Bhimashankar Trek

With the arrival of monsoons the trekking season has started. The true beauty of nature around Pune can be seen during this season. Our first trek this season was to Bhimashankar. The place was suggested by Sandesh. We started our trek in the morning from a village called 'khandas', some 35kms away from Karjat. The foothills started some 3kms from this village.

We could see the hills of Bhimashankar from the base and knew that it would be a long and tiresome trek. We stared the trek around 10:30 and soon realized that we have lost. It took us some three hours and considerable efforts (both physical and mental) to reach to the marked path again. Sandesh called a friend for directions and he said that the spot (Ganesh Temple) we had reached by climbing for three hours was actually a 45min climb from the base. Keeping the past behind us we now started afresh to the top. On the way to the top the view was amazing, not to mention the rich flora and fauna of the Bhimashankar Wild Sanctuary.

After much efforts and some anxious moments negotiating the steep path we reached top around 7:30 in the evening. It was already dark then and there was no transport available to go back, so we decided to stay for the night

On the way to the top I saw one of the most amazing and dramatic sunsets of my life (others agree with me on this).

Not many people live at Bhimashankar, but we somehow managed an accomodation for the night. We had a tasty dinner and slept off with every part of the body aching. The next day we visited the temple of Bhimashankar (one of the 12 jyotyrling's of Shiva). I had heard that in the sanctuary of Bhimashankar a wild squirell is found called 'shekru' in marathi. This is the State Animal of Maharashtra and comes under endangered species. We decided to try our luck to spot it and followed people's advice that they can be seen enroute to Gupt-Bhimashankar temple, situated downhill. We didnt go long from the temple when Kailas spotted the squirell on a brach of a large tree. On close examination they turned to be a pair. One of them came very close to us, giving a nice photographing opppurtunity. It was simply beautiful. I dont have the words to express the feeling i got when I saw the animal in wild, in its natural habitat.

We left soon after seeing the animal and reached Pune around 3:00 in the afternoon. The trek was a success and the feeling I got when I saw the sunset and the 'shekru' will always be close to my heart.

(P.S: We had actually trekked on 17th June, but im posting it late, due to some problem in the internet back home. Meanwhile I also did one more trek last sunday , this time to 'Chanderi fort' . Will post the experience soon.)

Happy Monsoons!!

Monsoon is Back!!

Monsoon has arrived with a bang. Every single day spend at home feels like a day wasted. The flora and fauna during the monsoons is amazing. Its worth going out in the wild, explore, feel the rains, and breathe the fresh air. I have planned to go out and visit as many places I can in this wet season. Friends do tell me your plans, so that we can plan out some trips and believe me it will be fun.

Following are some photos I took some days back at the Sinhagad valley and the photos in the later half are from the society garden two days back. Hope you enjoy .

SINHAGAD VALLEY:

Society Garden:

Kashid Beach and Murud

Weekend was near and I was alone at home. My family members are out of the city to visit my maternal grandparents. I stayed back for some project work. I chalked a plan to visit Kashid for a day. Priyanka and Himani didi agreed to accompany. We started our drive to Kashid at 6:00am in the morning. We had breakfast at a restaurant in Mulshi. The weather was cool and cloudy. We could see clouds hovering on the hills not very far from the road. It was a positive sign for us and we were game for an excellent weather ahead in konkan.

We soon crossed the Mulshi lake and reached Tamhini ghat. The drive through the ghat was mesmerizing with deep valley on one side and tall mountains on the other.

The conditions in the morning were ideal for photography and the backdrop was also beautiful. Taking advantage of this, the car jumped in as a model for my shoot.

We reached Kashid after a long journey via Kolad and Roha. The route we followed is this. (We later went to Murud)

We were amazed with the first glimpse of the sea and were sure that it was going to be fun ahead. We spotted a Kingfisher sitting on some sort of communication wire and hunting fishes in the sea.

Finally we reached Kashid around 11:00. Had our breakfast, rested for a while and went to the beach. The beach consisted of white sand, but the water was muddy. But this would not stop us from having fun. We enjoyed in the water to the fullest and returned to the shacks for some rest.

We continued our journey to Murud to see the famous Murud-Janjira sea fort. We saw the fort from a distance since the time was less. We were enthralled to see the mighty fort. It stood right in the middle of the waters, braving the mighty sea.

On the way back we stopped at the Murud beach. This beach in contrast with the one in Kashid was completely black, probably due to the silt deposited by some river meeting the sea. Priyanka and Himani didi amused themselves with a horse ride along the beach while I stood enjoying the beauty of the place.

We left for Pune after having a late lunch and returned via Alibaug-Pen-Khopoli-Mumbai-Pune Expressway.

Though the trip was a bit long we enjoyed it to the fullest. Looking forward to more such trips this coming monsoon.
All are Invited!!

Suggestions and comments are most welcomed.