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Apart from these legends regarding the hill and the kshetra, the vicinity of the place is of great antiquarian interest. It is on the same range of hills as the Bhima shankar or Manmoda caves have been cut, the fort of Shivaneri erected. The whole area was inhabited by Buddhist monks and the number of their chaityas and vihars is great. Bhimashankar is an extremely small village situated in a spacious gorge of a lofty hill.
The only inhabitants of the place are the Gurav pujaries and brahmin attendants. It is seventy- four miles from Poona by road. State buses go there from Poona twice a week: during the Mahasiva- ratri festival, when there is a great fair at the place buses ply to and fro daily. The route from Poona occupies more than five hours of bus- journey. The road upto Manchar, a half-way house, is the Poona- Nasik road, and is in an excellent state, the bus gliding over it. But the latter half is through an extremely rough terrain. For nearly twelve miles after branching off towards the West from Manchar, it runs parallel to the river Ghodnadi.
Then comes the steep ascent of the Pokhari ghat. As the bus winds its way through the pass the air becomes cooler and cooler and gradually the road enters thick jungles. For the last nine to ten miles the journey is by a road lined by trees and vines of all sorts, their green and reddish hues making for an appealing and refreshing sight.
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