Historical PlaceBuddhist caves

Gandharpale Caves

Thirty Buddhist caves beside the Mumbai-Goa highway near Mahad, with stupas and Buddha reliefs

Photo: sgbhagwat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

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01 — The story

The Gandharpale Caves, also known as the Mahad caves, are a group of 30 Buddhist caves near Mahad, about 105 km south of Mumbai, close to the Mumbai-Goa highway and easy to reach by road.

The first cave has a verandah some 53 feet long, and its shrine holds images of the Buddha with a wheel and deer carved below. Caves 8 and 15 each contain a stupa, the one in cave 8 notably tall, and cave 21 shows a seated Buddha with attendants. Inscriptions record gifts from bankers and the donation of a farm to the monastic community.

Unmapia

02 — About

Coming soon

We’re still writing about Gandharpale Caves: its history, what’s there and why it’s worth the trip.