Visiting Lonar Crater Lake

Lonar is located on the periphery of the Lonar town in Buldhana district. Lonar is the third largest meteorite crater in the World. It seems to be around 45 – 50000 years old and must be a result of around a 2 million ton weighing meteorite hit. A lake had eventually evolved inside the crater. Since the crater was formed on a basalt rock, the lake is saline in nature.

Lonar attracts many tourists from all around the world. Apart from the tourists this place is also visited by researchers, geologists and scientists from all over the world. Lonar is certainly one of the must visit destinations in India.

Reaching Lonar:

By Air: Lonar is around 122 km from Aurangabad and hence Aurangabad is the nearest airport for Lonar.

By rail: The nearest rail station is Malkapur or even Jalna, which is around 90 km from Lonar town.

By road: Lonar is around 600 km from Mumbai. The best route to reach Lonar by road is through Aurangbad. From Mumbai, one can reach Lonar by taking the Mumbai – Aurangabad – Jalna – Lonar route. The other possible route is the Lonar Buldhana route which is around 95 km. Apart from that one can also reach Lonar from Mehakar Taluka which is around 23 km from Lonar.

If you visit Lonar by train and get down at Malkapur station, or even if you plan to visit Lonar from Aurangabad then there are several buses which ply regularly to Lonar from few of the major cities like Khamgaon, Malkapur, Aurangabad, Jalna, Mumbai and even the Ajanta or Ellora caves. So that makes Lonar extrememly accessible.

Places to visit in Lonar:

Lonar Crater: The Lonar crater is a must visit destination when in Lonar Town. The crater has a vast richness in biodiversity and hence it is home to a vast variety of flora and fauna. One can find several animals like peacock, shrike, hooper, monitor lizards, rabbit, deer, langurs, snakes, black drongo and many others here in the jungles around the crater.


Apart from that the several plant species that make the visit interesting are eucalyptus, custard apple, lemon grass, bamboo, teak and few more. This forest is also a home to beautiful birds including few endangered species like the cherons,larks, red – wattled lapwings, robins and pea fowls which are found in abundance.


Vishnu temple / Daitya Sudan Temple– This temple is a must visit located within the slopes of the crater inside the forest. The temple is built in a Hemadpanthi style and is really spectacular.


This temple resembles the Khajuraho temples and has similar carvings on it. The temple is said to be had built in the 7th or 8th century and is worth viewing. The temple idol is made of ore and resembles stone. The ceiling of this temple has wonderful carvings which make sit spectacular.

Gomukh temple – Gomukh temple is too located near the rim of crater and has a perrineal stream flowing besides it which adds to the beauty of the temple. The stream water is considered to be holy and many pilgrims bathe in the stream.


Little Lonar Crater: One can also visit this mini crater which is presently known as Amber Lake. It seems this crater must have been a result of a hit by a small piece of the large meteorite which hit the Lonar crater.

Trekking: One gets a chance of doing some trekking down the lake and also on the uphill. One can definitely plan a trek down to the temples and plan a halt.

Best Time to visit:

Lonar should be visited in winters when the climate is very pleasant favorable for trekking. It's very hot in summers and hence should be practically avoided.

Where to stay:

There are MTDC accommodations available in Lonar. These accommodations are very close to the lake. The accommodations are usually vacant and hence easily available. Other than that there are many hotels and lodging facilities available near the market or the bus station but that is very far from the crater. It is hence advisable to stay in the MTDC accommodations which are comfortable, cheaper and closer to the crater. That definitely makes trekking and sight seeing easy.

For more information visit Lonar