Kankeshwar is a temple of Lord Shiva situated atop a hill at an altitude of 1200 ft above sea level. 12 Kms from Alibag, the land of beaches and roughly 3 kms from Kihim beach takes you to a village known as "Mapgaon" situated at the base of the hill. From here starts the adventurous and exciting journey upwards. The challenging target of more than 750 steps flagged by densely covered mountains on either side presents a collage of nature's awe inspiring beauty. The panorama fueled our goal to reach the top with bursts of enthusiasm and enery and we started off to discover the mountain folds and explore the unknown. Half an hour after we started, one of our friends had this sudden brainwave that he had somehow managed to leave his precious glasses somewhere along the trail. So he strutted all the way back to get it and we all had a hearty laugh at his expense.As one travels along this road-less-travelled, nature unveils its untouched and mystic splendor to free the contemporary man from the shackles of a materialistic life. For those who dare, taking shortcuts along the mountains instead of the stairs is more thrilling and one gets to see several plants of sitaphal and shrubs of Hibiscus flowers enroute. A view of the Kihim beach as one climbs uphill is nothing short of a visual treat. With every kilometre covered, we discovered an inner force and yearned to cover one more.
One gets to see several other sites enroute like the Gaymandi consisting of a cow's sculpture which is worshipped by the localites. Here you can take a few minutes break to catch your breath and drink water from the water tank built by the Government's trust. 
The other places that you come across on the trail are "Paleshwar Temple", tombs of 2 Kolis(Fishermen), "Hanuman Mandir" and "Balram Krishna Mandir". Another interesting site that falls on the way is the "BrahmaKund", a rectangular tank surrounded by steps on all four sides. It provides an excellent site for photography. As you near the temple, you will come across a small statue with an encryption "Mirchi Baba (1612)" towards your right.
By the time we reached the top, we were worn-out and completely out of breath, but the moment we set our eyes on the temple and its environs all our exhaustion seemed to vanish into thin air. Built of stone and roughly circular in shape, Kankeshwar temple seemed to depict the ancient sculptures of age old India. As per the local poojari (priest), it was built in 1764 by Raja Ramdeorai Yadav and consists of a silver plated idol. The temple has a Kund known as "Brahma-Vishnu-Mahesh Kund" once again emphasizing on the common thread of thought in Indian religion that Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva are revered as the Supreme Trinity of multitude of manifestations of Divinity. This Kund is opened only at 4:00 in the morning and evening. Small temples named "Kundeshwar", "Rameshwar", "Vishnu mandir", "Mankeshwar" and "RamSiddhivinayak Mandir" dot its periphery. A sweet water tank known as as "Pushkarni" is situated outside the temple and is claimed to be filled with water almost throughout the year. A grand fair is held at the temple in the "Kartik" month of Hindu calendar.
As with all other temples in India, legends and beliefs are associated with this temple as well. An age-old legacy of the worshippers wishes getting fulfilled is associated with this temple. The atmosphere oozing with spirituality and portraying nature's glory in a green canvas, the nearby modest hutments, all strive to provide tranquility and solace to the over-taxed soul.
On our way back, we stopped at a small shop to quench our thirst with buttermilk. It is then that we spotted a peacock in the vicinity. A sight rarely seen, in a minute there were cameras clicking, with the peacock proudly posing for each one of us. We arrived at the base exhausted and fatigued but with our souls rejuvenated after a journey through nature's open doors. The distant vision was now a part of our life.
