Old Temple near Lonar Crater In Buldhana Dist,Maharastra by Shirishkumar Patil

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• published: 17 May 2013
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Lonar is a town and a municipal council in Buldhana district of the division of Buldhana of the region of Vidarbha in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is a taluka of the district of Buldhana and is located near Mehkar. It is an important place in Buldhana district and is famous for Lonar crater and Lonar Lake, which is located at 19°58′N 76°30′E. Lonar is situated around 550 km from Mumbai, around 160 km from Aurangabad and around 140 km via Buldhana with about 4½ hours drive southeast of the famous Ajanta Caves.Lonar Lake is a saltwater lake at Lonar in Buldana district, Maharashtra, India, which was created by a meteor hitting the Earth during the Pleistocene Epoch.[1] The impact crater thereby formed is the only hypervelocity meteoritic impact crater on basalt rock.[2][3] A lake that evolved in the resulting basaltic rock formation, is both saline and alkaline in nature. Geologists, ecologists, archaeologists, naturalists and astronomers have reported several studies on the various aspects of this crater lake ecosystem.[4] Lonar Lake has a mean diameter of 1.2 kilometres (3,900 ft) and is about 137 metres (449 ft) below the crater rim. The meteor crater rim is about 1.8 kilometres (5,900 ft) in diameter. The circular depression bears a saline water lake in its central portion.[5] The crater's age is usually estimated to be 52,000 ± 6,000 years (Pleistocene),[6] although a study published in 2010 gives an age of 656,000 ± 81,000 years.[7]The nearest train station is Shegaon, Buldana near Khamgaon. Malkapur near Bhusawal railway-junction, on the Mumbai - Bhusawal - Nagpur route of Central Railway of Indian Rail and is around 100 km from Lonar. Buses also run to Lonar from Malkapur and Jalna. If travelling from Mumbai or Pune, the most convenient route is to first reach Aurangabad via bus (Mumbai and Pune) or train/flight (from Mumbai only) and then take a state transport bus to Lonar. From Pune, air-conditioned and regular buses run every hour from the Shivajinagar bus stand.Lonar is an extremely beautiful place. The place also has an importance of its own as it has the only lake in India that is created out of hypervelocity meteorite impact. The crater that is formed because of the impact is the third largest crater lake in the world. Geological studies have revealed that the lake is more than 40, 000 years. The place is important not just for its crater lake, it is important also for its wonderful temples. Today, however, nothing but the ruins of the temple remains. The village around the crater is abound with legend of Lonar. You can also see numerous peafowls that has made the crater their home. You will also find lots of migratory birds. If you want to travel by air, the nearest airport is Aurangabad. From there you will have to travel 122 km by road. The nearest railhead is at Malkapur. From Mumbai you can also travel to Lonar by road via Aurangabad and Jalan. The total distance on road is 600 km. There are a number of hotels and guest houses in Lonar. You will surely find accommodation there.