The annual trip to Bhimashankar 2006

Tis that time of the year when I leave the polluted and crowded atmoshphere of Mumbai and head for the serene and misty ghats of Bhimashankar. Bhimashankar is a beautiful spot and its beauty is to be seen to be believed. It is one of those places where the forest is still undisturbed by the dirtying hands of human race. The dense forests are covered by a thick mist in the monsoons which makes even someone one feet away from you hard to see.Bhimashankar is one of the twelve jyotirlings in the country and therefore becomes very crowded with the onset of shravan. So the best time to visit it is in the 2nd week of july.

What makes every Bhimashankar trip worthwhile is the picturesque drive that takes you through lush (at times flouroscent) green meadows and innumerable waterfalls. The drive makes a mockery of people heading to scotland to see green landscapes.

Over the years (this was my 6th visit) we have established a set pattern for the drive. We inevitably start our journey at 6:00 am and head towards lonavla through the express way . A breakfast at the Ramakrishna hotel at lonavla freshens us up and makes as raring for the drive ahead. Once out of lonavla , we hit the old Pune highway (basically once out of lonavla be careful not to hit the expressway again). After a 15 minute drive we take a left towards Talegaon and head on towards Chakan which is about 35 kms. A brief stop at Chakan and we start off towards our next destination - a small sleep hamlet of Manchar. Bhimashankar is about 65 kms from here. Once we cross Manchar the scenic beauty just cocoons you and makes you wonder how can such a serene place be so near a filthy town like mumbai.

It is 2:00 pm when we reach bhimashankar . Once we reach bhimashankar, we check into the resort which goes by the name of Blue Mormon and is about 10 kms before the temple. It is a jungle resort and hence do not expect the amenities of a five star resort retreat. A sumptous lunch renders us energetic enough to go to the temple book for the pooja the following day.

Day 2: After the pooja we have a light lunch and start back at 12:00 pm and head for the mundane and hectic life of mumbai. On the way back we inevitable hit the traffic blockade as soon as Panvel.Crawling through the traffic we finally reach home at about 8 pm

A trip to Bhimashankar never fails to rejuvenate ones spirits and makes you wait expectantly for the next year trip

Mumbai is in flames and the government really cares a hoot about it. Finally our PM has decided to give the mumbaikars the privilege of his presence. These VVIP visits are really irritating and bugs me.