Trek to Nilkantheshwar

Sinhgad is too busy. Visit Nilkantheshwar.

One of the must-see places near and around Pune, apart from the regular weekend visits to Shaniwar Wada, Aga Khan Palace, Katraj Zoo, Sinhgad fort and shopping malls, is Nilkantheshwar. We few are aware of this place near Panshet Dam.

Dwelling in the lush green hills, surrounded by the silent, meditating water of Panshet Dam from one side, Nilkantheshwar is a temple of Hindu God Shiva. The word Nilkantheshwar means the one who digest the poison and in the process, whose throat turned blue. Nilkantheshwar is around 20 km away from Sinhgad. From Hadapsar, it is around 61 km away. The place has always been hidden as most of the tourists come in that locality especially to see Sinhgad, eat Jhunka Bhakri and Kanda Bhaji and drink cold Masala Taak there on Sinhgad.

Before entering the Sinhgad from Donje village, take a right turn and continue your journey for next half an hour in the same straight line to reach Nilkantheshwar. As it is not a popular place, there is hardly any good food joint or dhaba seen. Once you reach Panshet dam, take a right turn to follow the gravel road that can, if not ridden carefully, skid your bike. From the main road, Nilkantheshwar temple lies 8 km inside. There is no good road. As the place where the Nilkantheshwar temple lies is a remote village, the condition of the roads is no good, but it will sure give you a feel of Agro Tourism. You will be tired of asking the villagers, “How far is the temple?”, and they would respond your with the same answer, “You are about to reach”. You would find old people carrying their heavy bags on their head, carrying their firewood tied in a bunch on their head. If you feel like, offer them lift on or in your vehicle.

Once you reach the foot of Nilkantheshwar temple, you are already exhausted of driving. But don’t give up. The temple lies on the top of the hill. The hill does not have any road. There are man-made steps that cover only 10% of the total distance to be covered. But even walking on these steps is difficult if you are not a native. The steps are irregular, tall in height, and knee paining. If you are not habitual to exercise and especially to exercises related to Cardio, Nilkantheshwar would seem like climbing the Mouth Everest for you. The hill is not at a height, it is not as high as Sinhgad. What makes you feel tired after every 10 steps is the angle of slope. The slope angle (angle of elevation) is about 40 to 45 degree, and on such a slope, one has to walk. There are chances that you take a break after every 10 steps. Yes, you heard it right, ‘After every 10 steps’. There aren’t any trees, so no place to rest.

You must carry at least 3 water bottles with you as there are chances of you getting dehydrated in the hot weather. Don’t be in rush. Don’t have a competition ‘Who reaches the top first’, it would lead you to more health troubles. Take your own time to make it. We, non-exercising people, took around 1 hour 20 minutes including all our halts and my naps. But once you reach the top, you feel the trek was worth tiring.

Though the temple is on the hill, though the temple is of Lord Shiva, there are more than 500 statues of all the Gods known to popular Indian culture. There are statues depicting scenes from the epics Ramayana and Mahabharata. Each statue would tell you a story from the history, from the mythology. There are statues depicting the scene where Arjuna tells his Guru Dronacharya that he sees only the eye of the bird in the tree, the Draupadi Vastraharan (Chir haran) scene, the game of dice played between the Pandawas and the Kauravas, hosted by Mamashree, the scene of Kaliyamarda, the scene of the birth of Lord Krishna, the scene of Buddha’s achievement of Bodhisattva and many more. If you trying to look at these statues from the aesthetic point of view, you won’t like them as they are not perfectly perfect. But they have stories with them, and that appeals most of the visitors. But this is not the only best thing about Nilkantheshwar Temple.

When you reach the top, look around in the valley, you would find the most beautiful scene i.e. the backwater of Panshet Dam, the Sinhgad Fort, the Rajgad and Torna fort too. Cup your hands on your mouth, and shout out loud the name of your dear ones, it will echo.

Though on the top of the hill, there is a small canteen, it provides typical Maharashtrian food of Maharashtrian taste.

You would hardly take 20 to 30 minutes to reach the base. You must visit Nilkantheshwar once if you are in or near Pune. For me, this place was a Cardio challenge and an aesthetic delight. 

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