The family outing is always a good idea. As the holiday season is going on and being a mom of a toddler, this time I shortlisted a few places in and around Mumbai city. First to cut down on traveling time and second to explore many places in this one week break.

I have already shared my two experience of the mother-daughter outing:

A Morning with Nature!

Mother-Daughter Travelogue!

This time daddy also accompanied both of us 🙂 and yes we enjoyed a lot! I had planned many places which included a zoo, park, aquarium, butterfly garden, ancient temples, and old architecture just to give an essence of everything around us to my daughter. This time it was KARLA BUDDHIST CAVES around 100 km from Mumbai city.

Karla Buddhist Caves, ancient name as ” VALURAKA”, is one of the most famous centers of early rock-cut Architecture excavated about 100 meters on a high spur of the chain of hills on the north flank of Indrayani Valley and just 8 km away from another Buddhist rock-cut caves of Bhaja towards South. The group of Karla includes total 16 excavations depicting artistic embellishment of Hinayana (Theravada) and Mahayana sects of Buddhism prevailed from 2 century BC to 6th – 7th Century AD. Of them, only one is Chaityagriha and rest 15 are Viharas. The Chaityagriha at Karla is the biggest of its time in the whole of India excavated during the Satavahana period. It consists of an apsidal hall with a front verandah. The apsidal hall is divided into a nave and tow aisle by two rows of pillars, which meet at the rare behind the stupa in a semi-circle, thus forming the apse.

The pillars are executed with great ingenuity and vigor, which reflect sculptural art of the period. The roof of the aisles is flat, while the pillars of the nave support a simple architrave over which rises a barrel vaulted roof, which ends in a semi-domical over the stupa in the rear. This roof is fitted with actual wooden curved ribs and longitudinal rafters. The caves were caused by the donations and support of a group of assorted individuals. This includes a prince of Marathi family, merchants, and merchant guilds, Monks and nuns and lay devotees including men and women. The various inscriptions found here clearly speak of 27 individuals from various places like Vejayamati (Banarasi, North Kanara district, nearly 600 km South of Karla); Sopara (Nalasopara, nearly 100 km north-west of Kalra) and unidentified towns of Umehanakata and Dhenukakata. Most of the donors from Dhenukakata were Yavanas.

These caves are declared by the Archaeological Survey of India as a National Monument vide notification number 2704-A, dated 26/05/1909

It was a wonderful experience for three of us to discover this beautiful place, I love anything related to Buddhism, I never understood why, but maybe because it symbolizes with peace, so I had to visit this place. It was a bit hard work to climb around 300 steps to reach the caves from the base of the hill that too with a five-year-old Kid. But surprisingly, she was very happy and excited to reach the top. I am exploring more such beautiful places with my little one. Hope you all had a wonderful vacation too.

Sharing some pictures to get a view of the place. Hope you all enjoy watching them.

Much Love

Priyanka

#VirtualSiyahi