Bhimashanar Trek - I
As mentioned in my earlier blogs, “Monsoon and Maharashtra” give us very beautiful, scenic and adventurous places to visit. As the monsoon almost came to an end, we thought of going for a nice trip which involves a trek and an overnight camp. Bhimashankar was the place selected.
Bhimashankar - One of the 12 Jyotirlingas - is a place of worship for Hindus. Added to that, it is also a trekker’s delight. Situated at a height more than 3500 Ft. above sea level, the weather there is always pleasant. In the monsoons, it is heaven on earth. The entire place is engulfed in heavy fog and visibility is not beyond a couple of feet. Before going, we did some research (googling) and read few blogs written by people who went by trek through the forest.
Initially I thought of giving up the trip as I visited Bhimashankar by bus when I was in Pune in 2007. But, after reading the blogs, I got a very good feel of the trek and decided not to miss it. When I informed about this trip to one of my friends, Sridhar, he said, “Chakkaga vellandi ra ani govt vallu mee kosam 4-lane road vesthe … ala vellakunda ee kondalu ekki vellatam enduku ra … adi kooda adavi lonchi !!!”. Definitely he missed the trip and a great adventure. Don’t worry Sridhar - I’ll share those pics. Thanks to Aditya and Co., for planning and organizing this wonderful trip.
Our research confirmed that there are 4 routes to reach Bhimashanar - one by road and other three are by trekking. Trekking starts from the 'Khandas' village, near Karjat. Of the three routes, the Ganesh ghat route is the easiest and involves mere walking through the forest while the Shidi (in hindi - Ladder) Ghat is the toughest. This is what we know before 20th September.
It was 20th Sep - we (16) started from pune at 11:30 am and reached Khandas via Karjat by 3:30 pm. Of the two tavera's, one stopped near Karjat to get food parcel to everyone and in the other tavera. Rest of us continued our journey towards Khandas. After travelling around 10-15 kms, suddenly road came to an end - a dead-end. We could see a mountain and a forest-like atmosphere within few meters from the dead-end and greenery on either side of the road. We thought that it was the starting point of our trek and were eagerly waiting for the other tavera to come so that we can eat and start the trek asap. We found only one man and didn’t bother to ask him if it was the correct route to take to reach Bhimashankar. We waited there for almost an hour but the other tavera didn’t come. Added to that, being a forest area, there were no mobile signals. Neither the Hutch dog nor the Idea Sirji followed us. So, we couldn't reach the other tavera. Finally, at 4:30 pm, we decided to start trek by sending the tavera back. Pradeep thought of playing a safe game and asked the man if it was the route to Bhimashankar. Then we came to know that we were waiting at a wrong starting place and went to Khandas village by 5 pm. Had Pradeep and Madhu not asked or had the 2nd tavera came early, we might have started the trek and struck up in the deep forest searching for Bhimashankar Ghats.
As it was 5 pm by the time we reached Khandas, we decided not to start trekking that evening as it takes 4 hrs to climb. Instead, decided to climb on Sunday early morning. But, somehow, at 5:15, we couldn't control the excitement and dared to start the trek. Added to that, one of the local villagers accepted to join us as a guide @ Rs. 400. Bhimashanar, being a Tiger sanctuary and trek during night in an unknown forest is not that safe. But, I still don’t know how and why we dared to start the trek that evening. I think there are two hidden reasons that pushed us to keep our foot towards the mountain: 1. we could see the mountain in front of us with waterfalls. 2. Excitement and young (boiling) blood - konchem ekkuvayindi kada !!! Part two continued ..
Bhimashankar - One of the 12 Jyotirlingas - is a place of worship for Hindus. Added to that, it is also a trekker’s delight. Situated at a height more than 3500 Ft. above sea level, the weather there is always pleasant. In the monsoons, it is heaven on earth. The entire place is engulfed in heavy fog and visibility is not beyond a couple of feet. Before going, we did some research (googling) and read few blogs written by people who went by trek through the forest.
Initially I thought of giving up the trip as I visited Bhimashankar by bus when I was in Pune in 2007. But, after reading the blogs, I got a very good feel of the trek and decided not to miss it. When I informed about this trip to one of my friends, Sridhar, he said, “Chakkaga vellandi ra ani govt vallu mee kosam 4-lane road vesthe … ala vellakunda ee kondalu ekki vellatam enduku ra … adi kooda adavi lonchi !!!”. Definitely he missed the trip and a great adventure. Don’t worry Sridhar - I’ll share those pics. Thanks to Aditya and Co., for planning and organizing this wonderful trip.
Our research confirmed that there are 4 routes to reach Bhimashanar - one by road and other three are by trekking. Trekking starts from the 'Khandas' village, near Karjat. Of the three routes, the Ganesh ghat route is the easiest and involves mere walking through the forest while the Shidi (in hindi - Ladder) Ghat is the toughest. This is what we know before 20th September.
It was 20th Sep - we (16) started from pune at 11:30 am and reached Khandas via Karjat by 3:30 pm. Of the two tavera's, one stopped near Karjat to get food parcel to everyone and in the other tavera. Rest of us continued our journey towards Khandas. After travelling around 10-15 kms, suddenly road came to an end - a dead-end. We could see a mountain and a forest-like atmosphere within few meters from the dead-end and greenery on either side of the road. We thought that it was the starting point of our trek and were eagerly waiting for the other tavera to come so that we can eat and start the trek asap. We found only one man and didn’t bother to ask him if it was the correct route to take to reach Bhimashankar. We waited there for almost an hour but the other tavera didn’t come. Added to that, being a forest area, there were no mobile signals. Neither the Hutch dog nor the Idea Sirji followed us. So, we couldn't reach the other tavera. Finally, at 4:30 pm, we decided to start trek by sending the tavera back. Pradeep thought of playing a safe game and asked the man if it was the route to Bhimashankar. Then we came to know that we were waiting at a wrong starting place and went to Khandas village by 5 pm. Had Pradeep and Madhu not asked or had the 2nd tavera came early, we might have started the trek and struck up in the deep forest searching for Bhimashankar Ghats.
As it was 5 pm by the time we reached Khandas, we decided not to start trekking that evening as it takes 4 hrs to climb. Instead, decided to climb on Sunday early morning. But, somehow, at 5:15, we couldn't control the excitement and dared to start the trek. Added to that, one of the local villagers accepted to join us as a guide @ Rs. 400. Bhimashanar, being a Tiger sanctuary and trek during night in an unknown forest is not that safe. But, I still don’t know how and why we dared to start the trek that evening. I think there are two hidden reasons that pushed us to keep our foot towards the mountain: 1. we could see the mountain in front of us with waterfalls. 2. Excitement and young (boiling) blood - konchem ekkuvayindi kada !!! Part two continued ..
posted by Ajay's Views @ 6:43 PM
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