Lonar crater lake

Lonar crater lake

Lake in India  (BY Aman Verma)

Maharashtra’s mystical and most well kept secret is the Lonar Lake, thanks to a meteor hitting earth over 52,000 years ago. Yup, you heard that right, 52,000 years ago! Hence the Lonar Lake was formed.

This is the Earth’s largest and only hyper-velocity impact crater in basaltic rock. And was created when a 2 million tonne meteor whilst plummeting towards earth at 90,000 km/hr gouged a hole which was 150 m deep and 1.8 km wide!

Why is the Lonar Lake a mystery?

Even with almost 30,000 to 1,50,000 meteors that plummet towards Earth each year, this one actually hit and created the Lonar Lake. Not many people are aware of this beautiful and mysterious place. Why mysterious, you ask? Well, the lake has made even NASA scientists and Geological Survey of India officials question their theories and wonder how is it possible. The lake is both alkaline and saline & micro-organisms which are rarely found anywhere else on earth are supported in this environment. Your compass will never work here, and what lies at the bottom, no one knows.

 
Why is the Lonar Lake a secret?

Many tourists visit places that surround this lake, like the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Ajanta and Ellora caves but don’t visit this lake because they had no idea about it’s existence. This gorgeous lake is just a 4 hour drive from Aurangabad; the road has quaint villages and paddy fields, up until the Government guest house. The trek to the astronomical marvel is a difficult one, with the path to the lake being slippery; quicksand on the banks making this trek a real precarious one.

Ambar Lake 

There is a small circular depression at a distance of around 700m from the main lake, believed to be caused by a splinter of the meteor that hit the ground to also make a crater. There is a Hanuman temple near this lake, with the idol made of rock believed to be highly magnetic. The water from Ambar lake is being drained by local farmers.  This lake is sometimes also called as Chhota (little) Lonar.

Temples There

• Kamalja Devi Temple is located beside the lake  and also features carved images. Although the water level rises during the rainy season and falls in summer, the temple is located above the water level.
• Gomukh Temple is located along the rim of the crater. A perennial stream emerges from here and pilgrims visiting the temple bathe in the stream. It is also called Sita Nahani temple and Dhara. 
• Shankar Ganesh temple, partially submerged and noted for rectangular shiva ram gaya temple.  
• Motha Maruti temple is near the Ambar crater lake, with the idol made of rock believed to be splinter of the meteor that created the crater.

Despite the falls, scraped knees and bruises, you might get along the trek on your way through the jungle, coming across curious minerals, wandering into temples ruins, now home for insects, bats and other creepy crawlies. 

If you like bird watching, then the forest area is filled with migratory and local birds from red-wattled lapwings, blue jays to tailor birds, parakeet and peafowl.

You will also be able to see barking deer, chinkaras, monitor lizards, snakes, brightly colored insects and amphibians as well.

#Must Visit
#Have A Great Day.

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