Khandepar or Candepar is situated in the Ponda taluka of Goa on the banks of River Khandepar at about 36 km from Panaji and nearly 5 km from Ponda, the taluka headquarters. It is famous for the Khandepar Caves or the four rock cut sanctuaries.
At Khandepar one will also come across a small temple complex known as Shri Saptkoteshwar in the hamlet of Opa. This temple is built of laterite stone and is known to be the only temple in Goa having sculptures of animals placed on its roof.
The Khandepar Caves or the four rock cut sanctuaries at Khandepar date back to the 10th or 11th centuries, which was generally the period of structural temples. The sanctuaries have been excavated from a slope on the hillside leaving only the solid blocks of rock.
Three of the sanctuaries are similar in pattern with 2 cells while the fourth is single celled. They are actually simple and very much common in appearance except for the presence of pyramid shaped shikharas added up by building up horizontal slab layers.
Overall, the interior and exterior decoration is exquisite especially the lotus ceiling decoration. The rock cut feeling gives them a Buddhist origin and some of the inscriptions are enough evidence of this. However, possibility of Hindu temple features, such as shikharas cannot be ruled out.