[pjbiju]

I use our company transport to go to the office every day. And the reason is very simple. Escape from the stress of having to drive in the madness of the rush hour in Hinjwadi. So we have a group of friends in the bus, belonging to three different companies. And that is because the bus service is shared by all the three companies. That is BUS POOLING. A cool way to save some fuel and remain stress free. It also ensures that you arrive at and leave the office on time.

In the morning, most of the folks are asleep in the bus. In the evening, it is a different story. There are frequent celebrations in the bus like birthdays, anniversaries etc. We also play cards in the evenings. Anyone coming back from vacation brings something for the bus comrades. The camaraderie that exists in this bus does not exist in any other bus of our company. These reasons are more than enough to dump the car for the commute to the office.

As a part of our celebrations, we also plan a few trips during the year. Sadly, not all of them materialize, but some do.

Last year we made trips to Neelkanteshwar, Tikona Fort and Purandar Fort.

And so this year, as soon as the first drops of rain spashed down on Pune, we started our monsoon plans. A couple of places were discussed and we zeroed in on one place - to go and explore the origins of the river Bhima and its surroundings.

Well, the place is Bhimashankar. This temple is abode to one of the 12 Jyothirlingas in India. A place of pilgrimage. Bhimashankar is also a place where you can find Malabar giant squirrels. The place got its name from the temple and from the name of the river Bhima which is believed to be originating from this place.

We abandoned the idea of taking our cars since that would split us into three or four smaller groups. So we hired a Force Traveller for the trip.

The road was quite good, all the way from Pune to Bhimashankar via Manchar. But boy, the ride is surely jumpy in the traveller especially at the back on uneven roads. It is quite a good vehicle for the smooth highways.

We started at around 7:00 a.m. from Pune. Stopped somewhere along NH50 for our breakfast. Reached Bhimashankar by around 11:30 a.m. with a few stops in between to take in nature's beauty that surrounded us.

We visited the temple and then went in search of our own piece of paradise.

It was quite sad to see the way the bus stand/parking lot had turned into a slush pit with garbage thrown everywhere. I wish the govt. did something to sensitize the localites and the visitors to keep such places clean. Well, if only everyone cared to keep the space outside of our houses/flats clean!

We had our lunch by a stream and reached back Pune by 6:30 p.m.

The pictures will speak now.

When someone says "crystal clear" - this is what they mean.


The first waterfall


The organic fruit stall


Mangoes...


Juicy Jamuns...


A modern day farmer...ploughing the road??


The garlanded falls


Our vehicle and the standby driver


Flowers at our breakfast stop


The temple (one of the 12 Jyothirlings of India)


The temple top


The waterfalls again


A temple close-up


Temple close-up


Temple close-up


Flowers for offering at the temple. I thought they were plastic flowers. Not sure what kind of flowers they are, but they seem to be growing abudantly in the region


For sale in the shops lined up along the stone-paved path to the temple


Watch your shoots, Big Tree


From the shops


Our own greed pad


People saw a Malabar giant squirrel near the temple. Unfortunately, I missed meeting the giant squirrel. The squirrel had decided to end its ramp walk by the time I returned with umbrellas. I had come half way and then remembered that nobody was carrying umbrellas. So I went back to the parking area to fetch the umbrellas.

[pjbiju]

Now that we had found our green turf we decided to have our lunch.

Our dining room


With the dining tables


Nature's spa


Rolling stones gather no moss, but they sure can be slippery


Wild berries, watching over the stream


More of the stream


More of the stream


A perfect place to pitch a tent


Another shot of the berries


Testing the waters


This was the stream that gave the "crystal clear" shot.

Everyone had fun in getting into the stream and spashing water onto others. The water was clean and cold. There was nobody else there. We finished our lunch and made sure that we did not leave anything back, so that the place remained as clean as when we had found it.

Emobodiment of "Going green with envy"


A final look at the stream


And then we had our wild encounter - a chamaeleon


Trying to scare me off. Actually I had to get close to it to take pictures.


When the scaring tactics did not work


Posing for the final shot


And then we moved onto our next destination


The waterfall


Others already at the bottom of the falls


A beautiful and strange flower en-route

[pjbiju]

And then the second wild encounter..
Can you identify the snake?


The falls


The Grand Canyon


Falls, up-close


All in one frame


Green


Green shoots of life


Off-roading. This one had a hard top.


More off-roading


On the expressway


Cruise control


The snake


From our own infinity pool


We did not feel it was safe to get into the pool at the bottom of the falls. We found another spot which was safe for us to get into the water and have fun.

All in all, it was a fun filled day. We came back home with tired bodies and rejuvenated minds, once again making us realize that we miss so much in the mad rush of our lives. We need to learn to unwind and appreciate the artwork of the almighty.

-Biju

[piper.gates]

Wow, nice write up and very nice pictures. The location is scenic too. What cam did you use to shoot these pics?

[pjbiju]

The route we took : Pune - Manchar - Bhimashankar



We did enquire about going via Wadi but were told that the roads were not good.

If you are not carrying food, you need to buy food or have food before you leave Manchar. Once you leave Manchar, you will not find any place to eat food except things like vada pav, misal pav etc. We saw the boards of a resort close to Bhimashankar but did not explore that option. May be someone who has stayed at this resort can give more details. I cannot even recollect the name of the resort now.

Luckily for us it did not rain until the time we started back. I am told that dense fog can descent on Bhimashankar making the return journey difficult if one stays back late.

[Latheesh]

Nice TL and some awesome pictures there. Thanks for the new "Bus pooling" idea.

[amitwlele]

@Biju - Lovely pictures and even more better captions.

You mentioned that it was a bumpy ride in the Tempo Traveller. I hope the roads are good for a hatchback ride.

[rahul_sinha]

@Biju - Thanks for planning my next trip
Shallow water fun is unmatched. Was the total journey 9 hrs to and fro, without pit stop?

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@Biju - Lovely pictures and even more better captions.

You mentioned that it was a bumpy ride in the Tempo Traveller. I hope the roads are good for a hatchback ride.

Amit, the roads were quite good with almost no potholes. I hope it stays that way. You will have a comfortable ride in a hatchback.

Originally Posted by rahul_sinha

@Biju - Thanks for planning my next trip
Shallow water fun is unmatched. Was the total journey 9 hrs to and fro, without pit stop?

Yes indeed. Clean shallow waters brings out the kids in every one and you can enjoy without having to fear the depths. The only thing many people could not do comfortably was to get into the water barefooted. Our soles have become so used to the comfort of the shoes/footwear that it becomes impossible to walk on pebbles/stones etc. that we usualy find on the beds of streams.

You can do the drive (to and fro) in about 6 hours comfortably driving at very sedate speeds. You have 4-laned roads till Chakan and then once you turn off at Manchar, there is hardly any traffic. The distance is about 125 km from Pune one way. You can add 30 minutes for breakfast and 1 hour for lunch. That still gives you enough time to enjoy the waters.

We left Aundh at around 7:00 a.m. and were back at Aundh by 6:30 p.m.

[pjbiju]

Originally Posted by piper.gates

Wow, nice write up and very nice pictures. The location is scenic too. What cam did you use to shoot these pics?

Thank you. I used a Panasonic LX5 to shoot these pictures.

[swiftnfurious]

Brilliant pics ! Loved the orchids [?]. Those look so gorgrous ! And of course crystal clear too. Nice to know there are places which are still so clean and green !! Hi-Five !!

[mdsaab]

Beautiful Snaps, Always wanted to go to Bhimashankar.
Infact there was this one time where we reached halfway.
But it was getting late and so we decided to turn back.
Your crystal clear snaps. Are very tempting indeed.
It's and all rounder trip isn't it. you get temples, some wildlife, beautiful flowers and spectacular waterfalls.
Hope to finally visit Bhimashankar soon.
BTW are the roads good enough for an ANHC?
and BBTW Met up with a friend of yours at Big Flix Viman Nagar Yesterday.
I spoke about Team-BHP and he mentioned your name. and recent posting of Bhimashankar trip. And so i rushed to this thread today to read your lovely TL.
Thanks for Sharing & Drive Safe!

[rjstyles69]

biju lovely pictures capturing the beauty of nature during the monsoons man. The compositions are brilliant like always. Made for a nice soothing Thursday morning looking at those pictures.

[dsr_rpm]

good narration, wonderful pics and great place for a one day picnic.

thanks for sharing the experiance with us.

[sushantr5]

Excellent snaps with vibrant colors. I would love to learn that. Excellent Narration...