The Lonar Crater is a near-circular basin about 1.8 kilometres across and 150 metres deep, gouged out of the Deccan Plateau by a meteorite roughly 50,000 years ago. At the bottom sits a shallow lake whose water is both saline and alkaline — a chemistry rare in lakes that size, and one that supports a peculiar ecosystem of micro-organisms that have been studied for decades by astrobiologists.
The rim is forested and the descent into the bowl is steep but walkable. On the way down you pass several stone temples in the Hemadanti style, most of them ruined but a few partly intact — the lake was once an important pilgrimage site and the masonry is older than the European cathedrals. Wildlife is abundant in the crater bowl: peafowl call out of the brush, langurs sit in the trees, chinkaras graze the dry slopes, and monitor lizards bask on the rocks. Pink flamingos and other migratory birds turn up on the lake in winter.
Practically, this is a long day from Malkapur — around 100 km by road, three to four hours each way. Most visitors stay overnight in the small village of Lonar near the rim rather than driving back. The MTDC has basic accommodation; come for sunrise.