Must-see attractions in Maharashtra

This once small museum across the street from Sevagram Ashram was undergoing a major renovation and expansion at time of writing and is expected to reopen…

Cave 12, the huge Tin Thal (Three Storey) Cave, is entered through a courtyard. The locked shrine on the top floor contains a large Buddha figure flanked…

Cave 30, the Chhota Kailasa (Little Kailasa), is a poor imitation of the great Kailasa Temple and stands by itself some distance from the other Jain…

Sita is said to have hidden in this cave-like temple while being assailed by the evil Ravana. You’ll have to stoop and shuffle your way into the cave as…

The city’s holiest shrine dates back to 1794 and contains unusual black stone representations of Rama, Sita and Lakshmana. Legend has it that it occupies…

On the road to the temples you’ll pass the delightful Ambala Lake, lined with small Narsimha Temples in which mourners typically release the ashes of…

Cave 11, the Do Thal (Two Storey) Cave, is entered through its third basement level (undiscovered until 1876). Like Cave 12, it possibly owes its size to…

This simple museum is dedicated to the life of the Maratha hero Shivaji. Its collection includes a 500-year-old chain-mail suit and a copy of the Quran,…

The curious rock-cut Pataleshvara Cave Temple is a small and unfinished (though actively used) 8th-century temple, similar in style to the grander caves…

Professional wrestling bouts are held sporadically between November and May in this small arena a short walk south of Motibag Thalim. It's behind the…

The final temple, the small Cave 34, also has interesting sculptures. On the hilltop above the Jain temples, a 5m-high image of Parasnath looks down on…

Cave 5 is the largest vihara in this group, at 18m wide and 36m long; the rows of stone benches hint that it may once have been an assembly hall.

Cave 7 has an atypical design, with porches before the verandah leading directly to the four cells and the elaborately sculptured shrine.

Cave 14, the Ravana-ki-Khai, is a Buddhist vihara converted to a temple dedicated to Shiva sometime in the 7th century.

This seaside Ganesh temple houses a monolithic Ganesh (painted a lurid reddish-orange), supposedly discovered 1600 years ago.

Adjacent to the Pataleshvara Cave Temple is the Jangali Maharaj Temple, dedicated to a Hindu ascetic who died here in 1818.

Cave 2 is notable for its ornate pillars and the imposing seated Buddha, which faces the setting sun.

Cave 33, the Jagannath Sabha, is similar in plan to 32 and has some well-preserved sculptures.

Cave 8 is the first cave in which the sanctum is detached from the rear wall.

Cave 9, located above Cave 8, is notable for its wonderfully carved fascia.