Bhimashankar Sanctuary and Tourism
1. Fort (Sidhgarh, Machhindranathgarh, Gorakhgarh)
2. The origin of the Bhima river and the secret Bhima
3. Waterfalls in the sanctuary
4. Devrai and Vanrai, Ahupe, Ganesh Ghat and Shidi Ghat.
5. Bhimashankar Temple
6. About Bhimashankar Sanctuary...
Bhimashankar is the sixth of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India. This religious place of Lord Shiva is famous. Nirsaga has decorated the area with a free hand. Bhimashankar is situated on a high mountain on a row spread to the west of the Sahyadri. The temple of Bhimashankar is situated in the lap of huge thick bushes, forests and high mountains. This hemadpanthi style temple dates back to about 1200 to 1400 years ago. Beautiful carvings are found on the roof of the temple, on the pillars. The carved idols of Dashavatara on the temple are linear and beautiful. Outside the hall there is an iron bell weighing about five manas. Chimaji Appa is said to have gifted this bell. It is recorded in English as 1729 on this hour. Due to the restoration and new construction of this temple, which is a Hemadpanthi style of construction, the original temple cannot be seen. The grand hall of the temple, the high peak, is not visible without descending the mountain.
One of the major rivers of Maharashtra and known as the holy river, Bhima originates in the Dakini Forest of the hills of Bhimashankar. The length of the river is about 867 km as it meets the Krishna river from the source. She is also known as Bhimratha, Bhimarathi. Her character looks like the shape of Chandrakori when she comes to Pandharpur from Solapur district. So there it is known as Chandrabhaga. The origin of Bhimandi is in the Jyotirlinga, but it is believed to be secret from there and reappears about 1.5 km east of the forest from the temple. This place is known as Gupta Bhimashankar.
Hawthorn point: This place is the highest place in the sanctuary and its height is 1230 metres above sea level. There is a very panoramic view of Konkan and the region. From Konkan, this peak looks like a snakes noose, hence the name Nagphani. Bhimashankar Sanctuary is a number of tourist places, machhindranath fort, sidhgad, gorakhgarh, nagphani point situated at high altitudes is the favourite place of mountaineers.
The Bhimashankar Sanctuary gets to see many waterfalls during the rainy season, including Kondhwal Waterfall, Nyani Falls and Sidhgad Falls.
Ganesh Ghat and Shidi Ghat are some of the routes that have been earmarked for the Bhimashankar trek. Ganesh Ghat is as easy to climb while Shidi Ghat is a little difficult...! There is a bridge at a distance of two km from Khandas village. The kutcha road leading to the right from this bridge belongs to Ganesh Ghat. This path is very easy. The path leading to the left side of the well from Khandas village is that of The Ladder Ghat. This path is difficult in all the ways. Also, we have to call this sanctuary many vanarai and devarai sacred grove which is the religious and ecological concept that preserves the biodiversity of Indian culture.
The Bhimashankar sanctuary has been included in the western ghats in the sahyadri ranges in the wildlife division of Maharashtra. The entire area of this sanctuary is 13 thousand 78 hectares. The wildlife department here was established in 1985 and the sanctuary was protected. The sanctuary of Bhimashankar is divided into two parts by about three thousand feet high ridges. Bhimashankar Sanctuary No. 1 covers The Shri Kshetra Bhimashankar Temple and part of the surrounding forest, while Bhimashankar Sanctuary No. 2 includes forests in Thane, Raigad, district. Dhasai, Naroli, Mhasa are the major villages in this forest area. The area is also famous for trekking and trekking. Especially in the rainy season, people come to this area for trekking.
Bhimashankar Sanctuary is counted in the category of Desidius Forest. The sanctuary area receives about seven thousand millimetres of rain every year. The forest here has a variety of plants like mango, jambhul, umber, anjan, shendri, pisa, ain, saag, moha, bamboo, hirda, karwande and ain and many rare medicinal plants. Also, many types of wildlife such as bibatya, tiger, sambar, deer, fox, salinder, bhekar, wolf, monkey, tarsa, blackbuck, peacock can also be seen in the sanctuary of Bhimashankar.
The Bhimashankar Sanctuary is home to a subspecies of the Indian giant squirrel (or Malabar Giant Squirrel) of the state animal of Maharashtra (scientific name: Ratufa Indica Elphinstone). It is one of the three endangered Indo-Malayan squirrel species and sanctuary authorities take major steps from time to time to ensure its protection and survival.
2. There is a famous Bhimashankar temple in the sanctuary which has its name. This Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga temple is apparently one of the twelve Jyotirlingas in India (self-emerging Shiva temples), explaining why it is the most important pilgrimage site for Hindus across the country.
3. BirdLife International has identified Bhimashankar Sanctuary as an important bird area (IBA). The reserve is home to globally endangered species, many restricted-range species, two critical species, various vulnerable species, and closely endangered species of bird birds. The sanctuary is constantly working to protect the precious habitats of these bird species.