Friday 31 October 2014

Lonavala to Bhimashankar trek

Lonalvala to Bhimashankar trek........ I first heard this long range trek route 3-4 years back! I was awstrucked by the distance to be covered for this trek. Initial impression comes in mind will be something crazy thing to do! But I aimed to complete this trek as soon as possible. As usual due to many circumstances I kept on postponing this trek till the rainy season of 2014. Finally all the things placed well and we (Mahadeo, Vinayak, Saurabh, Ganesh , Ajay and myself) agreed to trek down this route. Niyati and Madhu agreed to accompany us till Kondheshwar temple(Jambhavali).

We had studied the route using Wikimapia. Thanks to the person who did this fantastic job!!!! Whole trek route is clearly defined in the Wikimapia. I would advise to follow wikimapia, if you are planning to trek this route.  We travelled the route as given below:




We decided to take first local towards Lonavala from Pune. It was @ 4.45am. Fortunately all the trek members reached to the Pune station in time and we boarded ourself in to the Garib rath of Lonavala :). We reached to Lonavala at 6.15am. Had our breakfast at ST canteen and left for out destination. We followed the route going towards Rajmachi. During monsoon, the route is utterly scenic with lush greenery and flood of water streams.






After walking 2 hrs, you will reach to Y junction where left route goes towards Rajmachi and right one towards Kondheshwar. Follow the right side route. At the end of this road, you will enter into the Valvand village. We had tea break their and asked for the route towards Kondheshwar temple. One grandfather showed us the route and the direction to be taken. We followed the route besides power plant going towards the hill. After climbing small hill, you will see water canal. Walk on this canal till it ends. From their, you need to climb the hill. Route is well trodden from here.

Valvand village




Walk on this canal wall till the end

Canal ends here


After climbing 15-20 minutes trail opens into small ground. We couldn't find the further route. After searching a while finally we got correct route. When you enter into this small ground, follow the left direction. The route is slightly hidden due to vegetation. Once you locate this trail, further journey towards Kondheshwar temple is easy. No more chances of missing the route.



Finally we relieved to see first glimpse of the temple from the top. After 15-20 minutes we reached to the temple. Took the blessing of the Lord Mahadeo. Photo session time extended a bit here :)!!







Our 2 trek members left us to go to Pune again. We followed the route going towards Dhak Bahiri. If you are new to this route, you may find difficulty to locate the correct route. It is advisable to ask the villager about the route. We climbed a small hill and then crossed a waterfall to reach the top of a hill. You can get first glimpse of Dhak Bahiri from this spot. Due to cloudy weather, we were unable to see it. We descended down to the jungle and after walking 10-15 minutes a diversion came. Signboards are installed at this spot to help trekkers finding correct route. Thanks to "Sahas Adventure" group for signboard!!!





Route from hereon is well trodden with marked arrows at few places. After walking considerable distance you will enter into vast plateau. Sometimes you may find difficulty to locate correct route because of multiple cattle trails all over the plateau. If the weather is good you can see tall iron rod/tower installed vertically on the plateau. Follow the direction towards the tower. This tower is installed in the Dhangarwadi which is our next destination.

On the way towards Dhangarwadi


Iron tower in the fog!!! Landmark for the trek route towards Kusur!!
 From Dhangarwadi, , we descended down to tar road (after 30 minutes of walk) which leads to the the village Kusur. We decided to wait for the bus which goes to the Sawla. Whole patch is tar road. It is always better to skip this tar patch. It saves time and energy. We had our snacks and waited for around 2 hrs for bus. We came to know that bus  do not ply to Sawla. Last stop of the bus was Khandi; reason being road construction work in progress till Sawla. It was already dark and we were hungry. We asked some villagers at Khandi to cook food for us. But due to harvesting season, everybody busy with their own activities. We decided to go to Sawla using private vehicle. Luckily we got one and he agreed to take us to the Sawla for Rs. 500. We also requested him to arange some food for us. He took us to the Local Shivsena leader Shobhinath Bhoir in the Sawla. He immediately agreed to help us in arranging stay and food. It was already 8.30pm in the clock. We were overwhelmed by the generosity shown by him. After dinner, we slept in the temple.

Next morning, after finishing morning rituals, we wanted to go to Talpewadi. The kind fellow arranged a private vehicle for us till Talpewadi. It saved our time a lot! From hereon, Vinayak and company helped us in finding the route towards Bhimashankar. Earlier, they did the Bhimashankar trek from Talpewadi. Our next was to reach Wandre khind and then desecend down to Padawadi gaon. If you are new, you may confuse at the initial trail. Always better to ask villagers. After walking 15- minutes and climbing small hill we reached to a big waterfall. Truely amazing!!



After crossing waterfall, we entered into dense jungle. Trail is well trodden. After 30 mins, we reached to Wandre khind. Another 30 minutes required to descend down and reach Padarwadi.

Wandre khind 'V notch'. Snap taken after descending the khind

Padarwadi gaon
We had our lunch and moved towards our destination. Again intial trail is little bit confusing due to cattle routes but we manged to take correct one by the help of villagers. We climbed a hill and reached to a big road. Walked on this road  5-10 minuted and found a sign board with direction stating "Aum Namah Shivay". We followed the route. Enroute we found a big house like structure. Follow the route going besides the house. The route is well trodden with arrow markings at frequent locations. So you will hardly miss the correct route. It was long walk. Once you near to the Kamaljai temple, you will see the well defined trail having rows of stones running beside the route on the both sides. We reached to Kamaljai temple and took blessing of deity.



This area is one of the core of Bhimashankar sanctuary. It would take another 1.5 hrs from the temple to reach bhimashankar. AFter walking considerable distance, we came across the Bhima river. We need to cross it. Initially we thought that it wouldn't be that deep but when we started crossing the river we acknoledged the deepness as well as force of water stream. We searched alternative route which is not so deep. Using human chain, we managed to cross the river. Again after few meter distance you again need to cross the river; but not at all deep. At the second river crossing we came to know that there was no need to cross the river at all. At the first river crossing, a trail goes into the jungle. If we follow it, we will reach at the other end of second river crossing.


1st river crossing

2nd river crossing

It took another 30 minutes to reach Gupt Bhimashankar.


As we approached towards the Bhimashankar temple, we felt sad condition of this sacred place. We found pile of garbage dumped everywhere. Plastic bottles, carrybags, cans etc flowed away with the water which in turn mixed with Bhima river. What a disgusting scenario!!!

When we reached to the temple, it was overcrowded. There was long queue. We took the blessings of the Lord Shiva from outside and went to search for the ST bus for Pune. It was 4.00pm in the clock. It took us 7.00pm to grab a private vehicle which took us to the Manchar and then another private vehicle from Manchar to Pune. We reached to Pune at 12.00am. Frequency of buses at Bhimashankar is real problem. So always prepare your treks taking into cosideration the transport point.

Overall the trek was utterly satisfying!! Har Har Mahadeo!!!!!!!

29 comments:

  1. Pictures are very beautiful. Thanks for sharing this useful post. According to Shiv Mahapuran, once Lord Vishnu and Lord Brahma had a heated argument related to superiority of creation of the universe. To test them, Lord Shiva divided the 3 worlds into pillars of light and named them jyotirlinga. Explore all about Bhimashankar temple.

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  2. Hi Yash, in the graph at Y junction, you said to take right turn ( Udhewadi ). Is it Udhewadi or Valvand ? Udhewadi village is the base of Rajmachi forts. So do we need to take right turn at Jambhali fata?

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    Replies
    1. Hello Mukund, Yes you are right. It's mistake from my side. Valvand is the village from which route to Bhimashankar passes. From Jambhali phata , right turn goes to Valvand. I'll correct it in the blog.

      Thanks!!!

      Delete
  3. Very useful blog. Thanks for sharing

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  4. Hi,

    Few questions:
    do you have any contacts numbers in Sawale village for night stay and food?
    What was the width of Bhima river's crossing?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,
      We met Shobhinath Bhoir from Sawla . his number was 9527333274. He was very helpful. Bhima river crossing is tedious if it is flooded. But there is traverse along the river which u should use instead of river crossing. You will notice the route when you reach at 1st river crossing. Other tricky route could be Kusur pathar if there is dense fog around. High chances of missing the route. Be careful!! Have a safe trek!!

      Delete
  5. Hi Yash, Really nice blog. Planning to do this range trek in this season.

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  6. Hi Mukund, yes its worth doing in monsoon. Awesome weather throughout the journey!!!!

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  7. Thank you very much Yash. These info will help us a lot.

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  8. Hi Yash.. Have been reading your blog for a while and really appreciate all the efforts taken by you in pointing out the correct directions. I am planning to do this trek this season and would appreciate if you could share the contact details of any guides/villagers on the route. Also, is it possible to do this trek and return to Mumbai/Pune in two days? Thanks a lot!

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    Replies
    1. Hi Pramod,
      We met Shobhinath Bhoir from Sawla . his number was 9527333274. He was very helpful for providing stay and food.
      Also you can contact my friend Mahadeo Gadade who can help you with providing contact number of guide. His contact number is 9370080086.
      It is possible to reach Bhimashankar in 2 days. But returning to Pune/Mumbai depends on bus connectivity. Most probably you will reach to Pune /Mumbai odd hours of morning.
      Plan accordingly. Be safe!!!

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    2. Thanks a lot Yash for the help. Completed the Lo-Bhi in 2 days. Your blog has helped a lot in planning the trek. Keep trekking and blogging!

      Delete
    3. You're welcome!! Keep it up!!!

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  9. Hello Yash, what a wonderful blog and detailing of the trek. Thanks for the info.

    I know the best season to do this trek should be Monsoon, but by any chance can we attempt this trek in Summer​ (May 2017)... Is the maximum route covered with Forrest?

    Last but not the least, is there any number I can call you for some guidance?

    Please let me know.
    Thanks for all your blogs !

    Regards,
    Jasraj Joshi

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    Replies
    1. Hello Jasraj, In summer this trek is possible. Only issues would be scarcity of water enroute and high temperature. I guess 60% route is covered with tress(may be less). SO you need to plan your itinerary in the morning. Cover maximum distance in morning session. My contact number is 9881734290.

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  10. Beautiful Blog and Breathtaking Pictures!
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    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi Yash, What a perfect execution of plan i must say. Just one question, can we complete it in one day if we start
    the trek at 6:00 am?

    Thanks,
    AKash

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello Akash, Yes it is possible to complete this trek in one day.But you need to start really early.. So from Lonavala you need to start at 4.00am
      From the Kusur till Talpewadi try to grab local transport. This will save precious time. In the Winter season, it gets dark early @ 5.30pm so you need to careful for the timings. Also check with your trek-mates for this one day trek adventure. If someone stops in the group then whole group need to adjust according to him/her.

      Delete
  12. Hello Yash Sir,

    Please come back to Sahyadri. We need u mate.

    ReplyDelete

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  14. Nice journey. You guys enjoyed the trip.
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    ReplyDelete
  15. Hey buddy myself SANDESH S. KADAM .By reading this blog I cannot resist to recollect & share my memories of this beautiful trek experienced during the heavy monsoon of first week of August 1995. We eight friend aging 24 to 45 years from LIC Thane office under the banner of LIFE TREKKERS started from Lonavala at 5.00 am, seen entire rajmachi fort area took lunch at Udhewadi stayed at kondeshwar temple at night. The night was very scary due to very heavy rain & fast blowing air. In those days temple was very small with open windows & no door. On second day morning we wrongly took jambhivali village route to reach kusur plateau which is opposite to the temple. Till 10 am we we were searching in all the directions in heavy fog for right route. But in vain. We were totally lost & were under very much tension loosing the confidence as the time passed. At that time one shepherd from the forest suddenly appeared before us to whom we pleaded to show the right way. As he had his own priorities he showed us the way till half the height of kusur plateau by shortest possible root [ totally different shortest root of the villagers ] & after directing us about the further route he disappeared leaving us alone. However we once again could not find the right route due to heavy rain & fog according to his various signs. We once again lost & were now on our own. At about 2.00 pm we had somehow succeeded in reaching the top of kusur plateau. We ate some biscuits / chocolates etc. Then looking to the condition on the plateau [ covering dense fog ] we decided to form four teams for four directions to search the root. After searching for half an hour my team spotted one stone on small muddy root having faint painted arrow with alphabet as "B",stands for Bhimashankar we guessed. During this we spotted some wildlife also. We gained the confidence & were felt sure that this root will definitely lead us to dhanagarwada. Accordingly we reached at dhanagarwada at about 4.00 pm. From there via Kusur village we stayed at Khandi at night. Next morning reached Savle village from where we took local villager to show us the further route. This route was going from the edges of sahyadri mountain through very dense forest, very less explored by then trekkers, totally different from wandre khind side route. We had glimpses of Peth fort & konkan area from this root. The villager left us at small well of water at about 2.00 pm.by directing us about the further route. He just told us to take always left side at each junction. We were totally alone & on our own in that dense forest filled with fog due to which sometimes we could hardly spotted our route.
    However we at that time filled with confidence & ready to face any situation. En-route we sometime came across the old spacious well defined path having stones kept on both the sides which also helped us a lot in confirming our root. At last by almighty's grace we safely reached Kamaljai temple which was in good condition then. Then after crossing Bhima river we reached the Bhimashankar temple at 6.00 pm. We spent a night at one of the villager. Next morning we visited Gupt Bhimashankar, trekked in forest. Then after worshiping lord Shiva we left the Bhimashankar at about 12.30 pm for Khandas village via Ganpati ghat. Trek end at about 5.30 pm at Khandas from where we cached ST bus for Karjat. We had succeeded to complete this adventurous trek with very little help of guide. This trek truly test your mental strength. It is very difficult to follow the correct route in dense forest filled with dense fog & having heavy rain& specially when the entire area is filled with different different routes made by the grazing herd of cows, bufellows etc. during the rainy season. Unfortunately point & soot compact cameras with 36 photos role was with us which we could not use at all due to heavy rain , fog. I still cherish those memories. After this we have repeated the trek in the monsoon of 1998 & 2000 but never experienced same again.

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    1. Wowww!! That was awesome thrilling experience. In 1995, there was not much facilities that we have today including GPS. Hatss off you Sir!!!

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  16. Awsome blog..but we should have to read before to go on trek...we are group 5 boys went to trek in month of may ending . due to lack of water we feeled very thirsty at one time one of crue member starts weakness bacouse of dihydration and at same time we follow the wrong route. Its was horrible. Due to local villagers we found actual route nd reach the temple at 5 pm

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    Replies
    1. Ohh. That must be tough! Summer treks are always challenging due to heat. Please study the route carefully for each and every trek. Be safe!

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