GYPSISM: Bimashankar Dec. 2015

*Trekk to Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary*

It’s December. Probably one of the most happening months for nomads like us – neither the sparkling Christmas nor the loud Sunburn pulls us; but the cold mountains and chirping birds do… Apparently Nisarg Trust is all about synchronizing ourselves with the nature around us through treks, trails and awareness events. The latest one was Bheemashankar-Bhorgiri trail (4-5-6 December 2015) !

MORNGING VIEW AT BHIMASHANKAR

      We had done this same trail before in last December – but if I be honest - ranges like Bhimashankar are nothing less than any addiction – the deep green canopied forest, cramped with a variety of trees, bushes, climbers and shrubs – an abode for a number of birds, mammals and reptiles – a wide range of habitats ranging from networks of rivulets to a carpets of rainforests – you just can’t have enough of Bhimashankar at one point of time!

       We gathered on Friday night, 11pm to be specific – a team of 21, Nisarg Trust core team, some avid trekkers, some amateurs, some wildlife enthusiast and some budding photographers – let’s say a group of ‘like-minded’ individuals, as we generally call it! Like always, even this time we had participants from various backgrounds, some coming down from Satara only for this trek, some at 65 years of their age, some from IT background, some businessmen and so on – sometimes I feel lucky to be associated with this team, not everyone gets a chance to be in woods with such a vibrant and interesting crowd!

       Friday night was spent in bus, worth a mention is the midnight ‘chai break’ – a cup of adrak chaai just makes it up for the journey. We called it a day, while the driver, also a trek participant, zoomed the bus through the famous Malshej Ghat and then the bhimashankar ghat. I am sure we could have seen a couple of hares crossing the road in the headlights as the forests are just perfect for such mammal movement, but we were fast asleep to see anything! We reached at 6.30am – excited, but somewhat sleep deprived. We decided to take a powernap before starting the day !

BHIMASHANKAR TEMPLE

Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary is positioned at an altitude of 2100 feet to 3800 feet, and 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 the Jyotiralinga temple of Lord Shiva. The valley found beyond this temple is a wonderful combination of shrubs, magical herbs and plant life.

While rest of the team was storing up some energy for the day, me and Dingo, couldn’t resist the wanderlust and set off on a small trail in a nearby forest – some more joined us. Various calls were heard while Dingo identified the species – Giant Squirrel’s was the most prominent and echoed in the just-sun-lit forest. Birding was good, but something more interesting was Leopard excreta, may be a week old. We could see chipped bones and undigested grey fur in the dried blocks. Goosebumps. We were on a trail, which was used by a full grown leopard, just a week before. A good sign. Leopards have always been closely associated with human settlements as its mail prey-base is small mammals like dogs, sheep, cattle and poultry. To see their sign of survival and expansion in Bhimashankar was a ray of hope. We returned to the bus. Others were up by then and were enjoying some sunshine – the night was really cold and the warm rays were a reenergizing therapy. We then had breakfast in a local restaurant near the Temple - the staple breakfast of trekkers, Poha and Chaai filled us up ! The trail, as per the plan, to Gupt Bhimashankar started.

GHATE'S SHRUB FROG

The way, a mud trail, to Gupt-Bhimashankar is through dense forest. Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary was created in the Ambegaon and Khed talukas of Pune District, in the Western Indian state of Maharashtra in order mainly to protect the habitat of the Indian Giant Squirrel. Its area is 131 km2 (51 sq mi) and is a part of the Western Ghats (Sahyadri Ranges). This sanctuary was created in 1984 and includes 9 tribal villages. The on-route sighting – Ghate’s Shrub Frogs, a juvenile scorpion (possibly Naoscorpiops taenicauda), a number of birds, insects and atleast 8 to 10 Giant Squirrels. The canopied trail opened up on a stream. We settled down in a shadow and scanned the horizon for any movement – there’s a scope of sighting something when you settle down at one place and focus on the frame. Few birds here and there, and we started with the Introduction. The famous Kandi-Pedha, which we had bought for the participants from the Bhimashankar temple complex, tasted more that tasty, while we heard people share their interests, achievements and feelings ! We walked back towards temple, followed by chirping birds and scorching heat.

GIANT MALABAR SQUIRREL

We had lunch in a local restaurant. It was 2pm and we mutually agreed to take a small nap in the near-by forest. While most of us slept like nomads, careless and
shameless, some new trekkers spent their time shooing away a gang of Langoors who apparently were seeking the same shade to rest ! After a small nap, some gossips and a cup of tea, we left for Nagphani point, the highest point in Bhimashankar Temple Complex.

NAAGPHANI KADAA MOUNTAIN VIEW FROM NAAGPHANI

SUNSET VIEW FROM NAAGPHANI KADAA

Sunset from Nagphani point is something that no one should miss! The view from the peak is indeed mind-blowing. Most of us were lost in clicking photos and selfies, while some others preferred to sit alone and get carried away in their thoughts. Mind plays wonderful games when it’s set free and there’s no better place to set it free than a top mountain cliff! The sun set while we soaked ourselves in the glimmering orange rays. Nayan spotted a Shaheen Falcon roosting on a cliff nearby. It was a lifer for many of us (when a bird-watcher sees any bird for the first time, it’s called a lifer for him). We climbed down the cliff in darkness feeling the cold breezes down our spines. We reached the base, played a couple of games to spend the time before hogging on the dinner – Sev Bhaaji was never appreciated before !

It was 8.45pm. The night had spread its darkness all over the sanctuary. Our team prepared for the walk – the plan was to walk till Bhorgiri and pitch the tents there to call it a day. It was a walk of 7 kms which should have taken 3 to 4 hours. Torches out, laces tied, jackets put on and eyes on high alert mode – we all were set to go! Vikky, the trekker-cum-bus-driver waved us goodbye and drove the bus to Bhorgiri through the motorable road, unlike us, who had started penetrating the heart of Bhimashankar wildlife sanctuary on foot.

GREEN VINE SNAKE TRIANGLE HEAD

GREEN VINE SNAKE

GREEN VINE SNAKE IN HANDS

Cutting the darkness, setting every foot carefully, we crawled down the jungle. The wide variety of animal species which are found in the Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra consists of barking deer, leopards, wild boar, sambar, hyena and langur. The Bhimashankar Wildlife Sanctuary has a big number of birds like the Quaker Babbler, the Malabar Grey Hornbill, the Green Pigeon, the Malabar Whistling Thrush, the Black Eagle, the Grey Jungle fowl and many more species of birds. Dingo’s jungle-acclimatized eyesight helped us to find a Green Vine snake, one of the most beautiful snake widely found in the country, but unfortunately framed for all wrong reasons and misunderstandings (Vine snakes have been accused for breaking skulls and eating brains, which is a complete non-sense). Soon after the Vine snake, Prathamesh’s vision sighted a Bamboo Pit Viper, hanging on an Anjan tree almost 10 feet above us. Ruturaj and Dingo made sure that they introduce and explain all the species we came across – their origin, lifestyle, habitat, interesting facts, role in food chain, importance in ecology and so on. Not only about the animals, but we also spoke and discussed on astronomy during the breaks we took in between forests. The clear sky was a bonus – we could see a number of shooting and falling stars, Andromeda Galaxy, Orion, Nebula and some starts, we generally tend to overlook. Information Sharing and Awareness has always been a fundamental element in Nisarg Trust Treks. We reached Bhorgiri in 3 hours 40 mins – must be around 12.15 midnight. We pitched up the tents in a local temple complex, on the banks of Bhima River near Bhorgiri fort. The team was tired and sleep deprived – we allocated the tents and called it a day.

The Night was as cold as never before and things got worse as it started drizzling. Midnight mist drenched our tents. We could feel our feet going numb. Every breath lead to a number of trembles within the cold laden spine. Jackets and thermals felt like just another sheet of cloth on the bare skin. But I guess we were just too tired to get up and do anything about this – the only choice we had was to mentally disown the limbs and cuddle up rest of the body and sleep!

OUR TENT SITE IN BHORGIRI IN MORNING

My morning memories are a group of people drying the tents on road, and then packing them back in their bags. Fog hovered on Bheema’s waves and cold breeze made the sun vulnerable. We packed up. Had Pohe and black chaai. Hogged like The entire trail had been a fantastic experience till now. The last episode was the Bhorgiri fort – Bhorgiri is a small fort located below the plateau of bhimashankar. The bhorgiri Fort is worth visiting as it has 17 water tanks at the top. The origin of the Bhima river is on the way of this trek route. The water cisterns, Karvi carpet (Karvi is an endemic group of flowering plants blooming once in 7 to 12 years), the broken Shivling, the caves, submerged Shiva temple and the Fort’s fragmented wall were some points of interest. On the way back, me and Rutu couldn’t resist a dip in the small dam built on Bheema – the cold water therapy worked wonders for us while others enjoyed clicking colorful frames sitting on the banks.

BHORGIRI FORT

WATER STORAGE TANGS BUILT IN

STONE SURFACE AT TOP OF BHORGIRI FORT

We left by 12.15pm. Lunch in Ghodegaon filled us up – having spicy delicious mutton after 2 days of walking left us spell bound… and sleepy !! Vikky drove us back to Badlapur. We reached by 7. No matter how tired we were, we all had something new to take back with us … some memories, some knowledge and some fantastic images to cherish! One more successful trek in Nisarg Diary, one more feather in the organizers’ hats! It’s never an easy job to be responsible for everything that happens to a dozen of people, 250 kms away from your town, deep into the woods. May it be planning the logistics, packing the bags, taking real-time decisions, arrangements for meals and so on – We have to on our toes and in all our senses to ensure that the trek is justified! We are fortunate to be a part of this awesome world called Nisarg Trust !!!