LoBHI Range Trek : 60 kms - Lonavla to Bhimashankar

🏞️ Every hard core Sahyadri trekker will always dream of doing his time on the LOBHI Trek - a much coveted long range trek which connects Lonavala to Bhimashankar ! For those who know the geographical spread & the topography - They know that its a really really long hike ! Getting LOBHI under the wraps is like a milestone you want to achieve, to prove it to yourself & get on to bigger & tougher adventures ! 🏞️

✅ Tech Specs ✅

🧭 Distance Covered : Approx. 51 kms

🧭 Steps : 65000

🧭 Calories burnt : 8300

🧭 Elevation gained : > 3000 ft

👉 Route : Borivli - Panvel - Lonavla - Valvande - Kusur - Talpewadi - Padarwadi - Gupt Bhimashankar - Bhimashankar Temple - Ghodegaon - Lonavala - kalamboli - Borivli

✅ The Details ✅

It all started with us leaving Home (Borivli) at 3:30 AM, ghostly hour, for our journey Towards Panvel, picking our buddies on the way. As this is a Range trek from Point A (Lonavala) to Point B (Bhimashankar), you can only park your vehicles at Point A or before that, the nearest & easily reachable Road head. We booked an outstation OLA to Lonavala, sumptuous Breakfast at Udupi 2 Mumbai on the Express Highway. We had a jeep booked to drop us at Valvande Village from Lonavala to save on time 👍

The trek started with us getting ready at Valvande - A big hike lay ahead of us, meandering through dense forests, climbing hillocks, passing drying waterfalls & breaking the trail (atleast it seemed like) ! After a hike of around 6 to 7 hours (and loosing the trail multiple times) 😅, we were at Kusur village for our pre-ordered Lunch. Happy to mention that we did this long range trek solely on help with WikiLocs App by downloading gpx files & following the set trails ! It worked wonderfully right 👍 Just that, there are multiple trails reaching the same destination so you will deviate from the "green path" & the app screams "You have left the Trail" .. Time to dip into our field experience & follow the gut ! Especially if you get in this trek post monsoons 😎 Profuse vegetation wipes off regular trails & creates new one 😊

After an amazing fulfilling lunch at Kusur, we made a short jeep trip to Talpewadi as it was a tar road walk 🙃 This started the last leg of Day 1 - hike from Talpewadi to Padarwadi via the Wandre Khind 🥾👍 3.5 hours later, we landed up at Padarwadi, a beaufit small Village nestled within the mountains, Wandre khind at one end & Bhimashankar at the other ! 😎

Day 2 was even more grueling, Padarwadi to Gupt Bhimashankar & onwards to the Bhimashankar Jyotirlinga Temple ✅ It took around 6 hours Today - total of 51 kms to reach this beautiful Mahadev Temple 😇 While we sipped on Limbu Sharbat & bought kalakand & Mawa (famous delicacies of the Bhimashankar area), our heads were fixated on getting back home as soon & as efficiently as possible 😊 Got a sharing jeep (16 peeps) - Embodiment of "Sharing is Caring" phrase 😎😅 To Ghodegaon. And we hogged the Dosas & Misals at the New India Hotel at Ghodegaon, booked a private cab for Kalamboli , left around 5 pm 📯 Reaching home 🏠 by around 10:30 PM 😎✅ Marked a beautiful end to one of the most wannabe long range treks of the Sahyadris - The LOBHI Trek ! 😎💪👍

It will be an injustice if i dont mention the villagers who gave us food & stay and over the top, a very courteous welcome & treatment. For the last 20 years in the Mountains, we have been experiencing such astounding warmth by the locals, it is inexplicable 🤩 It is them, who make our endeavours possible ! 😎

Much recommended for those who haven't done yet - but for regulars having decent levels of fitness as it takes a toll to walk 50 to 60 kms in 1.5 Days in that terrain 👍💪😎