Situated Amongst dense forest at a height of around 3200 feet, is this fabulous place called Bhimashankar. I had the opportunity of going there this weekend with our photography club. Bhima shankar, so named apparently because the river Bhima originates here, is home to a wild life sanctuary, and a famous temple.
The shiva temple is an ancient one and is one of the jyotirlings in india. But while the temple is there and devotees do come, the majority crowd that comes here are the trekkers. The place is lush and dense, and in the rainy season, the weather is just great for trekking. This forest apparently is home for a lot of fauna like boars, sambars, a few leopards, and giant squirrels. When we landed there on Saturday, the weather for us photographers was a treat. No rains at all, but it was just cool and pleasant all day long. We had booked ourselves into the only decent motel (Mansarover). Now this place is no great shakes, but it serves our purpose. There are rooms with 4 beds / 6 beds rated @ Rs 125/- per head. Think of it just as a place to rest for the night. The rooms are so so, as are the beds. Definitely not for those who dream of a luxurious getaway. There are also rooms for rent available locally, but I do not know how good they are.
Apart from the temple, another place of interest is a point called Nagfani which is another 20 minute walk .The view from that place is a good one. For the amateur photographer in me, armed with a macro camera, the temple was a delight. The reason being, the walls around the temple were decked with moths of all sizes and colors. Man, I went berserk. For those of u who want to go there, here is how. From Mumbai, this place is around 260 kms away. Takes u about 6 hrs to get there. You get on to the mumbai-Pune expressway, have a blissful ride to Lonavla, and then take the road to Bhimashankar, via Waada. Before going however, do make your stay arrangements.
To book urselves at the Mansarover hotel, u have to call these numbers in Mumbai. (8835000, 8835577, 8815000). If you wanna unwind, this could be just the place for u.