Nilkantheshwar Temple, Pune - Day trip to a nice place...

Nilkantheshwar, a lord Shiva temple is on the hill between Khadakwasla and Panshet dam. This temple was built by Sarje Mama. It is an ideal place to experience nature and mythology. 

Lord Shiva drinking poison (Halahala)

We were planning a day trip for Diwali holidays to nearby location and the main purpose was to show Aaravya a new place and a small break from the daily routine. To fulfill this purpose, we decided to go to Nilkantheshwar on the day of Bhaubeej i.e. 6th November, we were accompanied by my sister-in-law and her husband. 

Travelers for trip

After starting our journey at 8.30 am we reached the destination at 10.00 am, distance traveled was around 45 km. 

Please refer the below route as it shows another Nilkantheshwar temple near Donje and you may mislead. Road is little narrow but good in condition except few rough patches. 

Route to Nilkantheshwar

As it was morning, the weather was very pleasant. I can imagine how beautiful the scenery and nature would be in the rainy season. The temple was located almost a km from parking and was a climb uphill. After 45 mins of puffing we reached at the top of hill. You may get your fitness tested here!! The road is very steep so you should wear shoes and carry napkin and water bottles. 

The view of the surroundings were simply wonderful, the shades of coloures grey, brown, blue and green were awesome. 

Way to Nilkantheshwar temple

We were tired of climbing and needed something cold to drink. An old lady was selling lemonade and buttermilk, so we quickly satisfied ourselves with a glass with buttermilk and lemonade. This was the only stall we saw there. Though the climb was a bit laborious, we enjoyed it meticulously.

Once you enter the temple, you are greeted by a huge sleeping Hanuman. 

Sleeping Hanuman

After reaching the top we saw numerous statues from Indian mythology which include statues from Ramayana, Mahabharat, Deshavatar etc. On the left beyond the statues there is a valley below, and the view of Panshet-Varasgaon dam from there is breath-taking which will stay in your mind for a very long time.

Panshet-Varasgaon Dam view 

You can easily spend 2 hours on the top seeing each and every statue and trying to recollect the story behind the same. You have to walk little long to see all those statues and are no roofs for many statues, there are very few trees in the yard so no option to stay in the shade after walking so keep an umbrella or avoid visiting the place in summer.

Draupadi Vasraharan

Pandavas, Shakuni and Duryodhana

Lakshamana cuts off the nose of Shurpanakha

The waking of Kumbhakarna

Bheem and Bakasur

Shri Gurudev Datta
PC - Sachin Tambekar

After the darshan of Lord Shiva, we saw sabha mandap, idols and the surrounding area, just as we were leaving, we smelled hot kanda bhajji and our footsteps automatically turned to that only shack there. My son Aaravya ate sabudana khichdi which was very soft and tastier than Kanda bhaji. After having a cup of tea, we started to descend and reached our vehicle within 25 mins. 

There is a temple of Someshwar but as very tired so we did not go there and headed straight towards Panshet Dam. On the way we had lunch at MTDC's restaurant, meals were served within few minutes and taste was okay, except bhakri…bhakri was not made properly. 

Heroes at MTDC

After the lunch we went for boating in Panshet, enjoyed boating and a long session of photography, we set off in 1 hour. On the way back to Pune, our intention was to have quick stop at Khadakwasla, but seeing the crowd there, we canceled the plan and reached home around 5.30 in the evening.

PC - Sachin Tambekar

Highlights - 

Trip duration - 1 day (11 November 2024)

Distance travelled - 120Km

Budget - 5K