Bhandardara

Here I am posting some photos of my recent visit to Bhandardara
I am posting it with order of chronological order

1)Pemgiri Banyan Tree near Sangamner on Bhandardara road








It is a largest banyan tree in Asia and oldest Banyan tree in world.It is believed to be atleast 10000 years old.This tree is spread in more than 2 to 3 acres and
How to go:
From Sangamner,take left to Bhandardara road and around 20 kms ahead,after crossing a small bridge on Pravara river,you reach village Kalas.From this village,take left and Pemgiri is 5 kms away.From this village,you need to walk 2 kms till the banyan tree because road is in very bad condition hence not suited for 4 wheelers.Only 2 wheelers
What more to see in Pemgiri:
Pemgiri fort which is located in village Pemgiri itself.From the village itself,you will see a board of Pemai temple with steps going up.You can reach the top in hardly 10-15 minutes.
This is the place where ShahajiRaje the father of Shivaji Maharaj saved the Nizam of Ahmednagar and crowned him as emperor and Nizam.The combination of Adilshahi of Vijapur and Nizamshahi of Ahmednagar kept Mughals away.

2)Agasti Rishi Ashram Near Akole
It is located 2 kms from Akole on banks of Pravara river.It is believed that in Ramayan,Agasti rishi gave one arrow to Ram which he used to kill Ravan
There are no photographs because Photography is not allowed inside Ashram premises
How to go:
From Akole,you have to just cross the bridge on Pravara river and take left.it takes hardly 10 minutes to reach this place.

3) Randha falls:
It is third largest waterfall in India with a height of 170 feets.Most important is that you will see pravara river falling into a deep gorges and moving ahead by tearing apart the rocks.

How to reach there:You dont have to go anywhere if you are on the Sangamner-Bhandardara road.9 kms from Rajur and 11 kms before Bhandardara,you have to go towards right and hardly 500 meters away is Randha falls.



That day collector was on visit to Bhandardara hence some gates of dam was opened little bit hence you can see some force in the waterfall.But in rainy season,the waterfall is 5-6 times more than this one.



Also notice how Pravara river has torn apart the rocks while flowing from Randha falls




Bhandardara dam.
These are the photos taken next morning


View of Katra,Muda,Wakri and Ghanchakkar mountains from Bhandardara dam



View of Ghanchakkar(Right side mountain1532 meters) third highest peak in Sahyadris.This mountain is very complex with ridges spread all over(almost 11 ridges) hence any trekker can easily get lost thus there is no mention of trekking groups visiting this mountain.Very few people have visited it.Maybe soon,I wish to be one of them.
This mountain is full of crystal stones out of which some crystals are believed to be precious ones and since very few trekkers have visited it hence you can get those crystals.



View of Kalsubai from Bhandardara dam.I postponed it at last moment because I want to sign the Mount everest 2012 expedition flag which will be hoisted on top of Kalsubai on 5th and 6th Nov 2011(Sources Maharashtra Times 17th oct 2011) hence I dropped my plan of climbing Kalsubai 4 days before coming to Bhandardara because anyway I have to come there after 10 more days.




View of Bhandardara dam wall




A view of Kalsubai on way to Ratanwadi



Ghatghar Kokankada point:
Though this kokankada is nowhere when we compare with Harishchandragad kokan-kada but still this point is worth watching.
This spot is free from nonsense,idiot and hooligan people from metros and big cities hence you can enjoy the nature here(I challenge you to enjoy the nature like this in Mahabaleshwar, Matheran, Kaas Pathar,Sajjangad,Lonavla,Sinhagad.You will not be able to do it inspite of spending too much money.)
Very few people visit hence it is a good place to visit.

How to reach here:
From Bhandardara-Shendi village,take the road going to MTDC resort and further in front on MTDC gate,take right.This road belongs to forest department hence vehicles are allowed only from sunrise till sunset from this point.
This road is situated on the sides of Bhandardara lake for most of the time.There are very few villages on this road.You will have village Murshet from where Government ferry boats are available.Further you will reach Uddavane which is also a base village to Kalsubai and further you will reach another dam called as Ghatghar.From here Kokankada point is 2 kms away.
There is also a garden developed on the edge of kokan-kada point.
From this kokankada point,you have a steep road descending in konkan to village Sakurdi hence this road further is called as Sakurdi ghat/Chonde ghat.
Further from village sakurdi,you can reach Shahapur/Asangaon on Mumbai Agra highway


Kokan kada point.This point is having a steep descent in konkan via Sandhan valley through "Chor Nali chi vaat" via Samrad village.It takes around 6 hours to reach villages in konkan by this route


Dam reservoir near Sakurdi in konkan seen from kokan kada



Another view of dam at sakurdi


Sunset at kokankada point

View of Kulang fort to left, sharp pinnacles of Madangad in center and Alang fort to right
These 3 forts are the most difficult forts to trek




We all at Ghatghar Kokan kada point




Ratangad from Kokan kada point near Samrad village





The next day,We proceeded towards Nasik and came back to Pune around 9:00 pm