August 20th, 2018 – this time the volunteering destination was Bhorgiri – a small ghat-like hill top approximately 50 km ahead of Rajgurunagar, Maharashtra.
So, around 5.30 in the morning we gathered at the decided meeting point where the kids of the school were about to report to us (volunteers) along with their teachers. then we were to leave for Bhorgiri. We left approximately an hour later i.e. about 6.30 am.
The day was quite a rainy one as just as we reached towards the outskirts of the city, it was pretty windy and heavy drizzling. The road to Bhorgiri from Pune is straight and there are no twists or turns until the end of Rajgurunagar, though the roads are only twisted and there are no ghat sections. Just as you pass by Rajgurunagar, there is a small that comes across – ‘Wada’.
Exactly while passing through Wada, one is welcomed by amazing serenity and nature stops responding to your phone signal. From Wada up until Bhorgiri, is the most scenic route. Clear and fresh breeze, cloudy hills, lush greenery and one special guest – CHAS KAMAN DAM RESERVOIR – one of the lesser known scenic dam reservoirs in Maharashtra, it follows you all the way from Wada and drops you till the foothills of Bhorgiri. This route takes about 30 km.
The near you proceed towards Bhorgiri, the more heavy winds and rains approach you. An old (yet newly-colored) temple is seen just at the foothills. The moment we got out of the bus, rain hit us and the stormy winds made us shiver. To be honest, it was more comfortable seating inside and enjoy the beautiful picture through the drive! But again, nature succeeded enticing us so we proceed our way uphill through the trail.
Just as the trail begins, the road goes straight through a small village (actually to small to be called as a village, more like a settlement). We were surrounded by mountains and mountains were treating us with cascading falls. After passing through the settlement, there were lot of paddy rice patches on both the sides of the path. Muddy patches, a number of streams were befriended by us. Also there was a big stream onto which a small dam-like bridge was constructed. It was old as the steel had become maroon-red and unabridged onto some patches, yet it was quite picturesque to see the stream flow heavily below the bridge. Moving ahead, we went towards a narrow yet heavily flowing stream.
The school kids were dipping into the flowing water and playing with it. All of us got into the water as well and enjoyed being dipped and showered. From this point a small hilltop is seen with a petite cave temple. It would take us a 30 minutes hike up to the cave temple. Unfortunately we could not hike uphill as the stormy rain made the hike too flow. After enjoying some time into the stream, it was time to return downhill. After reaching downhill, we took our lunch at the temple on the foothills. The temple is exquisite with a lot of photography frames. A fierce-flowing river is the neighbor of the temple. A few number of intricate stone carvings are seen at the temple accompanied with a small and old stone well.
This temple is definitely recommended to photographers. Well just then, it was time to return. Rain did not hit us on our departure nor did the winds shiver us. But our minds sure were both rainy and stormy as we left back home.