Bhimashankar Trek

Bhimashankar Trek:

Situated in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra and covering an area of about 120 km at a height of 3400 feet high up in the hills. There is a beautiful temple of Lord Shiva amidst the wilderness of the dense jungle which is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas in India that attracts pilgrims and devotees.

Bhimashankar is of great religious importance and one can see flocks of devotees visiting here during the month of Shravan. It is said that Lord Shiva after getting angry, killed Rakshas Tripurasura. The heat generated from their war caused the origin of river Bhima. That is why it is called the Bhimashankar. The Bhimashankar temple is a composite of old and the new architecture. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to the 18th century.

Bhimashankar Hills Trek Information:

We ascend via Ganesh ghat. There is Ganesh mandir en-route.

This is the halfway mark. The trail, after the two routes meet, is a steep climb through thick forest and lush green bushes. It leads directly to the top, where you find the Bhimashankar temple. You pass through a glimpse of history as you cross  Paddar Killa - Padargad.

There is a streamlet route going down from the left of the temple. Via that route, we enter a thick jungle and come across the Sakshi Vinayak temple around 25 minutes. A route going toward the waterfall left of this temple leads to the “water sculpted” “Shiva Linga” under this waterfall. This is called the Gupt Bhimashankar.

When to visit Bhimashankar Trek:

It is a moderate difficulty level trek which takes about 4 hours to ascend and 4 hours to descend via Shidi Ghat. The entire trail exudes a serene and rustic charm. While monsoon is the best time to do this trek, it can also be done in other seasons.