I literally dragged Arnab to this trip. After several calls, when he finally showed up around 8.30am, Ola outstation cancelled my trip. Just when We thought we have to spend the rest of the day at home, I got another ride. lucky me!! We started off around 9.15am.

Apart from being a trekking site,  Bhimashankar has its mythological value in Hinduism. It is considered as one of the 12 Jyotirlinga sites of Hindu deity, Lord Shiva. It is almost 130 kilometres away from Pune and took us a little more than 3hours to reach there without any break.

When we stepped in, Maharashtra heat hit us badly. The initial path was without any roof, the path was crowded and congested with humans and monkeys.

After 10 minutes of walk, finally we were under the roof. Please note: there are 150 steps down to the temple premises. So when you are going to the temple, remember the number of steps you have to climb up to get back. After a lot of hustle of an hour, finally we were inside the temple. You’ll find food, drink, snacks, flowers, sweets and toy vendors on the way. So that is what you should not worry about.

When we entered the main temple premises, we were already exhausted but the place was so crowded  that you have to gain your energy back to struggle.

On the inside walls you’ll find idols of Ganapaiti. The Shivalinga was covered with milk and an idol of Vishnu can be seen on the wall. What is disappointing is that you put so much effort just for 1-2 minutes of eyeing the idols and that too in a chaotic atmosphere. Yes that’s right. That’s the time they will let you be inside the main temple. There is restriction on photography. So no photos!

There were a lot of other temples around and we saw them after coming out. The challenging part was  we had to climb up through the stairs. We took break, had snacks and drinks. Finally when we reached at the parking area, it was 2.45pm. On our way back we saw the beauty of Solanpada dam. We took 15 minutes of tea break and finally due to the great driver we got from Ola, we reached at our place around 6.20pm. The expenditure for the car was Rs. 3060/-.

Here are few things, I would like to mention:

1. Make sure you have umbrella or cap with you.
2. There are 150 broad stairs and there are people who can carry a person on chair. You can rent.
3. Have patience if it is crowded. Keep your phone, wallet at a safe place.
4. The place is not a quiet and serene place.
5. There are monkeys.
6. We went there in mid-February. We should have started a little early to avoid heat and sun.
7. We were already exhausted so we could not go but if you have time, you can visit Hanuman Lake that is 100kilometres from the temple. It can be reached out by trekking as well.

This is us before entering the temple premises. That is my Maa and my friend, Arnab.