The Eternal Pass

Fancy a trek to an ancient pass? Well, India is full of places which are famous for ancient trade routes. One of them is Nane Ghat!

Naneghat is a mountain pass in the Western Ghats range near Junnar in Pune district of Maharashtra, India. During the reign of the Satavahana (200 BCE–190 CE), the pass was extensively used as a trade route between Kalyan and Junnar. Literally, the name nane means "coin" and ghat means "pass".

The name is given because this path was used as a tollbooth to collect toll from traders crossing the hills. The location is ideal for star gazing and star photography.

The inscriptions in the caves indicate that they are the work of the consorts of the Satavahana ruler Satakarni. These inscriptions are dated between 60 and 70 BCE.[1] It is believed that Satakarni's wife Naganika commissioned the cave, the !

statues and the inscriptions. Brahmi inscriptions in the cave mention her and her family members.

One of the caves originally contained life-size relief sculptures of eight persons. These sculptures have now faded, but some of them can be identified using the Brahmi labels carved over their heads. The first name is that of Raya-si (illustrious king) Simuka Satavahana. Next appear Sirimato Devi (queen) Naganika/Nayanika and Rano (king) Satakarni. The fourth name is that of Kumara (prince) Bhayala. The fifth name is lost, while the sixth name is that of the Maharathi (great charioteer) Tranakayira. The last two names are of the princes Haku-shri and Satavahana.

Nane ghat is pretty famous for locals in and around Mumbai, though the place is around 120 km away from Mumbai, it is quite accessible to anyone who wants to see the place. While there is an alternate route where one can take from its base village called Vaishakare, near Murbad. It usually takes around 3-4 hours to reach the top of the place.

The route is connected from an ancient town called Junnar, near Ahemadnagar, Maharashtra, India.