GANDHARPALE CAVES - An Underwhelming Experience

Gandharpale Caves, also popularly known as Pandav Leni, is on the Mumbai – Goa highway (NH66), about 5 kms short of Mahad. I have passed by these caves many times, but this year decided to visit them. Only I chose the wrong season and time. It was almost noon on a late February day, and it was hot and humid. The hillsides were scorched brown and greenery was a rarity.

There are a couple of hundred steps to climb. The ascent is easy to begin with because the steps are broad and gentle, but approaching the caves they get craggy and intimidating. The railing is missing for a short stretch right at the top and it can make you queasy. Obviously the caves are not really being maintained or cared for.

Once at the caves there is not even one interesting thing to focus upon. There are a number of caves in two tiers. They are bare and barren, except for one which has a fairly big Dagoba (dome shaped repository for Buddhist relics). The caves were probably used for prayers or meditation. There were couple of loafers who stared at us accusingly for having intruded their privacy.

The panoramic view of the plains from the caves does make up for some of the disappointment. It will look spectacular during the monsoon. Overall it was an underwhelming experience. Not all travel experiences are enriching.

Though folklore has it that the caves were built by Pandavas, historians say that these are Buddhist caves from the period 150-300 AD. They deserve to be better preserved and documented.