“A magical visit to the Lonar Crater with Stargazing Mumbai” written by Ritika Pandey
Many people wonder if the lonar crater is worth the visit. The answer couldn’t be simple, it’s an obvious yes. In this blog, I will be sharing my experience of the visit to the Lonar crater, organized by the Stargazing Mumbai team. Before getting into the visit to the crater, it’s necessary to know about its history, significance, and how old it is. Check out this blog to get to know about the lonar crater.
The trip to the Lonar crater started, with a bus ride arranged by the SM team from Thane directly to a hotel near the Lonar site at Bhuldana. The bus trip was full of music, dance, and fun conversation. After reaching the hotel the next morning, everyone settled in and we all took off for having breakfast. Post breakfast we were all set to explore the beautiful heritage that surrounds the Lonar crater.
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The way to Lonar is a short hike, which covers several ruins and heritage temples on the way, which have amazing history and architecture associated with them. On the way to Lonar, we came across first the Gomukh temple. It is believed that on the hike to Lonar there are about 12 temples that one might encounter. We visited about 7 of them however, most of them are not really functional on a daily basis and are in the form of ruins yet it is fascinating to see them and a great halt during the trek. After a great hike, we finally arrived at the magnificent Lonar crater, yes! Magnificent was the word that came to my mind when I saw the crater for the first time.
As soon as I saw the crater I was lost for words. The carter was surrounded by green trees and had abundant green water, almost the same color as emerald. The lake is almost round and so captivating. What was more thrilling was when the guide told us about the impact, the impact of the meteorite which created this crater. Things got more exciting when we tested the water at the crater for its alkalinity. We also learned about the magnetic properties of the soil around the lake. Yes I know we all have heard and know about the alkalinity of the lake, however, it feels different to be present there and to witness and learn about these interesting facts while having the crater right in front of you. I almost didn’t feel like going back but alas we had to return back to the hotel and continue with our trip.
On the night after returning from the Lonar we had a Moongazing session organized for all the participants. However, due to unforeseeable weather conditions, we had to conceal our plans for that. The next day in the morning we visited the Daitya Sudan Temple where our Stargzing’s very own PD sir told us all about the mythology, the beautiful architecture, and the significance of the temple. Yes, I am not revealing many details, but here’s the fact about such places you only understand things when you watch them right in front of your eyes. After this, we visited the Motha Maruti Temple, and with that our trip to Lonar came to an end.
All in all, it was a worthwhile and breathtaking visit. Here are some kind words from the people who accompanied us on this amazing journey to Lonar. “I saw the lake and I was already impressed, but I feel like the thing that changed my perspectives was to learn about the angle of impact, and knowing that’s how this entire thing came to be made.”Orianne Fernandes (graphic designer). “Coming to this trip was to reintroduce my kids to astronomy and science, which due to lockdown wasn’t happening much” Deepika Dubey (pilot, Air India). “It was good for me to know that in India we have such a nice place which we could visit ” Jeremiah Dsilva (Senior Manager, Accenture). “From childhood, I wanted to come to Lonar, I did my MBBS nearby the area but could never really visit the crater, which was also my biggest regret” Dr. Sharad Nikhate (Surgeon).
There are so many more testimonies to share but I think that I would wrap up here and let you guys head over to the Stargazing Mumbai site and check out our upcoming Lonar visit Astro Tour @ Lonar Crater so that we can hear a lot more reviews and fulfill many more dreams of visiting the crater.
