As always this was not at all a planned destination. We a group of enthusiasts decided upon Harishchandragadh (one of the best places to have trekking experience). But as this was the time of summer (April) we dumped the idea and quickly made up minds for a place nearby (a place reachable & close to pune). So, we decided upon BHIMASHANKAR.
We kicked on our bikes in the morning at around 730. Due to summer we decided to reach before 12. So, here we were all on our hondas, pulsars ...with 90+ speed on the pune-nasik highway. 90+ we were not able to maintain coz of traffic so on an average with 70 we were driving. The pune-nasik highway is very cool & smooth by lane. So, it was great driving on it and we did not find any problems as u xprnce usually on pune roads. We had BRUNCH in between and started off again. There comes a hill which u need to cross over to reach BHIMASHANKAR, this road reminded me of the pune roads with all type of patches. Sorry, for going off track, so we crossed it slowly. Then comes the beutiful patch of mountain road. I must tell u that we all liked this patch the most, as it had all the imaginative sharp U turns. It was cool adventure driving on this patch of 20 kms. We did not face much traffic coz of summer. Then at around 1 we reached our destination.
We took some prasad n flowers and attended the temple prayers. Then we made our way to GUPT Bhimashankar. This place is inside the forest and is really a gupt place to crack yourselves, so my advice for first timers would be to take a guide with them. As I had been to this place before I lead my frnds to this place. GUPT Bhimashankar is a group of 5 shivlings carved into the stone below a waterfall. We reached this place and slept there on the side rocks. It takes u around 30 mins to reach here. In monsoons it really a fascinating walk through the jungle. We had some refreshments and took some snaps. Then we climbed up to the main temple. Now it was 4pm in the watch and we decided to reach pune and cover as much distance possible in the sunlight. In between we had mini dinner and reached pune by 8pm.
Some advices:
> Go by Bikes
> Travel this place in monsoons and u will never forget the trek n waterfalls
> Drive on 50 or 90kmph, but wear Helmets (Double ISI Marked) always. Rmember you are going to meet Shivshambhu and not Yamraaj :=
> Always carry First-Aid kit
> Always carry more than enough water in summers & Wear caps
Above all, if u miss any or most of the above matter, it will work. But don’t forget to carry the ENTHU with u.
Have a nice journey !!