Bhigwan is about 250 kms from Mumbai, about 90 kms from Pune and about 30 kms of Baramati on Solapur Highway.
Bhigwan is surrounded by backwaters on Ujani Dam and is one of the best bird-sighting places in Maharashtra. Bhigwan is also considered as top 10 places in India for bird watching.
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I planned a two-day trip to Bhigwan and drove from Mumbai. We started from Mumbai at dawn and once we passed Mumbai Pune expressway towards PCMC road, after about 20 kms the road became quiet with little traffic. Once you leave Pune, the last 70 kms is a 6-lane road with sugarcane trucks/tractors passing you. This area is famous for sugarcane farming, and you will observe lots of sugarcane fields on both sides. We had our share of organic sugarcane juice enroute.
Bhigwan is a small village and you need to take a left turn after driving about 30 km from Baramati. You will notice a few fish-eating joints; it is about 4 km inside the highway towards the lake. There is an unpaved road which will take you inside the village.
Bhigwan has about 50 houses in village and a small shop selling daily items, there is nothing else. Now, in terms of expectations, please keep your expectations low for the kind of room you are going to get. The rooms will be clean, some of them having attached toilets. For a different kind of experience there are tent stays also available. These are small ones but near the lake. Please remember tents don’t have toilets and you need to use the nearby toilets, so it is wise to keep one room booked in case you need privacy.
You can rent rooms in Agnipankh Stay (Village stay) owned and managed by Sandeep Nagare (9960610615) and plan your lake/bird visit. Expect very simple food, though both veg and non-veg are available. We stayed in room with attached toilet to avoid any inconvenience.
There is just one shop in the village that sells ice creams/biscuits etc. Sandeep Nagare is an excellent guy with great knowledge about the area, he will help you with room and a guide.
We stayed there for 2 nights and went for a Birding/Night Jungle walk and grassland tour in search of Fox/Jackals. We did 2 bird safaris- each of about 4 hours going deep inside the lake.
The visibility of the birds is very dense, and we spotted various storks, Heron, spoonbill, ibis, cormorant, golden duck and Eagles, kites, kingfisher, falcon, osprey, and other exciting birds.
Each bird watching tour takes about 3-4 hours if you want to do that without hurry, lake is huge and you will need minimum 2 boat safari to complete the area.
After a long photography day, you can have a nice cup of tea with cookies and rest in room before your night walk.We went for a morning walk in village, there is pump house and you can walk inside that, 30 minutes cricket with village boys was fun, you can also walk till end of village and rest in secluded corner with no soul around and just water and few birds. We did that in morning at about 7 am and had our time of 1 hour doing nothing.
On night safari you are supposed to go uphill after parking the car at the base of a small hillock. It is a comfortable trek that takes about 2 hours in total. Carry your torch, use full sleeves and full lowers with comfortable walking shoes. Be careful as you might encounter snakes too.
We spotted Night Jar, Robin, and Veiled Tree Chameleon.
The next day morning we went for a drive in the grasslands, this place is further ahead by another 25 km from Bhigwan and Sandeep can arrange a guide for you. You need to start early morning. This grassland is beautiful and throws amazing yellow color for a nice capture.
You might see fox, jackal, and wolf in case you are lucky. Deers and few other big birds are visible here too. We saw a huge rat snake (about 8-10 feet long) crossing the road.
Bhigwan is a must see place with kids and family and you can see wonderful birds, winter brings beautiful flamingo birds here too in thousands making Bhigwan a beautiful place.
Carry warm clothes in winter and Mosquito repellant and your daily items as you barely get anything here.
Overall, it is a lovely 2-day travel in case you are a bird lover and want to go a little offbeat.
