Monday, July 25, 2011

Kuda Caves Discovery



When we took off on a drive, to escape the sound of  diwali fumes & fireworks, never did we imagine that we will end up discovering literally an exclusive group of  buddhist caves enroute to Murud Zanjira.


After crossing Revas danda from Alibaug we enquired on the cross roads which route we have to take and we were guided towards Murud via a hillock.

Suddenly i noticed a small ASI signboard way to a historical site, we parked our car away from the main road, and entered the barbed wire fence, which was set up to prevent vandalisers from entering the site.

The Rajapur creek seen from the hillock.

After a painstaking search i discovered that these caves were named as Kuda caves ( 26 Nos ) which can be dated prior to Ajanta and Ellora caves.

Most of the caves and its artifacts were being salvaged by the ASI meticulously



These caves did have frescos painted, but all have vanished due to passage of time, due to vagaries of nature.

One can check out the hillock nearby which is located on the Arabian sea, one can have a birds eye view of the Murud Zanjira fort from this hillock.



The weekend travellers guide published by Outlook gave us some insight into the history of the out of bounds Nawabs palace.  The Siddis ruled this terrain guarding their fortress and palace fiercely.  They claim descent originally from Abyssinia in Africa.  The Ahmedganj Palace belongs to the Siddhi Nawab, which is spread over 45 acres of Land, which contains moque and buried remains of two past rulers. The Palace is now under the Nawabs descendent and it is closely guarded for the fear of miscreants ransacking the premise in search of the fabled treasures.  Folklore popular among the people claim that untold wealth lies buried like the pharaohs tomb in Egypt.  



Siddi palace

This trip was one of the most fulfilling trips in my life time, which i will cherish for a long long time to come. This photoblog is 101 post in my blog and Indiblogger too.  What a coincidence. Guys if you want a detailed report on the Kuda caves please go through this link.

Ack : Vernacular Newspapers, Google, and Outlook.

















7 comments:

SANDEEP PANWAR said...

चित्रों सहित अच्छी जानकारी

Teamgsquare said...

Wow , nice to hear about these caves .

magiceye said...

very interesting

Hearty Congratulations on completion of centuries!

Anuradha Shankar said...

nice to hear of these caves... have been planning to go to Murud Janjira for a long time, but the time hasnt yet come!

Shrinidhi Hande said...

congrats on crossing 100 posts on indiblogger

Anonymous said...

such a rustic look!! I liked the old feel to the place...


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Deguide said...

Thanks guys for your comments and compliments, this post is special because the trip was undertaken almost a decade ago

avinash

avinash
cannons ready to fire

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Basically i am down to earth, take friendship to its logical end. It is my endeavour to create a wealth of co-operative ventures. Basically being a marketing man i have the acumen to spot winners. I am privileged to travel the length and breadth of the country, courtsey my father, who was with Indianoil, my employers such as Nutrine, Kurl-on, Hindustan Pencils, Prestige, Crystal, Bell Ceramics, Pentel, Sezal, Commander. Currently i am involved in Tourism, Booking Air Tickets, Agent for Jungle Lodges and Resorts Limited and Taj Group of Hotels and a numerous hotels across India. Depending on the needs of a traveller i would recommend the destination and accommodation best suited to their budget. Humour takes me on. Let us have a win win situation for all. I love travelling for sake of adventure, photography and discovering the heritage. Life is a journey and let us enjoy our drive. Come share your travel experience on indiabackpacker.