Murud Beach in Alibaugh

About Murud Beach
Murud  was the old capital of the state of janjira and is located in a little known place about 160 kilometers from Mumbai.  This is a very quite place for an ideal weekend for the family quality time with the children.  There are lots of coconut trees all over the place making the beach line beautiful.  There is a simple and rustic charm about the place, you can go for boating in the sea, sailing and deep sea fishing.  Dattatray temple, Fansad dam, Kashid Beach, God Ganesha temple of Nandgaon are some of the places to visit the nearby. The Roads in Murud are clean and pretty lined with trees on both sides and at places the road goes parellel to the beach.  It will be beautiful to watch as you drive along the road.

Best time to visit Murud Beach
Murud is located on the coast line which has a pleasant climate. You can visit Murud Beach any time of the year.  But beware of the sea during the monsoons   and in the rainy season. The sea might get rough  and signals for dangers are there.

Accommodation facilities at Murud Beach
You can find some hotels at the Murud Beach. You can also stay in Alibaugh and then make it a day visit to the Murud Beach.

Gold Swan Resort
Darbar Road
Murud Janjira
Maharashtra - 402401
India
Tel: 02144 - 274078
www.goldswanresort.com

Sand Piper Resorts 
Idgah Road
Behind Murud Police Station
Murud Janjeera
Maharashtra - 402401
India
Tel: 02144 - 274166
www.sandpiperresorts.com

How to Reach Murud Beach?
If you are travelling by air from abroad or from somewhere inside inside India, you have to reach Mumbai International airport. From there the beach is about 160 kilometers.
You can get cabs, private vehicles and Bus transport to go to Murud Beach from Mumbai. The Road is good amd motorable but still it takes about 4-5 hours to reach the place.   From Alibaugh it is about 53 kilometers to Murud Beach.
If you are travelling by rail Pen is the nearest Railway station and is about 80 kilometers away.
You can also travel by sea if you are interested . You can get into a catamaran from the Gateway of India in Mumbai to mandwa in Alibag or by ferry from  Mazgaon to the (Bhaucha Dhakka) to Rewas (Alibag).
From Mandwa or Rewas, you can take to the road transport. Catamaran and ferry Services will remain suspended during rainy season.

Ahmed Nagar Fort in Maharashtra

Ahmednagar Fort was the administratie headquarters of the Ahmednagar Sultanate, an Indian kingdom located in the northwestern Deccan, between the sultanates of Gujarat and Bijapur.  This Ahmad Nagar Fort was taken over in  1803, during the Second Anglo-Maratha War by the British and was used as a prison. At preset the Ahmadnagar fort is under the administration of the Armoured Corps of the Indian Army.

History of the Ahmad Nagar Fort
The Fort was built by Malik Shah Ahmed in 1427 who was the first sultan of the Nizam Shahi Dynasty. In the initial stages the board was made of mud  but in 1559 fortication began during the rule of Hussain Nizam Shah. The fortification went on for 4 years  and was finished in 1562. In 1600 during Mughal Invasion the fort went to the Mughals.  After Aurangazeb passed away in the Ahmad Nagar Fort it went to Marathas  and then to the Scindias the rulars of the Gwalior state.
In 1803  during the second Anglo maratha war the East India company took over the fort and started using the fort as a prison. Jawaharlal Nehru, Abdul Kalam Azad, Sardar Patel and the other members of the Indian National Congress  were jailed in this fort for almost 3 years after the Quit India Resoution by the Congress.

Construction of the Ahmadnagar Fort

Ahmad Nagar Fort is one of the well planned  and strongly built  fort and is situated in the middle of the cantonement area of the eastern parts of the city.  This  fort is oval in shape  and has about 1.70kilometer in circumference with 24 bastions. The fort is surrounded by a moat, about 30 meters wide and 4-6 meters deep as well as a massive wall built of stone masonry which rises for 25 metersrom the bottom of the ditch.  There are two entrances to the Ahmadnagar fort which can be reached only after crossing the moat over the suspension drawn bridges. The buildings inside the fort are in good condition even now.

How to Reach Ahmednagar?

If you are travelling by air you can reach Pune Domestic airport / Mumbai international airport.  From Pune it is about 113 kilometers to Ahmednagar  fort. You can get trains to Ahmednagar or state transport buses from Pune and Mumbai as well as othe major towns and cities of the area.

About Maharashtra

Maharashtra is one of the 29 states, located in the western part of India. Mumbai is the state's capital city as well as called as the financial capital of India. Mumbai is the headquarters of all major banks, financial institutions and insurance companies in the country.

Maharashtra has a long coastline stretching nearly 720 kilometres along the Arabian Sea. Deccan Plateau is the most prominent feature of the state and is separated from the Konkan coast by the Ghat section. Western ghats is known as Sahayadri mountain ranges. Satpura Hills along the north and Bhamragad  - Chiroli - Gaikhuri ranges on the east form the natural borders of the state and the land area is surrounded by Gujarat to the north west, Madhya Pradesh to the north, Chhattisgarh to the east, Telangana to the south east, Karnataka to the south and Goa to the south west. Krishna, Bhima, Godavari, Tapi-Purna and Wardha-Wainganga are the main rivers running through the state of Maharshtra.

Districts in Maharashtra
Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Beed, Bhandara, Buldana, Chandrapur, Dhule, Gadchiroli, Gondia, Hingoli, Jalgaon, Jalna, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Nagpur, Nanded, Nandurbar, Nashik, Osmanabad, Palghar, Parbhani, Pune, Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Sindhudurg, Solapur, Thane, Wardha, Washim, Yavatmal  are the 36 districts of the state of Maharashtra.

Places to visit in Maharashtra
Aga Khan Palace
Ajanta and Ellora Caves 
Elephanta Caves
Gateway of India
Kanheri Caves
Mount Mary Church, Bandra
Raigad Fort
Rajiv Gandhi Zoological Park
Tadoba Andhari Tiger Project

How to reach Maharashtra?
Mumbai is the international airport in the state. The airport connects almost all the major cities by flights in India and abroad.
You can get a connection train from anywhere in India to Mumbai.  The city is easily reachable from all over India.
The city is connected by national highways which run through the state to other parts of the country.

Chandoli National Park

Chandoli National Park, established in the year 2004, is located in the junction of the three districts of the state of Maharashtra, namely, Sangli, Satara and Ratnagiri Districts.  This was earlier declared as a wildlife Sanctuary in the year 1985. The National Park is located near the Chandoli Dam in Maharashtra state.

Chandoli National Park lies between Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary and the Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary. The National park is the southern part of the Sahayadri Tiger Reserve. Chandoli National Park spreads along the crest of the Sahyadri Range of the northern Western Ghats. The Park forms and protects many perennial water channels, water holes and the Vasant Sagar Reservoir in Maharashtra. You can find a mix of Malabar Coast moist forests and North Western Ghats moist deciduous forests in the Park area.

Flora and Fauna found in Chandoli National Park
Anjani ironwood tree, jamun, pisa (angustifolia), fig, Olea (diocia), katak spinous kino tree, nana or Crape myrtle (lanceolata), kinjal, kokum tree and phanasi false kelat (brachiata) are some of the trees found in the evergreen forests.  Indian laurel, amla or Indian gooseberry, umbar or devil fig (hispida) and harra or chebulic myrobalan are some of the other species found in the National Park.

There are about  23 species of mammals, 122 species of birds, 20 species of amphibians and reptiles are known to be there in the forests of Chandoli.
Bengal Tigers, Indian leopards, Indian bison, leopard cats, sloth bears and Indian giant squirrels are  some of the animals found here.

Best time to visit the Chandoli National Park is October to February. June to September is the south west monsoon time  and a heavy rainfall over 3,500 mm (140 in)is recorded in the area.

Nearest Railway Stations

Sangli - 75 km
Miraj rail junction - 83 km
Kolhapur - 80 km
Karad - 47 km

Miraj junction is well connected to important cities in and around the state by express and super fast trains. You can get a connection train to Miraj junction or Sangli railway station. From there you can get a cab to Chandoli National Park.

Elephanta Caves

Elephanta Caves are located in the Uran Taluka in the district Raigad on island hills, at about 11 kilometers north-east of the Apollo Bandar, Mumbai, in the state of Maharashtra in India. This is about 7 kilometers from the shore of the mainland, approximately covering an area of 7 km in circumference.

After these caves were carved out, it seems to have passed through different dynasties who held their sway over this island. They were the Konkan-Mauryas, Trikutakas, Chalukyas of Badami, Silaharas, Rashtrakutas, Kalyani Chalukyas, Yadavas of Deogiri, Muslim rulers of Ahmedabad and then by the Portuguese. The Marathas also had this island under their control for sometime and from them it was passed on to the control of the British.

The Elephanta Caves are known as Gharapurichi Leni in the native language. Elephanta Caves are a network of sculpted caves situated on Elephanta Island also known as Gharapuri, mea‌ning literally  "the city of caves".
The Elphanta island is placed on an arm of the Arabian Sea which consists of two groups of caves, one is a large group of five Hindu caves and the other, a smaller group of two Buddhist caves.

The Hindu caves contain rock cut stone sculptures, representing the Shaiva Hindu sect, dedicated to the Lord Shiva. There are 7 cave excavations in the Elephanta group. The main cave or the Great Cave was a Hindu place of worship till the beginning of the Portuguese rule in 1534, after which the cave suffered severe damage. After many years of neglect the main / great Cave was renovated in the 1970s.

The Brahmanical rock cut architecture found in these caves have been dated to be in between 5th and 8th centuries.  No one is sure about the identity of the original builders and it is still a subject of debate. The caves are carved from solid basalt rock and were originally painted in the past but now only traces of those paints remain.  The cave is also famous for the exquisite and vibrant sculptures found in them.

Elephanta Caves were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987 to preserve the artwork. It is currently maintained by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

Ajanta and Ellora Caves

Ajanta and Ellora Caves, UNESCO world heritage sites in India
Ajanta and Ellora caves a re a part of Indian culture and tradition during the earlier age. These rock cut temples and caves were carved by hand, mostly using hammer and chisel.

Location of Ajanta and Ellora Caves
Ajanta and Ellora Caves are located in the Aurangabad district of the state of Maharashtra. Both of them are UNESCO World Heritages sites. Ajanta and Ellora Caves are placed at about 100 kilometers from each other. The sites are protected monuments in the care of the Archaeological Survey of India. Since 1983, the Ajanta Caves have been a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

About Ajanta Caves
Ajanta caves are carved into the side of a cliff which is placed on the south side of a U-shaped gorge on the small river Waghora / Wagura. Since the area was heavily forested the caves were covered and went out of sight, till it was accidentally uncovered and found by a British Officer while he was on a hunting party.

There are caves numbered from 1 to 28 but some of them were unfinished even then. These figures and impressions on the caves seem to have been carved out with simple tools like hammer and chisel. They depict the story of Buddhism over a period of 200 BC to 650 AD. These caves were used a secluded retreats for the Buddhist monks who were teaching and performing rituals. These were the ancient seats of learning as well as the nerve centers of the Buddhist cultural movement.

Buddhist caves in Ellora
Even though the Buddhist caves are numbered from 1-5 and then 6-12 , it is clear that Hindu caves have been the earlier ones. The first of the Buddhist cave is the Cave 6 followed by othrs one by one, all the caves having been constructed between 630 - 700. One of the most famous caves in the Buddhist group of caves is the cave 10, which is known as Vishwakarma or the carpenter's cave. In the heart of this cave there is a 15-foot statue of Buddha seated in a preaching pose and the first nine are monasteries and the last two have 2 and 3 storeys.

Hindu caves of Ellora
These Hindu caves seem to have been built in the 6th to the end of 8th century. The first of the hindu caves 17 - 29 are of the Kalachuri period but the work first seems to have commenced in caves 29 and 21 14, 15, 16 were constructed during the Rashtrakuta period.

Cave 16 was known as the Kailasanatha is the unrivalled piece of th Ellora. This has been carved out of a single rock but looks as if it is a multi storeyed and free standing temple complex. the temple is a splendid example of the Dravidian art. The project was started by Krishna 1 of the Rashtrakuta Dynasty and the builders modeled it on the lines of the Virupaksha Temple in Pattadakal.

The Dashavatara Cave was started off as a Buddhist monastery with an open court and a free-standing monolithic mandapa at the middle as well as a two-storeyed temple at the rear. The other notable Hindu caves are Rameshwara the cave 21, Dhumarlena or Cave 29, Raava ki Khai or cave 14 and Nilkhanta or Cave 22.

Jain Caves of the Ellora
The first of th Jain cave was built in the 9th and 10th centuries and they belong to the Digambara sect. Jain caves reflect a strict sense of Asceticism and they are not large like others but they have exceptionally detailed works of art. Chhota Kailash or Cave 30, the Indra Sabha or cave 32 and Jagannath Sabha (cave 33 or Cave 33 are the most remarkable ones.

Entrance fees and Timings at Ajanta and Ellora Caves
Cave Timings:
9.00AM to 17.30PM Indian Standard Time (IST)
Ajanta Caves remains closed on Monday and Ellora Caves remains closed on Tuesday.
Both the caves remain open on all the National Holidays

Cave Entrance Charges:
For Indians below 15 years : FREE of Charge
For Indians above 15 years : Rs. 10/- per head
For Foreigners above 15 years : US $5 or equivalent in Indian rupees per head
For Photo Camera/ Video Camera: Rs. 5/- (Camera to be used without flash)

How to reach Ajanta Caves ?
Ajanta Caves are located near Jalgaon just out isde the Ajinta Village at about 59 kilometers away from the Jalgaon Railway station. Jalgaon is located on the Delhi Mumbai line aand the Howrah Nagpur Mumbai line of the Central Railway. Ajanta Caves are located at about 104 kilometers from the city of Aurangabad.
If you are travelling from Aurangabad, you can visit Ellora caves and then drive on to Ajanta Caves.
Ajanta Caves are closer to Jalgaon just outside the Ajinta Village at about 59 kilometers away from the Jalgaon Railway station. Jalgaon is located on the Delhi Mumbai line and the Howrah Nagpur Mumbai line of the Central Railway.

Accommodation Facilities at Ajanta and Ellora Caves
MTDC Hotel at Ajanta-a choice of single (2 blocks) and double (2 blocks) rooms. Fardapur : self contained (1 block-14 beds) 
Fardapur (Kanhaiya Kunj) : self contained rooms (12 blocks) group. Accommodation ( 2 block 18 beds).