At Panhalekaji in Dapoli, on the confluence of Kotjai and Dhakti rivers, an ancient group of 29 caves has stood for centuries. 20 km from hilly areas in Dapoli taluka. On the Dapoli-Dabhol road near Nante village, one can see the amazing discovery of Panhalekaji caves. The excavation of this group of caves began in the second or third century and is believed to have continued for several centuries.
Panhalekaji is an ancient cave built in 1970 by Shri. Anna Shirgaonkar came to light. In the village of Panhalekaji, they found a 12th century copperplate which led to the discovery of this place. Now the site is under the jurisdiction of the Archaeological Department and it takes a lot of time to see the cave with a total of 29 caves and the amazing sculptures in it.
Notable features here are the sculptures of various sects such as Hinayana Buddhism, Vajrayana Panth and Nath Panth as well as idols of Ganapati, Lakshmi, Shiva, Saraswati etc. Panhalekaji Caves, which has a glorious history of the last thousand years, is a very quiet and picturesque place that gives tourists a different world experience.