Brahma Mountain Circumnavigation (ब्रह्मगिरि परिक्रमा)

Shravan month, the 5th month of the Hindu calendar, corresponds to the monsoon season in India, and falls around August to September. Hindus consider this month as holy and people fast and worship during this month. Many people consider Mondays of Shravan to be especially auspicious.

A holy site in Nashik, Maharashtra is Trambakeshwar, and it is part of the 12 Jyortilingas, devotional representations of the Hindu god Shiva.

Brahmagiri is a hill near Nashik and is near Trambakeshwar, near which is the origin of the Godavari River, which Hindus consider sacred.

On Mondays in Shravan, thousands of people participate in a circumnavigation of the Brahmagiri mountain, a distance of about 24km. To avoid the crowds, I went over a week before the first Shravan Monday to hike this route.

Brahmagiri Pradakshina/Parikrama/Cirumambulation or Circumnavigation is a tradition for many decades. It usually starts from the divine Kushavarta pond in Trimbak village on Sunday night making the total perimeter to be about 42 kilometers. All this walking is covered barefoot by the devotees. My chosen walk today was a mere 24km, much shorter than what the devotees routinely do.

At about 6:30AM, I started the walk, and it started raining promptly. Not carrying a rain jacket, I embraced the rain. The misty surroundings and verdant greenery made me feel one with nature.

Passing by farmlands and enjoying a continuous presence of mountains, the almost flat path was easy and delightful.

In the midst of the wilderness, by a small stream and a bridge over it, was a temple, giving a bit of additional color to the green environs.

There was a small, paved path next to a rice paddy which made the walk a little bit easier than the dirt road I had been walking on for a while.

The stream was larger now and had a few turbulent waterfalls.

The mountains in the distance also had several waterfalls visible.

A several waterfall streams with a background of a mountain peak that looked like a shark fin was simply beautiful.

Soon there was a set of several hundred steps which comprised of the sole steepness of this week. At the peak was a small temple which was commandeered by a group of eight hikers. They were eating their breakfast and were very kind to offer me some of what they were eating. After talking to them for a little bit, I continued further and it was a downhill climb for quite a distance, slick and slippery due to the rainwater.

The shark-fin mountain was visible again and from this vantage point it was immersed in a sea of green.

A bucolic sight, almost like a picture postcard, was ahead of me, a lone farmer planting the rice saplings in ankle deep water.

Several thriving rice fields were present all around.

Simple countryside was rendered unique and picturesque due to the rain and fog.

About eight kilometers from finishing, I passed by the forest department's entrance to the their center and seemingly they have leopards there.

Soon enough, the end of the walk was in sight, and it was nearly 4 hours from the time I had started.

The mountains at the end of the trail had many interesting shapes.

The grand gate welcoming devotees to the Trambakeshwar temple was near the end of my walk. I was glad to have gone on this beautiful and holy walk and even though it was not that strenuous, I was ready for some spicy and delicious Indian food!

As I went back from the walk, I saw a traditional eatery, serving delightful breakfast items like Vada Sambhar and Mysore masala dosa, which I feasted on to round out the experience.