Mhaismal : It is a small but
beautiful Hill Station situated about 40 kms from Aurangabad on the
way to Ellora caves. The hill station becomes more popular during monsoons
when it becomes totally green. Famous for the "Balaji Temple"
which is situated on the top of the hill station from where you can
get a nice panaromic view of the surrounding valleys. It is worth visiting
once with the family.
Paithan:- Forty Eight Kilometers south
of Aurangabad, reached by Bus is Paithan, visited by the greek traders
from 400 to 200 BC. Today is the centre of the ancient industry of gold
and silver threaded embroidery for which the motifs are derived from
the Ajanta caves. The other points of interest are : Jain Temple, Temple
of Sant Eknath, on the banks of Godavari river, Samadhi of Sant Eknath,
and of Navnath.
Situated at the bank of a river is a very huge dam "Jaykwadi",
which provides water to Aurangabad City and Surrounding Places.
Recently built is a famous "Sant Eknath Garden" spread over
huge 97 acres of land. This is a replica of the Vrindavan Gardens of
Mysore, and is used to shoot various scenes for the Hindi and Marathi
Movies.
Lonar Crater :170 Kms from Aurangabad,
is a village of Lonar. Over 300,000 years ago, a falling meteorite struck
the area creating the world's largest impact crater in basaltic rock.
Botanists have recently discovered vegetation life forms, not found
anywhere else on this planet, in the lake of the crater. There are small
temples along the shore.