Trip to baneshwar

4 months back when I was in Pune, weekends were always a disaster, not knowing what to do out of it. Initially we used to go and hang out in the nearby malls, or watch movies. All this had become a routine – weekends either were meant to watch movies/hit the mall/ sleep. We had also made many plans of visiting nearby places like Lonavla, Khandala, Mumbai, but all were just impossible since they were too far and we were just a bunch of girls. We got to know of a place called Baneshwar through a mutual friend. This was going to be the most memorable travel experience for us since were all broke and were desperate to get out of the usual.

Pune public transport is not as good, buses to any places would always be late or arrive earlier than expected or worse –Get cancelled. We all thought we will trust on it just for today and headed out to the bus stand. We used to stay in Aundh and boarded a Local bus to Swargate at about 11 in the morning and reached at around noon. We had our lunch in a nearby hotel. We had to take a bus to Narayanpur which was at around 2.30 in the afternoon. To our surprise it came just 15 min lateJ. It took us around hour and a half to reach Baneshwar which is almost 40km approx from Pune. The Journey itself was very good. We had surely taken the best time to travel – end of August when the rains had almost stopped and there was greenery everywhere. We got down in Baneshwar– a small peaceful village. We could have taken an auto till the spot which was around 2-3 km uphill, but we decided to walk till there. It started to drizzle on the way, but it made our journey more enjoyable otherwise it would have been tiring. It took us almost an hour to reach – we stopped at each and every place possible since we all were not regular trekkers. I would recommend people to carry enough food supplements and water throughout as there are not much hotels/shops there. The view till Baneshwar is very scenic but the roads tend to get slippery and muddy if it rains. It would be advisable to wear comfortable footwear.

Baneshwar – an old temple surrounded by lush green forest – converted into a park. It has a small stream behind it where most of the people visit after rainy season. The temple is situated in dark woods - known as Ban (or Jungle) - and hence it is called as 'Baneshwar'. Though the temple is very simple, it is very pretty. The main entrance, light stand, Dharamshalas are all nice to see. Behind the temple there is a garden which adds to its beauty. There is also a small stream behind the temple but there is no proper way to reach to it.

We had to slide down the rocks to get till there. Due to the recent rains water in the stream was gushing in. We thought of exploring the other side of the stream by crossing it, but the water force and slippery rocks did not allow us. But there was a man who was from that place who helped us to cross. We all crossed with great difficulty and spent some time there. The air was so pure and the weather was just perfect and totally refreshing. There are many small shops outside the temple selling Tea and Fries. We had some snacks there and left back for Pune around 6:30p.m and reached home safe and sound by 9 p.m.
This place is very good to see if you happen to be in Pune. You can easily hire a cab till the place with family.