India /Maharashtra /Pune /Pune

Sight Address : Neel Kantheshwar temple is situated on Sinhagad Road towards Panshet, right in front of the Vitthalwadi bus stop, big hill of Neelkantheshwar. The place is around 50 km away from the city of Pune. Edit

Detail InformationEdit

Neelkantheshwar is still a less known destination to many even being so close to Pune. It is Siva temple situated on a hillock, which is over 900 mt above sea level (1000 ft above Pune) and around 40Km from Pune near Panshet-Varshgaon dam.Temple is not very old and like any other Siva temple. But the main attraction of Neelkantheshwar is hundreads of sculptures made from cement. The sculptures are mainly associated with Hindu mythology or events which has historical significance e.g. 10 Dashavatars, Ashtavinayakas, Kalia Mardan, Bakasur-Bhim story, Vaali-Sugriv yuddha, Sant Dnyashwar, Sant Ramdas, Shivaji Maharaj, Jesus Christ and so on. The list is endless. Sarjemama, a forest ranger, has made these sculptures. He only found the Shiva linga on this hill, built the temple around it and made those hundreads of sculptures. Sarjemama is also associated with ‘Vyasan Mukti Abhiyaan’ and rehabilitated 4-5 lacs of alcoholic people. He lives at the foothills of Sinhgad and while going to Panshet (just after Donje Phata), see a signboard – “Towards the residence of Param Pujya Sarje Mama”. The view from the hill-top is amazing.

HistoryEdit

Neelkantheshwar is one of the widely heard names of Lord Shiva. “Neel” in Sanskrit means “blue” in English and “kanth” is the Sanskrit equivalent for “throat”. The name finds its origin in the Hindu scripture called Shiva Puran. According to the scripture, Gods and Demons decided to churn the ocean of milk (Samudramanthan) in order to take out ‘Amrita’ (elixir of life). But the very first thing to come out of the ocean was a kind of dreaded poison called Halahala which could destroy the entire universe had it spread all around. Only Lord Shiva was capable of digesting this dangerous poison. He came forward and drank Halahala in order to save the world. Shiva’s wife Parvati got alarmed about the safety of Lord Shiva and caught hold of his throat as a result of which the poison remained in Shiva’s throat and could not harm Him any further. This dangerous drink turned Shiva’s throat blue in color forever and this was how He got the name “Neelkantheshwar”. It was built by Sarjemama who was a forest ranger and a social worker. While roaming around in this area he found the Shiva Linga and later built the temple of Neelkantheshwar.

Must SeeEdit

Attraction.

Visiting TimeEdit

5:00 AM – 8:00 PM.

Closed OnEdit

N.A.

Best Season to VisitEdit

October to March.

Best Time To VisitEdit

Morning , Afternoon , Evening , Night.

Time Required for SightseeingEdit

1 to 2 hours.

Ticket Required : No Edit

Individual National Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Individual Foreigner Adult Rs. : N.A.

Kids Rs. : N.A.

Still Photo Camera Rs. : N.A.

Video Camera Rs. : N.A.

Guide Required : No Edit

Approximate cost: N.A.

Dress Code (If Any) : No Edit

Dress Require: N.A.

Restaurants NearbyAdd / Edit

How to ReachEdit

Taxi : Taxis are easily available from railway station, airport, and different point of city to reach these destination. Contact no. for taxi of Mumbai – Pune 020-26135784 and Pune-Mumbai 020-26145365.

Bus : Pune has three bus stands: Pune train station stand for Mumbai, Goa, Belgaum, Kolhapur,Mahabaleshwar and Lonavla; Shivaji Nagar bus stand for Aurangabad, hmedabad and Nasik; and Swargate bus stand for Sinhagad, Benga-luru and Mangalore. Deluxe buses shuttle from the train-station bus stand to Dadar (Mumbai)every hour (Rs.260, four hours). Pune Station (Asiad) : 020-26122591 ; Pune Station (S.T. Stand) : 020-2616218 ; Shivaji Nagar Guest House (VIP) : 020-25536104 ; Shivaji Nagar Stand : 020-25536970 ; Swargate Depot : 020-24442968 ; Swargate Stand : 020-24441591/020-24449980.

Train : Pune railway station is the main railway head of Pune. It is located on HH Prince Aga Khan Rd, Sangamvadi. Good rail networks connect Pune with all other rail junctions in India. The Pune Suburban Railway connects Pune to Lonavala, a small town en-route to Mumbai. There is only one line with seventeen stations, Here The Pune Suburban Railway connects Pune to Lonavala, a small town en-route to Mumbai. There is only one line with seventeen stations; a second monorail line is under consideration by the government. Here is a list of all the stations, east to west. Pune City ; Shivaji Nagar ; Khadki Dapodi (CME Museum); Kasarwadi (Air Vents & Glass Factory); Pimpri (Pimpri Plant, TATA Plant); Chinchwad (Bride Industries Ltd)Akurdi (Force Motors Plant, Bajaj Tempo); Dehu Rd (Army AOC & ASC 512 Base repair Depots); Begdewadi (Loco Sheds); Ghorawadi; Talegaon (Muhammad Ali Rd, CRPF); Wadgaon (PWD bungalow); Kanhe; Kamshet; Malwali. Arr./Dep. (Recorded) : 133 ; Enquiry : 020-26126575 ; General : 139 ; Reservation : 132.

Air : Pune airport is located about 10 km away from the heart of the city, in the Lohagaon area. Taxi charge from airport to city is only Rs 200. Regular, direct flights are available from Pune to many cities in India. The cities Delhi, Chennai, Bangalore and Mumbai are all air connected to Pune. International travelers can get connecting flight from Mumbai International Airport. Air India – Airport 1800-227-722/020-26683210/020-26683211

Others : Auto-rickshaws : There is also a huge army of three wheeled rickshaws. There are some prepaid rickshaw stands at Shivajinagar, Swargate Bus Depot and Lohegaon Airport. From here autorickshaw is easily available to reach these sight.

Things to CarryEdit

• Remember to take your mineral water bottle because you may not found it on top.

Safety / WarningEdit

HelplineEdit

• • Police : 100
• • Ambulance : 102
• • Fire Brigade : 101

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