Malavli is a town and a hill station in Pune district in the Indian state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

. It is about 55 km away from the city of

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

, 139 km away from the city

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

and 39 km from

Chinchwad Chinchwad is an upscale locality which is about northwest of the historic city of Pune situated on the banks of Pavna river. The neighborhood is home to extensive industry and is well known for its automotive, pharmaceutical, electrical produc ...

. It is a major stop on the rail line connecting

and Pune. For Mumbai suburbs local trains are available from

Karjat Karjat (Pronunciation: əɾd͡zət̪ is a city administered under a Municipal Council in the Raigad district of Maharashtra, India. It forms a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region and is located approximately from both Mumbai and Pune ...

. It is also an important town in order of

Lonavla Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...

Khandala Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...

Malavli on the Mumbai-Pune road link. Both the Mumbai-Pune Expressway as well as the Mumbai-Pune highway pass through Malavli, Lonavla. The population of Lonavla is around 10,000 as of 2010.

History

Present day Malavli was a part of the

Yadava Empire The Seuna, Sevuna, or Yadavas of Devagiri (IAST: Seuṇa, –1317) was a medieval Indian dynasty, which at its peak ruled a realm stretching from the Narmada river in the north to the Tungabhadra river in the south, in the western part of the D ...

. Later, the

Mughals The Mughal Empire was an early modern empire in South Asia. At its peak, the empire stretched from the outer fringes of the Indus River Basin in the west, northern Afghanistan in the northwest, and Kashmir in the north, to the highlands of pre ...

realized the strategic importance of the region and kept the region for an extended time. The forts in the region and the Mavla warriors played an important role in the history of the

Maratha The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...

and Peshwa empires. In 1871, the Lonavla and Khandala hill stations were discovered by

Lord Elphinstone Lord Elphinstone is a title in the Peerage of Scotland created by King James IV in 1510. History The title of Lord Elphinstone was granted by King James IV in 1510 to Sir Alexander Elphinstone of Elphinstone, who was killed at the Battle ...

, who was the Governor of Bombay Presidency during those times.

Tourism

Lonavla Khandala and Malavli are

hill stations A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by European colonialists as ref ...

, in the Sahyadri ranges that demarcate the Deccan Plateau and the Konkan coast. 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 Malavli combined with sight-seeing visits of Karla, Bhaja and Bedsa caves and also the two fortresses, Lohagad and Visapur.

Transport

By road: Malavli is situated on the halfway of Mumbai-Pune Expressway and is well connected to several other towns of Khopoli, Karjat, Talegaon dhabade, etc. By Air: Lonavla has its own airport used by Indian Air Force on the way to Aamby Valley city. Nearest commercial airports are Pune at 59 km and Mumbai at 109 km

References

{{reflist * "Karka and Bhaja Caves". Retrieved 2007-03-14.

External links

Article on Western Indian Caves, including Bhaja
Cities and towns in Pune district

History

Tourism

Transport

See also

References

External links