Hidimba Parvat, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand India

About 5 km from Bhimtal is a hill known as Hidimba Parvat. It gets its name from demon Hidimba of Mahabharata. Vankhandi Maharaj, a monk and environmentalist lives on the hill now, and has created a sanctuary for the wild animals around the hill. The area is known as Vankhandi Ashram.

This hillock is located at a distance of just five km from the town and is named after the demoness named Hidimba described in Mahabharata. She was an ugly looking demoness who transformed herself into a beautiful lady, when she was impressed by the physical beauty of Bhima the powerful son of Kunti. An environmentalist called Vankhandi Maharaj has selected this region for protecting wildlife of this region. He resides on this hill and he has made a sanctuary for preserving the splendid wild life of the region. This area along with wildlife sanctuary is popular by the name Vankhandi Ashram.