LONAR - A CRATER SITE

This is a pre-historic site of a meteor which crashed on earth some 50,000 years ago and formed a large crater of 100 meters in diameter and 150 meters in depth in the ground. Though there are other “impact craters’’ in the world but this one is the only in besalt rocks. The pH value of water in the lake which has formed in the crater is 10.7 which is alkaline in nature. There are no living organisms in the lake and even trees whose roots get into the lake water dies. There is also a temple of "Kamalja Devi" at the edge of lake. Around the lake there are 12 small temples of Lord Shiva built and local people believe that darshan of these 12 temples is like visiting the 12 Jyotirling’s of India.

Apart from lake one could visit "Daityasudan Surya Temple" , "Gaimukh" which is a perennial source of fresh water work done by Peshwas to channelize the water,

"Motha Maruti" Hanuman Temple which is a temple built around a magnetic rock supposedly formed from "meteor" effect and it is believed that as long as one stays in the temple premises the blood pressure of that individual remains perfect . Lonar is ~160 km (3 hrs) from Aurangabad and is a must visit for those who have scientific inclination as well as religious interests.