03/06/2014
Bhimashankar Holiday Resort
Bhimashankar is an ancient shrine situated in the Sahyadri hills in the state of Maharashtra. It is one of the well known Jyotirlinga, amongst the twelve jyotirlingas situated all over India.
Bhimashankar is located in the village of Bhorgiri 50 km north west of Khed, near Pune. It is located 125 km away from Pune in the ghat region of the Sahyadri hills.
In recent times it has gained tremendous significance since it was declared as "WILD LIFE SANCTUARY".
It is also becoming one of the attractive and well known religious places in Maharashtra as well as in India.
Bhimashankar is the source of the river Bhima, which is known as Chandrabhaga in Padharpur.
There are Buddha style carvings of Amba-Ambika, Bhootling and Bhimashankar in the hills of Manmaad near Bhimashankar at a height of 1034 metres. A big bell in Hemadpanthi structure built by Nana Phadanavis is a feature of Bhimashankar. Places that can be visited in are Hanuman Lake, Gupt Bhimashankar, Origin of River Bhima, Nag Phani, Bombay Point, Sakshi Vinayak and a lot more. Bhimashankar is a reserved forest area of 130.78 sq.Km was declared as wildlife sanctuary in 1985.This sanctuary is a part of Western Ghat, so it is rich in floral and faunal diversity. A variety of birds, animals, insects, plants can be seen. A rare animal Malabar Giant squirrel locally called as " Shekaru" can be found in deep woods. Bhimashankar is worth visiting for jungle lovers and trekkers as well as for pilgrims. This temple is very famous in Pune and people from all around the world come to visit this temple.