Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary - Fact File

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

About Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary

The beauty of the Western Ghats, the majesty of Maharashtra, and the blessings of nature make this place a real treat for the nature lovers. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is one of the most beautiful wildlife sanctuaries in India.

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, infact; it is spread over the districts of Pune, Raigad and Thane districts of the north-western part of Maharashtra. There is a shrine in the forest of the wildlife sanctuary, which has one of the 12 Jyotiralinga temples of Lord Shiva. The valley found beyond this temple is a wonderful combination of shrubs, magical herbs and plant life and serve as the catchments area for the Bhima, Ghod and Arala rivers, which empty into the Krishna. It receives heavy monsoon rainfall of approx. 6000 mm annually.

However, this forest has also seen some turmoil in recent years from tribals who have felt unjustly burdened with the declaration of a wildlife sanctuary in their ancestral environment. The undulating Bhimashankar plateau straddles the main ridge of Western Ghats with its peaks and flat ridge tops.

The easiest way to reach the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is to drive down from the city of Mumbai, which generally takes around 7 hours (approx. 250 kms). The best time to visit the wildlife sanctuary is from the months of October to May. The tourists are suggested to carry camping gear, dry snacks, binoculars, woolen clothes and mosquito repellents. One can also trek from Karjat side, from the foothill village of Khandas (36 kms from Karjat station). There are 2 paths – Ganesh ghat (Easy) and Shidi Ghat (Tough), but both paths traverse through amazing forest with rich bio-diversity.

This is one of the best habitats in the Western Ghats for the giant squirrel and there are confirmed sightings of tigers. However, tourism projects which seek to build in the heart of the forest threaten the arboreal ecology of these creatures. Proposed roads also threaten the forest, as do development projects designed to cater to the needs of pilgrims who visit the nearby temple complex.

Trails:

There are several trails in the sanctuary; some of the well defined trails are as follows:

1) Gupt Bhimashankar Trails (1.5 kms long straight walk): This trails traverses from the south of Bhimashankar Temple through a magnificently dense forest with high canopy trees. One of the best trails to see the Malabar Giant squirrels along with scorpions, and reptiles that rest under the rocks and crevices. Also a good trail to see the Western Ghats endemic birds like White-bellied blue flycatchers, Nilgiri wood pigeon, Yellow-browed bulbuls etc. 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”… there are small perennial water puddles that attract many species of birds and butterflies and has plenty of Water boatman and water skatters (insects)…..This trails futher leads to Bhorgiri caves down the valley.

2) Nagphani Trail (2 kms long with steep, but easy climb): This is the highest point trail and stands at 3696 feet. Once at the summit, you are left breathless not so much from the climb, but from the vista that opens in front of your eyes. You can see a brilliant sunset from the peak. The ground looks like a black and green patchwork quilt with little clusters of villages thrown in for a touch of red. A number of tiny lakes glisten like rubies in the translucent reddish glow of the setting sun. Serpentine rivers meander gracefully around sleepy villages like skeins of raw silk. The skycap is dominated by forts and neighboring hill stations, like Matheran that jut out proudly into the sky. This trail is very good for watching raptors (Birds of Prey) with regular sightings of Common Kestrel, Shaheen falcon, Oriental Honey Buzzard, Crested Serpent eagle, Black eagle etc. The “Padar gad” , Tungi and Peth fort is just below on the plateau towards Karjat and A Hanuman temple is situated at the base of the summit. The top is also famous for the carpets of wildflowers just after the monsoon.

3) Machaan Trail (1 km from adjacent to MTDC resort and straight, easy walk): This trail traverses from near the MTDC resort and the terrain is more or less open with good visibility. There is a tiny machaan(watch post) erected by the Forest Department near a small Dam (Which is usually dry in Summer, but always has water on the other side of the wall) and a small temple dedicated to “Bhagadevi”, the forest Goddess of Bhimashankar. Extremely productive trail for mammals like Mouse deer, Barking deer, Sambhar, Hare and good place to see Nightjars in the evening. I have seen Leopard Pugmarks on this trail, almost on all occasions that I have been.

4) Forest Rest House (1 km from opp. MTDC with steep, but easy climb): This walk traverses thro’ a good number of tall trees, especially Ficus species and a very good trail to see bird species like White-cheeked Barbets, Chloropsis, Black Bulbuls, Flycatchers, Brown cheeked fulvetas etc. At the end of this trail, there are settlements for Forest staff and offers a very nice panoramic view of the surrounding forest.

5) Koli Village (3 Kms steep trek down towards Karjat side): If you are trekking from Karjat side, then you will have to pass through this village, before reaching Bhimashankar. Otherwise one can climb down from Bhimashankar to reach here, which is situated on a plateau. Tough a steep trail, this traverses through a nice forest rich in Biodiversity with plenty of insects and birds including Shamas, Orange headed and Malabar Whistling thrush, Orange Minivets, Flycatchers etc. The Villagers sell nice and refreshing “Butter milk” for the trekkers climbing from Karjat side. There are plenty of open habitat birds near this village where Rice and Nachni are cultivated in the fields.

6) Ahupe Forest (19 Kms from temple, with 7 kms of good road and then a walk of about 11 kms): As you near Bhimashankar, approx. 4 kms before, there is a small tar road towards your right, which travels through one of the few remaining primary forest patch, extremely dense and pristine. The tar road ends up till the Kondhwal village (approx. 5 kms from the main road). This is an amazing place, very quite and cool. From here, one can descend down to “Siddheshwar fort” and further down towards “Naneghat”. The first few kms where one can go by road is very very rich in birdlife with sure sightings of Crimson-backed Sunbirds, Orange headed Thrush, Black Bulbuls etc. Near the Kondhval village the cultivated fields offers Bee-eaters, Malabar and Syke’s Crested larks in plenty

Though these are well defined trails, any jungle path is very productive in Bhimashankar and the surrounding countryside...

Fact File:

Location: Western Ghats Of Maharashtra

Coverage Area:130.78-sq-km

Main Attraction: The Home Of Malabar Giant Squirrels, Birds, Insects, reptiles and Medicinal herbs

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 ranging from Rs.900 / room onwards- Excellent

Hyde Park (about 7 kms before the temple), price ranging from Rs.450/- onwards – Basic

Electricity: The Temple area is now connected with electricity and telephone. However 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.

Food: Small Dhabas and Restuarants serve basic Vegetarian food, however, due to shortage of drinking water (supplied by water tankers daily), bottled mineral water is recommended.

Travel:

By Rail: The nearest railway station is at Pune

By Air : The nearest airport is at Pune.

By Road: The road distance from Mumbai is approx. 255 km via Malshej Ghat

Nearby Excursions: Temple of Lord Shiva, Dimbhe dam, Nagphani point for a superb view of the plains below and the surrounding Western Ghats, Bhorgiri caves and other nature trails as given above.

Medical Facilities: The nearest hospital is approx. 47 kms in the town of Ghodegaon.

Ideal Road routes from Mumbai:

Via Malshej Ghat: Mumbai – Thane – Kalyan – Murbad – Malshej Ghat – Junnar – Ghodegaon – Dhimbhe Dam town – Bhimashankar (approx. 252 kms from Sion, Mumbai)

Via Lonavala : Mumbai – Vashi – Panvel – Khandala – Lonavla – Chakan – Rajgurunagar – Manchar – Dimbhe Dam town – Bhimashankar (approx. 240 kms from Sion, Mumbai)

Personally, I would prefer the Malshej Ghat road, because of good road, thin traffic and scenic beauty ;)

Flora:

It contains relic forest with a high diversity of endangered evergreen tree species many of which are endemic to the Western Ghats. The main forest of this sanctuary is the southern tropical semi evergreen forest. Tourists can find wide range of plant life, magical herbs, and shrubs. The major flora found in Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary includes Bamboo, Palas, Babul, Bija, Salaia, Tendu, Dhawda, Zizphus Helicteres, Khair, Sal, Terminenalia species, Casia Auriculata, Bel, Hiwar, Teak, Hirda, Behada, Jamun, Ficus ssp., Anjan etc. The commonly found shrubs include varieties of Isora, Vitex Nigundo, Solanium Giganteum, Lantana etc. and many species of herbs, climbers, grass and ferns.

In the monsoon season, one can spot a bioluminous fungi growing on some trees. The fungus gives out a faint glow that makes the tree trunks shimmer gently in the darkness of the night.

Fauna:

The area is rich in fauna since there is variety of forest types in the sanctuary. The wild life found here includes Malabar Giant Squirrel (of the ssp. Ratufa indica elphinstonii), Leopards, Barking Deer, Sambar, Wild Boar, Langur, Hares, Pangolin, civet cats, and occasionally Hyena. More than 150 species of birds are found in Bhimashankar WLS and the surrounding areas (Checklist at the end). Among the birds one will be able to find are White-Bellied Blue flycatcher, Puff-throated babbler, Malabar Grey Hornbill, Brown cheeked Fulvetta, Malabar Whistling Thrush, Nilgiri Wood Pigeon, Black Bulbul, Indian Black Bird, Black Eagle, Bonelli’s eagle, Yellow-browed Bulbul, Emeral Doves, Oriental turtle dove, Grey Jungle Fowl and many, many more. One might get to see the great butterfly and moth brigade including several species. The Insect life is tremendous here and the reptiles are in plenty.

Best Time to Visit: For Birds October to May, For Insects and Reptiles, July to Dec, For Wildflowers Aug to Nov.

Permissions: There is an active forest dept. office very near to the start of the temple steps. Though not many restrictions to roam around on the trails inside the sanctuary, you are not allowed to venture inside the forest after dusk.

About Malabar Giant Squirrel (Shekru in Marathi)

The sanctuary is famous as the home of a highly endangered subspecies of the Malabar Giant Squirrel - Shekaru ( Ratufa indica elphistoni), which is also the state animal of Maharashtra ! The animal is extremely shy and almost never comes down from the trees where it stays. The giant squirrel is mainly arboreal and so needs a thick canopy of trees to move around in, look for food. The giant squirrel has a distinctive rust-coloured fur and shrill cry. It lives either on its own or in pairs, making nests at the high ends of branches, well away from the reach of predators. It lives all its life on the trees, leaping upto 20 feet between branches and trees. It could make upto six nests on trees so as to take shelter in the nearest one during a crisis. Its breeding season extends from March to April and again from September to October.

Road Map from Mumbai and Pune:

The Legend of Bhimashankar

The Bhimashankara temple is a composite of old and the new structures and is built in the Nagara style of architecture. It is a modest yet graceful temple and it dates back to mid 18th century. The shikhara of the temple was built by Nana Phadnavis. The great Maratha ruler Shivaji is also said to have made endowments to this temple to facilitate the carrying out, of worship services. As with other Shiva temples in this area, the sanctum is at a lower level.

This temple is closely associated with the legend of Shiva slaying the demon Tripurasura associated with the invincible flying citadels Tripuras. Shiva is said to have taken abode in the Bhima form, upon the request of the Gods, on the crest of the Sahyadri hills, and the sweat that poured forth from his body after the battle is said to have formed the Bhimarathi River.

Bhimashankar is a beautiful black rock structure built in the Nagara style of architecture, the temple dates back to the mid 18th century. Believed to have been built during the reign of the Peshwas, the temple surprisingly displays a relic of the Portuguese time, a large bell hanging between two huge pillars in the courtyard. A small path behind this temple leads to a natural Shiv ling in the riverbed, a short distance down stream, only visible when the water level is low. Besides the temple, the two picturesque lakes, Kamalja Devi and Hanuman and the highest point,

Although the structure here is fairly new, the shrine Bhimashankaram (and the Bhimarathi river) have been referred to in literature dating back to the 13th century CE. Saint Jnaneshwar is said to have visited Tryambakeshwar and Bhimashankar.

For more on this, click here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhimashankar_Temple

http://www.jyotirlinga-tour-india.com/bhimashankar-jyotirling.html

Below Bird Checklist is compiled by me and should not be considered authentic in a sense.....I have only included the resident species in the list so far (will update it later)

No.	Name	Status
1	Grey Francolin	UC
2	Blue Breasted Quail	UC
3	Jungle Bush quail	UC
4	Rock Bush Quail	UC
5	Barred Button Quail	UC
6	Red spur fowl	UC
7	Painted Spur fowl	UC
8	Grey jungle fowl	O
9	Indian pea fowl	O
10	Lesser whistling duck	UC
11	Spot Billed Duck	UC
12	Rufous woodpecker	O
13	Heart spotted woodpecker	O
14	Brown capped pygmy woodpecker	O
15	Yellow crowned woodpecker	UC
16	Lesser yellownape	UC
17	Streak throated woodpecker	UC
18	Black rumpedflameback	C
19	White Naped woodpecker	UC
20	Brown headed barbet	UC
21	White Cheeked barbet	VC
22	Coppersmith barbet	O
23	Malabar gray hornbill	UC
24	Indian gray hornbill	UC
25	Common hoopoe	UC
26	Malabar trogon	UC, Rare
27	Indian roller	UC
28	Common kingfisher	C
29	Oriental Dwarf kingfisher	UC
30	White throated kingfisher	VC
31	Pied kingfisher	UC
32	Green bee eater	VC
33	Pied cuckoo	O
34	Common hawk cuckoo	O
35	Eurasian cuckoo	UC
36	Lesser cuckoo	UC
37	Banded bay cuckoo	O
38	Grey bellied cuckoo	O
39	Drongo cuckoo	O
40	Asian koel	C
41	Greater coucal	VC
42	Puff-throated babbler	VC
43	Vernal hanging parrot	UC
44	Rose ringed parakeet	C
45	Plum headed parakeet	VC
46	Malabar parakeet	UC
47	Indian swiftlet	UC
48	Asian palm swift	C
49	House swift	C
50	Alpine swift	C
51	Crested treeswift	VC
52	Collared scops owl	C
53	Eurasian eagle owl	UC
54	Brown fish owl	UC
55	Brown wood owl	UC
56	Spotted owlet	O
57	Jungle Owlet	C
58	Grey nightjar	VC
59	Indian nightjar	VC
60	Savanna nightjar	UC
61	Rock pigeon	O
62	Nilgiri wood pigeon	C
63	Green imperial pigeon	UC
64	Oriental turtle dove	C
65	Laughing dove	VC
66	Spotted dove	VC
67	Red collared dove	UC
68	Eurasian collared dove	UC
69	Emerald dove	VC
70	Pompadour green pigeon	O
71	Yellow footed green pigeon	UC
72	White breasted waterhen	UC
73	Purple swamphen	UC
74	Common coot	UC
75	Eurasian thick knee	UC
76	Little ringed plover	UC
77	Yellow wattled led lapwing	UC
78	Red wattled lapwing	C
79	River tern	O
80	Black shouldered kite	C
81	Black kite	VC
82	Egyptian vulture	UC
83	White-rumped vulture	UC
84	Long billed vulture	UC
85	Short toed snake eagle	O
86	Crested serpent eagle	VC
87	Black eagle	C
88	Shikra	C
89	Oriental honey buzzard	VC
90	White eyed buzzard	C
91	Tawny eagle	UC
92	Bonelli’s eagle	C
93	Changeable hawk eagle	O
94	Common kestrel	C
95	Red necked falcon	UC
96	Amur falcon	UC, Pasg
97	Laggar falcon	UC, Rare
98	Peregrine falcon	UC
99	Little grebe	UC
100	Little cormorant	UC
101	Indian cormorant	UC
102	Little egret	UC
103	Cattle egret	VC
104	Indian pond heron	VC
105	Black crowned night heron	UC
106	Black ibis	UC
107	Woolly necked stork	UC
108	Indian pitta	UC, Pasg
109	Asian fairy bluebird	UC
110	Blue winged leafbird	O
111	Golden fronted leafbird	VC
112	Bay backed shrike	UC
113	Long tailed shrike	O
114	Southern grey shrike	UC
115	Rufous treepie	C
116	House crow	VC
117	Large billed crow	VC
118	Eurasian golden oriole	UC
119	Black hooded oriole	C
120	Large cuckooshrike	O
121	Small minivet	O
122	Orange minivet	VC
123	White throated fantail	C
124	White browed fantail	UC
125	Black drongo	C
126	White bellied drongo	O
127	Bronzed drongo	UC
128	Greater racket tailed drongo	O
129	Black naped monarch	VC
130	Asian paradise flycatcher	UC
131	Common iora	VC
132	Common woodshrike	C
133	Malabar whistling	VC
134	Indian Blackbird	VC
135	Orange headed thrush	VC
136	White bellied blue flycatcher	C
137	Blue throated flycatcher	UC
138	Tickell’s blue flycatcher	C
139	Oriental magpie robin	VC
140	White rumped shama	VC
141	Indian robin	C
142	Pied bushchat	VC
143	Chestnut tailed starling	O
144	Brahminy starling	O
145	Common myna	O
146	Jungle myna	VC
147	Black lored tit	UC
148	Eurasian crag martin	UC
149	Dusky crag martin	VC
150	Wire tailed swallow	O
151	Red rumped swallow	O
152	Streak throated swallow	O
153	Red whiskered bulbul	VC
154	Red vented bulbul	C
155	White browed bulbul	O
156	Black bulbul	VC
157	Yellow browed bulbul	VC
158	Gray breasted prinia	O
159	Jungle prinia	UC
160	Plain prinia	C
161	Ashy prinia	O
162	Zitting cistcola	UC
163	Oriental white eye	UC
164	Blyth’s reed warbler	UC
165	Common tailorbird	VC
166	Indian scimitar babbler	C
167	Tawny bellied babbler	O
168	Yellow eyed babbler	UC
169	Large gray babbler	UC
170	Jungle babbler	VC
171	Brown cheeked fulvetta	VC
172	Indian bush lark	O
173	Ashy crowned sparrow lark	C
174	Rufous tailed lark	UC
175	Malabar lark	VC
176	Sykes’s lark	VC
177	Oriental sky lark	UC
178	Thick billed flowerpecker	C
179	Pale billed flowerpecker	VC
180	Purple rumped sunbird	C
181	Crimson backed sunbird	VC
182	Purple sunbird	VC
183	Crimson sunbird	O
184	House sparrow	C
185	Chestnut shouldered petronia	C
186	White browed wagtail	O
187	Paddyfield pipit	VC
188	Tree pipit	O
189	Baya weaver	UC
190	Indian silverbill	O
191	Scaly breasted munia	O
192	Grass hopper warbler	UC
193	Richard’s pipit	UC
194	Blyth’s pipit	O
195	Jerdon’s nightjar	UC
196	Plain Flowerpecker	UC
197	Intermmediate Egret	O

VC = Very Common: Almost 100% Sighting

C= Common: Most likely to see

O= Occasional : Seen sometimes

UC= Uncommon : Least likely to see

Rare= Scarce records

Pasg= Passage Migrant : Possible in this season