSion Fort. Worli Fort

Caves in and around Mumbai are Mahakali CavesJogeshwari CavesMandapeshwar CavesKanheri Caves and Elephanta Caves

6 comments:

PRANNAV 555 said...

Very rare photos. nice..

MERWYNSRUCKSACK said...

Thanks Pranav

ShaaniE said...

hey I always thot we are not allowed in there. I've passed this place daily when I worked at powai. And the gate was always closed.
I guess i can enter than...

MERWYNSRUCKSACK said...

hi, yes you can enter from the side entrance, the main entrance is closed

cheers
merwyn

Anuradha Shankar said...

The caves seem remarkably clean and free of encroachments.. in all the years I have lived in mumbai, i have never visited them, mainly because of how dirty they used to be. i remember the first time i passed by, i couldnt believe there were caves amidst all those shanties... but great pics.. would love to go there sometime now!

MERWYNSRUCKSACK said...

Thanks Anuradha Shankar,

You should pay them a visit

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