Bhimashankar
Wildlife Sanctuary
(Visited from 25th to 28th October
2014)
Bhimashankar was on our Getaway wishlist since long but we had to scrap the plan twice for various reasons. Finally
it happened during Diwali holidays of Oct
2014. We both had
complete faith in our JACOBIN (Royal Enfield 500cc) that he will
take us places- safely, smoothly and in style.
Which it did and is still doing it. We were supposed to leave on the morning of 25th October but
since the previous day the weather conditions were not at all favorable due to
Nilofer Cyclone. We decided to give it a go come what may. After all, it was a
much needed break and Chhavi totally
deserved it. We started a little late than what we had planned (Approx. by 9 am). We had to halt our journey a couple of
times as it had started drizzling. And also stopped as and when we saw
some birds. Cannot help it!!!
We reached at our destination by 4.30pm thoroughly enjoying
the ride, the hills, the valleys, the beautiful vistas. But in our excitement
of vacationing away from the city we completely overlooked the fact that we may
need some warm clothing. And it was very windy all three days that we stayed
there. Well somehow we managed but one should always carry a jacket when in
hills. We decided to rest that day as we had traveled almost seven hours on
bike. We strolled around the resort, had early dinner and called it a day. Next
morning we got up early but it was cloudy and windy. We started for the temple
and trails after 10 am when we felt it was alright to go out. Here is some
information about the Bhimashankar Temple (along with some photos we clicked)
and the Sanctuary:
The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was declared by the govt.
of Maharashtra on 10th Oct 1985 as a reserve forest for the Malabar Giant
Squirrel and a huge number of other animals and birds. It covers 130.78 sq. km
of forest. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is positioned at an altitude of
2100 feet to 3800 feet, and is located in the Ambegaon taluka of Pune District,
Maharashtra, infarct it is spread over Pune, Raigad and Thane districts of the
north-western part of Maharashtra. There is a shrine in the forest of the
wildlife sanctuary, which is one of the twelve Jyotiralinga temples of Lord
Shiva.
Some images
of the temple:
The valley found beyond this temple is a wonderful
combination of shrubs, magical herbs and plant life and serves as the catchment
area for the Bhima, Ghod and Arala rivers, which empty into the Krishna. It
receives heavy monsoon rainfall of approx. 6000 mm annually.
This is one of the best habitats in the Western Ghats for the
malabar giant squirrel (Shekroo in Mararthi, State animal of Maharashtra) and
there are confirmed sightings of tigers.
Trails:
There are
several trails in the sanctuary; some of the well defined trails are as
follows:
1) Gupt Bhimashankar Trail (1.5 kms long):
Gupt Bhimashankar Trail |
After darshan in the temple we started for the Gupt
Bhimashankar Trail. This trail descends from besides of the Ram temple and
ascends from the fork to the left through a dense forest with high canopy
trees. One of the best trails to see the Malabar Giant squirrels as we were
informed but could not see it. The trail seems to penetrate deep into the
forest but actually it keeps you very close to the temple. The dense shrubbery
hides many birds and makes them difficult to spot. We saw 3-4 species but could
not identify due the dense foliage and bad light (courtesy Nilofer cyclone).
The trail brings you parallel to the steps of the temple towards the exit. There is a temple “Sakshi Vinayak” at the end, from where the
trail drops down towards a stream. Here there is a Shiv lingam which is called
“Gupt Bhimashankar”. This trail further
leads to Bhorgiri caves down the valley as I have heard but we did not go down.
Sakshi Vinayak Temple |
After the
first trail we stopped at MTDC resort (Warning: do not expect anything
resort-like) to inquire for their room fares. Anyway, we then started looking
for our next trail.
2) Machaan Trail (1/2 km from adjacent to MTDC resort and straight,
easy walk): The trail has two entries. One is open and begins from behind the
MTDC guest house and the other one is hidden or to be exact does not appear to
be an entry. This trail traverses from
near the MTDC resort and the terrain is more or less open with good visibility.
The Machaan (L) and the Bhagadevi Temple (R) |
3) Forest Rest House Trail (Behind
Bus Stand Opp. MTDC with steep, but easy climb): We spotted a Malabar Whistling Thrush as we
entered the trail but could not take a picture as it jogged away quickly. We
also spotted some green birds but could not view it properly hence no IDs. The trail
passes through high canopy forest and ends at the Forest Rest House near the
top.
To be very honest, we saw only 5-6
birds on these 3 trails of which this is the one we clicked:
Orange Headed
Thrush
|
and the other one, Malabar whistling thrush
got away.
Motor Trails
Bhimashankar WLS has a unique feature of motor trails. There
are numerous villages scattered across the territory. The roads are mud roads,
non-metalled and metalled ones and lined with light, medium and thick forests
on both sides. Since we were on a two-wheeler, we cut into many motorable
roads. It is here that you will come across various birds like Minivets,
Sunbirds, and Raptors etc.
We both enjoyed the much needed break to the core. And favourable
weather condition or not, we will cherish the time we spent in Bhimashankar
hills. We have also pledged to come back here in spring season for some more
colourful moments and even more colourful birds. I am giving the list of birds
that we managed to spot during three days. I know the number is not high as I have
read other blogs where people have sighted 200+ birds during their visits here.
But we are very happy nevertheless.
Our bird list
comprises of:
1. Red whiskered bulbul
2. Red vented bulbul
3. Long tailed shrike
4. Malabar lark
5. Jacobin cuckoo
6. Crested bunting
7. Pied bushchat
8. Common stonechat
9. Jungle babbler
10. Green bee-eater
11. Wire tailed swallow
12. Rosy starling
13. Oriental turtle dove
14. Black drongo
15. Orange headed thrush
16. Red wattled lapwing
17. Common hoopoe
18. White throated kingfisher
19. Southerm coucal
20. Thick billed flower pecker
21. Common kestrel
22. Purple sunbird
23. Scaly breasted munia
24. Laughing dove
25. Paddyfield pipit
26. Common hawk cuckoo
27. Asian koel
28. Eurasian cuckoo
29. Malabar whistling thrush
30. Common myna
31. House sparrow
32. Dusky crag martin
33. Tawny pipit
34. Blyth’s pipit
35. Rufous treepie
36. Lesser whitethroat
37. Montagu’s harrier
38. Eurasian roller
39. Black shouldered kite
40. Baya waever
41. Jungle crow
Accommodation: Small restaurants cum basic rooms
for the devotees near the temple (ranging from Rs.300/- onwards, Dormitories
ranging from Rs.100/person onwards)
Blue Mormon
resort (about 9 kms before the Temple), Price 1900/- per room on twin sharing
basis
1500 per
head for couple sharing a room (Includes Room, Breakfast, Lunch, Tea, Dinner)
Ratva Resor
t- 1200 per room
MTDC- 800
per room
Few more
hotels and eateries are spread all along the highway to the temple.
The mobile
range is only limited to BSNL as of now, but one can get range of other mobile
services from the various high points.
Medical
Facilities: The nearest hospital is approx. 47 kms in the town of Ghodegaon.
Permissions:
There is an active forest dept. office very near to the start of the temple
steps. Toll for 4-wheelers. Avoid venturing
in the forest after dusk.
Cherish the happy moments...
Do not leave your litter behind...
Have a safe journey...
Take care…