TheFreeBird
Last Sunday i visited the Kataldhar Waterfall (Lonavla) which is visible from the famous Rajmachi fort in Lonavla. Some one told me that at the bottom of Rajmachi hill there are beautiful Buddhist Caves known as Kondana caves Karjat ( Kondhana Caves ) . On searching some photos for the Kondana caves i was mesmerised & had to visit here at the earliest. The architecture here is out of this world & imagining it being built without any modern equipment just makes curious as to how intelligent our ancestors were. Got to know that Kondana caves trek is a short trek and doable for families as well. But i thought let me first check it out before getting my parents here. In this Kondana caves trek blog you will find all the information to plan this easy trek yourself. Similar adventures like this one at the end of this post.
How long is the Kondana Caves trek ?
Niraj, how much time does it take for Kondana caves trek ? It takes about 60 minutes to complete this trek at a slow pace. Even elderly people with basic walking / trekking stamina can complete this trek in good time. Since the trek is well marked no guide is needed for Kondana caves trek. It may take more time to reach the base than the actual trek to Kondana caves Karjat
Is Kondana Caves Trek difficult for beginners ?
Kondana caves is one of the easiest treks in Sahyadri. A super easy trail takes you from the base village to the caves. Kondana caves falls on the Rajmachi trek route from Karjat side. As such the trail is properly maintained and no chances of getting lost here.
Things to see near Kondana caves Karjat
Along with Kondana caves trek you can also visit Nagnath Caves which is located in the opposite hill. Both these short treks can be easily planned in the same day . From Kondana caves there is a trail that goes to Rajmachi fort as well
Khane me kya hai?
Many people provide tasty home-made food at Kondana village. You can give a order after you reach here and eat it on your way back. Also from Thakurwadi ( trek start point) there are many temporary stalls on the kondana trek route on monsoon weekends. For any other day apart from monsoon weekends mostly there are no stalls
Water: There are many waterfalls enroute. However for non-monsoon days make sure to carry atleast 2 litres per head.
How to reach Kondana Caves from Mumbai & Pune
Where are the Kondana caves located ? Kondana caves are situated on trek route of Rajmachi from Karjat side. Namesake Kondana village , Karjat is the base village for the trek. Kondana is abut 12kms from Karjat, 40kms from Panvel, 80kms from Mumbai & 115km from Pune.
Karjat > Kondivade > Kondana village > Thakurwadi ( Trek start point) > Kondana Caves > Rajmachi
Karjat is the nearest Railway station.
Auto-Rickshaw: From Karjat Station you can walk for some 10 minutes to reach Shreeram Pul / Bridge from where you will get Rickshaws to Kondiwade village. ( 200 Rs for the entire Rickshaw. 25-30 Rs for Sharing). You can ask the driver to drop you to Kondana village for an extra amount.
ST Bus: After you reach the Karjat railway station walk to the bus stand and enquire. There are many bus going from Karjat to Khandpe. Ask them to drop for Kondana caves. From the drop point you will need to walk 4 km if you dont get any rickshaw till Kondana village
Private Vehicle: Drive all the way to Karjat and take right from after Shreeram pul . Continue to Kondana village. The road is a bit rough after Kondivade till Kondana village. From Kondana to thakurwardi ( 10 minutes walk ) is bit rougher and can be easily avoided. i.e. Park your car at Kondana village.
Once you have reached Kondana the road goes ahead to a small village called Thakurwadi from where the small trek starts. ( The same trek route goes ahead to Rajmachi as well It takes almost 2-3 hrs from here to reach Rajmachi base village – Udhewadi)
Trek Map for Kondana Caves Trek from Karjat
What should I carry on this trek ?
On treks, first preference for food is ghar ka khana, fruits, dry fruits, lemon juice & lots of water over biscuits, breads and carbonated drinks. Also I do carry 1₹ chocolates for quick energy boosts. My normal attire includes full sleeved clothes , cap & proper trek shoes ( No flip-flops) Good goggles i.e anti-glares are must for summer treks. I also carry safety gadgets like fire starter, waterproof torch, whistle, first-aid just in case. Here are few trekking gears & food which i always carry on treks
Along with proper gear you must carry few qualities of a good human being - never trouble wild life, never draw on fort walls, never risk your life for selfies, never throw plastic anywhere (carry back all waste) and never play loud music. When in nature behave like animals. BE ONE WITH NATURE
The most common question that i get asked is I want to travel a lot but I dont have leaves. Should I quit my job ? For years I have suggested to not quit anything unless you have another source of income. In search of this source of income I tried freelancing , trek leading, vlogging and I realised nothing works in the long term - untill I came across trading
This is perfect fit for a traveller mindset. You can trade from anywhere around the world be it some off the grid village in Himachal or Meghalaya, be it some island in Andaman. All you need is an internet connection and a trading account. You can earn by trading for 1-2 hrs a day and would have freedom to do anything in the free time.Or you might have just earned enough in a day to take the month off travelling around the world. If you are able to learn this then it has potential to make all your dreams come true. I would suggest you take it up as a side project for 6 months to see if you have patience & intellect to master it.
Kondana Caves Trek Blog: TheFreeBird’s journey
Since i dont like to travel with crowd I selected one weekday & I took my school mate Shrinivass with me. I am creating memories with my freinds – one trek at a time. Last Sunday i trekked to Kataldhar waterfall with Amit, before that Devkund waterfall with Vishal, Padargad with Omkar and so on. Here are all the sahyadri treks i’ve been to. I took out my bike and drove all the way to Thakurwadi .
As we moved further from Karjat towards Kondivade greenery took over. Paddy cultivation was in full flow and it was all green till our eyes could see. Soon we crossed Radisson Blue hotel and move ahead till we reached Khandpe. From here the route splits and we took a right from here towards Kondana.
After this diversion the off roading starts till Kondana . Enroute we crossed many rivers ,streams where one can easily do a pre-wedding shoot. After a while Ulhas river was back to meet us on the right side. At kondana village Ulhas river curves beautifully and makes up for a picturesque spot. There was a guy fishing on the banks of the river. I requested him to try his fishing rod for some time which really got me excited. Even after 10minutes there was not a single bite and I continued my journey ahead
I took my bike all the way to Thakurwadi. From Kondana village the road gets real bad. It would be wise to park your cars here and walk 10 minutes further to Thakurwadi. Some rich kid even drove his Dad’s low clearance Mercedes right till Thakurwadi scrapping the road. At Thakurwadi a board on left designates the start of the Kondana trail. Also there are couple of shops here to indicate the trail- start
We crossed few streams and passed some very old trees. After a while there was a small waterfall . I am pretty sure this waterfall would be a major attraction during heavy rains. Right now the waterfall was lazy
Since we were already late we didnt get into the waterfall . Just few pics and we raced towards the Caves. Eating a hot maize in monsoon is my favourite and i was just hoping to find a food stall enroute where i can get one. It was half an hour since the trek start and I had not seen a single stall. It felt like i wont have the maize that day. Though I was more excited with anticipation of the waterfall over the Kondana caves. As fate would have it both of my hopes were satisfied as i neared the caves
Kondana caves made a dramatic appearance with a waterfall covering left half of the cave. The excitement to have reached centuries old Engineering marvel was tremendous
I could easily spot two big caves at the entrance. And few more to the left which could have been maintained properly. And to the extreme left was another cave which was cordoned off. This cordoned off cave received water from the waterfall and had a small tank which my sixth sense tells would have been used for drinking during its hey days.
The main cave has a stupa which is restoration work-in-progress. Archaelogical survey of India have been working on this site for years to get it to its glory days. A lot remains to be done. This cave has all the features like the other Buddhist caves like Vihara, chaitya , stupa etc. If you are interested in such history tit-bits just google Buddhist caves.
The place is dilapidated and in process of renovation but you can definitely feel the peace here. The second siginificant cave was located a bit high and have stairs to reach here .
The internal of this huge cave is mind-boggling & to think of something like this being build centuries ago with simple tools and human spirit is astounding. This might have been one of the places where the Buddhist monk used to stay called Vihara . It would have been peaceful here if it was maintained properly & not for the smell of bat shit. Any case the view from here was brilliant.
With this since it was almost 1800 hrs , an hour past the caves official closure time we decided to head back . But not before clicking 100 ‘s of photos.
Kondana caves trek is very simple and can easily make up for a family outing . I would definitely get my parents here. Infact I came here to recce the area if its fit for my parents and if they are fit for it. Will be bringing them here soon enough.
I have also prepared a short video for Kondana trek. Make sure to subscribe to my Youtube channel for peaceful & offbeat places.
Till next time.
Bye !
Hope you enjoyed reading about Kondana caves Karjat.
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I've written blogs covering numerous Sahyadri treks, all accessible in the section below. Additionally, I create ambient Sahyadri videos on YouTube, featuring solely natural sounds such as birdsong, wind rustling through the trees, and the soothing patter of rain—the elements of nature that I hold dear.
SAHYADRI TREKS NEAR
Very nice. You always to go these beautiful places which are well within reach for us. Thanks for detailed journey and experience summary.
Keep travelling !
Thanks a lot Sagar for such kind words. Hope it sets ups your weekend journeys \m/