SANJAY GANDHI NATIONAL PARK & KANHERI CAVES

A splendid 104 ^km2 national park to the north of the city. The park is home to some of the world's most interesting fauna (leopards, macaques, langurs, deer, snakes, etc.) and flora, some parts of which are inaccessible for conservation and safety reasons.

Few tourists are interested in the fascinating Buddhist cave complex located in the park, and quite rightly so. The Kanheri cave complex boasts no fewer than a hundred caves, carved out of basalt and dating back to 400 BC. Most of these caves were viharas, i.e. places for living, meditating and studying Buddhism. The most important, which served as meeting places(chaityas), feature superb sculpted reliefs. The most prominent deity on this site is Avalokiteshwara, one of the most popular and venerated boddhisattvas (enlightened beings). The largest cave houses a 7-metre-high statue of Buddha. The summit of the site offers an unusual panorama: lush vegetation and, in the distance, the chaotic megalopolis... you can even see the World Peace Pagoda (or Vipassana Pagoda) shining on the horizon!

The "Lion & Tiger Safari" consists of a ride on a bus, from which you can catch a glimpse of a lion, often placid, and then tigers, behind a fence... in short, you can dispense with it if you're taking the tour without children.

A minibus shuttles you every 30 minutes between the various sites and the park entrance.