Bhimashankar trekking via Shidi Ghat from Pune

Hello Friends...!!!

I am excited to write about a brand new destination this time. Some place that is completely different from the ones I posted before. This is my first time exploring Maharashtra. Read about my first trek to Bhimashankar. 

I was accompanied by Anil and Mayur but how can I forget about the two special friends we made during the trek! They were the two dogs who guided us & hiked along for nearly 4km into the forest and the hills from the base village. You know how they say you find such friendly escort dogs along your way to Swargarohini after Badrinath but to find something like that there was just an unexpected and pleasant surprise. It was maybe a coincidence or we were just plain lucky 😉

Source: Google

Brief about Bhimashankar:

Bhimashankar temple one of the twelve Jyotirlingas situated in Sahyadri ranges of Maharashtra covering an area of about 120km & height of 3400 feet high in the hills. Bhimashankar is of great religious importance and one can see flocks of devotees visiting here during the month of Shravan. It is said that Lord Shiva after getting angry, killed Tripurasura demon. The heat generated from their war caused the origin of river Bhima. The place so called is Bhimashankar. 

An ideal time to visit: Monsoon (June to August)

How to reach:

For trekking, one has to reach Neral or Karjat from Mumbai or Pune.

Karjat is 100 KM from Pune

Neral is 75 KM from Mumbai.

Both places are well connected by Buses, Trains & Mumbai locals as well (from Mumbai).

Where to start trekking in Karjat?

Karjat to Bhimashankar

First, you have to reach the "Khandas" village which is at the base of Shidi ghat or Bhimashankar hills at a distance of 35 KM from Karjat. One has two options to get there.

Option 1:  From Karjat railway station, we can hire an Auto to reach the base village "Khandas". You can get an Auto even at midnight. They will charge a minimum of Rs. 600.

Option 2: From Karjat bus stand, take the first bus to the village "Kashele" in the morning at 6:35AM. The ticket costs around Rs. 25. Kashele is 17KM from Karjat. However, there are no buses from Kashele for the onward journey so you have to book a local taxi or jeep. They charge around Rs. 300 to take you to Khandas village, regardless of if it is a single person or a group of ten. So if you are a group of ten people, you end up paying just Rs. 30.

Overall route is:

Karjat/Neral --> Kashele --> Khandas villege--> Shidi ghat --> Bhimashankar temple

We chose to go with the first option as we didn't wanna waste time waiting for a bus.

Trekking Experience:

The trek starts with a 7.5 KM ascent via Shidi ghat. It is a moderate to a difficult level climb which passes a thick forest, some rocky & hilly terrain. You also need to climb 3 ladders along the way. The monsoon season makes the rocks slippery and it is not advisable to climb during that season as it is very dangerous. In the jungle, you can spot a rare animal here named "Shekaru" & of course the usual monkeys. In monsoon, you can also see many waterfalls. This trek guarantees a peaceful, serene and beautiful eye-catching view amidst the lush green forest.

During the course of the trek, you can find two small villages where you can take a little rest and get refreshments. We had a little lime juice as if it was an energy drink. We also filled our water bottles which got empty during the first leg of our trek. You already know how important it is to carry water. So do make sure you pack light.

Like I said earlier, it was kind of mysterious that the two dogs accompanied us from Khandas village to Shidi ghat. They finally stopped at a point where we had to climb those three steep ladders. But yes, the incident was really true. They guided almost till we reached Shidi Ghat.

The feeling you get when you reach the peak is exhilarating. There is a village at the peak where you can book a room to stay or to only change. I recommend trying the food at the local shops and restaurants in the village.

Gupt Bhimashankar: 

There are so many attraction spots in the surroundings but Gupt Bhimashankar as the name suggests is the secret shiv-linga that remains submerged in water from the river Bhima flowing near Bhimashankar temple. It's a wonderful trek to get the true Jungle Experience. Not many visitors prefer going to this trail, but if you are a nature lover its worth a visit. Note that it is dangerous to reach here while it is raining.

It is 2.5 KM away from Temple and a 30 min trek deep inside the forest.

Monsoon pic, PC:adventures365

Local Guide:

The funniest/scariest experience was when we got lost in the middle of the forest during our trek for about 30 minutes. We were helpless Since we were clueless, we decided to just go back and started to descend. We were about 500m in our descent that we spotted a group who had their own guide. They were kind enough to let us tag along and so continued our ascent.

By the way, if you want to take a guide with you, contact below:

Name: Suraj      

Phone Number: 07218858680

Return Journey:

Two options here.

Option 1:  You can descend via the same trekking route till khandas village.

Option 2:

There are direct buses available from Bhimashankar bus station to Pune via "Manchar" which takes 3 to 3.5 Hrs approximately. Also, the same route is followed to reach Mumbai as well.

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