I never knew this place even after being in Pune for so long. Bedse Caves are comparatively less known and less visited. People know about the nearby Karla Caves and Bhaja Caves but have hardly heard of Bedse Caves. That encouraged me to go to this place.
Route: Take the NH4 ( Old pune – mumbai highway) towards Mumbai (Don’t go on the expressway). Once you reach Kamshet, You have to take a left turn under the arch (Pavananagar or Pavana Dam route) to reach Bedse village. Keep going on this road for around 7-9 kms until you see a turn to the right marked as “Bedse”. Take a right turn from there . For the next 2-3 kms, the road is pretty bad. Then you will reach the village of Bedse , which is surprisingly big for its remote location. Park your vehicle here and then walk on a clearly visible trail for around 0.5 km until you see the stairs leading to the top.
We went to this place during monsoons, during that time last 2 km was very muddy and slippery, but in terms of scenic its awesome. Once we reach the top, we have seen huge waterfall coming down beside the caves .
There are two main caves. The big one at the centre is the chaitya (prayer hall) with a large stupa,while the other cave is a monastery – vihara. There was nothing more to see around the Bedse Caves, so we enjoyed scenery and nature. Specially Harshita enjoyed this trip and every steps she sound “Bedsayy” .. hehe
My Advise: A good half day trip from Pune. A must-visit during the monsoons for its scenic location and remoteness. Dont forget to carry food and raincoat. Also wear sports shoes which have good grip.