[yogesh.8984]

Last week at work was pretty frantic and there was this great urge to burst the stress. What better option but to drive... and the destination I chose - Bhimashankar.

Something about the destination – Bhimashankar temple is one of the twelve Jyotirlingas situated all over India. It is based in the Sahyadri ranges and has been declared as a wild life sanctuary recently. It is approximately 120 KMs from Pune and has steep mountain roads once you enter Ghat sections. So that is one motivation behind choosing the destination.

Though you have option to stay overnight, I preferred a day drive with early morning start from Pune. Cranked the engine at 7 am sharp and took interior roads to destination (other option is to take Pune-Nashik highway and taking left at Rajgurunagar or Manchar). We chose to go via Dehu - Bhamboli - Kadus - Chas route. This interior road takes you through small villages and you get to explore some less traveled roads and the life of the beautiful villages. This road meets to the Rajgurunagar - Bhimashankar road at Chas.

Some pictures along the way.











Stopped at Swayamvar restaurant which is located right after Chas village. It is a decent place with good quality food and lot of space for kids to play around. There is also an Indian Oil petrol pump opposite to the restaurant and is pretty good in terms of the service offered.



After breakfast, took to the roads again. There is a dam on the left called as 'Chas Kaman Dam' on Bhima river. The river is originated from Bhimashankar itself. Some pictures of the backwaters of Chas Kaman dam below.







On moving further, you encounter some steep mountain roads. Though some of the roads are in poor shape post huge rains this season, it was fun climbing the Ghats.

As you approach Bhimashankar, road goes through thick forest. This particular section of road is in very bad shape. You can see a Force Traveller making way to the destination. Recently we had an interesting thread on Team-BHP about Force Travellers and I was quite amused to see it again in the Ghats making merry .



Entrance to the temple arena.



Since it was a last weekend before Diwali, place wasn't very crowded and we had a leisurely Darshan at main temple. Photography is not allowed inside the temple premises.

On the way back, stopped over near a village called Tifanwadi. There is a nice place where you can relax for an afternoon siesta by the backwaters of Chas Kaman dam. A little photo-shoot of White Lilly followed after a quick snooze.







The surrounding was so tranquil and peaceful that it was hard to call it a day and head back to the hustles and bustles of Pune.





Reached home around 6 pm in the evening and all set for the Monday again!

PS: Some of the interior roads are in very bad shape. So it is advised to take Rajgurunagar or Manchar route unless you really want to travel through those tiny little beautiful villages.