Bhimashankar Forest

About Bhimashankar Forest

Bhimashankar Forest surrounds one of the twelve Jyotirlinga shrines of Shiva, weaving together deep religious heritage and rare ecological richness on the Sahyadri plateau. The forest is the last stronghold of the Indian giant squirrel in the northern Western Ghats, a spectacular rust-and-cream creature whose canopy leaps have inspired local folklore for centuries. Dense semi-evergreen and deciduous forest cloaks the steep Bhimashankar hills, where the Bhima River begins its long journey to the Deccan.