Ramdara : Loni Kalbhor, Near Pune

With rain Gods parting away for this year, my focus on visiting places also now is shifting away from passes and lakes to picturesque landscapes. With lazy Saturday kicking in, I decided to get up early and reach Ramdara for an early morning photo shoot. 

It is a perfect place for those who does not want to drive long and wish to be in a place which is calm and serene. In fact if you have a 3-4 hours to spare any time during the day, you can make this trip and come back.

This place is located off the Pune-Sholapur highway in Loni Kalbhor. To reach Ramdara, take the Sholapur highway from Hadapsar and cross Manjiri to reach Loni Kalbhor. You will have the Bharat and HP Petrolium on your right as soon as you enter Loni.

Once you cross these depots you will come accross a small bridge. Immmediately to you left after crossing this, you have a road which leads inside the village market. Follow this road and come out on the other side of the village. The road leads only to Ramdara through the fields and a railway line passing beneath.

Temple is built on a pond site and this adds another dimension to the surrounding nature. 

Ramdara is primarily a Shiva temple but is widely know for Ram, Lakshman and Sita. It is also the samadhi place and ashram of  Shri Devpuri Maharaj commonly known as Dhundi baba. There are other deities present in the temple complex with a special mention to marble statue of Nandi which is very pristine in built. 

This place had very large number of over grown trees and they provide a very good green cover all over the place. Over all, a good place to start my day with a dose of spirituality!