Bhimashankar is located in Sahyadri hills which is 120 kms from Pune. It hosts one of the twelve jyotirlingas of Lord Shiva (There are 11 jyotirlingas in India and one in Nepal).It is the place of origin of river Bhima. According to legends, it was in this place where Lord Shiva killed an evil demon, Tripurasura.
We began at 8.30 in the morning on Sunday, October 18, 2009 where I chose to drive all the way. The road was good enough except for some artistic patch works here and there.
It took us more than three hours to reach Bhimashankar, could've reached early, but we stopped at one place to grab some snacks and off course the photography session.
After crossing a small town called Manchar, one can see greenery on both sides of the road. A small lake which runs along with the road was very beautiful.
Our second stoppage was Dimbhe dam which was few Kilometers before Bhimashankar. This can also be seen from the ghats. The mesmerizing view here made us stop and take it’s pictures.
We reached Bhimashankar at around 11.45. The bus stand of Bhimashankar also doubles up as parking lot. After walking a small stretch, there are stone steps leading to the shrine. We had to climb down those steps to reach the temple.
One can see lot of small stones stacked up on one another on both sides of the steps. There was a saying that if someone successfully balances the stones on top of each other, their prayers would come true.
The temple is simple yet very graceful. Since it was Sunday and Amavasya too (no moon day), there were many pilgrims and we had to wait in the queue for almost 45 minutes for darshan of the jyotirlinga. Once we entered the sanctum sanctorum of the temple, we forgot how tired we were and got engrossed in the prayer.
We could not see the original lingam as it was decorated with Silver cover. Offered flowers to the lingam and prayers.
We asked the priests to perform puja by paying some fees. They assured that the puja will be performed on our name and prasadam will be sent to us by post.
Priest in the temple
There is a unique roman style large bell outside the temple which is donated by one Chimaji appa (a Peshwa royal family member) in 1729. It is said that this bell is brought to Bhimashankar after defeating Portuguese in Vasai fort.
We did not carry any food with us thinking that this being a popular tourist center, there will be some restaurants. But to our surprise, there were only some small stalls which sell rice plate, vada-pav and dosas. Since we were not left with any option we had lunch in one of those and left for Pune at 3.00PM. Even after all this we did not forget to buy some pedhas before we left.
Reaching Bhimashankar from Pune
It is around 120 kms from Pune. One has to take the Pune-Nashik Highway (NH 50) and drive upto either Rajgurunagar or go further till Manchar and take a diversion to Bhimashankar. I was told that the road from Rajgurunagar is not that good. We took the Manchar route to reach Bhimashankar.
Nearby places
It is located in the middle of wildlife sanctuary. This region has the highest density of leaopards in India. This sanctuary is also home of the Indian Giant Squirrel and numerous other animals and birds. Near the parking lot, there is Bombay Point from where a breathtaking view of the valley can be seen.
Food and Accommodation
I suggest that one should carry food along with them to Bhimashankar. There are small stalls which sell vada-pav, rice plate etc.
There are no hotels to stay in Bhimashankar. Only nearby hotel is Blue Mormon resort which is located around 9 Kms from this place.
