Kanheri Caves

The Kanheri Caves are a series of one hundred and nine rock-cut chambers carved into a single massive basalt hill that rises within the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The name Kanheri comes from the Sanskrit Krishnagiri, or black mountain, a reference to the dark color of the basalt rock itself. These monuments consist of prayer halls and monastic dwellings that served as a center for Buddhist study and worship from the first century through the tenth century.