Lonar is the place where a huge meteorite made an impact with the Earth 50,000 years ago. The impact was as forceful as 6 mega tonne bombs. It carved a crater, 1830 m in diameter and 150 m deep. Salinity and alkalinity of the lake formed by the crater are unique. The Lonar crater is the only one in the world to have been created by hypervelocity meteorite impact and is the world's largest impact crater in basaltic rock. Lonar is located in
Buldhana District at
Aurangabad,
Maharashtra. It is 553km from
Mumbai and about 4 hours southeast of the
Ajanta Caves. Visitors to Lonar are fascinated by the flora and fauna there.
This area was the part of Ashoka’s empire and then passed to Satavahana rule. It was also a part of the Chalukya and Rashtrakuta Empires. Historical evidences are found there. It was also an important trade center during the period of the
Mughals, Yadavas, Nizam and the British. There are several temples near the Lonar Lake known as Yadav Temples and also known as Hemadpanti Temples named after Hemadri. Ramgaya, Vishnumandir, Wagh Mahadev, Mora Mahadev/Munglyacha Mandir and Goddess Kamalaja Devia are the temples inside the carter. Scientific researches are going on in Lonar.
Best time of the year to visit this place is August to February. Aurangabad Airport (165 km) and
Malkapur Railway Station serve this region. By road from Mumbai via Aurangabad and Jalna to Lonar is 600 km. Lonar to Buldhana is 95 km.
