Lonavala City Information
Lonavla is a town and a hill station Municipal Council in Pune district in the Indian State of Maharashtra. It is known for its production of the hard candy chikki and is also a major stop on the railway line connecting Mumbai and Pune. From the Mumbai suburbs, local trains are available from Karjat. Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as well as the Mumbai-Chennai highway pass through Lonavla.. It is about 64 kilometres (40 mi) from the city of Pune and 96 kilometres (60 mi) from the city of Mumbai. Lonavla is also home to INS Shivaji (formerly HMIS Shivaji) which is the Indian Navy's Premier Technical Training Institute. Lonavla and the adjacent Khandala are twin hill stations 622 metres (2,041 ft) above sea level, in the Sahyadri ranges that demarcate the Deccan Plateau and the Konkan coast. The hill stations sprawl over an approximate area of 38 square kilometres (15 sq mi). Tourism peaks during the monsoon season. The name Lonavla is derived from the Sanskrit lonavli, which refers to the many caves like Karla Caves, Bhaja Caves and Bedsa that are close to Lonavla. A trip to Lonavla and Khandala can be combined with sight-seeing visits of Karla, Bhaja and Bedsa caves and also the two fortresses, Lohagad and Visapur. Another place of interest is the Tungi fort, one of the forts captured by Malik Ahmad near the village of Karjat and was known for its natural strength. The Andharban trek begins from village Pimpri, passses through dense forests, valleys and waterfalls and ends in Bhira.
