Bhimashankar Calling...

Date - 27-Nov-2005 (Sunday)
Time - 8:15 a.m.
Destination - Bhimashankar.

Almost 128 Kms away, on the north-eastern side of Pune lies a place called as Bhimashankar. As the name suggests, this place has a temple dedicated to Lord Shiva, which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India. The place is also a forest reserve to protect the habitat of Shekhroo. This is one of the world’s largest squirrels, almost the size of a domestic cat. It is an endangered species and Bhimashankar is the ‘fiefdom’ of this majestic squirrel.

We planned our journey as: Pune > (9 Kms) Chakan > (~25Kms) Rajgurunagar > (~12 Kms) Chaskaman Dam > (~52 Kms) Bhimashankar > (~70 kms) Manchar > (~58 Kms) Pune. This was to be a round trip covering a dam, the temple and a trek through the jungle.

We left Pune at 8:15am. Our first destination was Rajgurunagar, from where we had to get off the main highway. We had a quick breakfast at a local eatery. The menu was short and sweet - Sabudana Khichadi, Sabudana wada, (Batata) wada sambhar and finger chips. Once done, we then proceeded for Chaskaman Dam. There is a hydroelectric power generation station here, which supplies electricity to near by industries. The water from the dam is also distributed to almost 40 nearby villages. For this they have constructed a tank on the hilltop and the water is pumped up into the tank. Photography was not allowed, hence no pics from the dam.

After spending almost 1/2 hour or so, we started the journey on the long and winding road to Bhimashankar. Our road went more or less parallel to the river and provided us with some excellent view. I tried to capture some of that beauty into my camera (but couldn't quite pull it off well!!!).

Top to bottom: A farnmer's land, crossing the river in a boat (remember Swades?) and trees and farmland under water (perhaps the aftermath of the incessant rains in Maharashtra.

Once we reached Bhimashankar, our first destination was the temple. There was not much of a crowd. Normally one would associate lot of crowd with temples, but not so much here.

After paying respect to the god, we decided to get some snacks at the local eatery. Wada Pav and lime juice was what every one ordered. Pav was ice cold and the lime juice was served in a glass, which by any standards, was not washed properly. (It seems, these guys pay big money for the water they use).

Anyways, after that we proceeded for the trek to the GuptaBheema, the spot where the Bheema river emerges from the rocks. The trek trail winds though dense foliage. Away from the humdrum of industrial Pune, this place offers peace to the soul. Winds bristling through the trees, occasional shirks of the Shekhroo, and the occasional chattering of a noisy trekking group.

Left: The long and winding trail through the foliage. This was in the afternoon and yet, it looks very 'shady'.

Right: The fallen tree adds to the creepyness of the place.

The Majestic Shekroo on the tree, perhaps basking in the sun (and also in the attention being showered on it by us) on a lazy, sunday afternoon.

On the right, I am dwarfed by this tree... There were few big trees around, old and new. Then there were the remnants of a waterfall. Nothing much, but big, really big, rocks.

After about 30 mins or so, we reached the spot from where we could hear flowing water. There is a Ganpati temple at the top. A slope beside teh temple takes us to the river bed. Rocks, big rocks greeted us. The river was flowing between the cracks and falling over. We missed the water fall part of it. We didnt know where to look!!! We just thought that the flowing water (in the cracks) is the Gupta Bheema. Too bad, better luck next time...

The view of the GuptaBheema from top.

Thats me in the corner!!! To be frank, I was in no mood to trek over the rounded stones. One wrong step or even if the shoe grip is lost, I wouldn't be writing the blog now. (I will be positive from now on.)

We chose to return by another way, this one was even more intersting. Winding through trees, going up the slope. It was impossible to climb without taking support of a hanging tree branches or a exposed root. There was gravel all over and was very slippery!

Then we reached a T-Junction which had the following inscription. (X mark pointing to the direction we just came out from!!! Now I can vouch for that mark very much. This route was not for climbing down.

Then we chose to go one way. On our way we met some native folks and asked them the route back. They confirmed that we were bang on target. From now on, it was just a routine walk down the road to the temple. And a long and weary walk up the stairs of the temple. By the time I was on the top, I was exhausted. Well almost. When the team decided that they will continue for Nagphani, i decided that the second trek could very well be the proverbial "last-straw-that-broke-the-camels-back"!!! I headed straight back to the bus we had come on.

Two hours, and a quick nap (by me!) later we all started off for Blue Mormon. That was supposed to be a holiday resort. The approach road to the place looked straight out of a Ramsey Brother's flick. Not a single soul on the road. But soon we reached the place. Food was freshly prepared. We had to wait till they cut the vegetable and cook them!!! The place was homely. After a decent dinner we all started back for Pune.

As all good things have to come to an end, so had this too. When i reached home at 10:30p.m., I was sure of one thing. This is could be my first trek, but definitely not my last. At the very least, this is a sign of things to come and places I will go. Good night.