Bhandardara

Bhandardara is a beautiful yet lesser known hill station near Mumbai in North Maharashtra state.

Understand
Bhandardara is home to rich fauna and flora. There is a variety of attractions in Bhandardara, including a serene lake surrounded by hills, waterfalls, a dam, forts and a valley.

Climate
Although it is situated in the hills, Bhandardara is not cool in summers. The best time, to witness the beauty of Bhandardara, starts from mid Monsoon season.

Get in
Bhandardara is well connected to other parts of Maharashtra by roads.

By train
The nearest railway station is Igatpuri which is 45 km from Bhandardara. Igatpuri is situated on Mumbai-Nashik rail route. From Igatpuri, you can take state transport bus (commonly known as ST bus) service or private taxi to reach Bhandardara.

By road
Bhandardara is easily accessible from all parts of Maharashtra by road. State highway 44 (SH# 44) goes through this town. If you are coming from Mumbai, on national highway 3 (NH# 3), you have to take right turn after passing the Ghoti toll post. The distance from Ghoti to Bhandardara is around 30 km and the road has mild curves and bends. From Nashik, take NH# 3 towards south up to Ghoti and take left. From here continue on Ghoti-Bhandardara road for around 23 km and then take slight left onto SH# 44 and you will reach Bhandardara. From Sangamner, it is around 63 km towards west on the SH# 44. From Pune, Bhandardara is about 175 km. You need to take Pune-Nashik road (NH# 50) up to Ghargaon. From Ghargaon, take left on the SH# 21 and continue driving up to Bhandardara. At Kotul, SH# 21 turns slightly left and becomes SH# 44 which takes you to Bhandardara.
 * From Mumbai/Thane
 * You can you local train too. Get off at Kasara station from Central railway. There are a number of tempos available to take you Bhandardara lake side camp, it roughly takes around 3 hours.
 * From Nashik
 * From Sangamner
 * From Pune

Get around
Maharashtra state transport buses ply around the nearby villages and towns. There are private taxis also running regularly but these are always overloaded.

See
There are a lot of options for tourists visiting Bhandardara, including lakes, waterfalls, dams, temples and forts. Some of the interesting places are listed below.

Do

 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side
 * Tent stay by the lake side

Buy
Most places including resorts and local shops do not accept plastic currency, and the nearest ATM is around 30 km from Bhandardara. Please carry adequate cash for food, hotel room rent and miscellaneous expenses.

Eat
There are limited eateries in Bhandardara. You can find most of these in the main market. When you visit this place, you must try traditional village (home cooked style) fare at least once.

Go next

 * Triyambakeshwar, one of the twelve Jyotirlingas of India, is just 80 km away and it is worth a visitable place.
 * Shirdi, a holy place of Sai Baba is just 90 km away.
 * Shani Shingnapur, the most famous temple of Shani in India, is just 135 km away.