Trek to Bhimashankar via Ladder Route

Monsoon time and time for another trek this time the famous Bhimashankar.There are two routes to reach the trek the easier Ganesh Galli and the more difficult one the ladder route, we chose the later as we wanted some adventure.

How to reach Bhimashankar

We took a bus this time to the trek it dropped us at the base village of khandas from where we started our climb. Khandas is 20-30 km from Neral and you can also catch a tum-tum from Neral.

After reaching khandas you can ask any local for the way to Bhimashankar and he will guide you, you can also ask one of the villagers to guide you to the top. We had a few people who had already visited the place so we followed them, also the road is pretty straightforward and directions are marked throughout the way.

Bhimashankar Trek

After walking through the village we could actually see the mountain we had to climb with waterfalls and streams running trough, The sight of the mountain and the other half hidden in the clouds made an exciting sight and the trek to be even more adventurous.

After walking through the dense forest and crossing a few stream we came across the first ladder of the trek.It was a ladder cum bridge and it was a scary sight as on small misstep and it could be bad.We still somehow managed to cross it and carried on with the trek.

After climbing the ladder and walking through the jungles and climbing a few difficult rock patches we came along a patch where the rope would be required for safety if you are one of the regular hardcore trekkers you would be able to climb it without the rope too.After helping the other members climb the steep rock patch we reached a plateau, where we took a break for some time.

After resting a while we continued our climb to the top passing several streams and waterfalls on the way the climb was slippery and a little difficult but the slight drizzle and the beauty of the whole place made us continue to climb like it was a piece of cake.After an hour or so of climbing we came across the second ladder, not as difficult as the first one this is the ladder we use at home made of metal just rested along the rocks, climbing it was a little scary but the challenge of reaching the top made us forget everything.

After which we reached the second plateau and also our lunch point.We had our lunch and had some rest here.this is also the place where the Ganesh Galli meets the ladder route.after resting and eating and having a longer break than usual we continued with the trek.

This part did not include climbing much but rather walking to dense scary forests full of fog and weird noises. It felt like I was playing a video game with after each plateau we had a different type of scenario, Finally, after we came out of the forest we came across a huge lush green patch of meadows we had finally reached the top, walking another 15 20 minutes we reached the temple.

After reaching the temple we took darshan of the lord and visited the temple premises, had some snacks which included the trusty vada pav and some cutting chai and headed towards our bus which had already reached the top and was waiting for us.

We sat in the bus and started heading home with memories of the wonderful trek, We reached Mumbai by 930 10 and then took the local train to our home. 

Bhimashankar Difficulty: Medium through ladder route easy through Ganesh Galli.

The trek did not cost us more than 500 rs which included private bus and food.It would be cheaper if you took public transport.

To Read other trek articles Click Here

To watch Trek Videos Click Here